Candidate Teresa Fox on Her Congressional Race and Plans

Teresa Fox has spent her life in Bremerton, where her family’s roots in the automotive industry stretch back nearly 90 years. Now, the longtime Kitsap County resident is drawing on three decades of professional experience in workplace safety, emergency management, and government regulation to make her first bid for elected office.

Fox, a Republican, is challenging Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Emily Randall in the Nov. 3 general election for Washington’s 6th Congressional District, which includes the Key Peninsula.

“I’m a citizen, not a politician, born and raised in Bremerton, Washington, lived here my whole life,” Fox said.

Throughout her professional career, Fox has served as environmental health and safety director for the Naval Inactive Ships Maintenance Office in Bremerton and worked in environmental health, safety, and emergency management for Icicle Seafoods. Her experience also includes 12 years with Kitsap County in community development and five years in the fire marshal’s office.

Fox said those positions required managing multimillion-dollar budgets while interpreting regulations and working with government agencies. She believes her familiarity with government operations and the industries supporting the regional economy would translate into effective congressional leadership.

“One of the things that I have to do in my career is build consensus with a variety of different stakeholder groups and citizens,” she said.

Fox identified two main reasons for entering the congressional race: concerns about economic opportunity and what she describes as a growing public safety crisis.

She said she is concerned about the decline of traditional industries, including timber harvesting and maritime operations. She attributes some of those changes to environmental policies and restrictions that she believes have reduced employment opportunities and hurt related businesses. She views these declines as directly connected to the economic pressure many are now facing.

“One of the two major things that I hear from folks ... is economic prosperity and economic vitality, affordability issues,” she said.

Fox’s other major concern is public safety. She supports increasing law enforcement staffing and strengthening efforts to combat drug trafficking. Improving cooperation among federal, state, and local agencies is also a priority.

Fox points to Washington’s low per-capita law enforcement staffing levels as evidence of the need for additional resources, particularly in rural communities. For the Key Peninsula, she identified emergency response times and the availability of Pierce County Sheriff’s deputies as pressing concerns. She believes federal funding could help local agencies recruit and retain law enforcement officers, particularly in communities where geographic isolation can complicate emergency response.

“We’ve got to get unique areas, rural areas like yours, adequately funded,” she said.

If elected, Fox said her first-term priorities would include increasing public safety funding, pursuing congressional term limits, and strengthening oversight of Washington state government.

Fox is particularly critical of Washington’s immigration policies, including the Keep Washington Working Act, which limits certain state and local government involvement in federal immigration enforcement. She supports federal legislation restricting sanctuary policies and wants Congress to investigate state officials she said have violated federal law or constitutional protections.

Another priority is establishing term limits for members of the U.S. House and Senate. Fox said she signed the U.S. Term Limits Pledge while attending the September Republican political convention in Dallas, and would work to build support for legislation limiting how long lawmakers can serve.

“We need term limits. We can’t have these folks in office for years on end,” she said.

Her campaign also advocates reducing federal spending, lowering taxes, and limiting government regulation.

Asked which specific federal programs or regulations she would change or eliminate, Fox declined to identify any, saying other district concerns were more immediate.

She supports ending Congress’ reliance on continuing resolutions to fund government operations and said she would consult constituents about spending priorities.

“We need to get back to the basic premise of a limited government with very limited spending,” she said.

Rural health care is one example. Fox’s campaign website identifies rural healthcare access as one of her top priorities. When asked how she would improve health care access and affordability on the Key Peninsula, Fox said many of these decisions are made at the state level. She suggested that a congressional representative could help bring local and state officials together to identify gaps in services and explore opportunities for federal assistance.

“What is working for you? What’s not working for you? What can we assist you with from the federal level?” she said.

Although running as a Republican, Fox said her campaign is directed toward the political middle, rather than exclusively toward conservative voters.

“A cornerstone of my campaign is people over politics, and I truly mean that,” she said. “I’m running as a Republican because I lean more conservatively, frankly. But I want to represent everybody.”

Fox has criticized Randall’s priorities and approach to representing the district, arguing that the incumbent has focused on national issues rather than local concerns.

Asked whether she would be willing to disagree with President Trump or Republican leadership, Fox said her decisions would be guided first by the Constitution and then by the preferences of district residents.

“I am not going to vote on any single issue because somebody in a political party says we have to do that,” she said. “If that means going against the party or the president, we’re going to do what the citizens want.”

Fox said she wants voters to view her candidacy as an opportunity for more direct communication between residents and their representative in Washington, D.C.

“It’s not about the representative and what that person’s own personal or special interests are,” she said. “My job is to represent my constituents.”