2006
Elected Candidates

Derek Kilmer

Three years ago, the people of the 26th District decided they wanted a change and elected Progressive Majority candidate Derek Kilmer to the Washington House of Representatives. In 2006, the conservative Senator in the 26th decided not to run due to health problems, and Derek won his seat for progressives. Derek was born and raised on the Olympic Peninsula. He received a doctoral degree from the University of Oxford in England where he studied economic development policy, and received his bachelors' degree in public policy from Princeton University.

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Claudia Kauffman Redmorningstar

Claudia Kauffman is a a Nez Perce tribal member and elected State Senator from District 47. She previously worked as the intergovernmental affairs liaison for the Muckleshoot tribe since 2001 the People's Lodge Project and co-founded the grassroots organization Native Action Network. She sits on the board of trustees of The Evergreen State University. A former foster parent, she is married and is raising her two children in Kent.

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Eric Oemig

Eric Oemig spent his high-tech career solving problems - a skill that he will bring to the State Senate. Like many in the 45th District, Oemig moved to the area 15 years ago when he joined Microsoft. Eric has also been active on the Eastside - as a member of the Kirkland Library Board, Hopelink Executive Leadership Council, and Toastmasters International.

The incumbent State Senator, a moderate Republican, recently announced that he would not run again - a testament to Oemig's strong campaign. A state house conservative, Toby Nixon, has announced his candidacy, but is showing very weak fundraising numbers. This race is one of our top opportunities to win in 2006.

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Chris Marr

Chris Marr recently stepped down as President and COO of the Foothills Auto Group, which operates a host of dealerships in the Spokane Area that generate $80 million a year in sales and employs 160 people. Until launching his campaign, he served on the Board of Regents of Washington State University, on the Board of Governors of the Washington State University Foundation, and as Chairman of the Board of Empire Health Services and Inland Northwest Health Services. He has served as Chairman of the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce, as well as Chair of the Washington State Transportation Commission (the governing board of the Washington State Dept. of Transportation), and chaired the Transition Committee for Governor-Elect Christine Gregoire in 2004. Recently, he was honored with the Washington Environmental Council's 2005 Backyard Hero Award for his leadership efforts in passing state Clean Car legislation. This Senate seat provides a unique opportunity to make Democratic in-roads in Eastern Washington.

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Deb Wallace

Deb and her husband of 25 years, a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force live in Vancouver and have two children who recently graduated from Evergreen High School. Deb has served four years as a Board Member to the Downtown Vancouver Association, including a term as President. Deb currently works for the Columbia River Economic Development Council. Previously, Deb served as a manager at the Washington State Department of Transportation and as Director of Planning & Development for C-Tran. The district is the most conservative one in the state that has a progressive representative elected to it. Her opponent, Paul Harris, is a local school board member and has the potential, given the district make-up, to be a formidable candidate.

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Christine Rolfes

Christine Rolfes served six years on the Bainbridge Island City Council and has decided to run against conservative Beverly Woods for a 23rd District seat in the state House of Representatives. Christine grew up in New Jersey, holds a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Virginia and a master's in public administration from the University of Washington. She is married, with two young daughters.

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Kevin VanDeWege

Kevin VanDeWege, a firefighter/paramedic with Clallam County Fire District 3, is running for the House seat that is currently held by Republican Representative Jim Buck. Kevin ran as a Progressive Majority-endorsed candidate against Buck in 2004, and in that race Buck received only 51.2% of the vote - the closest progressive house challenger.

This year, he's running again and we're confident he's going to win this time. Kevin says he will focus on creating family wage jobs on the Olympic Peninsula and making health care affordable and accessible for all. Other campaign issues for Kevin include improving peninsula area highway safety and ensuring quality public schools. Kevin lives in Sequim with his wife Jennifer and their two children. He is the head of his local firefighter union.

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Larry Seaquist

Few candidates for the state legislature anywhere have as distinguished of a background as Larry Seaquist. Larry, a former US Naval Captain, commanded a number of warships including the battleship USS IOWA during his 32 year career. His ships operated around the world in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea theaters. His also worked as a senior security strategist in the Pentagon

Larry now lives in Gig Harbor, with his wife Carla, and writes and consults about the changing nature of war and peace in a disorderly world. He has appeared as a guest expert in several TV documentaries, on Fox News, Good Morning America, 60 Minutes, and on various national and regional radio talk shows.

Seaquist is running against two ultraconservatives who face off in a September primary, while he has smooth sailing through to the general.

