Two progressive candidates — one would be the youngest elected representative in the state House, the other a longtime lawmaker — are vying to represent the 49th Legislative District in Vancouver.
“I’m a little more progressive than Sharon. I’m a little more aggressive than Sharon,” said Kaitlyn Beck, 20, who is running against incumbent Rep. Sharon Wylie, D-Vancouver, for the seat.
Wylie countered: “She doesn’t know me very well.”
The two candidates spoke this week with The Columbian’s Editorial Board.
Beck, who would be the first openly transgender representative in the Legislature, said she felt compelled to run when Wylie voiced support for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Beck, who is running as a Democrat, will cast her vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, but was an ardent supporter of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Beck said Wylie’s support of “a person so blatantly bad for our country” makes her “question (Wylie’s) judgment.” If this were the 1990s, Beck said, Clinton would be running as a Republican.
Beck, who works for a medical staffing network, said her first priority would be to push for rent caps to help ease the affordable housing crisis. She also would fight for an increase of the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020, and champion maternity and paternity paid leave and paid sick leave.
Beck said she also would advocate to ban conversion therapies for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.
Beck said that to solve the state’s chronic underfunding of the public school system, the state should move away from its regressive sales tax.
“We need to explore options. We have to reform our sales tax to make it more equitable,” Beck said.
Wylie pointed to her bipartisan work to secure money for the Center for Community Health and transportation funding.
Wylie, 67, said she’s been fighting for justice for others for decades and said she’s well-equipped to tackle the complex tasks facing lawmakers in Olympia. Wylie touts her efforts working for funding for The Academy’s roof and her push to ensure that the property tax system doesn’t hurt seniors.
Wylie also championed legislation to prevent revenge porn and helped stop sex-trafficking businesses from masquerading as foot-massage parlors.
She also points to efforts to save the state money through procurement reform, which also helped smaller businesses be competitive when it comes to bidding on state contracts.
Some of the newly elected officials will find out “what they campaigned on isn’t practical,” Wylie said, adding, “that’s part of the process. There isn’t one simple answer.”
Wylie, seeking her third full term in the Legislature, also worked as a government relations officer for Clark County and previously served in the Oregon Legislature.
