Veteran Washington lawmaker faces emergency room doctor and lawyer in re-election bid

The August primary sealed longtime state Rep. Joe Schmick’s status as the clear frontrunner in November.

The Republican garnered nearly double the number of votes cast for his challenger, Democrat Pam Kohlmeier.

Schmick, a farmer and small businessman, has served in the Legislative District 9, Position 2 seat in the House of Representatives since 2007. He took 62% in the primary. Kohlmeier, who has no previous experience running for office, is a licensed physician and an attorney. A third candidate on the primary ballot, Democrat Arianna Arends, got only 5% of the vote and did not advance to the general election.

Schmick holds a strong lead in fundraising as well, collecting $211,000 in donations that mostly came from business and political action committees. Individuals account for about $20,000 of his donations. Kohlmeier has raised $42,000, mostly from individuals. Her fundraising total also includes $15,000 of her own money.

The candidates were asked their views on specific issues affecting the 9th District.

Snake River Dams

Discussions have been ongoing for years about the future of the Snake River dams. Several groups filed a lawsuit against the federal government seeking to force the removal of the dams. The argument is that removing the dams will help salmon migrate upstream to spawn, increasing their population. However, opponents argue that the benefits of the dams, including clean electricity, irrigation and barging cargo, outweigh the risk to salmon.

Kohlmeier said it’s up to the federal government to make a decision on the dams and a state legislator would have no control of the process. She said she’d like to learn more about the issue by listening to 9th District residents. “We all know best how an issue will affect us,” she said. “I do think that is an issue where both sides have merit. I respect the fact that the tribes are concerned about the fish population.”

Schmick said the dams offer a lot of benefits and the electricity they produce is needed. A study has shown that the region needs to generate 4,000 megawatts of new power by 2030 in order to accommodate growth, Schmick said. “This is what the power companies are telling us.”

Schmick said the government should work with tribal partners to increase the number of salmon returning upriver to spawn, but that he wants the dams to stay.

Public safety

Schmick has been campaigning on the need to hire more police officers, though in recent years many law enforcement agencies have been struggling to recruit new officers and deputies. Schmick said he believes police reforms have deterred people from becoming officers.

“We need to value what the police officers are doing and what you’re asking them to do,” he said. “You don’t do that by holding them personally responsible.”

The justice system also needs more prosecuting attorneys, Schmick said.

“The legalization of drugs has not helped us,” he said. “We need to get dealers off the streets. Small amounts of hard drugs are legal. The Blake decision opened the door and it’s gotten out of hand.”

The Blake decision made by the Washington State Supreme Court in 2021 stated that the state’s drug possession law was unconstitutional. Schmick said the state Legislature has attempted to fix the issue, but hasn’t been able to do it well enough.

Kohlmeier said public safety is a key issue.

“Public safety is a part of building community,” she said. “If we don’t feel safe in our community, it detracts from it.”

Some crime is rooted in drug addiction and some of that addiction, in turn, is rooted in people’s attempt to self-medicate to alleviate their mental illness symptoms, Kohlmeier said.

“People who have an addiction need help and we don’t have enough help,” she said. “If I were elected, I would treat this as the crisis it is.”

Housing

Rent and the price of new homes has soared in recent years. Schmick said the supply of housing needs to be increased. Part of the problem is that it costs roughly $45,000 more to build a home under 1,500 square feet in Washington than it does in Idaho, Schmick said. Higher permitting costs are at the core of the issue, he said.

“We’ve got to take a look at what we’re doing to get those costs down,” he said. “I think that’s pretty stark and startling.”

Kohlmeier said there may be different solutions to the housing issue depending on whether the area is urban or rural.

“It’s a complex issue,” she said. “Right now, people who are working hard can’t afford housing.”

One possible solution is making secondary dwellings on existing lots easier to build, she said. Housing is generally cheaper in rural areas, but a lack of internet access in those areas means that people can’t live there and work remotely, Kohlmeier said. Instead, people are stuck trying to find housing in more urban, expensive areas that offer the internet access they need.

“If we had better, reliable broadband access throughout Spokane County, they can live wherever they want,” she said. “You could get your master’s degree living in Pomeroy. If you have access to education and jobs, that’s what you need. Technology can help rural communities.”

Health care

That lack of broadband internet access in rural areas also affects health care, Kohlmeier said.

“If we had reliable internet access throughout the 9th (district), people would have access to telemedicine in their homes,” she said.

Kohlmeier said she recently learned about a pilot project in the Wenatchee area that offered space for telemedicine appointments in public libraries, schools and fire stations. The program was well-received, she said, and she’d like to explore how to expand that to a wider area. It’s much more feasible for people to drive a few miles rather than an hour or two to get medical care, Kohlmeier said, and telemedicine visits could also be used instead of urgent care in some cases.

“A lot of times people don’t know what is an urgent condition and what can wait until tomorrow,” she said. “Telemedicine can help with that.”

Expanding access to mental health care is also important to Kohlmeier, whose adult child died by suicide in 2022.

Schmick serves on the House Health Care and Wellness Committee and one of the issues he has been working on is expanding counseling available to farmers, who have a higher than average suicide rate. Access to health care in rural areas is also an issue, Schmick said.

“I think we need more providers,” he said. “We’ve got to get more people out there. We’ve got to expand telehealth, especially in the rural areas. We’ve got work to do there.”

Property taxes

In the last legislative session, a bill was proposed in the Senate to lift the annual property tax increase cities are allowed to collect without asking voters from 1% to 3%. The bill was not approved. Schmick said he was not in favor of the bill and believes if city councils want to get more than a 1% increase, they should have to ask voters for their approval.

“I would not support that,” he said. “The 1% has been voted on and has been quite popular with property owners.”

Kohlmeier said she would be hesitant to support such a bill.

“People are struggling financially, so the thought of tripling the tax seems a bit daunting to me,” she said. “I would try to be the voice of the people on that.”

House Bill 2114

A House bill proposed in the last legislative session proposed capping rent increases at 7%, but it did not advance out of committee.

Kohlmeier said she’s concerned that landlords have had rising costs in recent years, particularly property taxes.

“If you fix the amount you can raise it, you might end up losing money,” she said.

While a rent cap might sound like a good idea, it likely would create secondary problems, Kohlmeier said.

Schmick said he doesn’t support the government getting involved in price controls and said it might push even more landlords to sell their rental properties and quit the business.

“This goes back to supply,” he said. “We don’t have enough homes. I would not support that bill.”