The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times Endorses Strom Peterson for Legislative District 21 House Position No. 1

Snohomish County voters in Legislative District 21 should elect Strom Peterson to another term as state representative.

 

STATE Rep. Strom Peterson is seeking a second term representing the 21st District on the west side of Snohomish County, from Mukilteo to Edmonds and east to Martha Lake. He is a deep-blue Democrat who previously served five years on the Edmonds City Council.

Voters should re-elect Peterson, owner of an Edmonds cheese shop. His challenger, Libertarian Alex Hels, is a political novice who needs more public-service experience before he’s prepared to serve in the Legislature.In Olympia, Peterson’s priorities include water-quality programs and treatment for opioid addiction.

He plans to try once again to pass a bill that would tax prescription opioids and use proceeds to distribute lifesaving naloxone to people at risk of opioid overdose. His initial idea of a 10-cent tax on prescription opioids was rejected. The plan now looks to collect a per-dosage tax on producers and wholesalers. On the water-quality front, Peterson tried unsuccessfully last session to pass a bill stepping up inspection and planning for septic systems in the 12 counties fronting Puget Sound. It would have authorized annual fees on properties using septic systems, even on those outside of the Puget Sound watershed

Peterson plans to make another push for septic inspections in 2017 but with a different approach that he’s now developing with septic-service companies and other parties.

Peterson favors a school-funding solution that includes a “modest” capital-gains tax. To get that passed, he will have to compromise on other fronts, such as moving toward centralized bargaining of basic-education salaries when they’re fully state funded.

Re-elect Peterson for 21st District House Position 1

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