Washington Candidate Page

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

While the use of AI feels inevitable these days, as a scientist and engineer I think intentional forethought to both protect our freedoms/rights and jobs is important. I like technology and know we all survived the global adoption of cell phones but AI feels larger. The energy consumption on already stretched grids is worrisome. While data centers are needed, I believe we need to put an accurate cost to humanity/resources on them to capture their true usage. I read a lot of the New York Times and am an avid NPR listener that further researchers topics I hear that are of interest to me. As someone with little kids, I don’t want to give away their rights or their planet while we should be the responsible adults protecting both of those.

KEYWORDS: Advanced, worrisome, unwieldy, potential, fear

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

I support AI innovation with enforceable public-interest rules: privacy by design, independent audits for high-risk systems, protection from algorithmic discrimination, cybersecurity standards, and transparency when government uses automated tools. Public agencies should be able to use analytics, but decisions affecting benefits, housing, health care, education, policing, or employment must remain explainable and appealable to a human.

For data centers, I support a permitting framework that measures total water, land, grid, and ratepayer impacts before approval; requires clean-energy procurement and waste-heat/water-efficiency plans; and prevents local families from subsidizing private utility loads. Evidence should come from state utility data, grid-capacity modeling, water-resource assessments, lifecycle emissions analysis, labor/community impact review, and peer-reviewed AI risk research. Governing should be data-driven: define metrics up front, publish results, and adjust policy when evidence shows harm or underperformance.

KEYWORDS: accountability, clean energy, data governance

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

I support AI innovation, but data centers should not receive government grants or subsidies. These are large private businesses, and residents should not pay higher electrical rates so data centers can get cheap power. They need to pay their own power costs and the full cost of transmission, water, roads, emergency services, and other infrastructure needed to serve them.

Cooling must be addressed up front. I would require clear plans for water use, heat management, and conservation, including closed-loop cooling, dry cooling where feasible, recycled or reclaimed water, waste-heat reuse, and limits on using drinking water or stressing local aquifers.

I am also not endorsing the use of farmland for data centers. There are better options, including industrial land, brownfields, underused commercial sites, and locations near existing substations and transmission.

On AI, I support practical use in government, education, and permitting with human oversight, privacy, cybersecurity, and accountability. I am open to realistic electrification options, including small modular reactors if they are safe, cost-effective, and properly regulated.

KEYWORDS: accountability, infrastructure, affordability

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

Artificial intelligence has enormous potential to improve healthcare, education, public services, agriculture, and economic opportunity. I support responsible innovation that allows Washington to remain a leader in technology while ensuring communities are protected.

Data centers should be evaluated based on their long-term impacts on local communities, including electricity demand, water use, land use, and economic benefits. Projects should be transparent, engage local communities early, and demonstrate responsible resource management without shifting unreasonable costs onto ratepayers. I support encouraging energy efficiency, water conservation, and infrastructure planning that strengthens—not strains—our electric grid.

I also believe AI should complement human decision-making, not replace accountability. As AI becomes more common in government and public services, transparency, privacy protections, cyber security, and clear human oversight are essential. Public trust depends on people understanding when AI is being used and having meaningful avenues for review and accountability.

My perspective is informed by reports from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on AI and data center impacts, guidance from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on trustworthy AI, and research on energy, water, and infrastructure planning, alongside conversations with scientists, community members, and technology professionals.

KEYWORDS: Responsible Innovation; Transparency; Sustainability

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

AI is extremely dangerous. It can grow itself and empower those who control/own it to become god-like. It must be carefully watched, monitored and heavily regulated, more so than atomic power. Notice the blood-lust in the way the data centers have been rushed in like animals in heat. They have been constructed in mass, making the gold-rush look mild, without regard to the damage to the environment, power drain or water glut. And all humans had better think of where the ROI is planned to be derived from. We need immediate federal legislation to protect our civil liberties from AI, a legislative fire wall that also keeps AI out of our justice system. Then we need to limit AI to foreign military operations and protect citizens from losing privacy to that system. Most AI centers in the west need to be shut down due to lack of water supply that does not exist, excepting only AK, LA, and south-east TX.

KEYWORDS: The information is all over the internet. “The Technological Republic” by Alex Karp, 2025.

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

Some politicians want to ban AI data centers. That is a bumper sticker not a policy. The same reflex that gave us “defund the police.” It sounds tough and solves nothing. We need AI data centers. They are critical infrastructure for our economy, national security and the technology millions of people rely on every day. The answer is not to ban them. It is to regulate the real problems and hold builders to a high standard.

Every legitimate concern has a solution we can require. Cooling does not have to drain local water. Closed loop systems can run with almost no operational water use. Facilities can be sited away from homes so noise is not a factor. And they do not have to strain the public grid or raise your utility bills . They can generate their own power. Meta’s new data center in Alberta is a useful model of that approach. Self generated power, closed loop cooling and remote industrial siting.

I would rather write smart rules that get this right than chase a slogan that sends the jobs and investment somewhere else.

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

As a physician, attorney, and public health educator, I believe AI policy should be grounded in scientific evidence and transparency. AI has enormous potential to improve healthcare, education, scientific research, and economic productivity, and Washington should continue supporting innovation while keeping the public informed and protecting the public.

Data centers are critical infrastructure for AI, but they should be developed using evidence-based assessments of electricity demand, water use, land impacts, and long-term environmental sustainability. Large industrial users should pay for the infrastructure needed to support their operations, so costs are not shifted to residential ratepayers or small businesses.

Also, high-impact AI systems used in healthcare, education, employment, housing, and government should be independently evaluated for accuracy.

KEYWORDS: innovative, Chatbots, remote patient monitoring, ethical concerns, transparency issues, questionable accuracy

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

AI will become a world-changing phenomenon, and America must be a contender in its development. Data centers are part of that, and their placement should be up to the states and communities where their impact will be felt the most. The federal government’s role should be to ensure the centers meet operational and environmental standards (so states won’t race to the bottom to attract them). One key source has been the Washington state “Data Center Workgroup: Preliminary Report.

KEYWORDS: humanity; environment; responsibility

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

Artificial intelligence is already improving healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing and many other industries. I believe Washington should encourage innovation while addressing legitimate concerns about privacy, security and infrastructure.

Data centers are an important part of that future. While they don’t create large numbers of permanent jobs, they generate significant economic value and support the technology businesses rely on. As they expand, we must ensure adequate energy, water and transmission infrastructure without shifting costs onto existing residents, farmers or businesses.

Innovation often follows necessity. As computing demand grows, engineers continue developing more efficient cooling systems, reducing energy use and improving water reuse. Public policy should encourage those advancements rather than assuming today’s technology is the final answer.

My views are informed by my experience in local government and research into Washington’s infrastructure challenges, including the EPA’s Quincy water reuse case study. It demonstrates how innovation and collaboration can significantly reduce potable water use while supporting economic development.

KEYWORDS: innovation, efficient, collaboration

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

We need to repeal tax breaks for existing and new datacenters. We need to attach requirements to datacenter permitting to better reflect the cost of externalities and to help fund the infrastructure to transition to clean energy. This should include upgrades to our electrical grid to facilitate the significant increase in demand for capacity and transmission from these projects. In terms of evidence, while I was at the Federal Trade Commission I was involved in two non-public investigations related to building datacenters which led to a number of industry interviews and data submissions. In addition, I participated in a 6-month fellowship on excellence in government AI that looked at application, risk, bias, and promise in emerging AI uses. Datacenters are one area, but the environmental impact from AI is much larger than that. I carefully reviewed NYU Stern School of Business report on the state-level approaches to setting regulations, incentives in datacenter construction and other AI ventures, and it offered several insights that would help me build coalitions and proposals to make sure AI technology works for all of us and doesn’t leave our communities and environment worse off.

KEYWORDS: guardrails, balance, science

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

AI will also raise costs of food due to loss of arable farmland and drive wildlife away. These rising power, water, and food costs will coincide with a significant loss in jobs. The AI professionals themselves estimate a 10 to 100 percent chance of AI causing our destruction with most estimates falling between 10 and 70 percent (Sources: Geoffrey Hinton, Daniel Kokotajlo, Dario Amodei, Elon Musk, Roman Yampolski, etc.) I believe in evidence based practices and effective training protocols. Two separate AI’s have already attempted to kill a mock executive and SWAT its building. The risk does not justify the reward. Nuclear weapons aren’t the great filter. AI is. The “AI Race” is a manufactured justification for throwing tax dollars into a contest to see who destroys the world first. Cyber-public health is at an all time low because of domestic individuals that are “vibe coding” with AI to cause harm. This is unacceptable.

KEYWORDS: Bad. Bad. Bad.

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

Artificial intelligence presents both tremendous opportunity and real challenges. I understand why people are concerned about its effects on jobs, education, privacy, and security. Those concerns deserve thoughtful public policy, not dismissal.

AI is also driving unprecedented demand for data centers. Simply saying “no” will not stop that demand—it will only move investment somewhere else. My priority is ensuring communities receive real benefits if these facilities are built. That means protecting existing ratepayers, requiring responsible use of water and land, and ensuring companies invest in local infrastructure, schools, emergency services, and the community tax base.

The state also has a role to play. Smaller communities often lack the legal, technical, and negotiating resources needed to evaluate complex projects on equal footing. Washington should provide model agreements, technical expertise, and independent support so every community can negotiate from a position of strength.

This demand also creates an opportunity to accelerate advanced nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors. My perspective is informed by conversations with local residents, utilities, farmers, educators, and technology leaders. We should embrace innovation while ensuring it strengthens—not overwhelms—the communities that host it.

KEYWORDS: Community benefit, Transparency, Energy abundance, Community impact mitigation

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

I am deeply concerned by the construction of data centers that strain our electricity and water supply. I support legislation that regulates large energy use facilities, protects affordability, and continues progress toward climate goals.

In the 2026 session, I supported the removal of the sales tax exemption for data center equipment replacement and legislation to mandate emissions free-power and sustainability reports. I look forward to continuing this work in future sessions.

