Mona Das Quiet On Sen. Fain Rape Claim, Wants To Focus On Issues

RENTON, WA - Democrat Mona Das is trying to unseat Republican incumbent state Sen. Joe Fain in the 47th Legislative District. To win, she'll talk about issues like housing affordability and how the district is "purple," ripe for political change in an important election year.

But one thing she won't talk about is the rape allegation against Fain.

She won't even say if voters are talking to her about the allegation when she knocks on their doors.

"We're knocking on doors every day, we're out meeting the people the district, that's what we're focused on," she says when asked whether voters are talking to her about Fain.

On Sept. 27, the day Christine Blasey Ford testified in front of the U.S. Senate, Candace Faber, a Seattle-based writer, went on Twitter and publicly accused Fain of raping her in a Washington, D.C., hotel room in 2007. Fain has denied the allegation and called for an investigation, but it's unclear how such an investigation would happen.

(In response to a request for an interview, Fain's spokesperson Lee Keller told Patch, "Senator Fain isn’t doing any interviews right now.")

Das decided to challenge Fain after dropping out of the 8th Congressional District race earlier this year. She wasn't hitting fundraising goals, and other Democrats approached her to run against Fain, she said. She's raised about $275,000 so far, and has attracted the endorsements of Gov. Jay Inslee, WA-8 candidate Kim Schrier, both U.S. Senators, and dozens of others.

Das was born in India, but moved to the U.S. when she was an infant. She's spent nearly a decade in the mortgage industry, founding her own brokerage in Renton called Moxy Mortgage. Housing is a main issue for her in this campaign she says because living costs are on the rise in the 47th LD. People priced out of Seattle and the Eastside are moving south to Kent, Renton, and Auburn, she says.

"We have a housing affordability crisis in the region," she says. "There are not enough places to go."

Das criticizes Fain for his yes vote on a 2017 K-12 basic education funding package. The bill, which many Senate Democrats voted against, reduces local levies while increasing state property taxes, a so-called "levy swap." Democrats have pitched using revenue from a carbon tax instead, or more recently, a capital gains tax.

Das has also said she favors letting cities write their own rental housing laws. That would, theoretically, allow cities to enact rent control, which is illegal under state law.

Meanwhile, Fain is pitching himself as a nonpartisan problem-solver - it's even hard to tell that he's a Republican just by looking at his campaign website. He signs a note to voters on the homepage of the site as simply "Washington State Senator Joe Fain."

Behind housing, Das wants to go to Olympia to address two other perennial problems: education funding and traffic.

It's unclear yet what Faber's allegation means for Fain. He's been in office since 2010 and has received the endorsement of the Seattle Times editorial board. He's also raised about $200,000 more than Das. KUOW reported that Fain had several hundred supporters (including other elected officials) at a campaign event.

But if Das isn't willing to make the rape allegation a campaign issue, other Democrats are. On Monday, a slate of Democrats - including former legislator Jessyn Farrell, state Democratic part chair Tina Podlowdowski, and NARAL Pro-Choice executive director Tiffany Hankins - held press conference demanding Fain resign.

"[A]lthough Fain’s supporters have claimed they want a 'thorough investigation' of the allegations, there is no formal process for such an investigation, because the alleged assault took place prior to Fain’s election to the legislature," the group wrote in a press release.

For Das, Fain's vulnerability in this election is separate from the allegation. She sees an opening in a district that's trending more progressive. The 47th voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and the neighboring 33rd Legislative District is represented in Olympia by three women.

"We're knocking on doors, we're meeting voters. I hope this race is defined by the hard work we put in," she said.

Photo via Washington Secretary of State