When Julie Olson first ran for Clark County Council in 2015, she campaigned on broad issues, such as property rights, protecting taxpayer money and economic growth.
When asked what’s been the most surprising thing about being on the county’s policy-making body for the last three years, Olson paused before saying how much time she spends responding to constituents who are sometimes frustrated as they attempt to navigate Clark County government.
“We think of policymakers as people that are thinking at a really high level,” said Olson. “But when I go to neighborhood meetings, it’s about speed bumps, it’s about things that are on the ground, in the weeds, everyday things that they look for help on.”
As Olson seeks a second term in the November general election, she faces political newcomer Elisabeth Veneman who is running a “citizens first” campaign that includes lowering property taxes and opposition to parking fees at county parks.
Both candidates are Republicans. Their sources of support reveal they represent different wings of their party. Olson has emerged as the clear front-runner in the race. In Washington, the two candidates who emerge from the primary with the most votes advance to the general election, regardless of party. In the August primary, Olson won 80 percent of 22,281 votes cast. Veneman received just under 20 percent.
“I believe I’ve done what I said I would,” said Olson of her campaign promises.
Veneman declined multiple requests for an interview.
Olson
Olson won a three-year special term on the council, the year after Clark County voters passed the home rule charter. The charter changed the three-member county commission to a five-member council that has no administrative authority and only makes policy. It also created council districts.
Olson, 55, represents District 2, which includes Ridgefield and La Center up to the county line. It also encompasses urban unincorporated areas north of Vancouver, including Hazel Dell, where county government is essentially the only municipal government.
Olson said she’s tried to take a “realistic and pragmatic” approach to county government, which she said is largely limited to fulfilling state and federal mandates.
Although councilors don’t have administrative authority, they can help point constituents in the right direction. In an interview, Olson described her work responding to constituent concerns on various county issues. She held up a picture of an older resident standing on a recently paved street that has a shoulder for her to take walks on.
“Ultimately, I want to get it to the point where I don’t get involved,” said Olson.
That means making policy. She mentioned a policy proposal she’s currently working on in response to a resident whose house burned down and is having trouble getting his septic system permitted. In response to concerns about sidewalks in Hazel Dell and surrounding neighborhoods, she pushed for a measure to reallocate $1 million Real Estate Excise Tax funds for sidewalk improvements.
She’s also active on implementing a state law that will allow industrial development along the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad, which supporters say will create good-paying jobs in the county. Earlier this year, she was appointed by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee to the statewide Forensics Investigations Council, a position she said she’s used to call attention to the local backlog of sexual assault kits.
If re-elected, she said she wants to work on criminal justice and mental health services, as well as the county’s outdated jail.
“She looks to find answers,” said state Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, of Olson. “She’s very collaborative with people. What she says is what she means.”
Olson describes herself as “probably a social moderate” and has expressed an openness to considering lifting the county’s ban on recreational marijuana. She described herself as a “fiscal conservative.”
“We don’t ask for tax dollars unless there is a true need and we are very respectful of how they’re spent,” she said.
On the council, she’s voted for $7 million in bonds for 10 land acquisition projects intended for parks, open spaces and environmental conservation. She’s also voted twice for a 1 percent increase in the total tax levy for the county’s general fund. Olson said that it will mean an increase of about $3 for the median-priced home, it’s the maximum amount allowed under a voter-approved initiative and it’s necessary to fund county government.
She criticized those who fault the council for raising the levy “and don’t come with answers or solutions on what we are going to do differently.”
Veneman
In the voter’s pamphlet, Veneman noted her work on the 2016 presidential campaign of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. She also noted that she worked on the Just Want Privacy campaign, an unsuccessful 2016 ballot initiative that would’ve repealed a state rule allowing transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice.
On her website, she stated she wants to lower property taxes. But Veneman did not respond to written questions, which included how she would lower property taxes.
Veneman’s supporters include Carol Levanen, executive secretary of property rights group Clark County Citizens United, and former Vancouver mayoral candidate Steve Cox, outgoing state Rep. Liz Pike and others.
She also received $4,000 from former Clark County Councilor David Madore and his wife Donna. Before losing re-election in 2016, Madore, along with Councilor Tom Mielke, was criticized for his perceived divisiveness and feuding with other councilors and staff.
State Rep. Vicki Kraft, R-Vancouver, made a $50 donation to Veneman’s campaign but declined to comment on it.
David Nierenberg, a local philanthropist and political donor, and his wife Patricia gave $4,000 to Olson. Nierenberg, who describes himself as a moderate Republican, helped fund an effort to oust Madore from county government and doesn’t want to see him come back.
“All of us are known by the company we keep and the company we chose not to keep,” he said.
