electtimprobst.com - Candidates of 17th LD focus on bipartisan success

Candidates of 17th LD focus on bipartisan success

The Reflector
Candidates of 17th legislative district focus on bipartisan success
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
By BRANDY SLAGLE, Staff reporter

Bipartisan endeavors were the focus of all three leading candidates in the 17th legislative district. Leading candidates all spoke to cross-party issues after the primary election.

Votes from the Aug. 19 primary election are still being counted, but Democratic District 17 Rep. Deb Wallace has defeated Republican challenger Micheline Doan, 61 percent to 39 percent.

Wallace said she was genuinely honored by the results, which she felt were due to the work she has done on behalf of the people of the district.

"I work for the district, for the people who I represent," she said. "I'm nor here to represent a political party or myself."

Wallace added that she was thrilled to see that Tim Probst has received so much support in the primary election. The two have worked together extensively on economic development issues, she said.

Probst, a Democratic Party activist who serves as chief executive officer of the Washington Workforce Association, retained a strong lead over his Republican opponent Joseph James. Probst obtained about 49.5 percent of the vote compared to political newcomer James' 31.8 percent.

Both candidates kept a strong lead over Republican Representative Jim Dunn who received 18.5 percent of the votes. Dunn served as state representative for the 17th District from 1996-2002 and again in 2004-2006. Dunn conceded to defeat in this election Aug. 22. He is asking his supporters to vote for James, who has been endorsed by 17th District committee officers.

"Joseph will continue to fight the 'spend and tax' mentality that is prevalent in Olympia and to block legislation that is not the best interest of our residents," he said.

Dunn was stripped of his committee assignments and travel reimbursement privileges for 2008 by house Republican leaders after allegedly making an inappropriate comments to a female legislative aide.

Probst said he considers himself politically moderate, similar to Wallace, focusing on middle class needs as a legislator. He earned about half of all votes in a race against two Republican opponents.

"I hope that voters are able to send a message to all politicians that bipartisanship is what they are looking for," he said. "I hope that they can send that message with me."

He said he plans to continue a strong community outreach during his campaign, which has included ringing over 11,000 doorbells to date.

Probst cited his 14-year history of working across party lines on economic issues as a strong reason for his success.

State Senator Don Benton retained an edge with 53 percent of votes over his opponent David Carrier, who brought in about 47 percent.

"Whether you consider yourself an independent, Republican or Democrat, the people of Clark County still have two things on their minds, and those are our increasingly high taxes and the economy," he said.

Benton's doorbell team have reached about 7,000 doorsteps throughout the county to encourage voters to make their concerns heard, he said. He added that he plans to coninue a vigorous campaign that will gain in momentum as the November election approaches.

He credits his success in this election to his fight to lower taxes.

"As we face this tough economy, taxpayers get a double whammy placed on them from housing costs and mortgage inflation, then a big property tax bill," he said. "It is a grave, grave concern to most of my constituents regardless of their political party."

Benton said voters recognize he has a strong working knowledge of how to navigate through the legislative process, and he thinks they are pleased with the representation they have received so far. He added that he is humbled and proud of their support.

"I added my name to the no-tax pledge, and have never voted for a tax increase," he said. "We don't need to increase them, we need to reduce them. The government needs to run more efficiently and be more responsive to the citizens."

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