State Senate seat in 42nd among a handful Dems hope to flip in blue wave

The state Senate race for the 42nd district is heating up between Republican incumbent Doug Ericksen, and two-term Bellingham City Councilmember, Pinky Vargas.

The district – which includes Whatcom County and parts of Bellingham — has long been held by a Republican, not just in the one Senate seat, but also both of its House seats.

RELATED: KIRO Radio Voter’s Guide for 2018

Ericksen has served in the Senate for eight years, and another 12 in the House before that. But after serving in a temporary position in the Trump administration, he is often linked to the President’s politics. Democrats think that gives them a solid shot at flipping the seat.

Ericksen previously worked for the Trump administration, as communications directors for the president’s environmental agency transition team. He was later offered a position in the EPA, but turned it down to remain a state senator.

Ericksen, who nabbed just 46 percent of the vote in the primary compared to a combined 53 percent between his two Democratic opponents, admits that it was a less than ideal showing. This time around, he’s hoping for a “shocking” Republican turnout that’s “off the charts.”

And Ericksen doesn’t believe his connection to President Trump is a threat.

“What’s impacting the election up here, there’s a lot of the [Brett] Kavanaugh issue is still impacting people and motivating them to come out to vote,” Ericksen said.

“Democrats clearly had control over that situation with the Kavanaugh hearing. I also think most people understand that President Trump had nothing to do with the package bombs being sent out by a crazy man or the terrible shooting in Pennsylvania has nothing to do with President Trump.”

Ericksen’s challenger

His Democratic challenger, Bellingham City Councilmember Pinky Vargas, says she’s running because she doesn’t think Ericksen’s record, that includes voting against the Breakfast for the Bell program for low income students, represents the district well.

Her priorities include bringing fiscal responsibility to Olympia.

“We have to make sure we’re looking at how we are using our money in the state right now, making sure that the distribution is right, make sure that we’re paying for the right things and that we’re getting rid of as many tax loopholes that shouldn’t have been there, that were given to us 20 years ago, and no longer provide the jobs they were supposed to,” Vargas said.

“I think we can do a cleanup, and I know that that has been attempted before but I think if we have a Democratic majority it is much more likely that some of those will actually go away,” she added.

But Ericksen says his record shows he’s the fiscally responsible one, and insists Vargas leans far in the other direction.

“In Olympia, I’ve been a champion of smaller budgets [and] controlling spending. Me and Senator Mike Baumgartner out of Spokane have been the leaders of pushing for a two-thirds requirement to the Legislature before a tax increase can even be considered. I think that’s one of the crucial things, I understand that the last thing any government official, any government should do is raise taxes, reach into your wallet and take more of your money,” Ericksen said, adding, “We should be returning money to the people of Washington state because of the great economy we have right now.”

Ericksen says Vargas will do the opposite.

Vargas and her tax positions

“I’ve never seen a Democrat candidate in Whatcom County run so hard and so fast to the left. There’s not a tax that my opponent doesn’t want to raise. She’s a huge supporter of Initiative 1631, which is the energy tax [that] has huge job consequences for Whatcom County and all throughout Washington state — income tax she supports, capital gains income tax she supports,” Ericksen said.

Vargas says she does not support an income tax – yet.

“Not at this point, No. I’m not ready to go there yet and I don’t want to sound wishy-washy about it but I would say no. I’ll say no this point,” Vargas said.

Ericksen says couching her response with a “not at this time” means she will support the tax later.

Dori Monson responds to Vargas’ take on a state income tax

Upon hearing Vargas’ answer on a potential income tax, Ericksen joked to KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson that Vargas “must have gone to the ‘Governor Jay Inslee Profiles in Courage Academy.'”

“That is the most wishy-washy-squishy answer you could ever have, which, coming from her, means she definitely supports an income tax,” Ericksen said. “She couldn’t have made it any more clear with that comment she made, but didn’t have the courage to actually step right up and say it.”

According to Ericksen, it is more important than ever to have a strong Republican representation in the Legislature as a check on the “bad ideas coming out of Jay Inslee.” He believes that Inslee is preparing to run for president in 2020, and will therefore attempt to pass every manner of tax he can think of before then.

