State Senate 24th District
CONNIE BEAUVAIS
(Republican Party)

What makes you the best choice in your race to represent the residents of Legislative District 24 in Olympia?

The background and experience I will bring to this position is far broader and deeper than my opponent’s. I am a port commissioner with the Port of Port Angeles, was a Clallam County Planning Commissioner for eight years, and a Coast Guard Auxiliarist for five years. I have worked for K-12 schools, the University of Alaska and the federal government, and have owned several small successful businesses. I manage a large drinking water system and own an alpaca farm. My husband and I had commercial crab and halibut licenses in Alaska, and we have a small sawmill.

I understand how government impacts citizens, businesses and our environment, and how important timber, fishing and hospitality industries are to our communities. In my book, every business and every job are essential — essential to our community and to our families.

I make decisions based on what we have learned in the past, what is not working, and what the impact of decisions being considered have on citizens, local economies, the environment, and the long term. That includes doing research and listening to those who will be impacted to make the best decisions possible.

What’s your top priority if you win in November?

I have several top priorities.

First is to balance the state budget without increasing the tax burden on citizens. There should have been a special session called of the Legislature. Each day that goes by puts the state deeper in the hole as spending continues with fewer days to balance the budget. My opponent says he will cut what he can in the budget and increase taxes to cover the rest.  That is not the right answer to help this economy recover. 

We need to use good common sense at the state level to reduce spending, just as businesses and families have done during this pandemic.

The Legislature needs to review the governor’s power in an emergency. 

Citizens have not been represented in the blanket decisions that have been made during COVID. The people’s representatives should have been heard in a public session.

I will work to get all our businesses reopened while keeping all employees safe.

I will work to get our kids and grandkids properly educated while keeping students and staff safe from COVID.

I will work on health care availability.

I will work to properly fund police and fire district programs.

What’s the biggest difference between you and your opponent?

I have signed a pledge to not increase net taxes.

We do not need government programs and tax revenues increased by $1 billion like what was approved this year on top of an already record-breaking budget.

We do not need increased snowmobile registration fees, fishing licenses, car dealer license fees, and tolling lanes that only the rich can afford when they go to work. We do not need gas taxes increased, disproportionately hurting rural areas. We do not need to be taxed for food items like bottled water, candy, and soda.

All these taxes and more were approved by your current senator. My approach will be very different.

I will work to increase fish production in this state, not decrease it.

I will work to make our public forests more resilient and not allow harvest arrearages that are to the detriment of timber counties.

My opponent always votes with the I-5 corridor. You deserve a senator who will make decisions based on impacts to the 24th District. I will do that for you. I will be seen by the public and listen carefully to your voice. Vote for Connie Beauvais, WA State Senate District 24.

State Senate 24th District
KEVIN VAN DE WEGE
(Democratic Party)

What makes you the best choice in your race to represent the residents of Legislative District 24 in Olympia?

My knowledge of our district and my 14 years representing our priorities in the Legislature. 

I make it a point to know what our communities need and I work effectively with my colleagues all over the political spectrum and across the aisle to pass legislation that makes our communities stronger. 

I’m a good listener, I care deeply about the diverse needs of our very different communities from one end of the district to the other, and I work hard to make sure that our communities’ priorities are respected and addressed whether the bill in question is a narrowly focused local bill or broader statewide legislation. 

I don’t try to play games or misrepresent what I stand for (or what anyone else stands for, for that matter) and I’m consistent in my priorities. Even those who disagree with me, and that’s going to happen from time to time, know that I say what I mean and I mean what I say — and that they can count on me to be honest with them and give straight answers regardless of what I think they want to hear.

What’s your top priority if you win in November?

My overarching priority will be the same as it has been for some months now: to pursue and support practices that keep COVID-19 infections from spreading while restoring everyone’s ability to return to work, school and all the other activities and pursuits that have been suspended or curtailed during the pandemic. 

Nothing is more important right now than health, jobs and normalcy. 

In one respect, my top priority is no different than it has been in every year that I have served in the Legislature — to promote the creation of family-wage jobs in our rural communities. This is a major challenge for rural communities, and it needs to remain our top priority if our communities are to continue to be attractive places to live. 

The pandemic complicates that challenge, as we need to enact policies that contain the spread of COVID-19, but the number-one need for our communities is still jobs — good-paying jobs that make for stable, secure households and robust communities.

What’s the biggest difference between you and your opponent?

As a career firefighter, I interact daily with people in their greatest and most serious time of need. You can’t do my job without seeing up close people’s real lives and real challenges. 

And it’s not just the problem of the moment but how other everyday household conditions might affect or compound whatever specific emergency I am responding to. Someone with ongoing health problems or financial struggles is going to have a harder time bouncing back from a fire or a serious injury; this knowledge shapes my legislative priorities and the decisions I make on all kinds of bills because I see firsthand what people