Ed Orcutt, two others vie in 20th Legislative District

LONGVIEW — After running unopposed two years ago, veteran state Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, has drawn a 28-year-old Lewis County elementary teacher and a seasoned eco-lodge owner from Toutle as opponents in Tuesday’s primary election.

With ballots already out, voters in the 20th Legislative District will winnow the three-person field to the top two vote-getters. The district represents most of Lewis and Cowlitz counties but also includes a section of southern Thurston County and part of north Clark County.

Brennan Bailey, a fifth-generation Chehalis native who teaches first grade in Toledo, is challenging Orcutt as a Democrat.

Bailey, a six-year member of the Chehalis School Board, finished a master’s degree this spring in education policy at Harvard University. With roughly half of the state’s operating budget earmarked for education, he argues that the Legislature needs more policy-minded teachers in its ranks.

Mark Smith, the 59-year-old owner of the Eco Park Resort in Toutle, says he jumped into the race as an independent to give voters a third option. Smith is concerned about effective natural resource management in Southwest Washington, and he’s calling for reform at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Orcutt, now in his 17th year as a state legislator, says his experience and lengthy track record of shielding voters from tax increases make him the best choice for the job. The 55-year-old said in an interview Monday that he still enjoys putting in long hours on behalf of constituents.

“I enjoy working with a variety of different people and trying to figure out ways to solve problems, and to do it in a way that doesn’t cause a problem for somebody else,” he said.

Brennan Bailey

With school out for the summer, Bailey has made campaigning his full-time job until the new school year starts in late August.

The first-time candidate for the seat said in an interview Monday that he has enlisted about 35 campaign volunteers and personally knocked on about 5,700 doors across the district.

Despite winning his first election for public office as a 21-year-old, Bailey said politics is not a long-term ambition.

“I wanted to make a change in the short term here with some of the things I was seeing,” he said.

Bailey said he decided to run for office after the Legislature failed to pass a $4.2 billion capital budget last summer. The stalled funding package initially cost the Chehalis School District $600,000 in funds for two new elementary school construction projects, he said.

As a self-described fiscal conservative, Bailey argues that electing a moderate to serve in the Democrat-controlled House would give 20th District voters better representation.

Bailey also noted that he has accepted only about $10,300 in campaign contributions from small-dollar donors.

“If I go into office, I’ll be representing those people instead of tax benefits for corporations that aren’t even in the state,” Bailey said.

Orcutt, in contrast, has raised nearly $57,000, with all of his largest donations coming from corporate political action committees.

Mark Smith

While Bailey is focused on education, Smith is worried about the area’s wilderness.

Declining wild salmon runs and southern resident orca whale populations have dominated headlines recently, while the Toutle area has quietly lost a major share of its elk herd due to hoof rot disease, Smith said.

“Nobody seems to care,” Smith said in a phone interview Monday. “That’s why I threw my hat in the ring.”

Smith argues that poor management of the state’s natural resources has caused a vicious cycle that has led to less than 5 percent of the state’s population purchasing hunting or fishing licenses. That has prompted WDFW to raise fees on the remaining sportsmen, he said.

Smith said he’s against an extended hunting season for elk that runs from September through February.

“They just keep going to the well, and the reason they do that is because they want more money,” he said.

(WDFW gets a significant portion of its budget through licenses and fees.)

Smith, who lost a bid for Cowlitz County commissioner as a Republican in 2014, said he decided to file this year partly to see how many votes he can attract as an independent.

“Everyone says they’re independent,” he said. “Well, I look forward seeing how many people vote that way.”

Ed Orcutt

While he routinely votes against bills that would raise taxes, Orcutt noted that he voted in favor of the capital budget that passed the state House of Representatives last summer. (Senate Republicans ultimately linked the budget to a solution to the state Supreme Court’s Hirst decision on water rights.)

The budget contained millions for projects in the 20th District, including $1 million for the Kalama Falls Fish Hatchery and $750,000 for Scott Hill Park in Woodland.

As the ranking member on the House Transportation Committee, Orcutt said, he also helped secure state funding for the $85 million Industrial Way and Oregon Way overpass project in Longview.

Orcutt said he’s also able to influence tax policy as the ranking member on the House Finance Committee.

Looking forward, Orcutt said he plans to focus on bringing high-speed internet to rural areas, and he has a meeting with Gov. Jay Inslee’s office scheduled on the matter this fall.

Orcutt also rejected the idea that campaign contributions from corporations could sway his vote.

“A lot of these folks that are contributing to me, whether they’re big businesses or small businesses or individuals in my district … they are supporting me because I’m pro-jobs,” he said. “I’m trying to find ways to enable people to create more jobs in our area, and I always try to do what’s best for my constituents.”