The race is on for Position 2 of the 23rd legislative district, and candidates Greg Nance-D, and Jamie Miles-R are split on issues like school funding and the state cap-and-trade program.
Both maintain that Kitsap County needs a larger workforce, more access to public health and cheaper cost of living — but how to accomplish those goals is where they differ.
Miles names her top three priorities “gas, food and safety,” which are reflected in her calls for more stringent law enforcement strategies, a repeal of the state cap-and-trade program and farm-to-table food systems.
“You want to be a rebel? Have your own chickens and ducks, go plant a garden, know where your food comes from — that’s safe,” she said at a campaign rally. “Know where your food comes from, so you don’t have to worry about GMOs in your food.”
Nance’s “big three” are expanding affordable childcare, improving the ferries and building up the regional healthcare system. Since his appointment to the position after succeeding Drew Hansen just over a year ago, Nance has helped secure $80 million in funding for Washington State Ferries.
“I was able to hear directly from neighbors and bring the ideas I heard to colleagues in Olympia,” Nance said. “I’ve been to literally hundreds of events and knocked on thousands of doors on the campaign trail, including those that aren’t always as plugged in politically, because good ideas can come from anywhere […] I’m an action-oriented person, I’m going to work hard to make those great ideas happen.”
Miles sees an opportunity to expand pathways for Kitsap students into blue-collar roles. There’s a shortage of labor in services like construction, plumbing, HVAC, mechanics and more, and she strongly believes that encouraging students to explore the trades will benefit the local economy. Miles promised that if elected her salary will go toward establishing scholarships for trade school for “qualifying legal U.S. citizens in her district.”
“We need more people going into the trades, and we need more opportunities for people so that they see that this is a real, valuable pathway for them to provide for themselves and their families,” Miles said.
Nance sees the greatest workforce need in healthcare. There is a “treasure trove of a resource” in the healthcare training at Olympic College, which has expanded a health science facility in Poulsbo.
“We’re building out a program to train the next generation of healthcare workers — people coming out the Navy looking for a new career, young people out of high school, folks that are transitioning mid-career. We know that when we train folks in healthcare disciplines locally, they’re much more likely to want to stay here and work locally,” Nance said.
As a doctor herself, Miles agrees that public health needs change, but that individual choices and disaster readiness take precedence, like consistent access to healthy foods and pandemic preparedness kits — all of which contribute to a robust “human capital” in the county. But unlike Nance, more funding for schools is not on her list.
“I think that part of building on human capital means building on successful schools. Looking at the fact that we now spend more per capita per student in Kitsap County than we did five years ago, however, our test scores are worse than they were five years ago,” she said. “Instead of doing more with less, they’re doing less with more. I would look at the fact that if enrollment is down, everybody’s going to have to get lean and mean.”
In Washington, gas prices have become emblematic of the partisan split on how to address the costs that constituents face. Republicans, Miles included, point to the cap-and-trade program for high prices at the pump, and hope to repeal the tax in November; Democrats, Nance included, emphasize that the program is an essential part of the state’s environmental and infrastructure policy.
“The Climate Commitment Act holds Washington’s biggest polluters accountable and makes them pay a fair price for the pollution that goes into our airways and our water,” Nance said.
