Local Candidates Face Voters at Civic Center Forum

Ten candidates from across the political spectrum came together at the Key Peninsula Civic Center Sept. 8 for the perennial election-season tradition of answering questions from a room full of local voters.

State Rep. Michelle Caldier (R) and Sen. Deb Krishnadasan (D) both represent the 26th legislative district and are competing for Krishnadasan’s senate seat.

Colleen Marie Mullen and Gretchen Schneider are vying for an open position on the KP board of fire commissioners.

Matt Bruhn is running for Position 2 on the Peninsula School District board of directors. His opponent, Emily DuCharme, did not attend the forum.

Jonathan Appleton is running for Position 5 on the school board against incumbent David Olson. Olson was unable to attend, but sent a representative in his place, Katie Cornell.

John Patrick Kelly is running against incumbent Linda Parry for Position 1 on the KP Metropolitan Park District board of commissioners. Bruce Cook is running against incumbent Mark Michel for Position 3.

The moderator was KP News Executive Editor Lisa Bryan.

What follows is a sample of highlights from what the candidates had to say. The entire forum was videotaped and can be seen on The Mustard Seed Project YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09y_KfOQTCs.

From opening statements:

Caldier: “In November, Democrats garnered super majorities in both the House and the Senate … and what that meant was that they passed a budget without a single Republican in the room. As a result, there was the largest tax hike in our state’s history … (and) an 8% spending increase and a cut in Medicaid by $746,000,000. I understand that many people in the room are unhappy with the president … (and) things going on the federal level. This Senate election has absolutely nothing to do with that. This Senate election is about determining whether or not it will break the Democratic supermajorities.”

Krishnadasan: “I focus on bringing people together and getting things done. ... In my first year as your senator, I passed six bipartisan bills … for ferry safety and protecting the health care of pregnant women in the emergency room. I also introduced the first sales tax reduction proposal, and when the budget came before me that included tax increases for our working families, I voted no. I choose to serve to help people. I’m not a career politician, and I’m here for you.”

Question: How do you plan to ensure that rural voices are not overshadowed by urban priorities in Olympia?

Caldier: “One of the things that I noticed is that our capital budget didn’t include anything for the Key Peninsula, and part of the reason is because there are three cities. … They all have paid lobbyists that would come to us and have these packages for projects. … And so one of the things that I did was reach out to all of the local nonprofits. I helped bring back dollars to not only help the civic center, I got funding for the Lakebay Marina, for Longbranch Marina, and also funding for Gateway Park.”

Krishnadasan: “I brought voices from the Peninsula to the conversation. … I think about the schools that we’ve built, and the modernization of a few (others). Those are the kinds of things I’m doing down in Olympia as well, making sure that the voices of our rural communities are heard. We worked together with my seatmates to make sure childcare facilities could be established in rural areas.”

Question from the floor: Why can’t we have $2.75 per gallon gas here like in other states?

Caldier: “I have consistently voted against the gas tax. It’s one of the most regressive taxes in our state. You have to understand, a lot of the moderate Democrats are gone. The far left Democrats have pushed them all out, and, as a result, you have a very polarized Olympia, and they believe your usage of gas is a sin, and they believe in taxing it to the level of sin taxes like alcohol, so that you get electric cars, and that doesn’t work here.”

Krishnadasan: “Gas prices are too high here. That’s why I voted against the gas tax. We’ve got to take the tax burden off our working families, off our seniors. That’s the voice I’m bringing to the Democratic table. I’m bringing that moderate voice. The base price of our gas is much higher than most states, and then on top of that are the taxes that we’re putting on, and we need to stop.”

Fire Commissioner

Question: Why are you qualified for this position?

Mullen: “I’m a Navy veteran, hospital corpsman, did that for six years. Minneapolis fire captain. I was a police officer for six years as well. … I want to focus on the patient care for people in the community. I don’t care about buildings or property right now. We have only one working pumper truck. If that doesn’t scare everybody in this room, it (should).”

Schneider: “I want to develop a great working relationship between the entire senior staff … as well as the union and the other commissioners. The union is very important; all of us have to consider their opinions because our firefighters are the ones serving us, and we need to serve them as well. I want to see the community get the service that they deserve.”

Question: What is your plan for reclaiming the trust of the KP taxpayers for the fire district?

Mullen: “My plan is basically transparency. I’m gonna say and do what I need to do to take care of that. I really want to help with the patient care and fire safety. We have six firefighters working today. So I want to change that. That’s my plan.”

Schneider: “Transparency is key, and I’m a big believer of ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’ So, we’re not gonna get their trust until they see it. So, we got to work our butts off and get that trust back by showing them what’s going on.”

Question from the floor: Both of you made some statements about wanting to build relationships with the union firefighters. I don’t see any here, but I see a whole row of volunteers. Five years ago, operational decisions were made that severely cut the volunteer program. What would you do in your role as commissioner to support that program?

Mullen: “I’m from a paid professional fire department, so I’m not very versed in volunteers. However, I do understand the need for them and why they’re important, especially on the Key. We need those extra people. … I would like (us) to be the training center for volunteers, start here with the basic boot camp. However, we have one more drawback. It’s very expensive to live out here, so trying to get your young 20, 30, 40-year-olds out here to run on the fire trucks is pretty tough. If we can get some students in here, they’ll staff fire stations.”

