Eastern WA lawmaker Klicker garners challengers from Democrats, Peace and Freedom Party
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Tri-City 2022 Election Coverage
The latest news and updates on the 2022 primary and general elections in the Tri-Cities.
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Walla Walla Republican Mark Klicker has garnered two challengers from the left in his bid for a second term representing the 16th Legislative District.
The three of them will face off in the Aug. 2 primary. The top-two vote recipients will move on to the general election in November.
Democrat Jeff Strickler, of Walla Walla, is jumping into this race as a Democrat.
It’s unclear if Sharon Kay Schiller, a Peace and Freedom candidate, is still in the race — she declined an invitation by Northwest Public Broadcasting to participate in an election forum, noting that she had withdrawn her candidacy due to medical reasons, but later said she was jumping back in the race.
Regardless, all three of their names will be on the ballot for voters.
The 16th Legislative District is made up of large swaths of Southeast Washington, and stretches from Walla Walla to Prosser to include Finley, parts of Kennewick, West Richland, Benton City and small parts of Pasco.
Ballots were mailed out to registered voters this week. In order to count, ballots must either be in the mail and postmarked by Election Day or in a county-certified drop box before 8 p.m. that day.
July 25 is the last day to register to vote or update your registration online. Residents can also show up in person to their local county auditor’s office by 8 p.m. Election Day to register and vote.
Mark Klicker
Klicker, the incumbent Republican, is a private business owner who works as a farm and ranch realtor and has roots in the agriculture industry.
So far, he’s raised more than $28,500 in contributions and spent about $12,600 for his reelection bid, per PDC filings.
In the House, Klicker serves as assistant ranking minority member of the Environment and Energy Committee and as a member of the following committees: Rules, Rural Development, Agriculture and Natural Development, and Transportation.
“With my strong experience in the agriculture and business industry, I understand how to help get our economy moving again,” a statement from Klicker read in the voters’ guide.
Klicker’s top priorities include small business recovery, land use and water rights, creating tax incentives and keeping taxes low, expanding Southeast Washington transportation options and reducing un-needed regulation.
During this year’s legislative session, Klicker introduced a bill that would have established a moratorium on any state decisions allowing new wind farms or other clean energy projects until studies on where the projects are located and where the energy is used could be conducted.
The proposal failed to make it out of the House committee on Energy and Environment, and would have impacted projects such as the Horse Heaven Wind Farm near the Tri-Cities.
He said back then that it was about fairness, seeing as how Benton and Walla Walla counties have 3.5% of the state’s populations yet produce 11% of all renewable energy.
Gov. Jay Inslee vetoed similar sections of a bill earlier this year that would have given Eastern Washington residents more input on where wind and solar projects go. Those amendments were penned, in part, by Klicker.
The bill, which was signed into law as House Bill 1812, makes changes to the state council that recommends allowing new energy projects in Washington.
Klicker has also criticized Inslee’s Climate Commitment Act, which passed last year and established a comprehensive program to reduce carbon pollution and achieve greenhouse gas limits. It goes into effect next year.
“Legislation for the CCA pushes for 100% electricity through renewable energy in the form of intermittent sources, such as solar and wind, while considering the removal of our hydroelectric dams. This will only increase brownouts and blackouts,” he said in a statement to NWPB.
He said he will continue to push for “all sources of energy” while science and the market bring about more efficient and productive clean energy for implementation.
Klicker is also against Inslee’s Clean Cars 2030 measure, which would require any sale, purchase or registration on vehicles model year 2030 or later to be electric.
Jeff Strickler
Strickler, a Walla Walla Democrat, is a realtor serving parts of eastern Washington and Oregon who spent more than 20 years in the software industry, mostly running his own consulting practice.
He moved to the area in 2010 from Seattle, though he previously spent time in Eastern Oregon.
This is his first run at public office and he’s listed no elected experience, according to the voters’ pamphlet. But he’s earned an endorsement from the Walla Walla County Democrats.
He’s garnered more than $7,200 in contributions so far and has spent nearly $2,900 of that.
“We need a strong voice in Olympia who shares the values of Eastern Washington and will work for us,” he wrote in the voters’ pamphlet. “I’ll prioritize economic development, the environment and housing. We must work together to ensure that growing families can afford to put down roots here.”
He also wants to expand access to health care, child care and education.
Strickler says creating more sustainable job opportunities and reducing repeated cost burdens, such as child care and health care, will help tamper the state’s tight housing market.
“With higher paying jobs and reduced monthly expenses, we can get people into houses for which they might not otherwise be qualified. We must also look at creative ways to unlock opportunities for funding home improvements in order to keep homeowners in their homes and make more homes available, especially for first-time buyers,” he said in a statement to NWPB.
Strickler says the region also needs to take a “smart and thoughtful approach” to how it grows and create a “desirable, sought-after region” that utilizes its close proximity to Boise, Portland, Seattle and Spokane.
The district is poised for transport, warehousing and remote work, he said — as well as clean-energy jobs.
“The shift to renewable energy will happen in our lifetimes, and we are poised to prosper together if we embrace the advantages unique to our area,” he writes. “Windmills and solar panels will benefit our farmers and community, and sustainable energy jobs could be a key source of growth for keeping and attracting blue-collar and white-collar workers.”
Sharon Kay Schiller
Schiller is a three-time city council candidate and U.S. Army veteran who lives in Walla Walla.
She’s yet to report any campaign contributions or spending, per PDC filings.
She’s running under the Peace and Freedom Party because it reflects her “left-libertarian philosophy,” she said in the voters’ guide.
If elected, Schiller said she would propose legislation to repair the ecosystem, increase funding for more police officers, reform and lower taxes, support legislation that enhances public transportation, assist local agriculture businesses, and work to allocate funding for municipalities for day centers for the houseless.
Schiller has worked in business office administration and as a registered nurse. She’s also volunteered with the Walla Walla Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, and is a roadside trash pickup volunteer.
“I raised my two children as a single parent,” she wrote. “I have high interest in current events, economics, ecosystems, history, health and music.”