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Tami Green

Tami Green, a Registered Nurse of 25 years, is running for re-election for the state house representing the 28th District. Tami brings her experience as a nurse, grandmother and community activist to the State Legislature. Tami was endorsed by Progressive Majority in 2004, and narrowly won the election by 235 votes - the closest winning progressive legislative race in the state. She faces the same opponent she defeated in 2004 - retired Air Force pilot Bob Lawrence.

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Troy Kelley

Troy Kelley is a small business owner (dealing with real estate titles) and teacher who is also serving as an active Army Reservist. He lives in Lakewood with his wife and two young children who will attend the public schools.

The 28th is a swing district that we have challenged many times in the past decade but didn't actually win a race until 2004 when Progressive Majority-endorsed Tami Green became the first Democrat to win here since 1992.

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Chris Hurst

After retiring from the Washington State Legislature in 2002 to spend more time with his family, Chris Hurst (a Black Diamond Police officer) is ready to once again represent the citizens of the 31st District. This 25 year police officer and detective is a proud father of an Iraq War veteran, and his wife is a small business owner. During his tenure in the state house, Chris was considered a rising star. At the time he left, he was the only Democrat elected in the district. His opponent in this election is conservative Rep. Jan Shabro who has never had a tough general election.

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John McCoy

John McCoy, running for re-election in the 38th for State Representative, is a Tulalip Tribes member and has been representing the district for two terms. He is the fourth Native American to be elected into the Washington State Legislature since statehood and is currently the only one serving. Over the past two terms, John has made important investments in higher education and health care, helped develop a compromise between business and labor on unemployment insurance, and strengthened Labor & Industries' wage payment regulations. This year, he faces the same opponent he faced in 2004. He narrowly won re-election and we're not taking this race for granted.

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Larry Springer

After working as a public school teacher and administrator with the King County Youth Services Department, Larry Springer opened a small business in Kirkland. He was elected to the Kirkland City Council in 1993 and spent 4 years as Mayor. The district's make-up is that of a changing district that has swung from lean-Republican to lean-Democratic. In 2004, Larry received an endorsement from Progressive Majority and was elected to the State House of Representatives. Despite outspending his opponent by a greater than 2-to-1 ratio, Springer was held to only 51% of the vote. Larry's opponent, Tim Lee, is the founder and owner of Pogo Linux, which manufactures computer storage servers.

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Geoff Simpson

Geoff Simpson, Representative for the 47th, has served as a leader on progressive issues despite his conservative-leaning district. His accomplishments as an elected official include creating local family wage jobs, increasing funding for local parks and community colleges and co-sponsoring a bill to lower the cost of prescription drugs. In 2004, Simpson received Progressive Majority's endorsement and garnered 52% of the vote. As it has been his past three elections, 2006 promises to be a tough year. The support of progressives will make the difference for Simpson in this race in the 47th Legislative District.

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Deb Eddy

Deb Eddy moved to the 48th District in 1980 and was a founding board member and early volunteer for the Eastside Domestic Violence Program. In the late 1980s, Deb helped establish the Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods, shortly after her neighborhood was annexed into the city. In 1993, she decided to run for Kirkland city council. Deb served six years as a councilmember, two as mayor. In 1999, she retired from the Kirkland council to take on the directorship of Suburban Cities Association, representing 37 King County cities with a population of almost 800,000. She has served on a variety of nonprofit boards, including the Eastside Domestic Violence Program, Suburban Cities Association and the Municipal League of Seattle-King County. Most recently, she helped found Washington Appleseed, a nonprofit devoted to providing new opportunities for attorneys to work on social justice issues. She works as a policy and public involvement consultant. Deb holds degrees from West Virginia University and the University of North Carolina. She has been married for 26 years to husband Jon and has three grown children and two grandchildren.

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Steve Stuart

Steve Stuart, former environmental lobbyist and Executive Director for a Smart Growth Environmental group in Washington, was appointed to his seat on the Clark County Commission in 2005. With the help of Progressive Majority in 2005, Steve won the right to finish the term - maintaining a Democratic Majority on the Commission. This year he must run for a new term - the second race in two years. He is the most progressive of the three commissioners, with a conservative Democrat and a conservative Republican also serving. Steve has a proven track record as a hard campaigner and an excellent fundraiser.

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John Dean

John Dean recently retired as editor and associate publisher of the Stanwood/Camano NEWS after a 25-year career in journalism. He has two step-children, one adorable grandchild and his wife Julie is a nurse at Skagit Valley Hospital. John has lived on Camano Island for over 30 years; he helped raise children here and actively volunteered for many community organizations. John is well known in Island County, where three conservatives make up the Commission. This is a great opportunity to get a Progressive foot in the door, and take out Bill Byrd, a developer-backed conservative.

Additionally, Camano Island, one of the two populated islands in Island County that does not currently have a representative on the commission.

Click here to support and learn more about John.