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.”