3 Demos Battle For House Seat One Of The State’s Poorest Districts Has Strikingly Different Choices

There’s the plain-talking retired social worker, the poised and boyish 25-year-old and the well-connected downtown attorney.

Three very different Democrats are vying for the party’s nomination for the 3rd District position 2 House seat in what could be the city’s most competitive primary battle.

Attorney Lonnie Sparks was appointed to the position in July after longtime legislator Dennis Dellwo resigned.

Sparks, 51, runs his own law practice out of both Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. He’s been involved in county Democratic politics for the past 20 years, donating time and money to candidates.

Sparks was the pick of both the county party and Spokane County commissioners in a clumsy process this summer that left rivals Val Smith and Jeff Gombosky feeling as if the appointment was rigged in advance.

“Why am I the state rep now?” Sparks surmised. “Because people who know me trust me with this kind of power.”

Sparks said he wants to improve the quality of life for 3rd District residents by doing such things as securing state transportation money to help ease downtown traffic jams.

Sparks, who owns farmland in Grant County and property in Coeur d’Alene, said he particularly wants to help needy people in one of the state’s poorest districts.

“I want to represent people who don’t have power and influence in high places,” he said.

The defense attorney said he performs much of his legal work for people who can not afford to pay him.

“Lots of times at Christmas I have no presents under the tree,” he said, noting he doesn’t bill some clients during the holiday season.

Gombosky impresses some Spokane Democrats as the potential rising star the party needs.

The Mead High School graduate jumped into politics at an early age, volunteering for U.S. Sen. Bob Kerry’s 1992 presidential campaign, and working as an aide to state Sen. Ray Moore, D-Seattle, two years later.

He now runs the Institute for Neighborhood Leadership for the Northeast Community Center and committees. He’s enamored with community projects, such as Spokane’s COP shops.

“I think I have a good feel for what’s working in the area,” Gombosky said. “Hopefully, I can bring some enthusiasm that just comes from being younger.”

Some party leaders told Gombosky, 25, he should work on other campaigns and learn the game before running for the statehouse.

He didn’t heed the advice. Instead, his campaign has been the most aggressive of the three, knocking on the most doors and raising the most money.

Val Smith has the least amount of campaign cash, but perhaps the clearest agenda.

After 25 years of working in the child welfare business, Smith is driven to improve the way the state protects troubled children and provides foster care.

“I want to help coordinate different services better,” she said. “Right now it’s nuts.”

Smith, 58, stresses she has experience running a business, hiring and supervising employees and meeting budget demands.

She describes herself as an environmentalist and someone intimately familiar with the state’s welfare program. She also claims to be a “smart spender. I don’t believe in just throwing money at problems.”

Smith said her voting record would be similar to Lisa Brown’s, a liberal 3rd District representative now running for the district’s Senate slot.

“I would probably vote almost exactly the way she would,” Smith said. “But I think I bring more knowledge of the child welfare system” to the job.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: THE JOB The 3rd Legislative District covers most of downtown Spokane and the city’s core housing areas, including West Central and East Central neighborhoods. The House of Representatives seat pays $27,100 a year.