Voters will decide which two of the three candidates for the 6th Legislative District, Position 2 will advance from the primary to the general election, choosing between Republican Jonathan Bingle, Independent Aaron Croft and Democrat Julia Payne.
Each candidate claims a differing perspective on what makes them best qualified to represent the district, which encompasses communities on the West Plains and areas of northwest Spokane County. Outgoing state Rep. Jenny Graham, a Republican, announced earlier this year she would not seek re-election.
Croft, a retired Air Force veteran, highlighted his many years in military service. “I've been in charge of budgets in the hundreds of millions of dollars and have led teams from people of all walks of life,” he wrote in his RANGE questionnaire.
In her questionnaire, Payne wrote that she is “not a professional politician.” She said her experience in the workforce and living below the poverty line makes her more empathetic to the challenges of the working class.
While Bingle did not respond to the questionnaire, many Spokane citizens know him as a former District 1 Spokane City Council Member. He lost his bid for re-election last November to progressive Sarah Dixit. His website says he opposes all forms of income tax, including new taxes on capital gains income. He says on his website that, if elected, he will try to advance “zero-based budgeting”, a financial strategy that requires justification of every expense at the start of each new budget cycle, instead of adding a percentage to previous year's funding. Bingle would also push for strong performance audits.
Croft, who initially filed to run for Congress before pivoting to the state House, said properly funding the Washington Public Disclosure Commission, the state agency that regulates political spending and lobbying, would be one of his priorities. The agency has been historically underfunded, with some complaints taking years to investigate due to lack of staff and updated technology.
“I will push for increased funding and stronger investigative authority so disclosure requirements have real teeth,” Croft said on his website.
Payne called for strengthening wildfire prevention and support resources for the region.
“Wildfires do not respect district boundaries; making sure that the whole of our state is protected and on guard to avoid major wildfire incidents is the only way to protect all of us,” Payne wrote in her questionnaire. “Additionally, we need to make sure that our firefighters are equipped and trained and properly compensated at all times.”
All three candidates have addressed homelessness in Spokane as a key issue. Bingle has supported replacing Housing First mandates with treatment-first models, meaning people would have to go through treatment before they have access to public housing, auditing statewide homelessness spending and results, supporting recovery-focused programs, “with accountability built in.”
“I have been a long-time fan of the Spokane based charity ‘Family Promise,’ a non-profit focused on getting homeless families and kids into stable living conditions so they can start rebuilding their life,” Croft wrote in his questionnaire. “Our state government should be aiding these projects that have a direct benefit to our lives across the state.”
Payne said multi-focus programs are “the only solution to homelessness.”
“Some people need treatment-first approaches to their situation, some need housing first approaches,” Payne wrote. “The programs that have the best success rates come from a place of encouraging self advocacy.”
Bingle’s endorsements include U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner (WA-5th Dist.), former U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, outgoing state Reps. Jenny Graham and Mike Volz, and several Spokane County officials. Bingle’s campaign has raised $126,312 as of July 22. Some of the contributors include Puget Sound Energy, A.I.S. Inc., Washington Association of Realtors, Build East Pac, and Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs.
Croft’s endorsements include Fuse WA’s Progressive Voter’s Guide, Spokane City Council Members Zack Zappone, Kate Telis and Paul Dillon, and state Sen. Marcus Riccelli. He has raised $29,872 for his campaign. Some of the top contributors are Washington Machinists Council, West 117 LLC, and his own campaign fundraising.
Some of Payne’s endorsements are Washington's 6th Legislative District Democrats, Spokane County Democrats, and the Washington State Democrats Veterans and Military Families Caucus. Her campaign has raised $1,134. Most of her contributions come from herself.
Sophia Mattice-Aldous is a Murrow News fellow working directly with newsrooms at The Newport Miner and RANGE Media through a program administered by Washington State University. Her reporting is available for use via Creative Commons with credit.
