Originally published Monday, October 31st in The Daily World – Letter to the Editor

Supporting Walsh

By Peter Scroggs

I have known Jim Walsh for over 10 years and have found him to be a good family man, a smart businessperson and someone who is more passionate about seeing Grays Harbor thrive than many of us who were born here.

I believe he will take that passion to Olympia and speak loudly about jobs and the other needs of rural communities that often get swept aside by the big city legislators.

In this era of political mudslinging, it’s hard to know what candidates really stand for. I have found it helpful to try and focus on the qualities of the individual person, and I believe Jim Walsh has the intelligence and the drive we need in our State Representative.

Pete Scroggs

Aberdeen

WA REALTORS PAC SUPPORTS JIM WALSH

FOR OPEN WA HOUSE SEAT IN LD19

Realtors Group Points Out that Walsh is NOT a Professional Lobbyist

and DOES Represent Local Values

October 27, 2016 — Longview, WA — The Washington Realtors PAC and affiliated groups have created and distributed an effective direct-mail package supporting Republican Jim Walsh’s campaign for the Washington State Legislature (Position 1, Legislative District 19).

“I’m honored to have the support of the Realtors in this state,” says Walsh. “And I have to say, their mailer has been very effective. At this point in the election cycle, voters see dozens and dozens of mailers. But in just a few days I’ve heard from many people in my district who’ve noticed and have taken time to read this one.”

Here is the text of the Realtors PAC mailer:

Make Your Choice

Jim Walsh is a small businessman. He and his family live in Aberdeen. He deserves your vote. Why? Consider your ballot choice….

• Publicly Supported a State Income Tax Jim Walsh-No
• Eliminate Burdensome Laws on Fishing & Forest Industries Jim Walsh-Yes
• Supported by the NRA Jim Walsh-Yes
• Is a Professional Lobbyist Jim Walsh-No
• Supported by Working People in the Building Trades Jim Walsh-Yes
• Will Fight Against Job-Killing Regulations Coming Out of Olympia and Seattle Jim Walsh-Yes

….And Don’t Forget EDUCATION!

Our children are out future. The Legislature needs to resolve Education funding this next session.

Jim wants that funding to put more teachers in classrooms to reduce class size. He’ll fight to make sure teachers have the discretion to teach basic courses, instead of spending endless hours in test preparation.

Vote your ballot today.

Elect Jim Walsh, State Representative, Position 1, Legislative District 19.

Positive Change for Our Corner of Washington

• Family Wage Jobs
• Quality Education
• Ending Olympia Gridlock

“The 19^th District legislators will be faced with tough decisions in next year’s legislative session, and Jim Walsh is the person we want representing us.” The Daily News/Longview, September 23, 2016

Elect Jim Walsh, State Representative, Position 1, Legislative District 19

Friends of Jim Walsh (R)  .  Box 2259  .  Aberdeen, WA 98520  .  www.electjimwalsh.org

TIM SUTINEN ENDORSES JIM WALSH FOR

OPEN WA LD19 STATE HOUSE SEAT

Former Rival’s Support Brings Majority of Primary Votes to Walsh’s Side

October 25, 2016 — Longview, WA — Business owner and political activist Tim Sutinen has endorsed candidate Jim Walsh in the general election for the open Washington State House seat in Legislative District 19.

Sutinen, who ran as a Democrat in the August primary for the same House seat, says that Republican Walsh’s support from various business groups and local institutions has convinced him that Walsh is the best general-election candidate. Among the groups that have endorsed Walsh: the WA Affordable Housing Council, WA Farm Bureau, WA Dairy Farmers, WA Beverage Industry, WA Trucking Association, Citizens’ Alliance for Property Rights, WA Realtors, Hunters Heritage Council and the NRA.

Sutinen owns and operates Sutinen Consulting, which provides information-technology services to businesses around the Lower Columbia region.

As part of his endorsement, Sutinen wrote to Walsh: “I really, really hope you win. [I’ll do] anything I can to help you…. Democrats for Walsh!”

