Valley men contending for House seat
Published 3:46 pm Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Two local men declared their intentions to run for the same office, the 5th District Position 2 in the state House of Representatives, Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson and Fall City attorney Paul Graves. Larson, a Democrat, and Graves, a Republican, made their announcements the same week that Jason Ritchie announced he would run for Position 1, against incumbent Jay Rodne.
Position 2 in the 5th District, which covers Issaquah, Carnation, Snoqualmie, North Bend, Renton, Maple Valley and Black Diamond, is now open after current Rep. Chad Magendanz announced his plan to run for State Senate in November.
Larson is currently serving his third term as the full-time mayor of Snoqualmie. He was elected president of the Sound Cities Association in January 2015, and has held various elected and appointed positions including mayor pro-tem, city council member, past chair of the planning commission and parks board member.
Graves, a lifelong resident of the 5th District, is an attorney with Seattle firm Perkins Coie and serves on the board of Excel Charter School in Kent. As an attorney, he provides free services to foster care programs.
Larson started to consider running for office when Magendanz announced he would run for Senate, against Mark Mullet.
MATT LARSON
His involvement with the Sound Cities Association put him in a regional role, he said.
“I’m someone who enjoys public service and I feel I have a lot to offer. I reached out to some people on a state level. I forged a lot of good relationships with mayors, legislators and council members around the region so I decided to throw my hat in,” he said.
Graves is following the lead of other Perkins Coie lawyers, Cyrus Habib, the 48th District State Senator, and former Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna in his run.
PAUL GRAVES
“I’ve been thinking about this for a really long time,” he said. “I’ve dedicated myself to the community through foster youth and education reform, and I decided to step up.”
Larson has been mayor through Snoqualmie’s rapid growth of the last 10 years and has overseen development to match that growth.
If he wins the House seat, he said, technically he would be able to serve as both mayor of Snoqualmie and State Representative, but he doesn’t believe that would be the right thing to do.
“I think there is an inherent conflict of interest built into that,” Larson said. “I’m certainly going to commit to people, if I win this seat I will be resigning in my position as mayor. I’ll work with the council to make that transition.
“If I lose, I fully intend to complete my next few years as mayor,” he said.
Larson has received endorsements from Mullet, King County Councilor Claudia Balducci, State Representatives Larry Springer and Joan McBride, Mayors Sean Kelly of Maple Valley, Jim Berger of Carnation, Will Ibershof of Duvall, Dennis Law of Renton, Jeff Wagner of Covington, Amy Walen of Kirkland, Bernie Talmus of Woodinville, Sammamish City Councilor Kathy Huckabay, Kirkland City Councilor Penny Sweet, and Fall City Community Association President Ashley Glennon.
“I was really pleased to get endorsements from Democratic and Republican officials and that should speak to people how I operate,” Larson said.
“I welcome any kind of support from those who know me in the community to assist in the campaign.”
Graves has received endorsements from State Representatives Magendanz, Rodne, Teri Hickel, Linda Kochmar, Drew Stokesbary, Joe Fain, State Senator Mark Miloscia, Rob McKenna and King County Councilors Kathy Lambert and Reagan Dunn.