With artificial intelligence, I am proud that our state has become a national leader in establishing responsible safeguards for this technology. In the 2026 session, I co-sponsored the Senate companion to HB 2225, which establishes new guardrails for AI chatbots that act like friends or companions. This bill protects underage users by preventing AI from providing information about suicide or self-harm while preventing manipulative engagement techniques and sexually explicit conversations. I also voted for HB 1170, which cracks down on AI-generated misinformation.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to improve lives and solve challenging problems, but it also presents serious risks that demand oversight. I am committed to ensuring that our state maximizes the benefits of this emerging technology while protecting the public from harm.

KEYWORDS: Sustainability Safety Oversight

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

I support Washington’s growing AI economy, but growth must not come at the expense of ratepayers, our water, or a reliable transition to cleaner energy. Four priorities:

Growth should pay for new power. New hyperscale data centers should fund enough new clean generation to serve their electricity demand rather than simply relying on existing hydropower and increasing pressure for new fossil generation.

No cross-subsidization. Large AI loads belong in a dedicated rate class bearing the full cost of the generation, transmission, and water infrastructure they require, backed by take-or-pay contracts. PSE rates are already up roughly 45% in two years. Households should never subsidize hyperscale demand.

Transparency. Data centers should publicly report facility-level energy and water use annually. You cannot manage what you do not measure.

End remaining subsidies. The Legislature repealed the sales-tax exemption for replacement server equipment but left the exemption for new construction. I would finish the job. Good Jobs First has documented that these programs cost states hundreds of millions annually while often delivering weak returns.

Sources: JLARC tax preference reviews, UTC rate filings, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s U.S. Data Center Energy Usage Reports, Good Jobs First subsidy research, and ProPublica’s reporting on Washington’s data center subsidies.

KEYWORDS: Ratepayer Protection, Transparency, Accountability

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

I chair the WA State House Technology, Economic Development and Veterans Committee and co-chair National Council of State Legislators’ Technology and Communications Standing Committee. AI regulatory policies are needed for key issues such as the role of data minimization in privacy regulatory frameworks, data broker registration and deletion requirements, algorithmic personalization in young people’s digital lives, chatbot laws, and “AgeTech” impacts on America’s aging population.

We must recognize opportunities for data centers to contribute to grid stability and resiliency while mitigating their impacts on ratepayers and communities, and protect local consumers’ need for power when disruptions limit the amount of available power.

We need state-level Data Center Policies in coordination with Utility Operators and National participation to: Establish guidance and oversight of sustainability practices, including reducing emissions; mitigating onsite water consumption, and reducing noise pollution; Encourage regional planning for power generation, including building national infrastructure in a way that makes sense for states and localities, nuclear power generation and valuing the grid as a national asset; and Promote best-practice cybersecurity, physical security, and supply-chain security measures to protect U.S. data center operations from foreign adversary access or compromise.

KEYWORDS: regulatory, impacts, opportunities

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

There is much to be discussed and considered as we adventure down this AI pathway. First, we need to make sure AI is going to continue to ensure human security which I’ve already written a bill along with a team of experts worldwide. That info can be found at www.ethicalAIAct.com. Additionally, we need to ensure that the local resources used by AI data centers does not, in any way, adversely affect citizens - specifically but not limited to the relationship with energy or cost of energy.

Q1 America has a growing artificial intelligence (AI) industry, supporting cutting edge innovation and reshaping businesses, but raising concerns about education, ownership, and security. Application of AI technology has increased the demand placed on data centers, controversial for their resource use (such as water and land) and raising utility costs. What are your policy positions in regards to data centers and AI? What sources of evidence informed these policies?

As a leader in the New Democrat Coalition, I contribute to the Innovation & Technology Working Group, which guides policy on responsible AI innovation. I support the ethical development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to advance scientific innovation and economic development, and am focused on ensuring inclusion and equity for minorities in the STEM industry through my work leading the Congressional Caucus on Black Innovation. As co- Chair of the Grid Innovation Caucus, I lead efforts to support the reliability and access of our nation’s electrical grid while balancing responsible database infrastructure development.

KEYWORDS: Responsible, democratic, equitable

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

I feel like it’s two part - using some of the historical prescribed burn practices along with modern technology is key. Recreating responsibly (as a former REI employee) is a must. Building more fire resistant housing or installing more fire resistant upgrades will help. In the cities impacted by the air, looking at filtering solutions is a must but bet the r fire management and mitigation are absolute necessities.

KEYWORDS: Needed, multi-faceted, tech forward, Native American-led, mitigate-able.

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Fire policy should be built around prevention, preparedness, and measurable risk reduction. I support more funding for forest health, prescribed and cultural burning where appropriate, defensible-space assistance, home hardening, evacuation planning, smoke-health protections, and year-round local fire capacity. Federal policy should respect tribal ecological knowledge and pair it with modern modeling, remote sensing, weather data, and community risk maps.

I would prioritize analytics that identify which investments reduce risk fastest: fuel treatments near communities, grid-hardening, road access, emergency communications, and support for vulnerable residents. We also need better worker protections for firefighters and outdoor workers exposed to smoke and heat. Climate change is lengthening fire seasons, so treating fires as isolated emergencies is no longer enough. We need a public dashboard of risk, projects funded, acres treated, response times, smoke impacts, and post-fire recovery outcomes.

KEYWORDS: prevention, resilience, risk analytics

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

I would use Climate Commitment Act money for fire risk reduction the same way I would use it for flood control: practical projects that reduce danger before the disaster happens. For example, CCA funds should help pay for fuel breaks around high-risk communities and evacuation routes, including forest thinning, brush removal, prescribed burning where appropriate, and defensible-space grants for homeowners, farms, tribes, and small cities.

I would also use CCA funds to harden power corridors by removing hazardous vegetation, improving utility access roads, upgrading lines where justified, and reducing the chance that electrical infrastructure starts or worsens a fire. Another practical use is improving rural water supply for firefighters, including cisterns, hydrants, pump stations, and access points.

Fire management should not just be studies and reports. Research is useful when it leads to action. The state should help local fire districts, counties, tribes, utilities, landowners, and communities do the work before fires start. That protects homes, forests, watersheds, roads, and firefighters.

KEYWORDS: prevention, CCA, resilience

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

The Bear Gulch Fire highlighted the growing wildfire risks facing communities across Washington, including areas that have not historically experienced large fires. We need a balanced approach that focuses on prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery.

I support investing in forest health through responsible fuel reduction, prescribed burns where appropriate, and partnerships with tribes, local governments, and private landowners. We must ensure firefighters and first responders have the training, equipment, and staffing they need while strengthening emergency communication systems and evacuation planning for rural communities.

The state should also help homeowners and local communities reduce wildfire risk through education, defensible space programs, and grants for mitigation projects. As climate conditions continue to change, we must make long-term investments that protect lives, property, natural resources, and local economies while ensuring communities can recover quickly after disasters.

KEYWORDS: Wildfire prevention Forest health Responsible forest management Fuel reduction Prescribed burns Community wildfire protection Defensible space Firewise communities Emergency preparedness Evacuation planning First responder support Firefighter staffing Wildland firefighting resources Mutual aid Rural resilience Tribal partnerships Local government collaboration Private landowner partnerships Watershed protection Habitat restoration Climate resilience Disaster recovery Public safety Emergency communications Infrastructure protection Community education Wildfire mitigation grants Home hardening Sustainable forestry Science-based land management

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

State to manage state lands. The federal lands are poorly managed. Half the federal lands could be used for homestead, excepting national parks and delicate land such as tundra. All areas of forest near roads, or towns of any size must be logged to a mile of the city limits. Prevent the fire damage. Fires that do not burn the property or the towns, let it burn. Mother nature allowed fires throughout history before the federal government took over to waste money.

Q6 In 2021, the WA legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act, which has helped to reduce carbon pollution, but puts extra economic burden on farmers and agricultural distributors in the state. What policies would you support, if any, for helping farmers and distributors balance these costs while maintaining Washington’s commitment to environmental sustainability?

State issue not federal. We MUST switch to burn hydrogen to save the planet. The first hydrogen car was built in 1800. Burning petroleum products is environmentally harmful and jeopardizes national security, ego the current war with Iran. We need trains, speed train. The interstate highway system was obsolete when build; makes no sense but to make the oil industry richer and destroy our economy and the planet.

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

As a physician and public health educator, I view wildfire policy as both an environmental and a public health priority. Wildfires threaten lives, homes, critical infrastructure, air quality, drinking water, and rural economies. Washington needs a science-based, proactive approach rather than simply responding after disasters occur.

I support increasing investments in evidence-based forest management, including strategic thinning, prescribed burning where appropriate, fuel reduction near communities, and restoration of fire-resilient forests. These efforts should be developed in partnership with Tribal Nations, whose traditional ecological knowledge has demonstrated the value of cultural burning practices.

As smoke-related illness increasingly affects children, older adults, and people with chronic disease, we should invest in clean-air shelters, school air filtration, and public health preparedness. I remember during one of the worst wildfire seasons since we relocated to Spokane in 2005 a high school student-athlete trying to compete in cross country struggling to breathe at various times during the season. This is a health risk and has become more the norm. This is also dangerous. Wildfire prevention efforts need to be ramped up to prevent secondary health-risk and loss of property (and lives).

KEYWORDS: Prevention, forest health, fire suppression, public safety

Q6 In 2021, the WA legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act, which has helped to reduce carbon pollution, but puts extra economic burden on farmers and agricultural distributors in the state. What policies would you support, if any, for helping farmers and distributors balance these costs while maintaining Washington’s commitment to environmental sustainability?

Washington must protect both our environment and our agricultural economy. Farmers are among the first to experience the impacts of climate change through drought, wildfire, extreme heat, and changing water availability, but they also operate on narrow margins and should not bear a disproportionate financial burden.

