We endorse: Wilcox, Penner in Legislative Dist. 2 are reliable picks for rural Pierce
Leadership matters at a time when state officials must pull Washington out of a projected $9 billion budget nosedive, a COVID-19 shutdown and an economic meltdown. It absolutely should matter to rural Washingtonians who feel forgotten by urban-dominated state government.
Rep. JT Wilcox, R-Yelm, hasn’t forgotten his rural roots, even as he gave up managing the five-generation family farm business to focus on state GOP leadership.
The TNT Editorial Board endorses Wilcox’s reelection bid in Washington’s 2nd Legislative District, which straddles Pierce and Thurston counties, from the agricultural valleys to the Mount Rainier foothills.
Wilcox’s steady hand is especially important for Eatonville, Graham, Roy, McKenna and the rest of the district as they’re about to lose another senior leader. Republican Sen. Randi Becker is retiring after 12 years.
The open Senate seat attracted six candidates in the Aug. 4 primary. Republican Josh Penner earns our endorsement because of his elected experience, poise, principles and pragmatism.
Penner, a 37-year-old Iraq War veteran, is a policy maker on the rise who’s paid his dues; he’s served as Pierce County charter review commissioner, Orting planning commissioner, city councilman and now mayor.
Keeping faith with District 2’s fiscal-conservative spirit, Penner pushed for Orting to waive local car tab fees, pending court review of voter-approved state Initiative 976. Emergency management skills are also useful in the coronavirus era, and Penner runs a city in the direct path of a lahar that will someday sweep down from Mount Rainier.
Three other solid Senate candidates met with our Editorial Board. Gina Blanchard-Reed is director of a domestic violence shelter, a Graham fire commissioner and has crossover support from labor and business. Ronda Litzenberger is an Eatonville School Board member who has Becker’s endorsement and pledges to prioritize state education funding. Matthew Smith is a Marine Corps veteran (like Penner), youth pastor and legislative session aide who wants to cut taxes.
Two other candidates weren’t considered for endorsement after declining to meet with us. Rick Payne is the only Democrat in the race. Jim McCune is a former state representative and term-limited Pierce County councilman seeking a new job.
McCune has broad name familiarity in District 2, but his brand of staunch Trump Republicanism could leave him marginalized in Olympia if elected.
Penner, by contrast, works hard not to be seen as what he calls a “demagogue Republican.”
While Penner is a reliable choice for state Senate, Wilcox earns our endorsement hands down for House Position 2. The reasons to retain him go well beyond the 2nd District.
The South Sound is lucky to have a pair of influential leaders in the top echelon of the Washington House. Rep. Laurie Jinkins of Tacoma gets more attention leading majority Democrats in her first year as House speaker. But Wilcox flexes political muscle as House minority caucus leader the past two years. Jinkins and Wilcox arrived in Olympia together in the freshman class of 2011 and despite clear partisan differences, they’re members of the mutual respect club.
What most distinguishes the 57-year-old Wilcox is his budget acumen, dating to his first term when lawmakers had to dig out of a $5 billion hole created during the Great Recession. “I learned some lessons that I’ll never forget,” he told us,” and I think they’re going to be valuable again.”
He means as the state recovers from an economic shutdown now dragging into a fifth month. Give Wilcox credit for seeing trouble ahead — “storm clouds,” he warned in a House speech before lawmakers approved billions in new spending, then adjourned March 12.
Wilcox has two primary election challengers.
Matt Marshall calls himself a constitutional Republican and says he’s more attentive than Wilcox to rural concerns, though he’s only lived in the district since 2017. A former Army surgeon now working in private orthopedic medicine, Marshall was elected to the Eatonville School Board last year. He should complete that term before aiming higher.
Veronica Whitcher Rockett is a stay-at-home mom building a grassroots portfolio in Thurston County Democratic organizations. She gives voice to an authentic fear that the Legislature will slash social and health services, but her call for a capital gains tax is out of step with her district’s deep-red voting base.
For House Position 1, Rep. Andrew Barkis is running unopposed — the only legislative incumbent in Pierce County this year not to draw a challenger.
That’s too bad. Wilcox would be the first to say that while leadership matters, having to defend your record on the campaign trail every few years matters, too.
ABOUT OUR ENDORSEMENTS
The News Tribune Editorial Board interviewed candidates and did other research before making our picks in the Aug. 4 primary election. For races with only two candidates, we will wait until general election season. Endorsements are intended to promote civic discourse and encourage voters to dig deeper. Board members include: Matt Misterek, editorial page editor; Karen Irwin, editorial writer; Matt Driscoll, local news columnist; and Pamela Transue, community representative and former president of Tacoma Community College.
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 8:15 AM.