31st Legislative District Race: Phil Fortunato Vs. Michelle Rylands

ENUMCLAW, WA - Voters in Legislative District 31 have a real choice for state Senate this year because neither candidate has served a full term. Phil Fortunato, a Republican, is technically the incumbent, but he was selected in January to replace Pam Roach, who moved to a seat on the Pierce County Council. Challenger Michelle Rylands, a Democrat, is running her first race for a seat in the Legislature.

Fortunato came out ahead in the August primary with about 58 percent of the vote. That makes sense since he represented the 31st District in the state House before being appointed to the Senate. Rylands earned about 41 percent of the vote, but she has the full support of top state Democrats including Gov. Jay Inslee, and U.S. Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray.

In late September, Patch sent local candidates questionnaires to help voters decide who they want to pick. We did not edit the answers and allowed candidates to write as much or as little as they wanted. Here are the answers from Fortunato and Rylands:

Phil Fortunato

Why did you decide to run for this seat? For incumbent candidates, what made you decide to run for reelection?

Want to bring “Kitchen Table” common sense to the process and reduce the State burden on people and business.

If you could snap your fingers and have it done, what’s one law you’d like to see passed during the next Legislative session?

Pass my bill on how to form a new county and separate Seattle from the rest of us.

A group of media outlets led by the Associated Press is suing the Legislature to get better access to state records like text messages, emails, and calendars of lawmakers. Do you think that the Legislature should start releasing more records (such as emails and texts) to the public?

The problem with emails is that some are talking about negotiations between parties and it would make it more difficult to discuss things between members on budget and bill negotiations.

Since you live in Western Washington, can you name one thing that you really like about parts of the state east of the Cascades?

I like Eastern Washington. The people are normal

For Democrats, why do you think it’s important for the Democrats to take control of the Senate? For Republicans, why do you think it’s important to retain control of the Senate?

Hold the line on taxes and to reduce regulation

What’s your favorite place to eat in Olympia?

Antony’s

What’s the important piece of business the Legislature accomplished over the 2017 session(s)?

The education funding reform package is a huge accomplishment.

Michelle Rylands

Why did you decide to run for this seat? For incumbent candidates, what made you decide to run for reelection?

There were a few factors that led to my decision to run. I had thought about running for office at some point, but certainly not this year. If you had asked me six months ago if I was planning on running for office this year I would have said absolutely not! Life has a funny way of throwing a wrench in all your plans though, and I was home one night when I got a call from a number I didn’t recognize. Normally I don’t answer calls from numbers I don’t recognize after 7pm but for some reason I decided to answer, and the voice at the end of the line asked if I would be interested in running for State Senate. My initial response was “who are you and how did you get my number?!” Turns out that it was Bryan Gunn who is the Chair of the 31 st District Democrats and has been a huge source of support for the campaign. After a few more calls and taking some time to think about it, I decided to throw my hat in the race. The main reason I decided to run though is because of the kids in the 31st. I’ve spent a decade fighting for public education in the district and I want to be the champion our kids can count on in Olympia. Our schools should not be funded by raffles or carnivals or box tops. We should not have to fund basic activities and supplies through charity. It is up to our state to fund basic education and I’m tired of watching the Republicans play games with our children’s future. If you could snap your fingers and have it done, what’s one law you’d like to see passed during the next Legislative session? If I could snap my fingers and have any one law passed during the next Legislative session, it would be the capital budget. There are so many desperately needed infrastructure projects that are being held up because of the Republicans refusal to have any meaningful discussion around the Hurst decision, even though the Democrats were willing to put a two year hold on it! This is something that is having an extremely negative impact in the 31 st . Here in Auburn we passed a bond that would allow us to build six new schools, but because of the capital budget not passing, the district has had to put a hold on construction until this gets sorted out. Another example of why the 31 st needs the capital budget to pass is the situation in Carbonado. Their pipes have eroded to the point where they are indefinitely without access to clean water. There is literally raw sewage leaking into people’s homes and Phil Fortunato told the people of Carbonado “Well, we’ve waited this long we can wait a little longer” http://nwnewsnetwork.org/post/sewage-seeps- washington-town-desperate-state- funds.

A group of media outlets led by the Associated Press is suing the Legislature to get better access to state records like text messages, emails, and calendars of lawmakers. Do you think that the Legislature should start releasing more records (such as emails and texts) to the public?

I believe that if lawmakers are using communications that are provided by the state, and therefore funded by taxpayer dollars, then absolutely the public should have better access to their records to the extent that it doesn’t interfere with ongoing legislative business. I believe strongly that elected officials are accountable to their constituents and transparency is a key component to a healthy government.

Since you live in Western Washington, can you name one thing that you really like about parts of the state east of the Cascades?

Most of my family is from Iowa so I like to joke that I drove a tractor before I ever got behind the wheel of a car. Every time my family and I head east of the cascades, the landscape reminds me of Iowa and all the memories with my family there.

For Democrats, why do you think it’s important for the Democrats to take control of the Senate? For Republicans, why do you think it’s important to retain control of the Senate?

I believe it is important for Democrats to take control of the Senate because there is too much at stake to afford yet another year of legislative gridlock. The Republicans’ refusal to budge on the capital budget is having an unbelievably negative impact on the people of the 31 st and Washington state. In the 31 st alone we would have received nearly $50 million in funding for infrastructure projects like replacing Carbonado’s water system so that they don’t have to drink bottled water because of how much sewage is seeping into their current system. Not only that, but these infrastructure projects would have provided good paying jobs for the people of the 31 st . This is why it is important for the Democrats to have control of Senate, so that we can actually tackle the issues facing our state and get people working.

What’s your favorite place to eat in Olympia?

I spent a lot of time in Italy as child because my parents were stationed at one of the military bases there so I am a huge fan of Italian food. The best Italian place I’ve been to in Olympia would probably have to be Pizzeria La Gitana!

What’s the important piece of business the Legislature accomplished over the 2017 session(s)?

The most important piece of business the Legislature accomplished during the 2017 sessions would have to be the increased funding for public education in our state. It is a good first start but it isn’t a permanent solution and is paid financed by a massive increase in property taxes. I think that instead of a property tax the legislature should have instead worked on closing many of the corporate tax loopholes and funneled the additional revenue into public education funding.

Image via Patch.com