Accepting Sutinen’s endorsement, Walsh said: “I’m honored to have Tim’s support. He’s a fellow small-business owner. We’ve known each other for a few years now and agree on much more than we disagree. I fully expect Tim to help me stay focused in Olympia on the issues that are important to the people of LD19. No state income tax. A two-thirds supermajority requirement for new state taxes. Local control of school curriculums. Gun rights. Property rights.”

Sutinen’s endorsement, combined with Castle Rock Republican Val Halleck Tinney’s earlier support, means that Walsh’s campaign now has the backing of candidates who received 52% of the votes cast in the August primary election.

“This is critically important,” Walsh says. “My votes, plus Val’s and Tim’s, represent a majority of the votes cast in the primary. This is the new reality in this part of Washington. The local political landscape has changed.”

This is Jim Walsh. I’m grateful for The Daily News editorial board’s endorsement of my candidacy for the Washington State House, Position 1 in legislative District 19. I consider that endorsement a challenge—the best kind of challenge—to serve my neighbors well in Olympia.

The endorsement mentioned the clarity of my positions on taxes, gun rights and other issues. And I’m glad it did. I’ve worked hard to speak plainly and clearly, to avoid the usual double-talk and weasel words that we hear from so many politicians. I believe it’s essential to speak clearly, so you can hold me accountable for my actions as your representative in Olympia.

To recap, here are my positions on the issues that most local voters consider critical right now:

I categorically oppose a state income tax. And I’ve never qualified my opposition with weasel words like “at this time” or “in their current form.”

I support a two-thirds supermajority requirement for any legislation or initiative that creates a new state tax. Period.

I oppose all efforts to limit or restrict a law-abiding person’s right to own and keep firearms. Those efforts include this year’s Initiative 1491, which would undermine some gun owners’ due process rights.

Here are other important positions:

I’m committed to the adequate funding basic education, in accordance with the State Supreme Court’s McCleary decision.

Certain state agencies—including the Departments of Ecology, Fish and Wildlife and Corrections—have overstepped their constitutional roles or been horribly mismanaged and must be returned to closer oversight by the legislature. A more predictable and reliable regulatory culture will make attracting and retaining private-sector businesses easier. The leg can’t shy away from this responsibility.

I’m committed to reforming the state’s method of using property taxes to pay for public education, so that it is flatter and fairer for all property owners.

We can talk about tax policy. We can talk about gun rights and property rights. But, when I talk to voters in Longview and Kelso, you’re not so interested in the fine points of public policy. What you tell me is that something’s wrong. A growing number of people are living wretched lives. Public debate has become crude and harsh. And full of trivial bickering. You tell me that it makes no sense that this place—with deepwater ports facing Asia, commercial fishing fleets standing by, trees ready to be harvested and people wanting to work—is stuck in permanent recession.

And you’re right.

Of course, legislators can’t fix everything that ails a society. Government can’t repair the broken spirit of a man who injects heroin every morning or of a woman who prostitutes herself. Only people…each of us, in our own lives…can do that.

What government can do is make good, clear ground rules for living and doing business in a place—then get out of the way and let you live and do business as you choose. That’s the sort of government that I want to be part of.

Three decades ago, we accepted a bargain that’s defined our region since. The bargain was that we let radical interests in Seattle and Washington D.C. decimate our timber industry in exchange for an economy based on government benefits and their administration. Of course, that bargain never really worked.

We need a more vibrant, private-sector economy in this area. One that’s driven by local industrial and commercial activity—timber, transportation, fishing, construction—not by begging for budgetary scraps to teach homeless people how to cook kale.

A stronger local economy can lift our neighbors’ broken spirits.

We need to fight for that. For those neighbors. For businesses to see this area as a great place to be. For a local economy that will draw people—including our own children and grandchildren—here. For schools that produce self-reliant citizens. For keeping our property private and our privacy sacred.

