Mark Smith of Toutle is running as an independent for Washington State Representative, Position 2 of the 20th District. Smith, who has served on citizen advisory boards and has spent decades advocating for healthy wildlife and hunter’s rights, is hoping to garner attention through his candidacy for issues that he thinks have been mismanaged by the state.
He will be running in the Aug. 7 top-two primary against the incumbent Republican Ed Orcutt, and the Democratic challenger Brennan Baily.
Smith owns the Eco Park Resort about 14 miles east of Toutle.
While Smith wears many hats, including businessman, wildlife conservationist, hunting advocate, family man, volunteer, and more, he would rather be thought of simply as a citizen pushing for positive change.
Wildlife issues
Smith is well known for his criticisms of the state’s response to the elk hoof disease that is decimating herds in Western Washington. He served on the citizen advisory board that was created to help guide the state’s efforts to combat the disease.
He expressed disappointment that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife staff often seemed to ignore the citizen board’s recommendations.
While Washington State University has taken on the leadership of the effort to get a grip on hoof disease in Washington, Smith is concerned about the choice of Dr. Margaret Wild to lead the effort.
“She made the comment that it may take another 10 years to get a handle on this,” said Smith. “I don’t think we have another 10 years. I would like to see a more expedient approach.”
He points to the disease having spread to eastern Washington, and the fact that Oregon has found the disease in dry areas where the disease was not thought to be able to spread.
He also points to the advisory board’s attempts to get the state to look at the disease moving elsewhere via vehicles such as logging equipment and hunter’s trucks years ago. He said their concerns went unanswered.
Smith also thinks Wild’s long service in the national parks could be a possible problem.
“National parks don’t have hunting,” he said. “It makes me concerned about her management point of view towards wildlife.”
Smith has also fought unsuccessfully to get the state to look at the possible role of herbicides used extensively on tree farms in furthering hoof disease.
“Forest practices need to be revisited,” he said, pointing to the fact that since developed in 1974 the rules have only been tweaked a tiny bit.
Fisheries management
Smith believes the state has abandoned its responsibilities for salmon recovery.
“I say thank you for the wild fish theory, but it’s time to get back to where we had hatchery and wild fish in the rivers,” he said. “I think people want to get back to that.”
He said the treaty tribes have the right idea in attempting to release more hatchery salmon, even as the state is closing hatcheries.
“The tribes realize there are not enough fish in the ocean for orcas and sea lions, and that is why they are coming up the rivers.”
While wildlife and fisheries issues are important to Smith, he is not a one-issue candidate. One of the reasons he is running as an independent is to bring some positive changes to a system that seems broken, corrupt, and acrimonious to him. As an independent candidate, he is not beholden to a party agenda.
“If I do well in the primary we can send a message: we want to see change, we want to see compromise,” said Smith. “If we can get through the primary it will be exciting.”
Campaign financing
Smith is only excepting small donations and is refusing donations from powerful interests to draw awareness to the problems with campaign financing and the effects of big money on politics.
“Ninety-two percent of (campaign) funding in this district is not from the district, so who represents you? Politicians are raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to run for an office that is supposed to be a part-time citizen legislature. When you become a full time-politician, who are you taking care of?”
Smith thinks that one of the big problems in Olympia is that once you get there, you have to follow a party agenda. And, sometimes the parties would rather not solve problems that can be used to manipulate voters.
Smith is happy to be running as an independent. Whether it is wildlife issues or anything else he knows he could raise awareness and effect positive change.
“An independent voice can have a lot of power.” He added.
