The Tri-City Herald recommends Regev over Klippert for the 8th District
If we were to guess who’ll win the 8thLegislative District race between Republican incumbent Brad Klippert and Democratic challenger Shir Regev, we would choose Klippert – hands down.
He is a great guy and is beloved by constituents.
But we don’t set out to pick winners.
We set out to recommend the candidate we think will be the most effective Tri-City area representative in the state Legislature.
Regev is just starting in politics, but she shows so much promise she gets our backing.
Incumbents – especially longtime incumbents like Klippert – typically have a huge advantage over a challenger because their experience counts for so much.
But last spring, Klippert voted along with his colleagues to exempt the Legislature from the state Public Records Act, leading to one of the most forceful public pushbacks this state has ever seen.
Klippert still defends his support of this horrible bill and offers no apology. He believes the Legislature is an independent branch of government and not an agency, so it should continue to be exempt from much of the Public Records Act.
We always have appreciated his honesty. Klippert is a straight shooter who holds to his convictions, and there is a lot to like about his forthright character.
But having no regrets about his public records vote – which outraged thousands of people – makes it extremely difficult for us to recommend him for another term.
There were more than 6,300 phone calls and 12,500 emails to Gov. Jay Inslee urging a veto on the measure. The public was making it clear they did not want their lawmakers to be able to conduct their business in secret.
People also were outraged at how lawmakers rammed the proposal through for their own benefit. They crafted it in secret, bypassed the traditional public hearing process and approved it within 48 hours of its introduction.
Inslee eventually vetoed it, but Klippert would vote for the measure again if given the chance, despite the backlash.
His focus is on protecting the privacy of constituents, which we understand. But exemptions in the Public Records Act already exist for that.
Regev, although new to the debate, seems to understand this.
She said anything to improve transparency is a “good thing” and that privacy should be the exception, not the rule, when it comes to public records.
Regev grew up in the Tri-Cities and is a senior health physics technician at Hanford. She served in the Peace Corps and the Navy and last year ran unsuccessfully for the Richland City Council.
She decided to run against Klippert on the last day of the filing period, saying, “If I’m not for myself, who will be for me?”
Regev wanted to offer a choice for voters on the ballot, and she certainly will take a more progressive stand on topics compared with Klippert.
Klippert has a tendency to vote against government just because it is government, and we would encourage people to look at his voting record.
For instance, he voted against an increase in the gas tax in 2015, but since the measure passed he now seems willing to take credit for Tri-City projects paid for by that revenue source.
As for Regev, it isn’t her positions on issues that impressed us as much as her thoughtful demeanor.
She is smart – graduating from Washington State University in two-and-a-half years. And that’s before the Running Start program was implemented. She wants to help people who are struggling with health care, retirement and making ends meet.
We know she is not up to speed on every issue, but we think she would catch on quickly.
Klippert is a Benton County sheriff’s deputy who works as a school resource officer in Benton City and Finley. He also is a colonel who commands the Washington State Guard.
He is dedicated, friendly and has positive energy to spare. We like him.
But we don’t like how he defends his support for last spring’s public records bill, and that’s problematic for us.
The Tri-City Herald recommends challenger Shir Regev for state representative in the 8th District.
This story was originally published September 25, 2018 at 5:34 PM.