Affordable housing, reproductive rights, health care, school funding, and the environment topped the list of concerns Port Townsend residents raised with Democratic candidates Emily Randall (D-Bremerton) and Eric Pickens (D-Sequim) at the Port Townsend Indivisible meeting on March 12.

State Senator Randall is running for the open 6th District Congressional seat currently filled by Derek Kilmer, who is not running. Pickens, a teacher and school board member, is running for the open seat in the state legislature currently filled by Mike Chapman, who is running for state Senate. They each introduced themselves briefly before taking questions from the audience.

The meet-and-greet program, open to the public, is part of Port Townsend Indivisible’s election focus. The next meeting on April 9 at 5 p.m. will be held at the Unity Center, 3918 San Juan Avenue, and features congressional candidate Hilary Franz (D-Seabrook) and Adam Bernbaum (D-Port Angeles), candidate for state legislature. State legislative candidate Nate Tyler (D-Clallam County) presented in February. Matthew Roberson (R-Port Angeles) is also running for the legislative seat. The other contender for the congressional seat is state Senator Drew MacEwan (R-Shelton).

Randall, who said she grew up in a working class family, maintains a focus on reproductive choice and expansion of access to healthcare, two issues she hopes address at the national level. She expressed concern that her Keep Our Care Act did not pass in this legislative session. In response to questions on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, she expressed distress over the suffering and hopes for solutions. Asked why she was looking to go to Washington at such a difficult time, Randall commented, “I’m not willing to give up on on our country. We have to fight for the kind of future our children and grandchildren deserve.”

Pickens spoke of his background as a teacher and union leader and how he is motivated to make a larger difference than he could at the local level. Better pay for educators, access to health care, and affordable housing for workers are high on his agenda. He supports lowering the threshold for passage of school bonds to a simple majority. “The zip code should not determine the quality of facilities,” he said.

Port Townsend Indivisible is an all-volunteer organization and part of the national group, Indivisible, a grassroots movement with a mission to elect progressive leaders.

Gina McMather is a resident of Port Townsend and serves as Leadership Team chair at Port Townsend Indivisible.