With November ballots expected to arrive to voters in the coming week, The Northern Light posed one question to candidates for the 42nd Legislative District Position 1 and Position 2 races: If elected, how would you help Blaine, Birch Bay and Custer residents?
The candidates were given a maximum of 200 words for their written responses. Below are their responses, separated by race. Responses were not fact-checked.
Alicia Rule (D-Blaine)
Alicia Rule is a two-term incumbent and former Blaine City Councilmember. She is a fifth-generation Whatcom County resident who works as a mental health professional. Rule has said she has worked to cut taxes for small businesses, increase affordable housing, expand outdoor education, improve healthcare and mental health access, and increase funding for law enforcement.
“I am proud to call Blaine home and even more honored to represent our community in Olympia. As your state representative, I have been focused on supporting our kids, keeping our communities safe and supporting our local downtown businesses.
If re-elected, I will keep working to support our local public schools with more resources from the state because right now, our kids are not getting the world class education they deserve, and it’s completely unacceptable.
Also while in Olympia, I’ve supported our law enforcement with additional resources to make sure they can do their jobs and I will keep working with law enforcement to get fentanyl off our streets, increase treatment options, and hold drug dealers accountable.
As your state representative, I am proud of the work I have done to support our local small businesses. I will keep working alongside small business owners to make sure they can keep their doors open and help create better paying jobs right here in our community.”
Raymond Pelletti (R-Blaine)
Raymond Pelletti is a Blaine real estate agent and U.S. Air Force veteran who has previously served as president of the Whatcom County Association of Realtors and as a member of the board of directors for the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center. Pelletti supports promoting conservative American values and creating working-wage jobs, according to the voters’ pamphlet.
“Blaine/Birch Bay: A unique location in Whatcom County. We need to continue to preserve our lifestyle.
Safety: Blaine has been a safe place to work and raise our families. Crime rates for the central areas of Blaine/Birch Bay are on the rise. The unreported crimes give the illusion of lower crime rates, but the incidents are up.
Cap and trade tax: Food and energy costs are making our everyday way of life difficult. We need to reduce the gas and diesel taxes as they raise the costs of bringing groceries and goods to our area. Repealing or reducing it will lower the cost of fuel by almost $.50 a gallon.
Train crossings: For years [late state senator Doug] Ericksen fought to get us safer, with a less interfering burden from the trains at the crossings. This delays emergency responses going both ways.
Fire district: One of our fire stations needs updating. We will work to find ways to get funding for our fire stations and keep our dedicated firefighters here.
Schools: We need to rethink the school bond. This bond should receive approval as it provides the money to do overdue maintenance and upgrades. This bond will replace the older bond with minor impact.”
Joe Timmons (D-Bellingham)
Joe Timmons is a first-term incumbent who has worked as regional outreach representative for Whatcom County in the governor’s office and as assistant director of government relations at Western Washington University. Timmons has said that he has worked to lower costs for seniors, improve public safety and support small businesses as well as increase access to education, affordable housing and mental healthcare.
“It has been an honor serving as your state representative for the last two years. During my first term in office, I met with local leaders and passed bills to reduce the cost of living for seniors and improve public safety, including sponsoring a bill that added a judge to the Whatcom County Superior Court (HB 1992).
I also worked with colleagues to secure funding in the state’s budget for projects in north Whatcom County, including $2.2 million for the city of Blaine’s Bell Road transportation project, and funding for a new skills center at Meridian High School, so students throughout Whatcom County can receive more real-world training for careers in the trades.
If re-elected, I will continue to listen to community needs and to advocate on your behalf in Olympia, including showing support for local projects, advocating for flood protection, and getting more funding for public education so students in Blaine, Birch Bay and Custer have access to a quality education. I will also continue to support small businesses, work to make housing more affordable for working families, and stand up for reproductive health care.”
Kamal Bhachu (R-Blaine)
Kamal Bhachu works as a hospital engineer at PeaceHealth, and has previously worked as a nurse and at Lynden Sheet Metal. Bhachu volunteers with the Punjabi Selfless Service Outreach Organization and with a Vietnam veterans organization. He wrote in the voters’ pamphlet that people have been hurt by Seattle’s extreme policies that became state laws, and is looking to reverse those changes.
“Blaine is the entrance to the United States, and as a border town, it is still trying to recover from the devastating economic effects of Covid-19. A large number of businesses were negatively impacted or wiped out by the lack of Canadian traffic. The recovery process is slow and ongoing. One way to help Blaine recover is to attract industrial business with our commercial properties.
In speaking with local leaders, I learned that they are looking towards the future, and conversations revolve around the need to prepare this city and the roadways surrounding it for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With events in both Seattle and Vancouver, Blaine will be a natural point of entrance. Local business owners understand the need to be prepared for this influx of both people and business and what it could mean economically for this town.
Birch Bay is currently hosting committee meetings for the community regarding incorporating. I recently attended one of the meetings and learned what this group wants. I will continue to stay involved as this develops. Being aware of the direction this community decides they collectively want to go will help me better understand how to support them in the future.”
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