Incumbent Liz Pike and challenger Kathy Gillespie offer voters a distinct choice in the race for the 18th Legislative District, Position 2, seat in the statehouse.
When it comes to replacing the Interstate 5 Bridge, Gillespie, an independent Democrat from Salmon Creek, said she would have continued to work on a solution to ensure the Columbia River Crossing project was realized.
Pike, R-Camas, opposed the now-defunct project and believes a third bridge would help ease the traffic jams and is the approach the region should pursue.
“Congestion relief in the Interstate 5 corridor is a priority, but I think the only way to solve that is to take the pressure off. … There needs to be a west-side connection between Hillsboro and the west side of Clark County,” Pike said.
On education, and on fully funding the state’s public education system, Pike points to investments already made and an uptick in revenues. If the economy continues to recover, Pike said, new revenue that is generated should be sufficient.
“If the economy continues to perform the way it is now, we can expect the budget will probably include another $2.7 billion, and I suspect the lion’s share will go to K-12, but we have to be careful how we spend the money,” Pike said. “Because it’s taxpayer dollars, and people expect results.”
Gillespie, who is on the Vancouver Public Schools board of directors, said it’s inappropriate that local levies are being relied on to fund basic education. She believes the state has to tackle levy reform, and that before looking to raise taxes, the state should look at tax breaks given to corporations.
“We definitely need revenue,” Gillespie said of the school funding crisis. “I want to look at the corporate tax giveaways, which have really ballooned. … More than 600 of them don’t have a return on investment for us.”
Pike has served in the statehouse since 2012. Before being a legislator, she served on the Camas City Council from 2003 to 2007. A 2015 campaign to elect Pike as a write-in candidate for Clark County council chair failed.
She has owned Pike Advertising Agency and operates a sustainable farm called Shangri-La Farm.
Pike said her current campaign is going well.
“I’ve raised an unprecedented amount of money from Clark County citizens because I respect the will of the broad majority of the districts I represent,” she said. “And I’m really proud of my voting record of always putting people first.”
Pike had raised $117,348 as of Friday, and Gillespie had brought in $40,426.
Gillespie, who worked at various newspapers as a reporter and editor, said her priorities would be focusing on transportation and education. But she also has concerns about the way the state budget is managed and how legislators continually go into overtime sessions.
“To summarize my philosophy, people send representatives to get the job done and to get it done on time,” she said.
“I’m also concerned that in the last four years, there has been damage done between the representatives in the 18th Legislative District,” Gillespie said. “That’s a small team … metaphorically and literally there have been some bridges burned that means taxpayers don’t get a return on investment like they should.”
Pike spearheaded an effort to create a bistate commission between Oregon and Washington to find solutions to improving traffic on the Interstate 5 corridor. Although Pike received bipartisan support in the House and the measure had the backing of Southwest Washington’s representatives, it failed.
Pike and Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, once friends and roommates, now have a reportedly tenuous relationship that has made it difficult for the entire delegation to work together at times.
“I think it’s well known that Sen. Rivers and Liz Pike … aren’t necessarily working well together as a team. There’s been a falling out, and that’s weakening the 18th,” Gillespie said.
Pike disagreed with the characterization, saying, “I work really well across both party lines and across the spectrum.”
