— from David Turnoy, Chair, SJC Democrats —
If you are a registered voter in San Juan County, you will soon receive your ballot (possibly as soon as July 17) for the primary election that ends August 6. The one position on the ballot for state office is the race for state senator from our 40th Legislative District. While the San Juan County Democrats usually wait until the general election to make endorsements, two of the four candidates for state senate clearly stand above the rest, and we would like to publicize our enthusiastic approval of these two women.
Liz Lovelett was appointed to serve as state senator for the remainder of the 2019 session that took place earlier this year after having served five years on the Anacortes City Council. You can find information about her at lizlovelett.org.
Carrie Blackwood is a labor and employment attorney from Bellingham, a law professor at Fairhaven, and an environmental and social justice activist. You can find out more about Carrie at carrieblackwood.com.
Both of these women are extremely bright, hard-working, and very competent. We are blessed to have such high quality candidates.
Only two candidates will emerge from the primary to go on to the general election; we are hoping it will be Carrie and Liz. Obviously, you can only vote for one of them, so please go to their websites and make your decision. Either of them will make a superb senator.
**If you are reading theOrcasonian for free, thank your fellow islanders. If you would like to support theOrcasonian CLICK HERE to set your modestly-priced, voluntary subscription. Otherwise, no worries; we’re happy to share with you.**
Wait a minute… I thought the primary in WA state was to vote for “top two,” regardless of party. Has something changed?
Yes, Sadie, you are exactly right. It is the top two in the primary, regardless of party, who go on to the general election. In this senate race there are actually four candidates: two exciting progressive Democrats, Carrie Blackwood and Liz Lovelett, then there is a Democrat named Greta Aitken who no one has been able to get in touch with and who didn’t appear at the League of Women Voters forum, and finally there is perennial Republican candidate Daniel Miller who, if you have seen him at one of these forums, merits no comment. I am hopeful that both Carrie and Liz will emerge from the primary as the top two vote-getters, allowing us to have a general election campaign that really addresses progressive issues and policies.