10-19-2018
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — On Thursday night, seven candidates running for seats in state government sounded off on local issues during a forum at Meridian High School.
The Hirst Decision and fix in January of this year was the top forum question.
Republican State Senator Doug Ericksen and his challenger, Bellingham City Council member and Democrat Pinky Vargas, had quite opposite views.
“The Hirst Decision was an unmitigated disaster. It was a Supreme Court overreach and we attempted to fix it in the legislature…..there’s plenty of water in Whatcom County,” said Ericksen.
Vargas countered: “We have an absolute challenge with water. We are not the only ones suffering with this. The whole country is worried about water.”
Republican State Representative Vincent Buys and challenger Sharon Shewmake agreed the fix needs work.
“As a legislator, I do support the Hirst Decision as it was passed. I helped write that decision. Unfortunately, in negotiations you don’t get everything you want,” said Buys.
Shewmake stated, “I’ll be willing to work across the aisle. I’ll be willing to use economic solutions to find win-win solutions that are better for our farmers and better for the environment.”
Republican State Representative Luanne Van Werven, challenger Justin Boneau, and 40th District candidate Michael Petrish joined the others sharing their stance on income tax, the current initiatives and more in the event which lasted more than two hours.
Common Threads Northwest recorded the whole event, and has it available for viewing on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j_C1ILOSag