I support using Climate Commitment Act revenues to help farmers and agricultural distributors adopt cost-saving, lower-emission technologies, improve energy efficiency, expand renewable energy where practical, improve irrigation efficiency, and strengthen soil health and carbon sequestration.

Policies should be developed collaboratively with farmers, agricultural researchers, Tribal Nations, conservation organizations, and rural communities to ensure they are practical and evidence-based. We should also regularly evaluate the economic impacts of climate policies and make adjustments if unintended consequences threaten the competitiveness of Washington agriculture or increase food costs for consumers.

As a physician and public health educator, I believe environmental stewardship and agricultural prosperity are complementary goals. By investing in innovation, research, and practical solutions, Washington can reduce emissions while keeping our farms productive, competitive, and sustainable for future generations.

KEYWORDS: livestock, crops, irrigation, rural healthcare, resilience, tariffs, farmer suicides

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Fire damage may be local, but its causes and effects can be felt halfway across the country, so the federal government must play a role in helping with managing the risk. As for which policies those would entail, I admit ignorance, but I would definitely consult with forest management experts both private and public before proposing any laws.”

Q6 In 2021, the WA legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act, which has helped to reduce carbon pollution, but puts extra economic burden on farmers and agricultural distributors in the state. What policies would you support, if any, for helping farmers and distributors balance these costs while maintaining Washington’s commitment to environmental sustainability?

I haven’t studied this issue in depth, but I believe farmers and teachers are the two most important people in any society, and we should do all we can to support them. In this case, while I approve of the goal of reducing our carbon output, farming is a crucial segment of our society, so perhaps we could give them exemptions to the act, or subsidies to use in a “carbon trading” market.

KEYWORDS: exemptions, carbon trading

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Reducing wildfire risk begins with healthier forests. I support expanding managed commercial thinning where it supports forest health goals, because it allows the private sector to help remove excess fuels while reducing costs to taxpayers. Research shows that thinning is most effective when combined with slash treatment or prescribed fire, so management plans should use the right tools for each landscape. Washington should also ensure local fire districts have the resources they need and continue coordinating with federal, tribal and local land managers. The goal is healthier forests, safer communities and a more resilient landscape.

KEYWORDS: thinning, reducing, coordinating, healthier, safer.

Q6 In 2021, the WA legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act, which has helped to reduce carbon pollution, but puts extra economic burden on farmers and agricultural distributors in the state. What policies would you support, if any, for helping farmers and distributors balance these costs while maintaining Washington’s commitment to environmental sustainability?

The Climate Commitment Act affects far more than agriculture. It influences energy prices, transportation costs, manufacturing, and nearly every step in the supply chain. Those costs eventually reach farmers through fuel, fertilizer, equipment, processing and transportation, and they ultimately affect the price families pay at the grocery store.

I believe the Climate Commitment Act should be regularly reviewed to determine whether it is delivering environmental benefits that justify its economic impacts. Environmental policy should reduce emissions without unnecessarily weakening Washington’s competitiveness or increasing the cost of living.

I support investing in innovation, cleaner technologies and infrastructure that improve efficiency while protecting our environment. If we can reduce emissions through better technology and smarter investments, we can achieve lasting environmental progress without placing unnecessary burdens on the families, businesses and agricultural producers that drive our economy.

Protecting our environment and maintaining a strong economy should not be competing goals. Good policy should accomplish both.

KEYWORDS: reviewed, delivering, efficiency, economy

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

After more than 2,000 fires last year, Washington needs a proactive, evidence-based approach to fire risk. I support the Insurance Commissioner’s push for stronger data and transparency, including wildfire risk score disclosure, so the state can better mitigate, and homeowners can better understand their risk. Not all of the fire risk bills passed last session, and we need to move them in the next session. Additionally, we should invest in prevention tools, including responsible use of emerging AI to monitor changing conditions and guide rapid response and prevention interventions in real time. Some scientists have argued we are entering a Pyrocene, or age characterized by fire, I am in favor of significant evidence-led investments to protect the environment, ecosystems, and humans.

KEYWORDS: data, innovation, collective-action

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Just as in any biome, the relationship between flora and fauna is interdependent. To strengthen this relationship, we need to focus on practical ways that we can actually affect a positive outcome. This includes: Ground our actions in forest and environmental science. Foster science and public safety literacy within our communities. Secure stable year round funding for our response teams. Recognize that our communities and our ecosystems thrive or die together.

KEYWORDS: Forestry Environmental Science Climate Science Funding

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Wildfire policy should be guided by science and updated as our understanding improves. One of the most valuable lessons I took from studying natural resource management was that forest management practices evolve, and public policy should evolve with them.

My priorities are to reduce wildfire risk before fires start, strengthen community preparedness, and support rapid response when they do occur. That means investing in strategic thinning, prescribed burns where appropriate, fuel reduction, and restoring forests to conditions that are more resilient to wildfire. It also means improving early detection, supporting firefighters, helping communities create defensible space, and ensuring local governments have the resources to plan for emergencies.

Success requires partnership between state agencies, tribes, private landowners, local governments, and the forest products industry. Healthy forests, resilient communities, and sustainable timber markets are complementary goals, not competing ones.

Good wildfire policy isn’t static. We should continually evaluate new research and adopt best practices that reduce risk while protecting Washington’s people, forests, and economy.

KEYWORDS: Resilience, Prevention, Preparedness

Q6 In 2021, the WA legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act, which has helped to reduce carbon pollution, but puts extra economic burden on farmers and agricultural distributors in the state. What policies would you support, if any, for helping farmers and distributors balance these costs while maintaining Washington’s commitment to environmental sustainability?

Washington’s farmers are under pressure from every direction—volatile commodity markets, tariffs, workforce shortages, rising input costs, and increasing regulatory complexity. As we pursue environmental goals, we have to recognize the cumulative impact these challenges have on an industry that feeds our state and our country.

I support maintaining our commitment to environmental stewardship, but we should prioritize policies that help producers remain competitive. That includes investing in water infrastructure, expanding agricultural research through institutions like WSU, supporting precision agriculture that reduces costs and emissions, and ensuring climate policies are regularly evaluated for their real-world impacts on family farms.

Farmers don’t want to rely on subsidies—they want the opportunity to compete, innovate, and earn a living from the land. Government should provide predictable regulations, remove unnecessary barriers, and reinvest a meaningful share of climate revenues into projects that directly benefit rural communities and agriculture.

We can protect our natural resources while ensuring the next generation can afford to keep farming in Washington.

KEYWORDS: Competitiveness, Empowerment, Innovation

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

I backpacked Staircase three years ago with my sons and love hiking in the Olympics, so the Bear Gulch Fire hit too close to home. Washington faces growing threats from extreme heat and wildfires, and these are no longer confined to central and Eastern Washington. I support legislation that prevents wildfires and ensures forest health, builds resilient communities; and strengthens the state’s ability to respond quickly to wildfires..

In the 2021 session, I voted for HB 1168, which created a historic $500 million commitment in wildfire prevention, preparedness, and protection. In the most recent session, I was proud to support the restoration of $60 million in funding to continue this critical work, which became law. I also voted for legislation to establish a wildfire mitigation grant program and increase transparency by requiring insurance companies disclose wildfire risk scores to customers. While these bills did not receive action in the House, I remain committed to advancing similar legislation to protect communities from wildfires and other challenges brought by climate change.

KEYWORDS: Response Preparedness Adaptation

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Wildfire policy should focus on prevention, preparedness, and measurable results—not simply larger emergency budgets after fires begin.

First, fund prevention consistently. In 2021 the Legislature unanimously committed $500 million over eight years to forest health and wildfire preparedness (HB 1168)—and it worked, measurably reducing damage where fuels were treated. Yet in 2025 lawmakers cut that funding roughly in half—the year Bear Gulch burned—then restored it under public pressure, and only through mid-2027. Independent analysis shows prevention returns roughly $8 per $1 spent. That commitment should be protected, not an annual political fight.

Second, expand science-based forest management: strategic thinning, prescribed burning where appropriate, and fuel reduction near communities—guided by local ecological conditions and the best available science.

Third, prepare Western Washington, where roughly 40% of last year’s fires started: early-detection networks, defensible space, home-hardening, and evacuation planning.

Fourth, treat smoke as a public health emergency: clean-air shelters, school filtration, and forecasting—smoke harms far more people than flames.

Every program should report acres treated, risk reduced, and cost-effectiveness. My approach is informed by the U.S. Forest Service, National Interagency Fire Center, and Washington DNR.

KEYWORDS: Prevention, Forest Management, Accountability

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Diaster Preparedness and Resiliency is within the jurisdiction of my committee. After a 1.5 year Office of the Insurance Commissioner task force work, I proposed establishment of an Office of Resiliency. While it did not pass, we have been steadily passing policies to be more resilient, adopt wildfire/urban interface standards, and increase investments in high tech spotting of wildfires to optimize fire fighter response. We increased the rate of pay of our National Guard members when they respond to wild fires. Unfortunately, under the current administration, our funding for resiliency planning at the Military Department has been cut. When our state’s budget outlook improves. We’re facing a 3rd year of shortfalls next year because our state has the 2nd most regressive tax system. It is especially dire with FEMA reducing its reimbursements of our major disaster response costs. In the meantime, we’re working with the OIC and insurance companies to make sure we have healthy options for property and liability insurance coverage. Commercial insurance availability and rates are still concerns, especially for schools and non-profits.

KEYWORDS: Diaster Prepardness Resiliency

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Respect the multi-use project as a part of the public lands act specifically by increasing the use of public land as range ground for cattle. Stop spraying our people and our land with chemicals that change the climate by climate changers and activists who seem to have zero regard or respect for the God who created this planet and atmosphere or the perfectly balanced structure that He build for us to live within. We also need to harvest trees for building projects and replant those areas.

Q6 In 2021, the WA legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act, which has helped to reduce carbon pollution, but puts extra economic burden on farmers and agricultural distributors in the state. What policies would you support, if any, for helping farmers and distributors balance these costs while maintaining Washington’s commitment to environmental sustainability?