“He’s going to try to turn Washington state into some type of petri dish for every far-left thing he can possibly do to try to get the Democrat crazy left on his side in the presidential primary,” he said.

Ericksen finds it ironic that while Vargas called Washington’s tax system regressive, she supports Initiative 1631, the carbon tax that Ericksen said would be the most regressive tax the state has ever seen.

“It’s a $30-billion tax increase that targets the middle class and low income and fixed-income seniors the most,” he said.

And it’s a tax that could have an even greater impact on Whatcom County families besides the higher cost at the pump. The oil refineries in the 42nd Legislative District that provide 10,000 jobs have looked into sending jobs to China, Ericksen said.

However, constituents won’t hear Vargas addressing these impacts at any town halls, according to Ericksen.

“I offered my opponent four to six town hall-style debates, and she refused any of them,” he said. “Because she simply does not want the people of Whatcom County to know where she stands on crucial issues like the income tax, like the energy tax, like what these taxes will do to our farmers in Whatcom County.”

Vargas says the carbon fee is an important step toward reducing our use of fossil fuels, though she admits she has concerns about gas price increases and heating costs that could hit low income communities hardest.

Vargas also supports a capital gains tax.

“I totally recognize that we have a regressive tax system and it is not beneficial to us – for the state – and we need to figure out how to have a more equitable playing field, and I think [a] capital gains tax is one way to do that, Vargas said.

Ericksen says that’s just more evidence of not just his opponent’s, but the entire state Democratic leadership’s far left agenda.

“They want a tax on pretty much everything you can think of to go up, and so this really almost socialist agenda, I think you probably could call it a socialist agenda being pushed right now by the state democrats, it is out of step and out of touch with where the majority of Washingtonians want to go,” Ericksen said.

Vargas wants to fix the state’s regressive tax system and move away from relying on just sales and property taxes, but says there other fixes that need to happen first.

Ericksen will again push for a two-thirds majority vote rule for the legislature to raise taxes and tax reform that leads to a fairer flatter tax system without an income tax.

On education

On education, Ericksen says he’s been a leader in getting the state in compliance with the McCleary order, but just because they’ve satisfied the court doesn’t mean they’re done.

“Fully funding does not mean a better product for our kids and for our parents, and what I fundamentally believe is we need greater choice on how and where their kids are educated,” Ericksen said.

“I believe parents need more control. I am very concerned about what’s happening in public schools, I think parents should be able to vote with their feet – take their money and go where they think is best for them and their family,” He added.

Ericksen says he’ll make education funding a priority and push for 75 percent of all government growth to go to education.

Vargas doesn’t believe McCleary fully funded Washington’s basic education system.

“Certainly special education wasn’t funded and school staff support, we lack for school mental health counselors, Vargas said. “We are so far away from fully funding education that we need to figure out, how as a state, we are going to get our education system up to par.”

On local issues for Whatcom County, Vargas says she’ll push for investments in bridges and roads, and fight to attract well-paying employers to the area.

Ericksen says he’ll fight for local farmers and protect and expand manufacturing jobs in the community that are under attack by higher taxes, increased regulations, and international competition.

Gun control and health care

He calls I-1639, the sweeping gun control measure on the ballot, an overstep that makes criminals out or law-abiding gun owners, and claims it won’t stop real criminals from getting guns.

Vargas is backing the gun control initiative.

They both support reform that makes health care more affordable and accessible, but have different ideas on how to get there.

Vargas wants to move toward a single-payer health care system to give everyone equal access, which she says is a right not a privilege.

Ericksen says that puts the government in charge of all your health care decisions, including choosing your doctor, and he doesn’t think that’s the kind of system Washingtonians want. He plans to keep pushing to fix Obamacare mandates and get insurance companies and government out of the way so people can talk to their doctors.

It’s one of a handful of races Democrats are focusing on this election season, and Vargas is confident she can take it. But Ericksen says he feels good about winning his seat, and with Republicans so energized he thinks they have a great chance of picking up a few seats.

KIRO Radio’s Nicole Jennings contributed to this article

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