If Washington is such a deep blue state, then why is our state senate controlled by the Republican Party? Michelle Rylands, running for state senate from WA-31, is half of our big push to retake the senate. You can read about Manka Dhingra, of WA-45, the other half of our core recovery team, right over here…
Washington state is in a bad way, after being gridlocked for years. We can’t move on the state’s legal obligation to fund public schools. We can’t block environmental degradation at the hands of coal and oil companies, we can't move on addressing climate change. We can’t deal with economic disparity. We’re stuck with a grossly regressive tax structure. No progress on election reform.
We elect Democratic governors. We send two Democrats to the US Senate. We give our Electoral College votes to the Democratic candidate. Reliably, world without end, Amen. So...what's up with that Republican control of the state senate, then? Well, it's because King County, and more precisely, Seattle, is blue, and big enough to wag the dog on statewide elections. Or...are they? Not so fast... We have a Republican state treasurer and a Republican secretary of state. See, we've been ignoring the state itself for decades. Local Democratic Party organizations have withered. The state party hasn't paid attention to much outside of the "reliably blue" areas. We don't even run candidates everywhere. Pulled in our horns, retreated into our safe space, we did. Now, we're attempting to climb back out, start activating Democrats across the state, win over people who haven't heard our message, run everywhere,...and take back the state senate so we can start getting real work done.
We have two critical red-to-blue state senate races that we believe we can win. But we're not leaving the districts they're in to go it alone. Our newly revived state party has a new idea -- safe districts can help others. That's why I, from WA-46, am writing on behalf of Michelle Rylands, in WA-31. That's why WA-46 has been doing GOTV with WA-31 and WA-45, and directing funding their way.
Now, let me introduce you to Michelle Rylands.
Michelle is a US Army veteran who currently works in 911 dispatch. She's president of the Auburn, WA council of PTAs, a Teamster, and a member of the American Legion. Michelle and her husband both have law enforcement backgrounds. Michelle says:
The 31st has traditionally been a red district. I expect to run up against old ways and old ideas. I feel that with my military and law enforcement background, I can break down some of the stereotypes that Dems are anti-gun and anti-law enforcement. I also know that we are such a divided government right now…national and local level. It’s so much easier to just oppose than work together. I feel that my PTA experience of having to work with families who mostly don’t believe the same way you do, gives me a great advantage of working with all ideas.
Michelle’s key issues are:
Improving our schools
In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled our legislature was failing at meeting our most basic duty—funding public education. Five years later legislators are still dragging out the legislative session in a standoff that costs taxpayers money, and doesn’t help our students, families or schools. Five years later, we continue to fund our schools with box tops, fun runs, and raffles. Five years later, we’re still trying to manage without the funding we desperately need. Classrooms are packed, students are using old textbooks and schools are understaffed.
As a mom and PTA President, I see the gaps in our schools firsthand and I know our kids deserve better. I want to be students’, schools’, teachers’ and families’ advocate in Olympia. In one of the most innovative states in the country, we better be able to provide the education our students need and deserve.
Our legislature is not doing enough to make sure we have the tools and resources our students and teachers need to be successful. I intend to fight for our kids every chance I get.
Getting our transportation system moving again
Getting to work and school is taxing on our community – in more ways than one! Workers and students spend hours each week stuck in traffic, rather than being home with their families. The legislature’s approach to addressing infrastructure challenges has been to raise gas taxes and car tabs to fund mega projects in cities like Seattle and Bellevue. A gas tax hits residents living in the suburbs and rural communities the hardest. Car tab taxes can only be increased so far before they’re just simply unaffordable.
We need to be more creative in coming up with solutions. We can’t keep imposing regressive taxes on families trying to get to work, and we need to pay attention to the different transportation needs within the rural areas and suburbs.
I intend to fight for solutions that will clear our roads without adding more regressive tax burdens.
Building a strong local economy
While Seattle-based corporations continue to receive multi-billion-dollar tax breaks, our local mom and pop shops are struggling to keep their doors open. This dynamic doesn’t help small businesses or workers trying to make ends meet. Small business owners should be at the table when it comes to B&O tax discussions, so they know lawmakers will take their needs into account. At the same time, we must close corporate tax loopholes and ensure that corporations making billions and shipping our jobs out of state pay their fair share.
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We need to make it easier for small businesses to flourish, thrive, and create good jobs in our community. We can do that by listening to small business owners and their workers and prioritizing our local community over national corporations’ interests. As your next State Senator, I am committed to making it easier for small-town businesses to thrive so we can work where we live and achieve our American dreams.
Protecting the environment for our children and setting Washington up to lead in clean energy
I am concerned about the growing number of communities in our country that have gone without clean drinking water for years. In the small town of Carbonado, sewage is leaking from their 100-year-old clay sewer lines. ... In Auburn, the coal trains run right by our elementary schools, layering coal dust on our kids’ play areas. That is unacceptable. When elected, I will not put political games over the wellbeing of our residents and the environment.
I believe that Washington is uniquely poised to be a leader in the green economy. There is significant potential for workers in industries that are fading, particularly the fossil fuel industry and other manufacturing that is becoming more automated by the day, to be retrained and placed in clean energy jobs. These jobs should and can be family wage jobs with benefits. I would like to invest in our K-12 system and CTEs to provide strong STEM curriculum, to build thriving apprenticeship programs, and to make the idea of retraining a little more accessible and a little less scary those who will be needing to make a career change in the coming years.
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Want to help us? If you’re in the area, please see Michelle’s Facebook page for upcoming canvass events. In particular...
- Monday night, Oct. 30, at 6pm there will be a Voters Circle event — reaching out to people outside your immediate network via email.
- Or, at the same time, you can phonebank.
- And on election day, Tuesday Nov. 7, there will be phonebanking all day, from 10am to 7pm.
Watch for additional events during the week.
Of course, whether you’re in the area or far away, you can donate to the campaign.
Important note! (Thanks to Assaf, who pointed this out!) WA is a vote-by-mail state, and ballots are already in voters’ hands. So if we want to influence them, we gotta do it really soon! So if you want to jump in on donations and GOTV work, now is the right time!
Campaign website: michellerylands.nationbuilder.com
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/...
WA-31 Democrats: stdistrictdemocrats.org