Get rid of ALL the regulations that affect our farmers, ranchers, and dairymen starting with the pure lunacy that is the Climate Commitment Act. Only a complete and utter moron believes that more carbon in the atmosphere is a bad thing. We are at record lows in the planet history currently. We should be working hard to produce MORE carbon.

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

I have long supported fire prevention investments as well as funding for our firefighters and their equipment and expanding the grants available to local and state-based firefighters to combat wildfires. Just in the past year, I am proud to have brought back over $5 million to the district, to help replace fire engines in Tacoma, and the first phase to replace a 70-year seismically unsafe Fire Station at JBLM.

KEYWORDS: Cooperation, prevention, preparation

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

Climate change and wildfire management are huge. Advancing our grid to be more renewable and more robust. Empowering more household solar and less utility usage as needed. As someone who renovates home, incentivizing green upgrades and lasting solutions is key to minimizing rework and excuses demand of utilities. I’m an Ev person continuing to identify charging solutions, especially for non single family dwelling drivers. I think our kids are growing up more environmentally aware than even my generation so that gives me hope.

KEYWORDS: Possibility, protection, responsibility, beauty, conservation

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

I feel like it’s two part - using some of the historical prescribed burn practices along with modern technology is key. Recreating responsibly (as a former REI employee) is a must. Building more fire resistant housing or installing more fire resistant upgrades will help. In the cities impacted by the air, looking at filtering solutions is a must but bet the r fire management and mitigation are absolute necessities.

KEYWORDS: Needed, multi-faceted, tech forward, Native American-led, mitigate-able.

Q5 Puget Sound and the Washington coast are experiencing rapid changes, such as warming waters, ocean acidification, and ecosystem shifts, that have major impacts on Washington’s wildlife and fisheries. What policies and funding, if any, would you prioritize for fisheries management, scientific monitoring, and to help communities adapt to these shifts?

Every year seems to bring new challenges for our waterways. We’re in the salmon run area and await promising numbers every year. This year the gray whale deaths are awful. We’ve got to address our dependence on carbon and minimize the pollution to keep our temps down. We have to contour novel research to help species adapt when possible. We need to support our environments and those that were here before us - boat traffic, run off, sewer overflows (from aging infrastructure) - we can address these and have to do so.

KEYWORDS: Nature, pollution, adapting, food source, starvation, urbanization/sprawl

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

My top priorities are climate resilience, clean water, salmon and habitat recovery, environmental health in overburdened communities, and practical decarbonization that lowers household costs. Funding should go first to projects with measurable public benefits: reduced flood and wildfire risk, cleaner air and water, restored habitat connectivity, lower energy bills, and stronger local jobs.

I would use a transparent scoring system for environmental investments: scientific risk, community need, cost-effectiveness, long-term maintenance, tribal consultation, environmental justice impact, and measurable outcomes. Washington has world-class universities, tribes, ports, utilities, and local agencies; federal funding should help them build shared data systems so decisions are based on monitoring rather than politics. I support independent evaluation after funding is awarded so programs that work can scale and programs that miss targets can be fixed.

KEYWORDS: resilience, environmental justice, measurable outcomes

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Fire policy should be built around prevention, preparedness, and measurable risk reduction. I support more funding for forest health, prescribed and cultural burning where appropriate, defensible-space assistance, home hardening, evacuation planning, smoke-health protections, and year-round local fire capacity. Federal policy should respect tribal ecological knowledge and pair it with modern modeling, remote sensing, weather data, and community risk maps.

I would prioritize analytics that identify which investments reduce risk fastest: fuel treatments near communities, grid-hardening, road access, emergency communications, and support for vulnerable residents. We also need better worker protections for firefighters and outdoor workers exposed to smoke and heat. Climate change is lengthening fire seasons, so treating fires as isolated emergencies is no longer enough. We need a public dashboard of risk, projects funded, acres treated, response times, smoke impacts, and post-fire recovery outcomes.

KEYWORDS: prevention, resilience, risk analytics

Q5 Puget Sound and the Washington coast are experiencing rapid changes, such as warming waters, ocean acidification, and ecosystem shifts, that have major impacts on Washington’s wildlife and fisheries. What policies and funding, if any, would you prioritize for fisheries management, scientific monitoring, and to help communities adapt to these shifts?

I would prioritize sustained monitoring and restoration for Puget Sound, the coast, and working waterfront communities. That means funding ocean acidification and temperature monitoring, harmful algal bloom detection, salmon recovery, eelgrass and kelp restoration, culvert and habitat improvements, stormwater controls, and science-based fisheries management that protects both ecosystems and livelihoods.

Policy should be co-designed with tribes, commercial and recreational fishers, shellfish growers, scientists, and coastal communities. We need real-time data systems, long-term ecological baselines, and community adaptation funding for changing stocks, port infrastructure, seafood safety, and workforce transitions. I support using federal resources to connect NOAA, USGS, universities, tribes, and local agencies so decisions are faster and more transparent. The standard should be adaptive management: monitor conditions, publish the data, set harvest and habitat policy based on evidence, and revise quickly when the ecosystem changes.

KEYWORDS: monitoring, adaptation, ecosystem recovery

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

My top environmental funding priorities are practical projects that reduce real risks for communities: flood control, stormwater improvements, culvert replacement, fish passage, drinking water protection, tree planting, forest health, wildfire prevention, and energy efficiency or electrification where it lowers long-term costs. In the 31st District, flood control and stormwater are not abstract environmental issues; they affect homes, farms, roads, bridges, utilities, and public safety.

I would use Climate Commitment Act funds for visible projects that protect people and improve the environment, not just studies that sit on a shelf. I also support applied research on water quality, salmon recovery, PFAS and emerging contaminants, heat islands, grid reliability, and cost-effective emissions reduction.

To set priorities, I would look at evidence, risk reduction, cost-benefit, project readiness, long-term maintenance, and whether funding helps small cities and rural communities that lack grant-writing capacity. Good environmental stewardship means measurable results: cleaner water, safer communities, healthier habitat, stronger infrastructure, and lower costs over time.

KEYWORDS: flood control, stewardship, accountability

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

I would use Climate Commitment Act money for fire risk reduction the same way I would use it for flood control: practical projects that reduce danger before the disaster happens. For example, CCA funds should help pay for fuel breaks around high-risk communities and evacuation routes, including forest thinning, brush removal, prescribed burning where appropriate, and defensible-space grants for homeowners, farms, tribes, and small cities.

I would also use CCA funds to harden power corridors by removing hazardous vegetation, improving utility access roads, upgrading lines where justified, and reducing the chance that electrical infrastructure starts or worsens a fire. Another practical use is improving rural water supply for firefighters, including cisterns, hydrants, pump stations, and access points.

Fire management should not just be studies and reports. Research is useful when it leads to action. The state should help local fire districts, counties, tribes, utilities, landowners, and communities do the work before fires start. That protects homes, forests, watersheds, roads, and firefighters.

KEYWORDS: prevention, CCA, resilience

Q5 Puget Sound and the Washington coast are experiencing rapid changes, such as warming waters, ocean acidification, and ecosystem shifts, that have major impacts on Washington’s wildlife and fisheries. What policies and funding, if any, would you prioritize for fisheries management, scientific monitoring, and to help communities adapt to these shifts?

Washington should fund fisheries work that produces measurable results. Specific examples include replacing fish-blocking culverts on salmon streams, reconnecting side channels and floodplains on the Puyallup, White, and Carbon River systems, planting riparian trees to cool water, and retrofitting urban stormwater outfalls with treatment systems before runoff reaches creeks and Puget Sound.

I would also prioritize wastewater upgrades where nutrients, temperature, or contaminants affect fish and shellfish habitat. Scientific monitoring should include stream temperature sensors, salmon return counts, ocean acidification buoys, dissolved oxygen testing, shellfish health monitoring, forage fish surveys, and eelgrass mapping. Those are the types of data that help managers act early instead of guessing after damage is done.

For communities, I would support grants and technical help for tribes, ports, shellfish growers, fishing families, farmers, and small cities to adapt to closures, habitat changes, flooding, and warmer water. Hatcheries have a role, but they must be managed carefully and based on science.

KEYWORDS: habitat, monitoring, accountability

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

My funding priorities would focus on projects that protect both our natural resources and the communities that depend on them. I support investments in clean water, salmon and habitat restoration, forest health and wildfire resilience, climate resilience, and research that helps Washington prepare for future environmental challenges.

When setting funding priorities, I believe decisions should be guided by the best available scientific evidence, measurable outcomes, and meaningful input from local communities, Tribal Nations, researchers, landowners, and industry partners. Limited public resources should be invested where they will have the greatest long-term environmental, economic, and public health benefits.

As a legislator, I would support research that improves our understanding of changing environmental conditions while ensuring scientific findings are translated into practical solutions for communities across Washington, including rural areas. Environmental stewardship is most effective when science, collaboration, and responsible fiscal management work together to protect our natural resources for future generations.

KEYWORDS: Evidence-Based Decision Making; Environmental Stewardship; Collaboration

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

The Bear Gulch Fire highlighted the growing wildfire risks facing communities across Washington, including areas that have not historically experienced large fires. We need a balanced approach that focuses on prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery.

I support investing in forest health through responsible fuel reduction, prescribed burns where appropriate, and partnerships with tribes, local governments, and private landowners. We must ensure firefighters and first responders have the training, equipment, and staffing they need while strengthening emergency communication systems and evacuation planning for rural communities.

The state should also help homeowners and local communities reduce wildfire risk through education, defensible space programs, and grants for mitigation projects. As climate conditions continue to change, we must make long-term investments that protect lives, property, natural resources, and local economies while ensuring communities can recover quickly after disasters.

