Strong candidates vie for legislative seats
Marla Keethler, candidate for LD 17 State Senate
White Salmon Mayor Marla Keethler officially announced her candidacy for LD 17 senator today, news that's gone viral in Klickitat County. The announcement provides yet another example that the political landscape has dramatically changed within the legislative districts that include our county.
Keethler joins Vancouver nurse and LD 17 Chair Terri Niles as Democratic candidates in a reshaped district, one whose overall voter profile tilted ever so slightly blue after the legislative districts were redrawn by federal court action earlier this year. Most of our county population--all the west side, plus Goldendale, is now in LD 17, but a significant numbers of our citizens continue to reside in LD 14. LD 14 Democrats will have excellent Democratic candidates to vote for, too, as this district now leans blue by several percentage points. Those candidates are Maria Beltran for state senate and Chelsea Dimas and Raul Martinez for Legislative House seats one and two, respectively.
Another announcement made on April 25th emphasizes the change in electoral landscape: Gina Mosbrucker, who was moved to LD 17 by the redistricting, officially announced that she will not run for reelection to the state House.
Terri Niles, candidate for the State House of Representatives in LD 17
In today’s newsletter we will focus on candidates Marla Keethler and Teri Niles.
A graduate of Puyallup High School, Keethler and her husband returned from Manhattan in New York to White Salmon in 2016. In making that move, she had changed gears from a career as a producer in broadcast journalism that included coverage of six Olympics and four Sports Emmy Awards. She served White Salmon first on the city council in 2018 and then as mayor beginning in 2020. On her campaign website, she lists Affordable Housing, Childcare, and Public Safety as top priorities.
"I am running for state senate to help bridge gaps in our politics," Keethler writes on her website, to "better connect people to the services and support they deserve, improve care and educational outcomes for our kids, and protect our rights and freedoms."
Niles spent much of her early life as an RN in Hawaii before settling in Southwest Washington 14 years ago. In Hawaii, she writes on her campaign website, she "learned the meaning of ALOHA and the value of diversity." She recounts the challenges of putting herself through college, raising a daughter, and working full-time, but she adds, "I'm not sure those opportunities exist for young people these days.... We must find a way to make the success that I was able to achieve, achievable for all of our youth today."
We encourage our readers to do three things:
1) Check out the two candidates' websites
2) Consider contributing to their campaigns (there are links on their websites)
3) Get ACTIVE in this election year--volunteer to help us staff the KCDP Booth at events, write postcards, and/or canvass.
4) Come to our quarterly gathering, 6 p.m. June 3, to meet both Marla and Terri. The location of our meeting will be announced later, but you can mark your calendar now. This will be a potluck meal, so you know there will be good eats!
We can make a Big Difference in this election year. The more that we win races, from local to national offices, the more we'll force the train wreck that has become the GOP to reassess its extremist agenda and to abandon its fever-dream of ruling as a minority autocracy. The LD 14 and 17 races are winnable, but no one's going to hand us a victory. We have to earn it.
Learn more about the candidates for LD 14 below:
Maria Beltran, candidate for LD 14 State Senate
As a daughter of farmworkers, Maria grew up knowing the value of hard work. She went on to earn a bachelor's degree from Gonzaga University and has been a political organizer for ten years. Now she's running for LD 14 Senator. Learn more about her on her campaign website.
Chelsea Dimas, candidate for LD 14 State House of Representatives seat 1
Another daughter of immigrant farmworkers, Chelsea is running for LD 14 House Representative Position One. She's determined to ensure that "everyone who has ever been misrepresented, ignored, or felt forgotten about, to know that YOU, too, have a seat at the table." Learn more about her on her campaign website.
Raúl Martínez, candidate for LD 14 State House of Representatives seat 2
Currently an external affairs manager for the Department of Natural Resources, Raul grew up in Yakima. Prior to his present position, he worked as a bilingual elections specialist for the Yakima County Auditor's Office. Now he's running for LD 14 House Representative Position Two. Learn more about him in this article from the Yakima Herald.
There's still an important office for which the Democrats have no candidate: Position 3 on the Klickitat County Board of Commissioners. That office is currently held by Dan Christopher. In other words, our county needs a different choice. Position Three covers the Goldendale area and the eastern portion of our county. Want to know more? Have a hot tip on a potential candidate? Send us an email.