Many of you know this already, but if you have been out of town, Rep. Van de Wege is going to run for Senator Jim Hargrove’s old seat. I have the highest respect for him and while I’ll wait to see who might want to challenge him, I think he is a slam dunk for the role. Thank you Rep. Van de Wege for continuing your public service. You have been very balanced in your views. While I do not always agree with every stand you take, they have all been well thought out and almost always support environmental issues while balancing job needs.
From the Port Townsend Leader.
State Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim, announced his campaign March 21 for the state Senate seat in the 24th Legislative District, vacated by retiring state Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam.
The 24th District represents the Olympic Peninsula, including Hoquiam, Ocean Shores, Elma, McCleary, Forks, Port Townsend, Sequim and Port Angeles.
“I’m excited to announce my candidacy to the state Senate. It’s an opportunity to keep working on creating family wage jobs, championing our public schools and working to keep improving the quality of life for every resident on the peninsula,” Van De Wege said in a press release.
Van De Wege currently serves as majority whip with the House Democratic Caucus, a position he has held since 2010. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 2006 and is in his fifth term; he would need to seek re-election this year. In the House he serves on the Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee, Health Care Committee, Rules Committee and is a member of the Commerce and Gaming Committee.
Additionally, since this post, Mike Chapman of Port Angeles and Tammy Ramsey of Hoquiam have also announced their candidacies. It’s great to see a variety of choices coming forward in the Democrats. If some of these folks fail, we how that they will continue on in public service. I’m not familiar with Tammy Ramsey nor her background on environmental issues. Mike Chapman while originally starting as a Republican changed parties. He has been quoted as being in favor of repealing the Critical Areas Ordinance of Clallam County, so his change to the Democratic party puts him on the far conservative wing of the party, and out of touch of a majority of the Democratic voters of his district. I’ll be reporting on both of these candidates environmental positions and backgrounds in the future.
Hoquiam Democrat eyes 24th Legislative District seat
Filed under: Puget Sound | Tagged: Puget Sound |
Personally would prefer to see some JEFFERSON COUNTY people in state office positions. As Hargrove said in his statement, 80% of what he was dealing with was from Jefferson.
Someone ought to run! Nothing stopping them.