KEYWORDS: Wildfire prevention Forest health Responsible forest management Fuel reduction Prescribed burns Community wildfire protection Defensible space Firewise communities Emergency preparedness Evacuation planning First responder support Firefighter staffing Wildland firefighting resources Mutual aid Rural resilience Tribal partnerships Local government collaboration Private landowner partnerships Watershed protection Habitat restoration Climate resilience Disaster recovery Public safety Emergency communications Infrastructure protection Community education Wildfire mitigation grants Home hardening Sustainable forestry Science-based land management

Q5 Puget Sound and the Washington coast are experiencing rapid changes, such as warming waters, ocean acidification, and ecosystem shifts, that have major impacts on Washington’s wildlife and fisheries. What policies and funding, if any, would you prioritize for fisheries management, scientific monitoring, and to help communities adapt to these shifts?

Washington’s fisheries are essential to our environment, economy, Tribal treaty rights, and coastal communities. As changing ocean conditions continue to affect fish populations and marine ecosystems, we must make decisions based on sound science and collaboration.

I support continued investment in scientific monitoring, habitat restoration, salmon recovery, and water quality improvements. We should strengthen partnerships with Tribes, local governments, commercial and recreational fishers, researchers, and conservation organizations to develop sustainable management strategies.

I also support funding that helps coastal communities adapt to changing conditions through economic diversification, workforce support, and infrastructure improvements. Protecting fisheries requires balancing conservation with the long-term health of the communities and industries that depend on them for their livelihoods.

KEYWORDS: Collaboration, Science and Stewardship

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

I run for a federal office; congressman. Absent federal EPA superfund sites this is a question for the state of Washington. So the federal environmental attention must be focused on Hanford and such federal facilities.

KEYWORDS: Nuclear waste is a top priority, the vit plant seems to be working well.

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

State to manage state lands. The federal lands are poorly managed. Half the federal lands could be used for homestead, excepting national parks and delicate land such as tundra. All areas of forest near roads, or towns of any size must be logged to a mile of the city limits. Prevent the fire damage. Fires that do not burn the property or the towns, let it burn. Mother nature allowed fires throughout history before the federal government took over to waste money.

Q6 In 2021, the WA legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act, which has helped to reduce carbon pollution, but puts extra economic burden on farmers and agricultural distributors in the state. What policies would you support, if any, for helping farmers and distributors balance these costs while maintaining Washington’s commitment to environmental sustainability?

State issue not federal. We MUST switch to burn hydrogen to save the planet. The first hydrogen car was built in 1800. Burning petroleum products is environmentally harmful and jeopardizes national security, ego the current war with Iran. We need trains, speed train. The interstate highway system was obsolete when build; makes no sense but to make the oil industry richer and destroy our economy and the planet.

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

As a physician and public health educator, I view environmental policy through the lens of protecting human health while ensuring taxpayer dollars are invested where they achieve the greatest measurable benefit. My priorities are safeguarding clean drinking water, reducing exposure to hazardous contaminants such as PFAS, preventing wildfire smoke-inhalation impacts, improving air quality, and protecting watersheds and forests that support healthy communities and a resilient economy.

I also support research that strengthens Washington’s resilience to climate change, including studies on extreme heat, wildfire risk reduction, sustainable agriculture, water availability, and ecosystem restoration. Investments should emphasize projects with measurable outcomes, peer-reviewed science, and partnerships among universities, Tribal Nations, local governments, and the private sector.

As a legislator, I would help ensure that funding decisions are guided by the best available scientific evidence, cost-effectiveness, public health impact, and long-term sustainability—not politics. Programs should include performance metrics and regular evaluation to ensure public funds are achieving meaningful environmental and economic benefits. Evidence-based stewardship protects both our natural resources and the health and prosperity of future generations.

KEYWORDS: clean water, clean air, recycling, green jobs, sustainability

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

As a physician and public health educator, I view wildfire policy as both an environmental and a public health priority. Wildfires threaten lives, homes, critical infrastructure, air quality, drinking water, and rural economies. Washington needs a science-based, proactive approach rather than simply responding after disasters occur.

I support increasing investments in evidence-based forest management, including strategic thinning, prescribed burning where appropriate, fuel reduction near communities, and restoration of fire-resilient forests. These efforts should be developed in partnership with Tribal Nations, whose traditional ecological knowledge has demonstrated the value of cultural burning practices.

As smoke-related illness increasingly affects children, older adults, and people with chronic disease, we should invest in clean-air shelters, school air filtration, and public health preparedness. I remember during one of the worst wildfire seasons since we relocated to Spokane in 2005 a high school student-athlete trying to compete in cross country struggling to breathe at various times during the season. This is a health risk and has become more the norm. This is also dangerous. Wildfire prevention efforts need to be ramped up to prevent secondary health-risk and loss of property (and lives).

KEYWORDS: Prevention, forest health, fire suppression, public safety

Q6 In 2021, the WA legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act, which has helped to reduce carbon pollution, but puts extra economic burden on farmers and agricultural distributors in the state. What policies would you support, if any, for helping farmers and distributors balance these costs while maintaining Washington’s commitment to environmental sustainability?

Washington must protect both our environment and our agricultural economy. Farmers are among the first to experience the impacts of climate change through drought, wildfire, extreme heat, and changing water availability, but they also operate on narrow margins and should not bear a disproportionate financial burden.

I support using Climate Commitment Act revenues to help farmers and agricultural distributors adopt cost-saving, lower-emission technologies, improve energy efficiency, expand renewable energy where practical, improve irrigation efficiency, and strengthen soil health and carbon sequestration.

Policies should be developed collaboratively with farmers, agricultural researchers, Tribal Nations, conservation organizations, and rural communities to ensure they are practical and evidence-based. We should also regularly evaluate the economic impacts of climate policies and make adjustments if unintended consequences threaten the competitiveness of Washington agriculture or increase food costs for consumers.

As a physician and public health educator, I believe environmental stewardship and agricultural prosperity are complementary goals. By investing in innovation, research, and practical solutions, Washington can reduce emissions while keeping our farms productive, competitive, and sustainable for future generations.

KEYWORDS: livestock, crops, irrigation, rural healthcare, resilience, tariffs, farmer suicides

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

Funding for increased forest fire fighting; funding for renewable energy; funding for PFAS removal and remediation.

KEYWORDS: Climate; Energy; PFAS

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Fire damage may be local, but its causes and effects can be felt halfway across the country, so the federal government must play a role in helping with managing the risk. As for which policies those would entail, I admit ignorance, but I would definitely consult with forest management experts both private and public before proposing any laws.”

Q6 In 2021, the WA legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act, which has helped to reduce carbon pollution, but puts extra economic burden on farmers and agricultural distributors in the state. What policies would you support, if any, for helping farmers and distributors balance these costs while maintaining Washington’s commitment to environmental sustainability?

I haven’t studied this issue in depth, but I believe farmers and teachers are the two most important people in any society, and we should do all we can to support them. In this case, while I approve of the goal of reducing our carbon output, farming is a crucial segment of our society, so perhaps we could give them exemptions to the act, or subsidies to use in a “carbon trading” market.

KEYWORDS: exemptions, carbon trading

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

My top environmental priority is protecting Washington’s water resources. Clean, reliable water is essential for our communities, agriculture, fish and wildlife, and future economic growth. I would support investments that improve water quality and help protect our rivers, lakes and groundwater.

I also believe Washington should continue working with the EPA to complete cleanup of Superfund and other contaminated sites that continue to impact water quality. Cleaning up pollution that already exists should remain a priority.

I also believe it’s important to regularly evaluate the Climate Commitment Act and the programs it funds. We should be able to clearly demonstrate that the investments are delivering meaningful environmental improvements and not simply adding costs for families and employers.

Environmental stewardship is about solving real problems. Protecting our water, cleaning up contaminated sites and making sure environmental investments are producing real benefits should be among the state’s highest priorities.

KEYWORDS: Water, Evaluate, Delivering

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Reducing wildfire risk begins with healthier forests. I support expanding managed commercial thinning where it supports forest health goals, because it allows the private sector to help remove excess fuels while reducing costs to taxpayers. Research shows that thinning is most effective when combined with slash treatment or prescribed fire, so management plans should use the right tools for each landscape. Washington should also ensure local fire districts have the resources they need and continue coordinating with federal, tribal and local land managers. The goal is healthier forests, safer communities and a more resilient landscape.

KEYWORDS: thinning, reducing, coordinating, healthier, safer.

Q6 In 2021, the WA legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act, which has helped to reduce carbon pollution, but puts extra economic burden on farmers and agricultural distributors in the state. What policies would you support, if any, for helping farmers and distributors balance these costs while maintaining Washington’s commitment to environmental sustainability?

The Climate Commitment Act affects far more than agriculture. It influences energy prices, transportation costs, manufacturing, and nearly every step in the supply chain. Those costs eventually reach farmers through fuel, fertilizer, equipment, processing and transportation, and they ultimately affect the price families pay at the grocery store.

I believe the Climate Commitment Act should be regularly reviewed to determine whether it is delivering environmental benefits that justify its economic impacts. Environmental policy should reduce emissions without unnecessarily weakening Washington’s competitiveness or increasing the cost of living.

I support investing in innovation, cleaner technologies and infrastructure that improve efficiency while protecting our environment. If we can reduce emissions through better technology and smarter investments, we can achieve lasting environmental progress without placing unnecessary burdens on the families, businesses and agricultural producers that drive our economy.

Protecting our environment and maintaining a strong economy should not be competing goals. Good policy should accomplish both.

KEYWORDS: reviewed, delivering, efficiency, economy

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

My top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state are to fully re-fund the Climate Commitment Act dollars and prevent the legislature from raiding that money in the future for non-CCA uses.

Second, I want to help find creative sources to fund the transition our transition to clean energy, for example, from the companies that are most interested in building new datacenters. This includes upgrades to our energy grid by those companies placing the significant newest demands through increased capacity for transmission lines, distribution, and facilities for clean energy integration. In addition, new legal theories are being tried to bring the externalized costs of industry into the business incentives of the companies creating environmental burdens. For example, Right of Nature legal theories could allow standing for species like orcas to better protect their ecosystems.

