The Long Run: Who Wants to Be a Congressperson, Part Two.

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Republican Congressional candidate Drew MacEwen, during a recent Port Townsend appearance. Beacon photo by Charlie Bermant  [/caption]

Election news and commentary by Charlie Bermant

NEWS: Drew MacEwen

Washington State Senator Drew MacEwen announced in December 2023 his intention to run for the 6th District congressional seat to be vacated by Derek Kilmer this year. MacEwen, a Republican, served as state representative for ten years before his election to the state senate in 2022.

MacEwen likes his chances, even as the last Republican elected to this seat was Thor Tollefson in 1962.

Shelton resident MacEwen, 51, is a Navy veteran. He’s worked as a financial advisor, developer, investor, and restaurant owner. As a senator, he holds a pivotal role as the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee and also serves on the Committees on Transportation, Business and Financial Services, and Labor and Commerce.

MacEwen faces two well-financed candidates with high name recognition, State Senator Emily Randall and Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz. Both are Democrats. Also declared is Port Angeles attorney J. Graham Ralston, an Independent, and Republican Janis Clark, a perennial candidate who has run for several elected offices.

The top two prevailing candidates in the August 6 primary will advance to the November 5 general election. MacEwen expects he will make it into the top two.

Here is an edited transcript of a conversation with MacEwen on May 29, 2024.

What issues are specific to Jefferson County that concern you, and how would you address them?

First and foremost, the economy. It's one of the challenges of this district's rural areas that you're often overlooked from an infrastructure standpoint. And in terms of economic opportunity, the economy provides a path to solve many other issues. Also, obviously, Jefferson County has a lot of retirees. So the solvency of Social Security and Medicare are important issues to a large segment of the county population.

What are your priorities for when you get to Congress?

We have to reform immigration. We've got a system that frankly is broken, that is not working. We need to have a system that allows people to get into this country legally in a quicker way. The nation was built on immigration, but we have to reform the system that we have right now, it's not working. You've got a drug crisis coming across our borders that is impacting families. And then also our national security with our military. The 6th District has one of the largest Naval bases in the nation. And we have to make sure that we maintain it, that we make upgrades to it, and that our workforce is paid a wage that is higher than where they're at right now in a way that's competitive in the market.

How much can a freshman congressman do? Let's set aside the whole partisan stuff.

You build coalitions, you build friendships, and you work together.  You find people with common interests, common beliefs, and on the issues that you agree on, you get to work on them. And that is how you get things done. That's not a new concept to me. And having served in the minority for the entirety of my legislative career, I can understand how to work across the aisle, how to work across chambers. And to develop those relationships so we can get things done.

How do you feel about Donald Trump?

This question comes up all the time, usually from reporters (laughs). He has a tendency to upset a lot of people with the way he communicates, the way he behaves at times. And that often overshadows some of his policy objectives. So again, I'm more focused on the 700,000 people that I seek to represent.

But if we're going to get all wrapped up about what someone else is doing, whether it's the president or a senator or someone else in the chamber, you're not going to get any work done. I'm going to focus on getting the stuff done for the constituents in this district.

Do you or do you not support Trump? I have a reason for pushing this. Let’s say you are elected and take a position contrary to him you could get squeezed out. Like former US Representatives Liz Cheney and Jaime Herrera Beutler who lost their seats after they voted against his interests.

I will always vote in the interest of my constituents. If that costs me the position, I will sleep just fine at night.

How will the primary shake out?

I will advance out of this primary. I mean, that's just the math. I will face either Hilary (Franz) or Emily (Randall). Janis Clark is not a serious candidate, and I don’t even know the name of the other guy (independent candidate J, Graham Ralston).

My twelve years in the legislature speaks for itself.  I'm well suited for this district in terms of being a Navy submarine veteran, a business owner, and I've served in the legislature longer than the two of them have been in Olympia. I think those qualities are going to carry me a long way in this race.

Can you predict who will prevail in the primary, Hilary or Emily?

We've still got two months to the primary election, so a lot can change. But I think if it were held today, Emily beats Hilary. She's more tied to the district and is running a stronger campaign from what I see.

For more information on MacEwen and his campaign, go to www.votedrewmac.com

COMMENTARY: Janis Clark

The fifth candidate for the 6th District Congressional seat is Janis Clark, 66,  who filed as a Republican. My interaction with her brought up a question about how a political reporter should cover a candidate who has little chance of winning and chooses to not answer press queries.

Clark submitted her candidacy papers late in filing week, at which time I called her at the supplied number. She was in a meeting, she said and promised to call back. The following Sunday I received a text requesting my email so she could send a press release. I responded immediately, but the release did not arrive. My May 19 text requesting her participation in the Beacon’s coverage has thus far remained unanswered.

I decided to not chase her down, I perceived that she had little chance of surviving the primary, especially considering the well-financed candidates with high name recognition who have campaigned for months. My opinion was confirmed by MacEwen, the only other Republican in the race.

“She is not a serious candidate.  MacEwen said. “If you look at past filing, she has a tendency to file for a variety of offices in every election cycle.”

Whenever someone files for an office I run an online search to learn about their background. Information about Clark originates from the Tacoma News Tribune. Here, we learn that the paper endorsed Clark for a Tacoma City Council seat on July 17, 2017, but withdrew the endorsement two days later with an article headlined “City Council candidate has a cocaine conviction and several last names.”

As Janis Gall-Martin, she was twice elected to the Pierce County Charter Review Commission but was forced to step down after her cocaine conviction was uncovered. The paper also reported that Gall-Martin was also charged in Pierce County Superior Court with numerous counts of theft, money laundering, and identity theft. After a six-week trial, the jury acquitted her on some of the theft counts, while mistrials were declared on all the others.

The cocaine conviction does not disqualify her from serving if elected.

In this forum I seek to talk to all the candidates and treat them fairly. I owe them that. In return, they should allow me some access and the opportunity to ask questions in order to clarify their positions. But to save everyone’s time and effort I will not cover Clark’s campaign unless she chooses to respond to past queries.

Clark does not have a campaign website.

Correction:
An earlier version of this article misquoted MacEwen: “And having served in the minority for the entirety of my legislative career, I can’t understand how to work across the aisle, how to work across chambers.”

We have corrected the quote to say (change in bold), “And having served in the minority for the entirety of my legislative career, I can understand how to work across the aisle, how to work across chambers.”