I’ve fought to keep a solid marriage in times that don’t make that easy. I’ve fought to build a small business in an industry that’s gone through brutal changes. I’ve fought to raise good, self-reliant kids who contribute to our community. I’ve fought to advance personal liberty and your rights to live life as you choose.

In Olympia, I’ll fight for LD19—which has gotten the short end of government policies for a generation.

In Olympia, I’ll fight for you.

The general election is November 8. I hope you’ll vote for me.

WALSH ENDORSED BY

HUNTERS HERITAGE COUNCIL, WA DAIRY PAC

Recently, Jim Walsh’s campaign for the open Washington State House of Representatives seat in Legislative District 19 has received two important endorsements.

Jim has been endorsed by the Hunters Heritage Council of Washington.

The Hunters Heritage Council is an organization dedicated to political action on behalf of the hunting and related communities of Washington. The Council opposes regulation of wildlife through the initiative process and political rhetoric. It supports wildlife regulation based on science. The HHC also lobbies elected representatives “to enhance our hunting privileges for Washington State hunters and to fend off countless anti-hunting bills that are introduced every legislative cycle.”

Accepting HHC’s endorsement, Jim said:

Hunting and fishing are essential parts of living in this part of Washington. They’re recreation for some, a living for others. In either case, they’re more than occasional things. They’re ingrained in our culture here. So, I welcome HHC’s support. Its members understand that—in the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt—we need to conserve our natural resources so that all of us can use and enjoy them.

Jim has also been endorsed by the Washington Dairy PAC.

The Washington State Dairy Federation represents Washington’s 416 dairy farmers and has been the voice of dairy families since 1892. Dairy foods constitute the second-largest agricultural commodity produced in Washington, with a direct economic impact valued at $1.3 billion a year. The Dairy Federation is “proactive in working with state and federal agencies to better our practices and protect the quality of our milk and Washington’s natural resources.” Its PAC noted: “This endorsement reflects our members’ trust in you to lead our state, our communities, our rural farm families and in particular our dairy industry.”

Accepting the Dairy PAC’s endorsement, Jim said:

Our dairy farmers are a critical asset in Washington state. Lots of groups talk about being “stewards” of our natural resources—these people live that role every day. In Olympia, I’ll do all I can to keep their markets open and thriving, so that dairy farmers can continue to be a central part of our ag business.

Jim Walsh is a candidate for the Washington State House of Representatives. He’s running for the open House seat in the 19^th Legislative District—which runs south along the Pacific Coast from Grays Harbor to the mouth of the Columbia River, and then up-river to the cities of Longview and Kelso.

A small-business owner and father of five, Jim has been married for 27 years to Jamie MacKinnon Walsh. They live in the Broadway Hill neighborhood of Aberdeen, WA.

Jim finished first among five candidates in the August “top two” primary for the open House seat in LD19. The general election is on November 8, 2016.

For more information on Jim Walsh and his campaign for the Washington State House, see his website (www.electjimwalsh.org) or his campaign Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Jim-Walsh-943288459098642/).

I’m honored–and excited–to have won the primary election for the open House seat in WA Legislative District 19. I’m looking forward to a great general election race. And, once I get to Olympia, to helping make this area a better place to live and work.

In the 19th Legislative District(Southwest Washington), James Walsh had a good showing coming out of a very divided primary for Position 1 in the state legislature. This is one of the last rural districts still controlled by the Democratic Party in Washington State, and while a Republican hasn’t held a state office here since long before World War II, the winds of change seem to be blowing.

At this point, it isn’t clear which Democrat he will be facing in November –  incumbent and Legislative AideDemocrat JD Rossetti, and local Democrat activist Teresa Purcell.   Walsh bounced another Republican in the primary on Tuesday.  Despite the opportunity for picking up a seat in this legislative district, the Republican establishment has appeared lethargic and hesitant to move aggressively.

