Incumbent's bad blunders give edge to Seaview challenger in race for state Senate

Andi Day is well-prepared to replace Longview's Jeff Wilson in Legislature

Andi Day may be one of the most prepared Southwest Washington legislative candidates to come along in some years.

The Seaview Democrat is a fifth-generation Washingtonian and a member of a Southwest Washington commercial fishing and logging family.

She has a long work history representing businesses, cities and communities as a tourism marketing executive. She knows the ropes and the power brokers in Olympia, having represented those interests in the state Capital.

She is challenging state Sen. Jeff Wilson, a Longview Republican who is finishing up his first four-year term. Wilson, the garrulous, uber-assertive former owner of Cowlitz Clean Sweep, is perhaps one of the best known people in Cowlitz County.

His passion for the community is palpable and well-documented through the many volunteer projects he has undertaken over the years. He’s also an elected Port of Longview commissioner. He’s seeking a second four-year term in the state Senate.

So who would better represent the 19th District, a broad six-county area that stretches from Longview to Long Beach and then north to Aberdeen?

The 19th has become solidly Republican, and its three GOP-affiliated legislators are in a decided minority in both Democrat-controlled chambers. Democrats may even increase their numerical dominance in Tuesday’s general election.

Wilson is a firm conservative and often rails against progressive agendas. But he’s not always easy to pigeonhole. He votes against tax increases and all gun regulation. He gets high ratings from business, gun-rights, nursing and family groups but low scores from the Washington Labor Council and conservation groups.

(See a list of his key Wilson votes at the bottom of this story. And check out justfacts.votesmart.org for a longer list. Also, see my story on substack.com about Day and Wilson “Seaview Democrat seeks to replace Jeff Wilson in SW Washington Senate seat” that appeared on Lower Columbia Currents on September 29.)

Wilson’s own legislative successes in the Legislature have been modest: Passage of a bill aimed at curbing catalytic converter thefts and another to help protect firefighters from E.V. battery fires. He also supported a bill that authorizes police vehicle pursuits if officers have reasonable suspicion that a violent crime is involved.

He supports voter initiatives on the November 5 ballot to repeal the state Climate Commitment Act, terminate the capital gains tax on the wealthy and make worker enrollment in the state’s long=term care insurance plan voluntary.

He also opposes efforts to raise the annual cap on property tax growth from1% to 3%. Local government officials — including Longview’s — say the 2001 voter-approved limit is causing them to lose ground to inflation and causing budget crises.

His attempt to reduce sea lion predation of salmon failed toward the end of last session. He plans to introduce a bill next session to study the risk of bridge-freighter collisions like the one earlier this year in Baltimore Harbor. He also plans to re-introduce a bill to end daylight savings time, The Seattle Times reported Friday.

Wilson co-sponsored legislation to create a state drug overdose prevention campaign that has passed both houses but did not get the governor’s signature to become law.

Day calls herself a “rural, moderate Democrat” in the tradition of the late state Sen. Snyder, a Long Beach-area Democrat who earned a reputation for bipartisanship during 50 years of service to the Legislature. She’s personable and an obvious workaholic.

She is former executive director of Pacific County and statewide tourism groups representing more than 6,000 businesses, communities and tribes statewide. She now is an independent consultant working on rural economic development.

If elected, she says she will focus on developing the district’s rural economies and infrastructure, improve access to affordable housing and protect reproductive rights. She supports “responsible gun ownership,” though she has not elaborated except to say he’s not into taking anyone’s gun away and appreciates the region’s historical and cultural connection to firearms.

She opposes Initiative 2109, which would repeal the state’s capital gains tax on the wealthy, saying it is a way of making the rich pay a more proportional share of state’s tax.

Both of these candidates are a good “fit” for the 19th District. Day’s politics are a bit more balanced and centrist, and her background in Olympia makes her a strong candidate.

But there are other reasons why I’m endorsing her:

First, with little or no consultation with other local offcials, Wilson this year killed the long-sought project to relieve congestion at the Industrial Way/Oregon Way (IWOW) intersection in Longview. He did so by shifting $80 million earmarked for IWOW to an Aberdeen Rail project at the far west end of the 19th District. Then he and state Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, crowed about finding the money. They failed to report that former state Sen. Dean Takko, the Longview Democrat whom Wilson unseated in 2020, had secured the funding for IWOW in 2015.

Wilson said the intersection project had become bloated and delayed and that the source of congestion at the intersection is the Lewis and Clark Bridge, not the intersection itself. The second of these is an especially debatable excuse, but neither justifies unilaterally killing a project that Longview had sought for decades in order to encourage business growth in the city’s industrial corridor.

This was an egregious mistake. This community needs MORE state money, not less. And that’s why Wilson’s support for the voter initiative to repeal the capital gains tax on the wealthy also is nonsensical. (The other members of the delegation — Jim Walsh and Joel McEntire, also support repealing the tax.)

The vast majority of people subject to the capital gains tax are from Puget Sound. Only eight Cowlitz County residents paid it in 2022, according to state records. That tax is projected to raise billions for early childhood education and school construction. It will generate far, far more revenue for this county and 19th legislative district than it will take out.

Second, Wilson meddled in the affairs of the Longview City Council, contributing to the chaos that preceded and followed the March firing of City Manager Kris Swanson. He even shifted funds earmarked for Hope Village to Lewis County — which is outside his district. It’s not Wilson’s role to undo what the City Council and city leaders have decided — or to nose into the municipality’s personnel matters.

These actions spring from hubris and oversized sense of power and self-importance. They got in the way of doing his job. That’s too bad. Wilson has the smarts and background to be a good state senator, but he needs to put his ego aside and focus on being a legislator and less of a politician.

NOTE: I intended to write about the 19th District House race in which Longview Democrat Terry Carlson is challenging incumbent Republican Joel McEntire of Cathlamet. But I have run out of time to report and write it. Please make sure you vote.

A brief look at Wilson’s voting record

Social and crime policy

NO to a bill that requires state learning standards to include education about the LGBTQ+ community.

NO to a bill to establish workplace safety rules for workers in adult entertainment businesses.

YES to a bill to make clergy members mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect (exemption for confessions).

NO to a bill that made Washington a haven for those seeking “gender-affirming” or reproductive care.

NO to a bill prohibiting medical licensing boards from retaliating against clinicians who provide “gender-affirming” or reproductive care.

Labor issues

YES to allow legislative staff members to engage in collective bargaining.

YES to legislation prohibiting employers from requiring workers to attend captive audience meetings about political or religious topics.

NO to a bill to prohibit employers from denying jobs to workers due to positive cannabis tests.

Environment

YES to a bill to establish requirements for businesses to report their greenhouse gas emissions.

SUPPORTS Initiative 2117, which would repeal the state Climate Commitment Act, under which large greenhouse gas emitters pay fees used for transportation and other projects related to climate change.

Consumer and housing

NO to a bill prohibiting the collection and sharing of consumer health information by apps and websites.

YES on s a bill that establishing temporary supportive housing options for young adults following inpatient behavioral health treatment in Washington.