PORT ANGELES — Mike Chapman and Marcia Kelbon, candidates for the 24th Legislative District’s state Senate seat, have similar goals but laid out different paths forward during a forum in Port Angeles.
The 24th district’s current senator, Kevin Van De Wege, D-Lake Sutherland, is running for Commissioner of Public Lands, and with his seat open, local candidates see an opportunity to serve in the Legislature’s upper house.
The 24th district’s longtime Position 1 Rep. Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles, is seeking Van De Wege’s seat along with Quilcene Fire Commissioner Marcia Kelbon, R-Quilcene, and Democrat James Russell of Port Angeles.
Chapman and Kelbon have both raised a significant amount of money for their campaigns. On Thursday, they appeared before the Port Angeles Kiwanis Club to discuss their priorities for when they take office.
A Clallam County Commissioner for 16 years and state representative for eight, Chapman said he wants to continue doing the work he’s been able to accomplish in the Legislature but now in the Senate.
“I’ve been on the ballot since 2000,” he said. “This is my ninth campaign, 14 different opponents; I’m used to getting criticized. But I think if you look back at the eight years with the leadership of Sen. Van De Wege, Rep. (Steve) Tharinger and myself, and you have to ask yourself, is this district in a better place than it was eight years ago?”
Chapman said he and his fellow lawmakers in the 24th Legislative District have been able to get funding for critical projects such as the Elwha Bridge replacement, the Boys & Girls Club of Port Angeles and the Port Hadlock sewer.
“We’ve put more public infrastructure investment in this district,” he said. “If you like that, if you like the investment that we’ve done, I’m asking for your vote.”
Kelbon, a former chemical engineer, lawyer and business executive, said she’s gotten involved in politics because she’s concerned about the future of the district.
“I’m not a politician. This is something I just got involved in three years ago because I’m worried about the direction we’re going in,” Kelbon said. “I feel like I have a unique skill set with the engineering, with the law and the business to bring to bear with these issues, it’s a fresh set of eyes.”
Kelbon is running as a Republican but highlighted her bipartisan leanings and characterized herself as more of a centrist. She distanced herself from national issues sometimes championed by the GOP and said she wanted to focus more on state-level issues.
“Why’d I run as a Republican? It’s not because of national issues,” Kelbon said. “I’m kind of out of step in some of those social issues. I don’t want to tell people how to run their lives. I run as a Republican because it’s more fiscal responsibility and keeping the government out of the way of letting us build homes, build lives, run businesses.”
Asked how they intended to help pay for the many needs of the state, Chapman pointed to the state’s capital gains tax and said bills repeatedly came into the Legislature that would allow local municipalities to raise property taxes above the currently allowable 1 percent annually.
“I sponsored a bill that would have given a .01 sales tax credit to cities and counties so they could hire more police officers,” Chapman said. “If I’m elected to the Senate, that will be the first bill that I will sponsor.”
Kelbon said she agreed with the .01 percent sales tax for law enforcement but was more skeptical of raising the property tax cap. The state must provide funding for things like education, infrastructure and public safety, she said, but there are some areas where the state could pull back before raising taxes.
“Fund those first and see what’s left,” Kelbon said of things like public safety and infrastructure. “We hear all the time that we have taxes that are supposed to do certain things, revenue sources that are supposed to do certain things, and they don’t do that.”
The third candidate for the senate seat, James Russell, was not present at Thursday’s forum. No contact information is listed on the Secretary of State’s website.
According to the state Public Disclosure Commission, Kelbon has raised the most money, bringing in about $169,000 in donations.
Kelbon said receiving support from the party was one of the reasons she chose to run as a Republican instead of an independent.
“I have learned enough in the past couple years you really can’t get very far in a state-level (race) running as an independent,” she said. “You need backing. You need resources when you go doorbell.”
Chapman has raised about $160,000 and said at the forum there is a likelihood he will not be re-elected.
“I think there’s a very likely chance that I lose this race, and you’ll never hear a politician say that. I’m behind in the polls; the public’s upset,” Chapman said.
“If (Kelbon) wins, I’m going to congratulate her and give her a note with all the list of issues, but she’s going to be in the minority, and the minority is not going to put these investments into this district. They’re just not.”
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached by email at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.
