When 17th District Republican state Rep. Vicki Kraft announced in December 2021 she would be leaving the Legislature to run for Congress, there was no shortage of candidates ready to step up.
In August, primary voters narrowed the field to Democrat Terri Niles and Republican Kevin Waters, who seem to have very little in common.
Niles, who lives in Vancouver, is an intensive care registered nurse and familiar name in Clark County politics. She regularly speaks at Clark County Council meetings and served on the county Charter Review Commission.
Waters grew up and still lives in the Stevenson area. Waters said he decided to run for office to advocate for specific issues and to serve the community.
“I knew from growing up in the area that there are a lot of unfunded mandates at the state and federal level. I just saw things we weren’t getting help on,” Waters said.
For Niles, the motivation to run came from working as an intensive care nurse and union representative during the pandemic. She said animosity directed at health care workers, along with the spread of misinformation, motivated her to be part of the solution.
“There are really some issues that need to be addressed,” she said. “I started my career at the height of the AIDS epidemic and watching this one was just as heartbreaking.”
When Kraft left the 17th District Position 1 seat open, Niles said she realized it was not just a winnable seat but would give her a way to better represent all the residents of the district, something she said Kraft didn’t do.
Priorities
Waters has prioritized cutting taxes, reducing government’s role in small business, building sustainable infrastructure and increasing funding for law enforcement.
“I’ve heard frustrations from people about the business climate, business and occupation taxes, Department of Ecology issues,” he said. “I just thought, ‘I can go make a difference in a positive way.’ ”
With the first major portions of the state’s Climate Commitment Act going into effect in January, gas taxes will increase by 46 cents a gallon. That increase will especially impact business, Waters said.
“I look at that and think, ‘We have a huge surplus.’ … At a time when we’re in a recession or close to a recession, I think we should revisit that and figure out how to help people,” Waters said.
Niles said her top priorities include lowering costs for health care, infrastructure, affordable housing and public safety.
While she’s a union supporter, Niles said that doesn’t make her anti-business. She said addressing issues like affordable housing and access to child care will help businesses succeed by helping their employees. She said she regularly hears this from local business owners.
“I also support looking at overburdening regulations … and trying to address those issues that affect small businesses,” she said.
Waters would like the state’s budget surplus, which was $15 billion during the last session, used to reduce business and occupation taxes.
Niles said the state needs to use the surplus to rebuild its reserves.
“The only reason we got through the pandemic was because of those reserves,” she said. “I would love to see us invest in having an educated and trained workforce.”
After working as a corrections officer for two years, Waters said he has a better appreciation of law enforcement’s needs. He said the state needs to step up its funding for officers so agencies like the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office and Clark County Sheriff’s Office aren’t losing deputies to higher-paying agencies.
Waters said he also wants to see programs like Skamania County’s mental health court expanded.
“Instead of putting people through the jail system or judicial system, they’re doing a mental health court where (offenders) get sentenced to what’s basically an outpatient program,” he said, adding the county prosecutor has spoken to the program’s success. “I would love to see more mental health training.”
Fundraising
Waters has raised more than twice as much campaign money as Niles, according to the Public Disclosure Commission.
Waters reported more than $120,000 in cash and in-kind contributions. Major sources of contributions include individual donors, 49 percent, political action committees, 20 percent, and businesses, 27 percent.
Niles has raised almost $45,000, with major sources being individual donors, 53 percent, political action committees, 26 percent, and unions, 9 percent.
