It’s been 22 years since Washington’s 18th Legislative District had a Democrat in the state House of Representatives. But if the party is lucky, it could potentially score a double play on Election Day, sending two Democrats to Olympia and turning a longtime red district blue.
One of those Democratic hopefuls is Chris Thobaben, a major and reserve officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. Thobaben is making his first run for office against three-time incumbent Brandon Vick, R-Felida, in what is shaping up to be a close race. In last month’s primary election, Vick won by a fairly close margin, scoring just 1,363 more votes than Thobaben.
“The results were closer than we were expecting,” Vick said. “It was kind of a wake-up call to myself and my campaign … that we need to go out there and work harder to spread our message.”
Local Democrats, however, think they have a fighting chance at winning the position.
“I think Chris represents a really good portion of the 18th LD,” said Rich Rogers, chair of the Clark County Democratic Central Committee. “He’s ex-military, served his country, raising his young family. … I think he brings a lot of good qualities that a lot of 18th LD residents can register with.”
Betty Sue Morris, who served as the district’s last Democratic representative from 1989 to 1996, said that she was “stunned” at how well Thobaben performed in the primary.
“My suspicion is that he will be able to work well across the aisle because I think he’ll be a very good negotiator,” she said.
One issue that Thobaben — who identifies as a centrist Democrat — may be able to garner bipartisan support on is gun control. While he staunchly supports the right to own guns — “the Second Amendment is the law of the land,” he said — he wants to promote responsible gun ownership. He criticized other aspects of I-1639, a gun safety initiative, but supported the measure’s idea that guns should be stored in a safe to prevent theft, and that gun owners could be punished for failing to report a stolen weapon. Thobaben also proposed requiring gun purchases to come with lifetime insurance policies, which would be used to compensate victims of gun violence.
“The burden of responsibility rests with the gun owner and gun insurers to make sure it’s not used inappropriately,” he said.
Squaring off on education, the economy
On other issues, however, Thobaben is decidedly left-of-center. With respect to the economy, Thobaben said he supports “free market dialogue” between labor unions and employers and opposes the idea that tax cuts promote economic growth.
Thobaben’s primary issue is funding education, which he called “the bedrock of every great society.” He criticized the McCleary decision for not “addressing the structural allocation and prioritization of funds” and failing to “recognize teachers as the professionals they are.” He also expressed support for magnet schools and other forms of specialized education.
“Our educational system is outdated,” Thobaben said. “The prototypical school model was created decades ago, before we had even a remote grasp of this global economy. We are now no longer competing against the Seattle market in Southwest Washington, or the Portland market.”
In contrast, Vick praised what he called Clark County’s “vibrant K-12 system” and “unique secondary, post-high school education system.”
“If you have educated folks who are educated in the area that employers are looking for, the jobs come,” he said. “And that’s something I’ve also been very active in.”
Vick has also been active in promoting economic growth in the district. He has supported legislation to benefit CPAs, as well as marijuana stores that opened after I-502 legalized marijuana use.
“I want to see the opportunity for Southwest Washington to set itself apart, to find economic success for its businesses and constituents, and really be a spot on the map that people want to gravitate to rather than a bedroom community,” he said.
Vick is also a vocal opponent of Washington’s business and occupation tax — which taxes businesses based on their revenue instead of profits — and introduced a bill earlier this year that would have lowered the tax. (No vote has occurred on the bill.)
“A couple years ago, the budget included a new B&O tax rate for manufacturers,” Vick said. “It was a lower rate that was going to encourage more manufacturing, and the governor vetoed that out of the budget.”
Businesses support Vick
Vick’s platform has won him considerable support from the business community. Vick has received $125,000 in cash contributions, with more than $100,000 coming from businesses and PACs.
“We have five long-term care facilities in the 18th District, and Brandon Vick has always been accessible to us as we have approached him around issues, and we appreciate that,” said Lauri St. Ours, director of government and legislative affairs for the Washington Health Care Association, whose PAC contributed $2,000 to Vick’s campaign.
The Washington Society of CPAs also contributed $2,000 to Vick’s campaign through a PAC. Government Relations Coordinator Ashley Kittrell said that their support of Vick stemmed from the fact that he was an incumbent, and that he served on a committee that handled issues pertaining to CPAs.
“He’s been a co-sponsor as well as a sponsor for several of our bills, and he’s always been very responsive to our feedback and testimony, which is something that we’re very appreciative of,” Kittrell said.
Thobaben, who has received almost $6,000 in cash contributions, doesn’t seem too concerned about his opponent’s commanding financial lead, calling Vick “an established and known commodity to the business community.” Thobaben said he is more focused on scoring contributions from individuals; although Vick has more in individual contributions than Thobaben, they make up a greater share of the latter’s war chest.
“I’m not running dependent on whether or not any one business approves of my ideas,” Thobaben said. “I run on the concept that what I’m doing will ultimately benefit all of Washington’s citizens.”
Vick, on the other hand, touts himself as a familiar face to the 18th District.
“Candidly, I think people want a legislator who has been a part of the community, who has been involved, who knows what’s going on,” he said. “I know what they want and what they’ve asked for, and I think I’ve been able to deliver.”
Democrat Kathy Gillespie and Republican Larry Hoff are vying for the other seat in the 18th District, which is currently held by Liz Pike, R-Camas. Pike announced her retirement from politics in January; Gillespie led Hoff by 1,533 votes in the primary.
Both Thobaben and Vick like their chances for victory in November, with Thobaben saying he was “planning for success.”
“I think my track record speaks for itself,” Vick said. “We have been successful for Southwest Washington, and I look forward to doing it again.”