Finally, as the daughter of two scientists, I believe it is important to ensure we provide ample funding for education and research at our universities, especially in light of federal cuts. We cannot let our future be charted by billionaires alone.

KEYWORDS: restore, responsibility, reinvestment

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

After more than 2,000 fires last year, Washington needs a proactive, evidence-based approach to fire risk. I support the Insurance Commissioner’s push for stronger data and transparency, including wildfire risk score disclosure, so the state can better mitigate, and homeowners can better understand their risk. Not all of the fire risk bills passed last session, and we need to move them in the next session. Additionally, we should invest in prevention tools, including responsible use of emerging AI to monitor changing conditions and guide rapid response and prevention interventions in real time. Some scientists have argued we are entering a Pyrocene, or age characterized by fire, I am in favor of significant evidence-led investments to protect the environment, ecosystems, and humans.

KEYWORDS: data, innovation, collective-action

Q5 Puget Sound and the Washington coast are experiencing rapid changes, such as warming waters, ocean acidification, and ecosystem shifts, that have major impacts on Washington’s wildlife and fisheries. What policies and funding, if any, would you prioritize for fisheries management, scientific monitoring, and to help communities adapt to these shifts?

Scientific monitoring is a top priority, including expanded data collection and responsible use of new tools like AI to better track fish populations and ecosystem changes. Effective fisheries management also requires structural collaboration with stakeholders including commercial and recreational fishers and tribal co-managers. We should invest in these partnerships and ensure decisions reflect both scientific expertise and lived experience. In the long-term, the future health of our fisheries depends on addressing climate change. Reducing carbon emissions is essential to prevent large-scale ecosystem collapse and protect our fisheries.

KEYWORDS: partnership, decarbonization, monitoring

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

Earth is our only home. In every doomsday movie, no one listens to the scientists and that ends up biting everyone in the ass. These movies are art imitating life. We need to change our policies to follow the advice of peer reviewed data.

KEYWORDS: Peer reviewed data

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Just as in any biome, the relationship between flora and fauna is interdependent. To strengthen this relationship, we need to focus on practical ways that we can actually affect a positive outcome. This includes: Ground our actions in forest and environmental science. Foster science and public safety literacy within our communities. Secure stable year round funding for our response teams. Recognize that our communities and our ecosystems thrive or die together.

KEYWORDS: Forestry Environmental Science Climate Science Funding

Q5 Puget Sound and the Washington coast are experiencing rapid changes, such as warming waters, ocean acidification, and ecosystem shifts, that have major impacts on Washington’s wildlife and fisheries. What policies and funding, if any, would you prioritize for fisheries management, scientific monitoring, and to help communities adapt to these shifts?

This requires a multi-disciplinary task force made up of climate scientists, marine biologists, commercial fishermen, and tribal leaders to name a few. Monitoring will be integral to any path forward. Because we aren’t just talking about the economy, but also about local food sources required for survival , transparency will be necessary to negate the political pushback.

KEYWORDS: Multi-disciplinary, Monitoring, Transparency

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

Washington’s environmental investments should focus on projects that deliver measurable, long-term benefits for both our natural resources and our communities. My priorities include protecting water resources, improving watershed health, reducing wildfire risk through better forest management, and supporting research into advanced nuclear energy and other technologies that provide reliable, low-carbon power.

As our state grows, we must also invest in water infrastructure and conservation so agriculture, communities, and new industries can thrive together. Environmental stewardship and economic development should not be competing goals.

When setting priorities, I believe decisions should be driven by sound science, local expertise, and measurable outcomes—not politics. We should fund programs that demonstrate real results, regularly evaluate their effectiveness, and be willing to adjust when they are not meeting expectations.

The Mid-Columbia is uniquely positioned to lead in clean energy innovation, agriculture, and environmental research. If we make smart investments today, we can leave future generations cleaner water, a more reliable energy system, stronger natural resources, and an economy that continues to provide opportunity.

KEYWORDS: Sustainability, Innovation, Accountability

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Wildfire policy should be guided by science and updated as our understanding improves. One of the most valuable lessons I took from studying natural resource management was that forest management practices evolve, and public policy should evolve with them.

My priorities are to reduce wildfire risk before fires start, strengthen community preparedness, and support rapid response when they do occur. That means investing in strategic thinning, prescribed burns where appropriate, fuel reduction, and restoring forests to conditions that are more resilient to wildfire. It also means improving early detection, supporting firefighters, helping communities create defensible space, and ensuring local governments have the resources to plan for emergencies.

Success requires partnership between state agencies, tribes, private landowners, local governments, and the forest products industry. Healthy forests, resilient communities, and sustainable timber markets are complementary goals, not competing ones.

Good wildfire policy isn’t static. We should continually evaluate new research and adopt best practices that reduce risk while protecting Washington’s people, forests, and economy.

KEYWORDS: Resilience, Prevention, Preparedness

Q6 In 2021, the WA legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act, which has helped to reduce carbon pollution, but puts extra economic burden on farmers and agricultural distributors in the state. What policies would you support, if any, for helping farmers and distributors balance these costs while maintaining Washington’s commitment to environmental sustainability?

Washington’s farmers are under pressure from every direction—volatile commodity markets, tariffs, workforce shortages, rising input costs, and increasing regulatory complexity. As we pursue environmental goals, we have to recognize the cumulative impact these challenges have on an industry that feeds our state and our country.

I support maintaining our commitment to environmental stewardship, but we should prioritize policies that help producers remain competitive. That includes investing in water infrastructure, expanding agricultural research through institutions like WSU, supporting precision agriculture that reduces costs and emissions, and ensuring climate policies are regularly evaluated for their real-world impacts on family farms.

Farmers don’t want to rely on subsidies—they want the opportunity to compete, innovate, and earn a living from the land. Government should provide predictable regulations, remove unnecessary barriers, and reinvest a meaningful share of climate revenues into projects that directly benefit rural communities and agriculture.

We can protect our natural resources while ensuring the next generation can afford to keep farming in Washington.

KEYWORDS: Competitiveness, Empowerment, Innovation

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

My top environmental priority is supporting legislation that strengthens the Climate Commitment Act (CCA). This year, we advanced a bill to address the long-term stability of the CCA. SB 5982 ensures that emissions-intensive, trade-exposed entities have greater direction and accountability in reducing emissions, as these industries face the greatest challenges in reducing pollution.

We also made changes in our transportation sector, our state’s highest source of greenhouse gas emissions. I voted to pass HB 2215, which lowers the carbon emissions threshold for fuel suppliers under the CCA from 25,000 to 500 metric tons. Finally, SB 5036 improves the CCA by improving data collection and requiring annual reports on emissions that will include the most recent data available. These steps are critical to driving reductions, and I remain committed to advancing similar measures.

Beyond the CCA, our state can leverage multiple tools to protect our environment. Since 2023, the Department of Ecology has implemented the Clean Fuels Program, limiting greenhouse gas emissions for vehicles. Recently, we passed HB 1409, which increases pollution reductions and reinvestments to support clean transportation.

I will continue to support efforts that strengthen these policies, decrease our carbon footprint, and meet our climate goals.

KEYWORDS: Strengthening Protection Clean Energy

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

I backpacked Staircase three years ago with my sons and love hiking in the Olympics, so the Bear Gulch Fire hit too close to home. Washington faces growing threats from extreme heat and wildfires, and these are no longer confined to central and Eastern Washington. I support legislation that prevents wildfires and ensures forest health, builds resilient communities; and strengthens the state’s ability to respond quickly to wildfires..

In the 2021 session, I voted for HB 1168, which created a historic $500 million commitment in wildfire prevention, preparedness, and protection. In the most recent session, I was proud to support the restoration of $60 million in funding to continue this critical work, which became law. I also voted for legislation to establish a wildfire mitigation grant program and increase transparency by requiring insurance companies disclose wildfire risk scores to customers. While these bills did not receive action in the House, I remain committed to advancing similar legislation to protect communities from wildfires and other challenges brought by climate change.

KEYWORDS: Response Preparedness Adaptation

Q5 Puget Sound and the Washington coast are experiencing rapid changes, such as warming waters, ocean acidification, and ecosystem shifts, that have major impacts on Washington’s wildlife and fisheries. What policies and funding, if any, would you prioritize for fisheries management, scientific monitoring, and to help communities adapt to these shifts?

While the ecological shift in the Puget Sound and Washington coast is concerning, my current priority is meeting Washington’s court-mandated obligation to remove culverts blocking the migration of salmon.

In 2013, a federal judge ruled that our state violated tribes’ treaty fishing rights by failing to address these barriers. While the initial goal was to open 90% of blocked habitat by 2030, our state’s budget challenges make this difficult. In the 2025 session, I served as a co-sponsor of SB 5804. This bill would allow our state to issue up to $5 billion in bonds over 15 years, while diverting revenue from a tax on electric utilities. This funding would go toward projects that improve fish recovery, habitat restoration, and mitigate the impact of barriers. While this legislation did not receive action in the House, I support it and similar bills that address this issue.

Beyond culvert removal, I will continue supporting the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife’s work with tribes, the federal government, and other stakeholders to adapt and support our natural resources. As our environment continues to change, I am committed to advancing policies to preserve Washington’s ecosystem for future generations.

KEYWORDS: Recovery Conservation Collaboration

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

Environmental stewardship requires more than spending money—it requires measuring results. My funding priorities are accountability-driven.

First, make Climate Commitment Act dollars deliver measurable outcomes. Washington has invested billions through the Climate Commitment Act, yet recent emissions reductions remain well below the pace needed to meet our statutory goals. Funding should prioritize projects with the greatest verified emissions reductions per dollar, require independent performance reviews, and redirect money from programs that cannot demonstrate results.

