Candidates for WA's 5th Legislative District discuss parental rights, taxes, bipartisanship

Republicans in Washington state are eyeing a couple legislative races this year that could help them claw back a little power from Democrats, who currently hold majorities in both the state House and Senate. One of those races is a special election in Washington’s 5th Legislative District, which covers Issaquah to Enumclaw.

Democrat Victoria Hunt was appointed to this seat in June, following the death of Sen. Bill Ramos. Hunt is running to keep the position this fall. Previously, she served on the Issaquah City Council for three terms and served one term as a state Representative.

Republicans view this district as a potential flip. Former state Rep. Chad Magendanz, a Republican, served the 5th district from 2013-17. He's currently a full-time computer science teacher at Sammamish High School in Bellevue.

KUOW’s Soundside interviewed both candidates. Here are some of their responses, lightly edited for length and clarity.

Top legislative priorities

Magendanz: Break the supermajority in the Senate and bring a little bit more balance.

As ranking member in the House for education, over a period of eight years we more than doubled state funding for public education. I stand by that investment. But unfortunately, the economic accountability measures weren't in place. And so we've continued to drop, in our test scores, enrollment, and attendance. There's a lot of policy work to do around ensuring that that money is spent so that it has the desired outcome.

Hunt: Last November, we had a really devastating bomb cyclone come through our district. Twice we went to FEMA to try to get reimbursement to support that recovery, and unfortunately, we were twice denied that. I really want to make sure that we are ready for natural disasters. I want to make sure that we're reducing wildfire risk.

I also want to continue to work on housing affordability. This is a district where it's really challenging to find housing that is affordable, and it's something that our community is really struggling with.

Taxes and budget shortfall

Magendanz: I would handle it [the budget shortfall] like we did after the real estate bubble burst, when I served. I was lucky enough to serve when we had a bipartisan Legislature and so we had to work together, find common ground, and focus on delivering on our priorities. We doubled state funding for education without a bunch of new tax increases.

It's been eight years since I served in the Legislature, and spending has doubled. Not many of us can look back and say I doubled my salary in eight years, and so we have to live within our means. We have to say no. One of the new taxes that was proposed this legislative session was a wealth tax. Republicans like myself are open to the idea of a wealth tax. But the problem is that it's always additive. If it was taking regressive taxes and trading them for a wealth tax, I think people would be more willing to have that conversation.

Hunt: [I want to close] tax loopholes and work towards a system that is fair and not burdening our hardworking families and seniors on fixed income[s]. We need to make sure that the wealthy that can pay are paying their fair share. I want to be the voice of our small businesses and make sure that we are implementing a fair and workable policy.

Anything I'm considering is going to be a combination of tax as well as making cuts. I'm definitely committed to working with the community and have been having those conversations already on how we can protect critical services, communities, and our rights, while also making sure that we're making our tax system as fair as possible.

Affordability

Magendanz: I would stop putting all these new taxes on our businesses because they have to pass down those costs to us. … We're driving up the cost of doing business, which is driving up the cost of the goods that the businesses sell. We have the most tech-dependent workforce in the nation right now.

We are known for being a tech hub. We want to make sure that they feel welcome here, and we're creating an economic climate so they can bring those high-paying jobs here as well.

Hunt: We need to make sure that we have more supply of housing. There aren’t options for folks that want to downsize or rent closer to where they work. I was very proud of the changes that we made last session to increase development right next to our transit centers, support small housing units, and that it's more cost effective for developers to be increasing the supply of housing in our communities.

Another one that I'll mention is child-care affordability. As a mom with little kids, when I had my second child, it was very hard to find child care that was accessible. We have child-care deserts, unfortunately. This is another aspect of affordability that I want to continue to work on.

Parental rights and gender policy in schools

Magendanz: I'm all about full transparency in a public education. I want to feel free to partner with parents, because I can't know [the students] nearly as well as their parents. And when we get memos from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction telling us that we have to start withholding information from parents, or having one set of terms we use with parents and another set of terms that we use in the classroom, it poisons that relationship.

Any kind of gender transition is the tough one, because they'll have different names in class. And it's scary for a teacher, because you feel like on one hand, I'm going to inadvertently "out" them [to their parents]. On the other hand, I'm going to violate this new policy. And so what I see more and more is that teachers just aren't communicating with parents, especially for the kids who need that the most.

I think one area related to this is the whole concept of the "mature minor" doctrine that a 13-year-old can make medical decisions without the consent or knowledge of the parents. I oppose that. I love my students, but they're immature. They're not in the right headspace to be making a lot of these medical decisions.

Hunt: I do not support these initiatives [proposed by Let’s Go Washington to modify the state’s parental rights law and to bar trans girls from participating in girls’ sports]. When I am talking with parents and teachers, these are not the issues.

We really need to make sure that we're investing in special education, that we're investing in staff that are able to provide counseling services and support our teachers’ supplies, and transportation needs and accessibility. We as a state need to be working on supporting every child in school, so that they have opportunities to thrive.

Voting record and bipartisanship

Magendanz: I have the most independent voting record in the 5th District, going all the way back to when they first started publishing results in 1991.

We've had too many people running to the extremes, living in their own bubbles, and demonizing the opposite party. We need to focus on getting a healthy middle again, good moderates on both sides of the aisle. The real work of politics is finding that common ground, building consensus, building coalitions.

Hunt: I passed three bills this last session, each was bipartisan, and each with a Republican co-sponsor of those bills. I will continue to work across the aisle and find solutions that meet the needs of my community. I absolutely believe there are many things that we can agree on.

Listen to Magendanz’s full interview to hear more about his approach to taxes and his interest in bipartisanship.

Listen to Hunt’s full interview to hear more about her work in the House and on the Issaquah City Council.