Tri-City senator battling challengers with $84K war chest

Voters in Washington’s 8th Legislative District face an unusually distinct field of candidates to represent them in the state Senate — a Republican, a Democrat and a Libertarian.

State Sen. Sharon Brown, a Kennewick Republican, squares off against Leo Perales, a Kennewick Democrat, and Ryan Cooper, a Kennewick Libertarian, in the Aug. 7 primary.

The top two advance to the Nov. 6 general election.

Primary ballots were mailed last week and must be returned or postmarked by election day. Postage is prepaid but drop boxes are available throughout the county.

The 2018 election is unique for the 8th District, which covers Kennewick, Richland and West Richland.

All three of the legislative positions, including one in the state Senate and two in the state House, have three candidates, necessitating the primary runoff.

The candidates for state senate all bring prior election experience to their race.

Brown, a former Kennewick City Council member, joined the Washington Senate in 2013, replacing Jerome Delvin after he won election to the Benton County Commission. She won a four-year term in 2014.

Perales ran unsuccessfully for Kennewick City Council in 2017. Cooper ran unsuccessfully for Klippert’s House seat in 2016.

Brown enjoys a lopsided fund-raising advantage, according to the most recent filings with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission, the state’s elections watchdog.

As of Tuesday, she had raised more than $84,000, including $46,000 carried over from prior elections. She has spent more than $24,000.

Perales and Cooper both registered as mini-filers, meaning they will raise less than $5,000 and don’t have to file detailed financial disclosures.

Eight organizations have contributed $2,000 to Brown’s campaign: CenturyLink WA PAC, Anheuser Busch Cos., AT&T Services Inc., WA Beverage Association PAC, the Washington State Tree Fruit Association, the Washington Affordable Housing Council and PHRMA (Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers of America).

The Benton County Voters’ Guide is available online at bentonauditor.com/Voters-Guide-List

In the order they appear on the ballot:

Leo Perales was born and raised in Kennewick. He is married with two school-aged children and works as a site inspector for a local engineering company.

The Democrat is also a civic activist who gained local prominence in 2016 when the Kennewick City Council came under fire for the Facebook posts of a now-retired councilman, Bob Parks.

Perales later surprised many when he teamed with Parks in a failed bid to convince the council to pass an inclusiveness statement. Perales, vice chair of the Benton County Planning Commission, later ran for Parks’ seat when the incumbent decided not to seek re-election in 2017.

He said he’s running to bring forward-looking leadership to the Senate.

He said he respects Brown, but said the working class of the Mid-Columbia is underrepresented in Olympia.. He criticized Brown’s record as being too focused on business and economic development at the expense of working people.

His priorities include universal health care, an economy built around the middle class, worker rights, affordable higher education and common-sense politics.

Perales said he will not accept contributions from political action committees or corporations and will vote against his party when it’s in the best interest of the 8th District.

Ryan Cooper is chair of the Benton County Libertarian Party and owns a business that sells subscriptions to newspapers, including the Tri-City Herald. Cooper, who is divorced with two children who live in Utah, contracts with the Herald but is not an employee.

Cooper said he’s running to bring more choices to the ballot and pledged to soothe the partisan divide. Most Americans are independent, he noted at a recent candidate forum.

His top priorities include election reform to eliminate the two-party hold on politics, introducing competition in education, including more money for teachers and more choices for families, and criminal justice reform.

The Benton County Libertarian Party took one of its most public moves this year when it launched Legalize Richland, a petition drive aimed at rolling back Richland’s ban on recreational marijuana. Cooper argues people should have the liberty to choose for themselves and that Richland could benefit from tax revenue.

The petition has been withdrawn after an attorney advised that it needed clearer ballot language. Cooper said it will be introduced in 2019.

Sharon Brown has been in public service since she joined the Kennewick City Council, where she served as mayor pro-tem. The Republican was divorced in March and is an attorney with five grown children.

As a state Senator, she has held several senate leadership posts, including vice president pro tem from 2014-16. She is the current Republican deputy leader.

Some of her endorsements are from the Washington State Patrol Troopers Association, National Federation of Independent Businesses SAFE Trust, Washington Retail Association, Washington Food Industry Association, Association of Washington Business and the Washington State Farm Bureau.

Her agenda includes traditional Republican priorities such as fighting higher taxes, economic development and reducing regulatory burden on small business.

She has sponsored and championed legislation to support Hanford and local business diversification opportunities, funding education, addressing mental health needs and fighting human trafficking.

Recent bills focus on streamlining permits needed for geothermal exploration, expanding Meals on Wheels, increasing sentences for vehicular homicide involving reckless driving, promoting cybersecurity programs and simplifying the process to obtain business licenses from cities.

This story was originally published July 25, 2018 at 7:00 PM.