By Colton Rasanen The following candidates are running for legislative positions in Washington's 42nd District. The two candidates with the most votes regardless of party affiliation will move on to general elections in late October. Read here for additional information on where and how to vote. 42nd Legislative District: State Senator candidates Tim Ballew II is running for State Senator in the Legislative 42nd district. He has previous elected experience as Whatcom County Council member and with Lummi Nation as the chairman and a member of their Business Council from 2011-17. Ballew has a B.A. in psychology from Western. He plans to prioritize safe roads, give kids the education they need, fight for high-speed internet and work for water solutions that make sense for farms, people and fish, according to his candidacy statement. He has raised $101,291 in contributions with a majority coming from individual contributions, according to PDC. Learn more at his website. Pinky Vargas is running for State Senator in the Legislative 42nd district. She is a Bellingham City Council member, and was president of the Bellingham City Council in 2016. She has professional experience at Puget Sound Energy where she was instrumental in leading the Bellingham Energy Prize. Vargas serves on the boards for Bellingham Chamber of Commerce, Whatcom Tourism and Parks and Recreation. She wants to be the voice of the 42nd District that she believes has been missing in Olympia. She will prioritize family-wage jobs, affordable housing and quality education. She wants to protect our agricultural land, ensure water access and support a healthy environment. She is also invested in gender equality and will push for equal pay, family leave and affordable healthcare. So far she has raised $65,211.64 in contributions with a majority being from individuals. There is also a small percentage of contributions from businesses, according to PDC. Learn more at her website. Doug Ericksen is running for State Senator in the Legislative 42nd district. Ericksen is the incumbent for this position and has other elected experience as a State Representative for six terms. He has an M.A. in environmental policy from Western and a B.A. in government from Cornell University. He claims to have protected and created many jobs in Whatcom County and protected farmers from excessive regulations during his time in office. He wants to focus on property tax relief and putting the government on a budget. According to PDC, he has made $98,411.66 in contributions with almost half coming from businesses and just over ten percent in individual contributions. Learn more at his website. 42nd Legislative District: State Representative Position 1 candidates Dean Berkeley is running for State Representative in the 42nd Legislative District. He has elected experience with the North Whatcom Fire and Rescue board of commissioners in 2014, where he spearheaded a cross-border, mutual-aid agreement for first responders. He has education in business administration and hydropower transmissions. He has two goals in his candidacy statement: To reintroduce cursive to school districts so students can read the constitution and to move the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s X-ray machine further north to eliminate traffic and safety concerns. According to PDC, he has no reported contributions. Justin Boneau is running for State Representative in the 42nd Legislative District. This is his first run for an elected office. He has professional experience as a crew supervisor with the Ecology Youth Corp in Whatcom and Skagit Counties. Boneau graduated from Western with a B.A. in business administration. He is running to bring affordable healthcare and housing to the community, to create an economy that provides living-wage jobs and to make sure children get good educational beginnings in public pre-K. He has raised $6,306 in contributions with many coming from individuals, according to PDC. Learn more at his website. Luanne Van Werven is running for State Representative in the 42nd Legislative District. She is the incumbent for this position and has been for two terms. She has education from Lynden Christian Schools and Bellevue College. She wants to fight for a state government that works for us, not the other way around. She plans to address three areas including: education, agriculture and taxes. According to PDC , she has raised $48,770.56 in contribution with over half coming from individuals and about ten percent coming from businesses. Learn more on her website. 42nd Legislative District: State Representative Position 2 candidates Vincent Buys is running for State Representative position two in the Legislative 42nd District. He is the incumbent for this position and has been for the past eight years. He has education in electronics technologies from Bellingham Technical College. He has supported legislation to reduce regulations, provide increased economic opportunity and protection of sexual violence victims. He aims to protect property rights, strengthen local businesses and communities and advocate for agriculture. He wants to prioritize the needs of Whatcom County and make sure the district’s voice is heard in Olympia. According to PDC, he has raised $48,700 in contributions with under 30 percent from individuals, 30 percent from businesses and around 35 percent from a Political Action Committee. Learn more at his website. Sharon Shewmake is running for State Representative position two in the Legislative 42nd District. This is her first run for election. Shewmake is a professor of economics at Western where she teaches statistics, labor economics and environmental economics. So far in her candidacy, she has made $21,455 in contributions with over 90 percent being from individuals according to PDC. Shewmake wants to protect families, workers and the environment because it is an investment in our future. Learn more at her website.
