Washington’s 5th Legislative District candidates squared off at the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce’s Candidates Luncheon on July 14, vying to represent the district in the Washington State Senate.

Incumbent Sen. Mark Mullet (D-Issaquah) and his challenger, Rep. Chad Magendanz (R-Issaquah), weighed in on this year’s hot topics in Olympia.

Attendees were quick to bring up highly-publicized light rail measure ST3 during a question-and-answer session.

Mullet, 43, who is experienced with using public transit, having worked for UBS in New York City and London, said that he supports bringing light rail to the Eastside. He said that it is largely thanks to an effort put out by Costco, Issaquah landowner Skip Rowley and himself that Issaquah was put on the ST3 map.

“Because of our geography, we can’t build more lanes,” he told the Reporter in a follow-up interview. “When you run out of space, transit is the only way to move people.”

Magendanz, 49, a former Navy officer, stated that it was more pressing to focus on the “immediate issues” of autonomous vehicles and congestion relief. People in the 5th District are too used to having the freedom of their cars to adapt to a public transit system, he said, and “they aren’t willing to pay for something they can’t use.”

As an alternative to light rail, Magendanz suggested that large companies that bring commuting workers to the area could invest in the infrastructure, as well as conduct more business by telecommuting.

The candidates also discussed raising the statewide minimum wage. In November, Washington voters will decide through Initiative 1433 whether the minimum wage should increase from $9.47 to $11 per hour in 2017.

“The focus on low-skills jobs is all wrong,” Magendanz said. “Low-skills jobs are not meant to be long-term.”

He stated that raising the minimum wage actually hurts young people looking for jobs, because businesses won’t be able to afford to hire as many workers.

Mullet supports a higher minimum wage, but had wanted the build-up to be more gradual.

“If you want to help the business owners, create a policy that helps businesses with a slow ramp-up,” said Mullet, who runs three businesses, Zeek’s Pizza and Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream in Issaquah and Ben and Jerry’s at Bellevue Square.

The candidates’ opinions also differ on whether funds earned through school levies should be kept local or spread throughout the state. This issue will be contested in the upcoming session through Senate Bill 6195, co-sponsored by Magendanz, which requires the legislature to “recommend a solution to the over-reliance on local school levies to pay for basic education by the time the legislature adjourns in 2017,” according to a press release by House Republicans.

Magendanz said that right now in Washington, the sad truth is that, “your ZIP code is a strong component of the quality of education you receive.” Not all school districts have the same ability to pass levies, he explained, causing a large wealth disparity.

The way to fix this, and to make sure that Washington follows its obligation to fully fund education, as set forth in the 2012 McCleary decision, is to have a common schools levy, he said. This flat tax would redistribute levy dollars around the state based on need.

Mullet countered that a local levy is “a 100 percent guarantee that it’s going to the local district …We have some of the best public schools in the state … due to levies. I’m not going to have our dollars redistributed.”

Mullet said that his moderate views as a social liberal and fiscal conservative make him an ideal representative of the unique political mindset of 5th District voters, while Magendanz said that his military “roots in the country” and career as a software developer make him “more representative of the average voter in District 5.”

Learn more about Mark Mullet at http://markmullet.nationbuilder.com.

Learn more about Chad Magendanz at https://chadforsenate.com.