Replacing longtime state Sen. Harriet Spanel is a tough task for residents of the 40th Legislative District.

Spanel has served the district with honor and leadership for many years. Not only did she look our for her community on important issues such as protecting Lake Whatcom and supporting Western Washington University, but she stayed in the senate long enough to hold power in talks about budgets and other important statewide issues.

We would hope our next representative would have the district's best interests in mind as well as the ability to work with others and know the system well enough to be an effective legislator. We're not sure there is a candidate who possess both abilities in equal measure.

Democrats Ken Henderson, Hue Beattie and Kevin Ranker, Republican Steve Van Luven and minor candidate Timothy Stoddard, who lists his allegiance to the "Salmon Yoga" party on ballot documents, all have flaws.

After meeting with candidates, our board has decided to endorse Henderson, a former Whatcom County Councilman. We believe Henderson is the one candidate of the group who understands the needs and desires of Whatcom County constituents in the district. And for that reason we choose him over the more Olympia-savvy Ranker and Van Luven.

We met with Henderson, Beattie and Ranker in one meeting. We found that the trio of Democrats agreed on many things. All favor a universal health coverage system. All favor modifying the Washington Assessment of Student Learning so that the test is not a graduation requirement. All said they would be happy to raise state taxes to balance the budget and pay for programs they believe are needed.

We believe Henderson stands out from that group in that he better understands how to represent all constituents of this area. He promised to work collaboratively across the aisle when needed. Henderson had that reputation for being in the middle of the road in his short time on the Whatcom County Council as well. He is not a radical. Nor is he a party insider. Instead, he seems like the kind of person who would strive to answer to Whatcom County citizen's needs and desires on the board.

Van Luven's views on many things are different. Being a Republican he stands firmly against any new taxes, a stance we admire. But on issues such as health care he was quick to throw up his hands and say he doesn't have any ideas about a solution. He said he would be for trying something different, but couldn't define what that might be.

More alarming for Whatcom County residents, we get the sense that Van Luven has few ideas about what the important issues are here. Van Luven is quick to point out he served nearly 18 years in the state house. But that service was in a district in the Bellevue area, where he used to live. We get the sense that he is keenly aware of the issues that area faces. He has continued to vote in that district through last year despite moving to Samish Island in 2003. We get little sense that he understands the needs and wants of this district. We are concerned about his level of commitment to Whatcom County's causes in Olympia.

Spanel was an important leader on Lake Whatcom, getting the law passed that created stricter logging rules around the lake than anywhere else in the state. Van Luven said he was just now learning that was an issue. We have no confidence that he truly understands the Whatcom County issues he would represent in the senate.

The same may be said about Ranker. Ranker is a San Juan County Commissioner and has been very active in statewide environmental issues, particularly those regarding protecting the islands. He knows the system and spends much of his time in Olympia lobbying.

But we get no sense that Ranker is even aware of Whatcom County issues and we question how much of his time he would spend serving constituents from our neck of the woods. Frankly, we prefer a local candidate who goes to Olympia to work on local and statewide issues instead of a candidate, such as Ranker, who knows everything about state issues but nothing about local needs.

Beattie seems to know a lot about local Democrats. He has been involved in local party politics for many years. But we found his answers to many of our questions off-putting. When we asked him about the state's expected budget deficit, he said he wasn't sure current estimates are accurate and couldn't suggest places where cuts could be necessary.

Where Henderson stood out above Beattie was his commitment to the community on a broader scale. He worked on the county Planning Commission for five years. He served on the Parks Commission for eight years. He has served on too many other boards and commissions to list here, all of which show a detailed commitment to making Whatcom County a better place to live.

Henderson has won the endorsement of Spanel for her seat. He is also endorsed by popular state Rep. Dave Quall, who is running unopposed for re-election this year. These two long-serving representatives of this district know that Henderson has the right mix of experience and knowledge of local issues to best serve the district.

We suggest Henderson re-examine his willingness to raise taxes. Given the current economics of our area, with citizens struggling to keep up with higher transportation, food and heating bills, we don't believe that is the proper stance. We also believe he should rethink his ideas about standardized testing, which provide some evidence that schools are teaching our children well.

Despite our differences on those issues, we believe Henderson is the best choice among this group of candidates to represent Whatcom County residents of the 40th District in the state senate. We encourage district voters to send him to Olympia.