Second, remove the barriers to clean energy deployment. An investigation by ProPublica and Oregon Public Broadcasting found our state ranked dead last in renewable energy growth. Transmission, interconnection, and permitting have failed to keep pace, so I would prioritize funding for transmission upgrades, interconnection reform, and permitting capacity so clean-energy projects can actually be built.

Third, protect Puget Sound. Fund stormwater projects targeting 6PPD-quinone—the tire-wear chemical University of Washington researchers found is highly toxic to coho salmon—along with culvert replacement, habitat restoration, and microplastics research. I also support strengthening, fully implementing, and enforcing Washington’s Recycling Reform Act.

Across every program, I would require transparent, public reporting of measurable outcomes. Good stewardship means knowing what every environmental dollar actually accomplished.

KEYWORDS: Accountability, Puget Sound, Measurable Results

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Wildfire policy should focus on prevention, preparedness, and measurable results—not simply larger emergency budgets after fires begin.

First, fund prevention consistently. In 2021 the Legislature unanimously committed $500 million over eight years to forest health and wildfire preparedness (HB 1168)—and it worked, measurably reducing damage where fuels were treated. Yet in 2025 lawmakers cut that funding roughly in half—the year Bear Gulch burned—then restored it under public pressure, and only through mid-2027. Independent analysis shows prevention returns roughly $8 per $1 spent. That commitment should be protected, not an annual political fight.

Second, expand science-based forest management: strategic thinning, prescribed burning where appropriate, and fuel reduction near communities—guided by local ecological conditions and the best available science.

Third, prepare Western Washington, where roughly 40% of last year’s fires started: early-detection networks, defensible space, home-hardening, and evacuation planning.

Fourth, treat smoke as a public health emergency: clean-air shelters, school filtration, and forecasting—smoke harms far more people than flames.

Every program should report acres treated, risk reduced, and cost-effectiveness. My approach is informed by the U.S. Forest Service, National Interagency Fire Center, and Washington DNR.

KEYWORDS: Prevention, Forest Management, Accountability

Q5 Puget Sound and the Washington coast are experiencing rapid changes, such as warming waters, ocean acidification, and ecosystem shifts, that have major impacts on Washington’s wildlife and fisheries. What policies and funding, if any, would you prioritize for fisheries management, scientific monitoring, and to help communities adapt to these shifts?

Washington’s fisheries policy should be guided by science and adapt as conditions change while protecting ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.

First, invest in continuous scientific monitoring. Our shellfish industry adapted to ocean acidification because monitoring detected corrosive water early enough for hatcheries to respond—proof that monitoring pays. Expand measurement of ocean temperature, acidity, dissolved oxygen, stream flows, and species abundance. Make the data public and provide practical forecasts for fisheries, tribes, and shellfish growers.

Second, restore habitat with measurable biological benefits—and finish what we’ve started. Washington is under a federal treaty-rights injunction to replace salmon-blocking culverts by 2030, has invested billions, and remains behind schedule. Prioritize the highest-benefit projects, alongside estuary restoration and stormwater treatment that reduces 6PPD-quinone, the tire-derived chemical shown to kill coho salmon.

Third, manage adaptively. Harvest decisions should respond quickly to changing populations using the best available science and co-management with tribal nations, protecting long-term fisheries while avoiding restrictions unsupported by current data.

Finally, help communities adapt through port infrastructure, selective fishing technology, workforce retraining, and aquaculture research.

Washington has world-class scientific institutions. Our challenge is turning their research into faster decisions, measurable recovery, and better outcomes for fishing communities.

KEYWORDS: Scientific monitoring, Salmon recovery, Adaptive management

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

To build a healthier and a more sustainable future, we must continue our leadership in Climate Action, Clean Energy, and Environmental protection.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to make our clean energy transition to electrification equitable, we must improve grid reliability, reduce climate pollution, and help families afford their energy bills.

We must protect Climate Commitent Act funds.

KEYWORDS: Action, Protection, Equitable

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Diaster Preparedness and Resiliency is within the jurisdiction of my committee. After a 1.5 year Office of the Insurance Commissioner task force work, I proposed establishment of an Office of Resiliency. While it did not pass, we have been steadily passing policies to be more resilient, adopt wildfire/urban interface standards, and increase investments in high tech spotting of wildfires to optimize fire fighter response. We increased the rate of pay of our National Guard members when they respond to wild fires. Unfortunately, under the current administration, our funding for resiliency planning at the Military Department has been cut. When our state’s budget outlook improves. We’re facing a 3rd year of shortfalls next year because our state has the 2nd most regressive tax system. It is especially dire with FEMA reducing its reimbursements of our major disaster response costs. In the meantime, we’re working with the OIC and insurance companies to make sure we have healthy options for property and liability insurance coverage. Commercial insurance availability and rates are still concerns, especially for schools and non-profits.

KEYWORDS: Diaster Prepardness Resiliency

Q5 Puget Sound and the Washington coast are experiencing rapid changes, such as warming waters, ocean acidification, and ecosystem shifts, that have major impacts on Washington’s wildlife and fisheries. What policies and funding, if any, would you prioritize for fisheries management, scientific monitoring, and to help communities adapt to these shifts?

I have always supported Washington’s ability to address abandoned and derelict vessels by expanding and streamlining the removal process to protect waterways, reduce environmental risks, and prevent costly cleanups by allowing faster action when vessels threaten public safety or marine ecosystems. I support our state’s co-management system with tribal nations that focuses on wild stock protection, habitat restoration, and transitioning aquaculture toward sustainable practices. We must balance economic viability with the recovery of endangered salmon and orca populations. At both local and state government, I have supported removal of culverts to open up upstream habitats. Washington state has a robust shelfish aquaculture, and so with the threats of burrowing shrimps, we have been able to get bipartisan support for economic reasons, if not environmental values. I understand the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife needs more support so I look forward to working on fisheries management using advancing science and technology.

KEYWORDS: risks, co-management, restoration

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

Build more hydro dams, SMR’s, and truly green energy generation that ensures low cost solutions for Washingtonians.

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

Respect the multi-use project as a part of the public lands act specifically by increasing the use of public land as range ground for cattle. Stop spraying our people and our land with chemicals that change the climate by climate changers and activists who seem to have zero regard or respect for the God who created this planet and atmosphere or the perfectly balanced structure that He build for us to live within. We also need to harvest trees for building projects and replant those areas.

Q6 In 2021, the WA legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act, which has helped to reduce carbon pollution, but puts extra economic burden on farmers and agricultural distributors in the state. What policies would you support, if any, for helping farmers and distributors balance these costs while maintaining Washington’s commitment to environmental sustainability?

Get rid of ALL the regulations that affect our farmers, ranchers, and dairymen starting with the pure lunacy that is the Climate Commitment Act. Only a complete and utter moron believes that more carbon in the atmosphere is a bad thing. We are at record lows in the planet history currently. We should be working hard to produce MORE carbon.

Q2 What are your top funding priorities for environmental projects and research in our state? If you do not have specific priorities, how would you approach setting those priorities to ensure effective environmental stewardship?

I am proud to co-Chair the Puget Sound Recovery Caucus. I have convened stakeholders and introduced legislation on tackling toxic tire runoff that is killing our salmon, and legislation to plant more trees along key corridors. I have also been instrumental in securing federal grant funding to restore the Nisqually and Deschutes Estuary. I am proudly endorsed by LCV and Sierra Club.

KEYWORDS: Conservation, investment, climate-friendly policy

Q4 The Bear Gulch Fire, one of 2000 recorded fires in 2025, was the biggest on the Olympic Peninsula in 70 years, burning over 20,000 hectares and causing $42 million in damages. What are your policies around fire risk management for the state?

I have long supported fire prevention investments as well as funding for our firefighters and their equipment and expanding the grants available to local and state-based firefighters to combat wildfires. Just in the past year, I am proud to have brought back over $5 million to the district, to help replace fire engines in Tacoma, and the first phase to replace a 70-year seismically unsafe Fire Station at JBLM.

KEYWORDS: Cooperation, prevention, preparation

Q5 Puget Sound and the Washington coast are experiencing rapid changes, such as warming waters, ocean acidification, and ecosystem shifts, that have major impacts on Washington’s wildlife and fisheries. What policies and funding, if any, would you prioritize for fisheries management, scientific monitoring, and to help communities adapt to these shifts?

As co-chair of the Puget Sound Recovery Caucus, I am leading the work in Congress to support a healthy Puget Sound. I have secured over $200 million in appropriations for Puget Sound and Fisheries management, delegating these to NOAA, salmon recovery groups, and fisheries infrastructure. Most recently, I introduced the Nisqually Clear Creek Hatchery Land Transfer Act of 2026 to support Nisqually Indian Tribe’s ownership over their ancestral fishing waters and to provide expanded access to federal grants.

KEYWORDS: Mitigation, protection, native sovereignty

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

As a female scientist who has long done STEM outreach, I think we don’t have great scientific literacy. As a mom of little kids I’m realizing that general literacy is key to then open up kids to math, science etc. Without solid reading it’s tough to get deep on other subjects. But kids inherently love the experimental nature of science, my middle child could experiment all day. But why don’t we have a science fair at our Seattle elementary school? I always had one in my small rural school in NY and it got me hooked into a problem solving and hypothesis building mindset. Sprinkling science in early to entice kids is great but once they have that solid grasp on reading, helping them build experiments and see that science is in everything is the best way to hook them in. I haven’t met many scientists on staff at any schools so having a scientist on staff prior to middle school would help. And engaging with local outreach programs. I love what Junior Achievement does for financial literacy - could we have something similar for science at each grade level.

KEYWORDS: Opportunity, future, broken, test based, expensive, necessary

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

Science literacy is uneven, and too often students experience science as memorization instead of a way to ask questions, test claims, and solve real problems. K-12 standards should strengthen hands-on investigation, data literacy, statistics, climate and environmental science, health science, computer science, media literacy, and the ability to distinguish credible evidence from misinformation.

