Losing a loved one is a wrenching experience. Doing so in the public eye, while on the campaign trail, exacerbates the experience.
Jeanne Stewart, the former Vancouver city councilwoman currently running for Clark County commissioner, knows that well. But less than two weeks after her husband, David Stewart, died unexpectedly from complications following heart surgery, she’s back in the race, rubbing shoulders with would-be donors and chatting with could-be constituents.
But don’t call it a campaign restart. She considers it a “reset.”
Semantics aside, Stewart said giving up wasn’t an option, especially upon recalling conversations with her husband about how important they both believed the race was.
“You must have the courage to go forward,” she said. “And it takes absolute resolve (to do so).”
In the days immediately following her husband’s death, and even still, Stewart questioned how she can continue with the same enthusiasm, vitality and interest she had before. She’s leaning on her campaign volunteers for support.
“It’s encouraging and refreshing because they always bring a new vitality and a new perspective,” she said.
Thursday marked a turning point of sorts for her general election campaign for the District 3 commissioner seat. That’s when Stewart made a return public appearance at a fundraiser in her honor at The Grant House.
With her campaign reset, Stewart, running as a Republican, said she was focusing on staying flexible and creating a cohesive campaign plan.
Among her top issues are keeping taxes under control, boosting law enforcement resources and providing more resources to mental health services.
“We have a lot of people who could benefit from care and healing,” she said. “We need to get out of the dark ages about mental illness. It can happen to anyone.”
Stewart acknowledges she lost some time and has had to reshuffle her schedule a little. Meanwhile, her opponent, Craig Pridemore, a former county commissioner and state senator, hasn’t lost a step.
He continues to campaign, driving through the county in his signature vintage Jeep. When he’s not on four wheels, he’s using his legs. Pridemore, a Democrat, recently completed a walking tour of the county — a low-cost campaign tactic he’s used since his first successful bid for commissioner in 1998 — chatting with people throughout the county.
With the race heading into the home stretch, with about nine weeks left until Election Day, both candidate are sharpening their rhetorical sabers. Pridemore, who quit his job as the chief financial officer for the state Department of Licensing to run for commissioner, is emphasizing rebuilding partnerships he thinks Republican Commissioners Tom Mielke and David Madore have hurt.
He also said the county’s comprehensive plan and transportation issues were atop his list of campaign issues, such as ensuring the state Legislature pays for local projects instead of shuffling funds to the Puget Sound area.
“Clark County tax money is being spent up there and that bothers me,” he said.
Looking ahead toward the general election, both candidates have vowed to sweep through the county.
Pridemore, who received more votes than Stewart during the August primary that was exclusively for District 3 voters, said he plans to dedicate more of his resources to east Clark County, an area noted for pivoting from right to left politically, to pick up swing votes.
Now that Stewart is back actively campaigning, she said she plans to hit the northern and eastern parts of the county.
Despite jumping back into the campaign saddle after a brief period of mourning, Stewart said she plans to reset her campaign by listening to people in the community.
“To me, that’s key,” she said. “You need to be with them in their shoes.”
