On Oct. 11, the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce hosted a forum featuring legislative candidates from several of the districts that represent the Auburn community.
The candidates were asked questions about their suggested policy solutions to crime and public safety, economic vitality and housing affordability. Here are some notes about their points of emphasis. Not all of the candidates and their respective opponents attended the candidates forum.
31st Legislative District
State Senator
Phil Fortunato believes the recent police reform laws were mistakes that threaten public safety. He wants to reduce regulations that he said have become an obstacle to building housing supply. To address homelessness, he said we should make it “uncomfortable to be homeless” in our communities.
Chris Vance is running as an independent owing to what he feels is a dangerously divisive, two-party political system. To address the backlog of prosecuted cases in county governments, he suggested reforming how county governments are funded in our state. He also said cities should be incentivized to annex certain adjacent areas to support growth and we should increase the housing supply.
State Rep. Pos. 1
Drew Stokesbary said he felt the police reform laws were “well intentioned,” but the policy makers failed to listen to the law enforcement community about how to properly implement them. He emphasized the need for regional transportation programs to increase the affordability of living in certain regions. He said changing zoning policies in cities, or incentivizing them to do so, could help spur a more robust housing supply.
State Rep. Pos. 2
Eric E. Robertson spoke against the recent police reforms, saying it would be important to change the legal standard for police pursuit. He also said he believed regulations are an obstacle for developers, slowing down the construction of housing supply.
30th Legislative District
State Senator
Claire Wilson emphasized the need for more social services and better community infrastructure, specifically for mental and behavioral health care. To address housing affordability, she suggested increasing the diversity of housing options.
Linda Kochmar expressed concerns regarding crime, drug use, and human trafficking, particularly in her community of Federal Way. She said she supports reforming the state’s drug possession laws and the recently implemented police pursuit laws, which, she said, she believes has prevented police from doing their jobs effectively.
State Rep. Pos. 1
Jamila E. Taylor emphasized the need for social services and workforce supports such as child care, which she said are critically unavailable. She believes the trend towards decriminalization is better than the 50-year “War on Drugs” and said she wants to have better behavioral and mental health services to address the roots of crime and aid recovery in communities.
Casey Jones said he believes the criminal justice system is somewhat broken with drugs essentially decriminalized allowing other crimes to occur. To support economic vitality, he wants programs to encourage young students to get interested and involved in a trade that could lead to an early career.
State Rep. Pos. 2
Kristine Reeves believes that emergency response resources for police and fire departments need to improve. She suggested additional small businesses and emphasized the need for “locality” and for individual communities not to have uniform state laws influencing their development.
Ashli Tagoai supports a reform of the police pursuit laws and other laws she said she believes have made the system too lenient on crime and drug abuse. To address housing affordability, she supports a reduction of housing and construction regulation as well as changing laws that she believes disincentives small landlords.
47th Legislative District
State Senator
Bill Boyce said he believes there needs to be accountability upheld both for those who commit crime and for police who abuse their authority. To improve wealth and housing availability, he suggested condominiums that allow families to build equity outside of renting.
State Rep. Pos. 1
Kyle Lyebyedyev supports broad tax reforms such as the B&O and gas tax, which he says are a strain on families and small businesses. He also wants more resources for law enforcement from the state.
State Rep. Pos. 2
Chris Stearns said that as an Auburn City Council member, he recognized the challenge that the new police reform laws present for police He believes that more incentives are needed to spur the development of affordable housing.
