When it comes to solving the state’s most pressing issue, Lynda Wilson, a candidate running to represent Southwest Washington in the state House, told The Columbian’s editorial board Tuesday that she is going to “say the same thing that most every Republican is saying.”
“We need to fund (education) first,” she said.
Her opponent in the swing 17th Legislative District, Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, was careful, however, to not say what most every other Democrat is saying.
“There are a lot of things we can do before we raises taxes,” Stonier said.
Every lawmaker sent to Olympia this session will be faced with meeting the demand, ordered by the state’s top court, to adequately fund public schools.
To find additional revenue, Wilson said lawmakers could look to certain state agencies, such as the Department of Ecology, that she maintains have bloated budgets. Stonier said schools have restrictive requirements preventing dollars from getting into the classrooms, and she said the state should examine current tax preferences on the books.
“I think whatever the budget looks like, it has to be bipartisan in effort,” Stonier said.
“It’s going to come from people who can work together; when you have folks there just to vote ‘no’ and just to shut down the government, that’s not a value added to the Legislature,” Stonier said.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Columbian editorial board, Wilson said she was against the home-rule charter, and Stonier said she was in favor. Both candidates plan to vote against November’s measure expanding background checks for gun sales made online and at gun shows.
Wilson is married to Tracy Wilson; the couple own DeWils Industries, a kitchen cabinet manufacturing company. Wilson said the state needs someone who understands the problems that burdensome regulations can cause businesses.
Wilson served as the Clark County GOP’s chairwoman after changes in the party leadership shifted further to the right philosophically.
During the meeting, Wilson said Stonier’s biggest weakness is having experience only in the public sector.
Stonier, a career educator, countered by saying Wilson represents the extreme view of her party.
