Big money fuels Sefzik-Shewmake race for state Senate
One of Whatcom County’s most closely watched races this election is for the 42nd District state Senate, between a two-term legislator who’s giving up her House seat and the appointed incumbent in his first major election.
Sen. Simon Sefzik, R-Ferndale, is facing a challenge from Rep. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, for the seat that was held since 2010 by the late Republican Sen. Doug Ericksen, who died in December 2021 after a five-week battle with COVID-19.
Ballots in the state’s general election must be placed in an official drop box or postmarked, not simply mailed, by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8.
Upwards of $2 million has been raised by the candidates and independent PACs linked to the Democratic and Republican parties.
Shewmake and Sefzik have faced each other several times in candidate forums posted online, including the Bellingham City Club and the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Sefzik was appointed to serve the rest of Ericksen’s term by the Whatcom County Council in January.
Under Washington state law, council members were required to fill the position with a Republican.
Washington’s 42nd Legislative District includes much of downtown Bellingham, the city’s northern neighborhoods, and the rest of northern and eastern Whatcom County.
Sefzik, who is a recent graduate of Patrick Henry College in Virginia and worked in the Trump White House, was assigned to the Higher Education and Workforce Development, Housing and Local Government and the Health and Long-Term Care committees.
“As your youngest choice, I believe I represent the future and a more age-diverse Senate. I want to work with members of both parties to protect Whatcom County and improve our quality of life,” Sefzik said at his website.
He’s focused his campaign on the economy and rising inflation, the high cost of housing and public safety.
Amid the recent rise in fuel prices, Sefzik sought in March to suspend the state gasoline tax of about 50 cents per gallon through the end of 2022, but his proposal didn’t advance.
“I’m running for state Senate to be a new energetic, and empathetic voice for the future of Whatcom County,” he said at his website.
He’s endorsed by the Whatcom Republicans, and by several statewide organizations representing law enforcement and business, including the Washington Fraternal Order of Police, the Washington Food Industry Association, the Washington Hospitality Association, the Building Industry Association of Washington, the Washington State Farm Bureau PAC, and by every one of his colleagues on the Republican Senate Caucus.
Sefzik has raised $795,890 and spent $766,025 through Nov. 4, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission.
Some $252,362 of that money has come from individual contributions, with another $238,989 from the Republican Party, $116,510 from business and $73,100 from PACs, or political action committees.
In addition, some $179,493 has been spent independently for his campaign by several groups, including WA Wins, North Cascades Jobs and the Washington State Dental PAC. Another $520,133 has been independently spent against Sefzik, mostly by the Democratic-leaning New Direction PAC.
Shewmake, an economics professor at Western Washington University, is leaving her House Position 2 seat to run for state Senate.
She was elected to the state House in 2018 and re-elected in 2020.
In the House, Shewmake served on the Rural Development Committee, the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, the Environment and Energy Committee and the Capital Budget Committee.
“As a mom, economist, and college professor, I’m committed to making policy decisions based on science and fact,” Shewmake said at her House website. “In past legislative sessions I’ve championed bills to make child care more affordable, support our dairy farmers, improve transportation, and create energy and resource efficiencies that protect our climate while saving taxpayer dollars.”
She’s focused her campaign on women’s reproductive freedom, affordable housing, job creation and directing taxes toward the wealthy and away from the middle class.
“I’m not afraid to take on big pharmaceutical companies and I’ve worked to cap the prices of essential medicines like insulin and epi-pens,” she said at the Bellingham chamber forum.
Shewmake teamed with her House Democratic colleague, Rep. Alicia Rule of Blaine, to secure funding and commitments to support small businesses and farmers that became part of a $20 million budget proviso for a statewide program to assist small businesses recovering from the November 2021 flooding, according to previous Bellingham Herald reporting.
That included $2 million to repair and prepare schools in the Nooksack Valley School District, $14 million to elevate Slater Road from frequent flooding, and another $2 million for the (Fire) Station 34 replacement that serves Marietta and Lummi Peninsula.
A range of statewide and local elected officials are supporting her campaign, including U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu and Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood, along with Lummi Nation and the Nooksack Indian Tribe.
She has endorsements from the 42nd Legislative District Democrats, the Riveters Collective and a variety of groups representing building-related trade unions and unions representing workers in education, health care, and office jobs, along with social justice and environmental organizations, including Planned Parenthood, the Washington Education Association, the Washington State Labor Council, the Alliance for Gun Responsibility, Bellingham-Whatcom Firefighters and the Sierra Club.
Shewmake has raised $681,508 and spent $631,313 through Nov. 4, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission.
Some $251,535 of that has come from individual contributions, $57,105 from PACs, $131,395 from the Democratic Party and $196,875 from the party caucus.
In addition, the Public Disclosure Commission shows that third-party interests have independently spent $422,291 to support her campaign, mostly by the Democratic-leaning New Direction PAC and the Washington Education Association PAC and $524,460 has been spent independently against her campaign by North Cascades Jobs and WA Wins.
