I proudly support the law enforcement and firefighter personnel who keep our communities safe, and am deeply honored to have their support in my re-election campaign. To help preserve the safety of our communities, I have led the fight to keep heroin injection sites out of our neighborhoods.
Protecting public safety is one of the most important functions that government performs. I wholeheartedly support our law enforcement and firefighting personnel, which is why I’ve been endorsed by nearly every public safety organization in the state, such as:
- Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs (WACOPS), whose members include the Bonney Lake, Enumclaw, Sumner and Buckley police guilds
- Council of Metropolitan Police and Sheriffs (COMPAS), which includes the guild representing King County Sheriff Deputies
- Washington Fire Chiefs, representing the leaders of fire departments and emergency medical services throughout Washington
- Valley Professional Firefighters (IAFF Local 1352), representing the 100+ firefighters of Valley Regional Fire Authority in Auburn
In the Legislature, I have fought to increase funding for law enforcement and firefighting activities. I’ve also advocated for reforms that will allow local jurisdictions to deliver services more efficiently, which helps deliver more services while saving taxpayers money. For my work, I was named an Honorary Fire Chief and “legislator of the year” by the Washington Fire Chiefs Association.
One of today’s most pressing public safety issues is the potential establishment of heroin injection sites in King County. I have fought against back against these sites since these sites were first proposed by Seattle and King County officials. I introduced a bill to ban injection sites across the entire state, but it was not given a hearing by the Democratic committee chair. When the budget and other opioid-related bills were brought to the House floor, I offered numerous amendments to prohibit injection sites, but each time the majority-party Democrats used procedural tactics to block these amendments from being debated and voted on by the House.
In my role outside of the Legislature as an attorney in private practice, I have represented a voter-initiative campaign seeking to ban injection sites in King County. I defended the campaign in King County Superior Court after it was sued by the City of Seattle, and am currently providing pro bono counsel in the campaign’s appeal to the Supreme Court.
Sadly, heroin and other opioids continue to harm our communities, and virtually no family is immune to the epidemic. But the solution is to increase treatment options for those suffering from addiction, not to enable addiction and normalize heroin use through government-run injection sites. I will not stop in the fight to keep this dangerous idea out of our neighborhoods.