Students should see science connected to their communities: water quality, wildfire smoke, fisheries, energy, public health, AI, and local infrastructure. I support funding teacher training, lab materials, outdoor and career-connected learning, partnerships with colleges and tribal/local experts, and paid pathways into STEM for students who have been left out. Public understanding grows when science is not treated as distant authority, but as a transparent civic tool: here is the evidence, here are the uncertainties, here is how we test whether a policy is working.

KEYWORDS: data literacy, STEM access, civic science

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

Science literacy is too important to be treated as memorizing facts for a test. I have a civil engineering degree, and I believe science is important because it affects the roads we drive on, the water we drink, the bridges we cross, the energy we use, and the health decisions families make every day. Students need to understand evidence, data, cause and effect, uncertainty, and how science applies to real life.

As a CTE advisor for Chief Leschi Schools, I have seen how students engage when learning connects to careers, trades, technology, infrastructure, natural resources, health care, and the problems they see in their own communities.

K-12 standards should keep strong core science, but add more hands-on learning, lab work, engineering, environmental science, agriculture, energy, and data analysis. Students should learn how to read charts, question sources, understand risk, and separate evidence from opinion.

The goal is not to turn every student into a scientist. The goal is to help every student become a better citizen, worker, voter, and problem-solver.

KEYWORDS: CTE, evidence, problem-solving

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

Science literacy is about more than memorizing facts. It is about developing curiosity, critical thinking, and the ability to evaluate evidence. In today’s world, where information is readily available and technology is rapidly evolving, these skills are essential for every student.

I support K–12 education that emphasizes hands-on learning, scientific inquiry, problem-solving, and media literacy. Students should learn not only what scientific discoveries have been made, but also how science works—asking questions, testing ideas, evaluating evidence, and revising conclusions when new information becomes available. These skills help students make informed decisions throughout their lives.

Strong science education also depends on supporting educators, maintaining up-to-date instructional materials, and creating partnerships with universities, Tribal Nations, community organizations, and local industries that provide students with real-world learning opportunities.

My perspective is informed by research on STEM education, conversations with educators and community members, and the understanding that effective public policy should be guided by the best available evidence while preparing students for an increasingly complex and technology-driven world.

KEYWORDS: Science Literacy; Critical Thinking; Evidence-Based Education

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

In 1963 we lowered the basal text reading levels in schools, nationwide. The ACT/SAT scores went down then from 63 to 76. Return the pre-63 basal text reading level immediately. Schools have been focused on chasing the ball. Schools must be refocused on academic achievement and extra-cocurricular activities must be low priority. I believe in a bifurcated system. The bright students with high IQ’s should be separated and given superior academic challenges and a path leading to the higher sciences and higher demanding academics. If separate schools are necessary then provide them.

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

Science literacy is essential for an informed democracy, a competitive workforce, and healthier communities. As a physician, attorney, and educator, I have seen how understanding the scientific method empowers people to evaluate evidence, distinguish credible information from misinformation, and make informed decisions. I have also witnessed failures.

Washington’s K-12 standards should place greater emphasis on scientific inquiry, critical thinking, data analysis, and media literacy rather than memorization alone. Students should learn how scientific knowledge evolves through testing, replication, peer review, and the willingness to revise conclusions when new evidence emerges. Hands-on laboratory experiences, and partnerships with universities, healthcare organizations, Tribal Nations, and local industries can make science relevant and inspiring.

KEYWORDS: literacy, equity, equal opportunity, public, life-long

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

I don’t have children, so I don’t have an informed opinion on today’s education, but I believe very strongly that science is a key aspect of humanity’s development, both past and future, and I will do everything I can to support its being taught in K-12.

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

Science literacy is about more than memorizing facts. Students should understand how the scientific process works, how to evaluate evidence, think critically and distinguish credible information from opinion or misinformation. Those skills will serve them well regardless of the career they choose.

I support strong science standards that prepare students for college, the trades and technical careers while recognizing that science continues to evolve as new discoveries are made. Education should encourage curiosity, critical thinking and respectful discussion rather than teaching students what to think.

I also believe students benefit from hands on learning and partnerships with local industries, agriculture, healthcare and research organizations. Connecting classroom science to real world applications helps students understand its value and exposes them to career opportunities available here in Washington.

Our goal should be to graduate students who are scientifically literate, able to think independently and prepared to solve the challenges of the future.

KEYWORDS: Think, distinguish, skills, curiosity, value

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

Literacy, let alone science literacy is at nearly crisis levels in Washington K-12. Currently, 70% of our students are reading well below grade level and comprehension is plummeting year after year. As a fellow at the UW Center for an Informed Public working on misinformation and its effects on markets and our democracy, I am convinced media literacy is essential, but science literacy is a necessary component too often left out. Our schools need space to have different points of view but should be able to build trust around a shared baseline of facts. One way to invest in relationship building early in education is minimizing the time K-5 students engage in screen-based learning to maximize peer-to-peer interactions and experimenting and exploring the natural world. I have spent a lot of time thinking about AI and the future of education, I believe an analog education, especially in the first six grades, will help foster curious students who don’t rely on shortcuts. Above all, Washington can no longer allow the quality of a child’s education to depend on zip code, we need all our students to have the opportunity to build a solid foundation for education including basic reading, writing, math, and science. I am committed to fully funding public education at all levels as one of my key priorities in the legislature.

KEYWORDS: analong, curious, well-funded

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

I was educated by public schools that, in the original district charter, declared that their purpose was to teach children to be factory workers. I have taken college courses but the military interfered with completion. To truly fix science in K-12 schools, we need to stop teaching science as a collection of static facts to be memorized for a test. We need to start teaching science as a method to observe patterns in reality. Math is the core of science and it is also the bottleneck. Reading is the decoding of science to evaluate evidence critically. I would champion adding Arts as painting, music, and drama because engineering requires innovation. Our goal is to maximize student success via multi-modal learning styles.

KEYWORDS: Multi-Modal, STEAM, Fundamentals

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

Science literacy today is uneven. Students have more access to information than ever before, but AI and social media make it increasingly difficult to distinguish credible evidence from misinformation. That makes scientific literacy more important than ever.

K-12 education should emphasize not only scientific knowledge, but the scientific process—asking questions, testing ideas, evaluating evidence, and changing conclusions when new information emerges. Those habits build critical thinkers, not just good test takers.

We should also be thoughtful about who shapes educational priorities. Industry partnerships are valuable, but public education should prepare students for lifelong success, not simply today’s workforce demands. As AI rapidly changes the job market, we should prioritize durable skills like reasoning, communication, adaptability, and digital literacy over training for any single technology.

Students build trust in science by doing science. Partnerships with researchers, agriculture, healthcare, and energy organizations can connect classroom learning to real-world challenges and inspire the next generation of innovators.

KEYWORDS: Scientific Literacy, Critical Thinking, Adaptability

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

While our state has made progress in increasing science literacy, there is always room for improvement. I believe the best way to build on our progress is by creating a fully funded, world-class education system from early learning through higher education. This is my top priority. As a parent of four children in Seattle Public Schools, I believe Washington should be the best place in the country to grow up and get an education.

I will continue to fight for better-funded classrooms, with up-to-date textbooks, supplies, and resources for teachers and students; increased support for special education, including more staff to serve students with individualized education plans; safer, more reliable school transportation; and expanded access to extracurriculars and enrichment opportunities. By increasing resources for schools, students have a greater opportunity to develop their scientific literacy and use that knowledge to benefit our state.

Investing in education is investing in our future, and I am committed to delivering on that promise. That was my primary motivation for sponsoring the Millionaires Tax, which will bring in roughly $3.5 billion per year and give us an opportunity to make significant investments in public schools.

KEYWORDS: Education Resources Opportunity

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

Science literacy is not just knowing scientific facts—it is understanding how scientific knowledge is built, tested, and challenged. In an age of AI, social media, and misinformation, students need to know how to evaluate evidence, recognize uncertainty, and distinguish high-quality research from opinion. Right now, too many graduates leave school without those tools.

Washington should continue strengthening STEM education while placing greater emphasis on the scientific method, statistics, data literacy, and critical thinking across K–12. Students should learn how to read graphs, interpret risk, identify common biases, evaluate sources, and understand why replication and peer review matter. Classroom learning should include more hands-on experiments and partnerships with Washington’s universities, research institutions, technology industries, and local watershed and salmon-recovery projects, so students experience science as a process of discovery rather than memorization—and build a relationship with science in their own community.

As a Washington-licensed nutritionist and attorney, I’ve seen how poor scientific reasoning can lead to costly mistakes in both health and public policy. My goal is not to teach students what to think, but how to evaluate evidence and reach sound conclusions. That is the foundation of both good science and a healthy democracy.

KEYWORDS: Evidence evaluation, Critical thinking, Hands-on science

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

I received a BS in Microbiology and an MBA in Operations Management and I am one of the few in the Washington state Legislature with a science background, especially when combined with business experience. Science- and Data Science-curriculum are in high demand in post-secondary institutions since they have the highest potential for better paying jobs, and so we must make sure girls and kiddos of color have an equitable access to science curriculum and trainers in K-12. I am a fan of Science on Wheels provided by the Pacific Science Center.

KEYWORDS: equitable science potential

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

Washington state education system is in poor shape overall mainly due to indoctrination driving laws out of Olympia and horrible leadership at OSPI. We would be much better of if we pushed ALL the responsibility for running the local school districts down to the locally elected school boards who are filled with people that are completely capable and DO NOT NEED federal or state overreach to educate their local kids.

Q3 What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science?

I know that our students succeed when we include robust science, technology, arts, math, and social sciences in our curriculum. To that end, I recently launched a first of its kind STEM competition for local middle and high school students to promote science literacy in younger generations. Additionally, I’ve pushed back against President Trump’s cuts to the Department of Education, NIH, and all of our scientific institutions and researchers. Previously, I’ve also introduced legislation to get more underrepresented populations into STEM fields and education.

KEYWORDS: Funding, diversification, expansion