In a way, one could look at the 5th Congressional District primary race as 2014 2.0 – plus one.
Four candidates are running to unseat incumbent Congresswoman Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, who is running for her seventh consecutive term. Three of those candidates, Tom Horne (Republican), Joe Pakootas (Democrat) and Dave Wilson (Independent) ran in 2014, with Pakootas advancing to the general election with 30.43 percent of the vote.
Joining those three is Libertarian Party candidate Krystol McGee, who like the other three candidates, is seeking election to public office for the first time.
Both Pakootas and Wilson have some elected experience, with Pakootas serving 16 years as a council member of the Colville Confederate Tribe of Indians — five years as chair — and Wilson nine years on the Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training, three years as vice-chair and three years as chair.
Wilson garnered 12.28 percent of the vote running as an independent in 2014. He champions himself as an alternative to the two established parties, offering a middle ground on issues but focusing on a central theme — ending legislative gridlock in Washington D.C.
“This is one of my primary reasons for running for Congress,” Wilson said.
Wilson advocates “pro-growth economic polices in Eastern Washington and nationwide” that seek to find middle ground on things such as health care and infrastructure. He also places a heavy focus on education, understandable considering his role in creating Interface College and community service on boards such as the Northwest Career College Federation and the Washington State Private School Advisory Committee.
“In order to compete in the global, knowledge-based economy, Americans need high-quality, affordable education from pre-K to university,” Wilson said. “Investing in education will reduce income inequality and grow our economy.”
Pakootas touts his experience not only as a small business owner for 30 years, but also as chief executive officer of the Colville Confederated Tribes. As CEO, he turned around a corporation that was $8.1 million in the red into one that is now $2.9 million in the black in just nine months on the job.
Pakootas said he has done the same in his current position with the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho, restoring their finances so that their government would be able to operate for at least one year should an economic catastrophe occur. His success, he says, is an ability to create cooperation, something he hopes to use in D.C.
“I can work across party lines,” Pakootas said. I know how to compromise for the good of the whole.”
Horne presents himself as the candidate Republicans dissatisfied with McMorris Rodgers can vote for and still vote Republican. He received 7.79 percent of the primary election vote in 2014.
A retired mechanical engineer and former U.S. Marine Corps officer, Horne also touts better paying jobs but also reducing the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulation-writing ability, restricting the relationship between corporations and government and returning home American jobs shipped to other countries through large trade agreements.
“We need more good jobs, the same as in the rest of the country,” Horne said.
McGee did not respond to requests for information or provide answers to a Cheney Free Press questionnaire. On the Spokane County’s website, he lists only his professional experience, which has been a truck driver for about 40 years.
In his statement, he said he believes the country has changed directions from the one the Founding Fathers set. If elected, he would adhere to following the Constitution “to the letter” without additions or interpretations.
McMorris Rodgers is running on her record representing the 5th District, touting the need for federal government reforms in many areas, putting bureaucrats at agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service and EPA back in touch with the people they serve through better oversight and less regulation. She notes her bipartisan work in expanding and preserving the mission of Fairchild Air Force Base, preventing and combating wildfires, protecting rural health care and addressing problems in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
Reader Comments(0)