State Representative, Position 1
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Marcus Riccelli (D) | 11,602 | 57.71% |
| Tim Benn (I) | 6,900 | 34.32% |
| Randy McGlenn II (L) | 1,603 | 7.97% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
Featured Candidates
Marcus Riccelli
- Party:
- Democratic
- Age:
- 46
- City:
- Spokane, Washington
Education: Graduated from Mead High School in 1996 and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Gonzaga University in 2000. He also received a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Washington in 2007.
Work experience: Worked as Eastern Washington director for U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell from 2007 to 2010 and a senior policy adviser to then-state Sen. Lisa Brown from 2010 to 2012. Previously was an adjunct professor at Eastern Washington University. Worked for CHAS Health for several years and is currently the community relations manager.
Political experience: Finishing his sixth term representing the 3rd Legislative District in the Washington State House of Representatives after first being elected in 2012.
Family: Married to Amanda Riccelli. Has two children.
Campaign finance: Raised more than $199,000 as of Oct. 2, 2024, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission. Contributors include the Kroger Co., Pawn 1 Inc., Washington Beer and Wine Distributors Political Action Committee, Kaiser Aluminum, Pfizer Inc., Service Employees International Union Local 925, Kalispel Tribal Economic Authority, Sixth Avenue Pharmacy and Walgreens.
Tim Benn
- Party:
- Independent R
- Age:
- 46
- City:
- Spokane, WA
- Occupation:
- Co-owner of day-care center
His words: "I don’t think a lot has changed. I still don’t see a City Council that’s focused on the issues that I’ve heard about over the years, being active in the community."
His pitch: A long history as a district resident and previous work lobbying City Hall for school safety measures in the northeast are both reasons voters should support Benn's candidacy, he said. He criticized the current City Council for focusing too much on ideological issues and being forced to backtrack on certain decisions when he said they stepped outside their authority. More needs to be done to inform residents in the district about planned construction ahead of completion of the North Spokane Corridor highway, he said, and the homelessness issue in the town should be addressed by restricting the flow of illicit drugs onto Spokane's streets.
Work experience: Owns a child day care center, Little Precious Ones, with his wife in the Minnehaha neighborhood of North Spokane.
Education: Graduated from Faith Christian Academy in 1996. Received associate degrees from Spokane Community College in general business, business management and marketing in 2005. Received child development associate’s degree from Blue Prints for Learning in 2011.
Political experience: Defeated in 2017 campaign for the northeast district seat by City Councilwoman Kate Burke. Defeated in 2012 and 2014 general elections as Republican candidate to represent Legislative District 3 in Washington House of Representatives, both to Marcus Riccelli. Current chairman of Minnehaha Neighborhood Council. Led effort to challenge day-care regulations that he says are duplicative and burdensome.
Family: Married. Two adult sons, and a daughter in high school.
Neighborhood: Minnehaha
Complete Coverage
UW, WSU to end medical training partnership
The state’s two leading universities are parting ways over medical education and will compete in the Legislature for money to offer their own physician training programs in Spokane. Under an agreement announced Friday evening, Washington State University will push to establish an independent medical school at Spokane’s Riverpoint campus and withdraw from the five-state doctor training program operated in partnership with the University of Washington’s existing medical school. The University of Washington, meanwhile, will push for continued expansion of the five-state program’s Spokane branch and won’t oppose the WSU effort.
Bill to speed up newborn screenings heads to Inslee
OLYMPIA – Washington will require hospitals to get newborns tested faster for a wide range of diseases, and get those results back to parents sooner, under a bill sent to Gov. Jay Inslee. By wide margins, both chambers recently approved new standards for newborn tests and screening for certain rare diseases, requiring samples for the tests be collected within 48 hours of a baby’s birth and delivered to the state Department of Health no more than three days after they were collected. Births that occur outside a hospital are also covered by the bill.
North Spokane Corridor prospects bleak, legislators say
OLYMPIA – Don’t get your hopes up for new money to finish the north-south freeway, a group of business, civic and political leaders from Spokane was told Wednesday. The chances the Legislature will pass a package of big highway and bridge projects funded by a gasoline tax are almost nonexistent.
Home day care providers, state clash over stricter rules
Each of the child care providers gathered in the backyard of Gib and Liz Kocherhans’ north Spokane home has a story. The Kocherhanses, who own this single-story rancher where children have played for more than 20 years, point to the water feature in their front yard that’s been deemed dangerous.