The Democrats, while divided and struggling to remain relevant in this district have benefited from historical inertia and the fact that the other legislative seat is held by Democrat Brian Blake, probably the most conservative Democrat legislator left in the state.

With the Washington state primary results coming in, the battle lines are being drawn over control of the state Legislature come the November elections.

By Joseph O’Sullivan
Seattle Times Olympia bureau

OLYMPIA — A pair of incumbent Washington state senators maintained small leads in Tuesday’s returns in two closely watched primary races.

The results will shape the contours of this fall’s battle for control of the Washington state Legislature.
Democrats hold a thin 50-to-48 House majority. In the Senate, Republicans hold power by a slender 26-23 edge.

In the Senate, Democrats are hoping to win a handful of open and contested seats, including the one in the 41st District held by Sen. Steve Litzow, R-Mercer Island. That’s a district that has sent Democrats to both its House seats and voted strongly for President Obama in 2012.

As of Tuesday night, Litzow narrowly led Democratic challenger Lisa Wellman, 48.7 percent to 47.7 percent.

Republicans, meanwhile, are hoping to defeat incumbent Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah, in the 5th District.

In Tuesday night’s returns, Mullet led challenger Chad Magendanz, R-Issaquah, who’s leaving his House seat to seek the Senate job, by just a few dozen votes. Mullet was pulling 50.15 percent of the vote, to 49.85 for Magendanz.

The tight race left both candidates optimistic. “I think they’re in a real hard spot for November,” Mullet said, referring to Republicans.

I think we’re in a great spot,” said Magendanz.

Democrats are also hoping to win the open 17th District seat to replace outgoing GOP Sen. Don Benton of Vancouver, most recently known for his high-profile advocacy of Donald Trump.
In that race, Democrat Tim Probst had a narrow lead over Lynda Wilson, a Republican state representative, with 50.7 percent of the vote to Wilson’s 49.3 percent.

In the 1st District, two Democrats and a Republican were vying for an open seat due to the retirement of Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell.

Republican Mindie Wirth led with 40.5 percent. Democrat Luis Moscoso had 29.9 percent, and Democrat Guy Palumbo 29.7 percent.

If the GOP keeps the Senate and takes over the House, it will have the power to craft budgets and other policy and force Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee — if he is re-elected — to rely on his veto powers.

If Democrats capture the Senate and improve their margin in the House, they might be able to pursue priorities such as gun regulation and climate-change legislation that have stalled in Olympia.

In the 31st District House race to replace retiring Democratic Rep. Chris Hurst of Enumclaw, Republican Phil Fortunato was leading with 39.5 percent of Tuesday’s vote, followed by Democrat Lane Walthers with 37.3 percent.

In the Snohomish County-area 44th District, Democrat John Lovick, a former Snohomish County executive, was leading Republican Janice Huxford with 52 percent of the vote. Huxford had 45.2 percent. The seat, vacated by Democrat Hans Dunshee, is in what’s considered a swing district.

In the 45th District, incumbent Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, had 62 percent, while Republican challenger Ramiro Valderrama drew 38 percent.

In the 5th District House race to replace Magendanz, Republican Paul Graves led with 47.2 percent. Democrat Darcy Burner had 36.1 percent and Democrat Matt Larson had 16.7 percent.

In another closely watched House race, in the 19th District, newly appointed Democratic Rep. JD Rossetti of Longview was locked in a contest with four other challengers. Two were members of his party: Teresa Purcell and Tim Sutinen. Republicans Jim Walsh and Val Tinney were also running.

Tuesday’s returns showed Walsh narrowly leading, with Rossetti in second.

In both 30th District House races Tuesday night, Democratic challengers were beating incumbent GOP Reps. Teri Hickel and Linda Kochmar, both of Federal Way.

This story, originally published on Aug. 2, has been corrected.  In the race for the 19th District House seat, Republican Jim Walsh was leading in Tuesday’s returns, not Democratic Rep. JD Rossetti.  And Rossetti was in second, not Teresa Purcell.