Schneider: “Volunteering is my life, man. Like, I’ve done it, it’s my — it’s part of my soul. That severely hurts me to my core to hear that the volunteer program was shorted. … I want more volunteer firefighters. That’s part of (reducing) the transportation times and the response times. And that’s why I’d work with yourself and the chief and the union to get something going.”

School Board Director

Question: What is your plan to improve student mental health and academic performance post-pandemic?

Appleton: “Student mental health is really, really critical. I’ve been involved in IUP programs at the school, and the funding for that is under threat with a lot of the cuts from the Department of Education, and that’s even more reason for the school board, and the district, and the community to make sure all the resources are provided for every single school. To continue to improve academic performance, that goes back to accountability. … I feel the school board lost a lot of trust in the community earlier this year, and we need to rebuild that. And we have to hold the Superintendent accountable, and she’s got to hold all the principals accountable, and the teachers accountable.”

Bruhn: “I have a son who’s 7 who has ADHD and anxiety, and is dealing with a school where, unfortunately, he’s had three different principals in the last four months. … He now does have accommodation, so that he can have success. I think it’s important that students all across the district know there are options out there, so that they can get what they need. Holding people accountable is super important.”

Cornell for Olson: “David is proud of how this board and district made schools safer, more welcoming. Last school year, they completed a comprehensive review of our harassment and intimidation and bullying policy and overhauled from top to bottom, tightening expectations, reporting, and follow-through. We also put student mental health first by limiting cell phones and social media during the school day, so classrooms are calmer, kinder, and focused on learning.”

Question from the floor: I am a retired 40-year school teacher, started in 1970, five kids, three grandkids. My property taxes hit more than $10,000 this year, and I’m not going to vote for any levy for anybody because, as a widow, I can’t afford the programs. So what are you going to do to keep the cost down?

Appleton: “This is the number one question I get when I knock on doors, and it is so important. We don’t have to ask for more than we need. When the board and the Superintendent and the CFO are all working together to come up with whatever that number is, we don’t have to max it out, but we have to put the resources in and invest in the long-term of the community.”

Bruhn: “The district has a fixation with shiny objects. We want the brand new big school. We want the program that only one place in the country has. We need to focus on being the best for Gig Harbor, not being the best in the state, or the best in the world. We need to do a better job of taking care of the things we have and not getting to the point where we have to tear down schools.”

Cornell for Olson: “I can just speak to the fact that David has a long history with the legislators (in Olympia) and knows how to work those relationships, and he has, in my opinion, a very proven history of working very hard on our behalf for the last 12 years.”

Park Commissioners

What are your goals for this position, and why are you qualified to meet them?

Cook: “I’m qualified for this position because I love the outdoors. I grew up hiking, backpacking, … and I want to bring a few new ideas to the park. One would be having educational facilities for groups of students, indoors, because it rains here.”

Kelly: “I’d really like to see us return to our community-focused parks. The kind of events like we had with the Fourth of July celebration, where you see all your friends and neighbors there. It seems like the events anymore are for a lot of other counties, and countries. I would really like to see us spend our tax money on our kids.”

Michel: “I’ve been in the position since 2011. I was PTA president at Evergreen. It felt like they were kind of not represented to get kids involved in activities. Since then, I’ve gotten thousands of kids involved in the trail systems, and we’ve brought in tens of thousands of dollars and volunteers from all over. It’s incredibly inspirational.”

Parry: “I personally use the parks a lot. I’ve walked there, I bike there, I ride horses there, I gather with family, so I have a vested interest in the lovely parks that we have. I just feel that it’s very important to listen to the community and (provide) what the community wants and enjoys. And we do offer a lot of really great activities that the community does come and partake in, and I hope to continue that.”

Question: How will you expand recreational opportunities while retaining the natural character of Key Pen Parks?

Cook: “I’d agree with John Kelly: I think we need some basketball. And longer (trail) routes for people that want to run marathons. More connecting trails. And then finally, I would just say educa- tional facilities, so that we can teach (students) about the types of evergreens we have, about marine biology.”

Kelly: “I think the first thing we need is a basketball hoop at Gateway Park, so there’s some place for kids to go and hang out. Right now, the fastest-growing sport is pickleball, and we have it down here at the civic center. We have Taylor Bay, that should be developed into a marine education center. And you know, we have property on the Minter Creek estuary. People go fishing there all the time. We’ve been getting complaints about people using the woods for a restroom. You know, during fishing season, we can put a porta-potty down there. Let’s try to think about people other than just horse riders.”

Parry: “The Park District is doing a lot to expand. We have the frisbee golf course. We touched on the civic center, improving the gym, and that includes pickleball. And adults riding bikes and horses in their parks. But we also promote activities from groups for educational opportunities. I really enjoy the monthly bird walk, where people from all over the community can come and talk about different birds and preserving habitat.”

Michel: “We had in the Parks Department a comprehensive plan that was from 2020 to 2025. We’re about to embark on the comprehensive plan from 2026 to 2032. That’s where we need public input. So, the basketball we have: Volunteer Park is grossly underutilized. Doesn’t mean it wouldn’t succeed in Gateway Park, but we’ve already done that. Linda is absolutely right. We gave a grant to the civic center for pickleball here, like you said. And as far as Minter Creek, I have to say if somebody complains about not having a porta-potty, a gentleman I bumped into several times on the trail said we need a porta-potty on the north side of 360 Trails.”