Both incumbent Republican Rep. Norma Smith and Democratic challenger Tim Knue say they have the leadership skills to ensure that 10th Legislative District residents will be well represented.

“Like I tell the kids in the classroom, I don’t care where a good idea comes from, a good idea is a good idea,” said Knue, a retired agriculture teacher who lives in Conway.

Smith, a moderate Republican who worked in corporate communications, says she doesn’t have a problem going to her Democratic colleagues for help to pass legislation or modify bills to address problems she sees. Occasionally, she has voted across party lines.

“You treat each and every person with dignity. That’s how I live my life, politics or not,” said Smith, of Clinton. “If you don’t treat people respectfully, you lose the right to be heard. It’s a core value of my life.”

Knue said he would be an “independent voice” inside the majority caucus.

The 10th District includes all of Island, southwestern Skagit and northwestern Snohomish counties. The House terms are for two years.

Both candidates say if elected, they would use similar methods, such as building coalitions in and outside of their respective parities and looking for the best solutions, to serve the district.

They agree on many issues, including looking for ways to speed economic growth, to ensure that Washington State Ferries has boats on the water, and to fund basic education, including technology classes.

Where the candidates differ is in legislative experience and on some issues, and in those cases, their differences tends to fall along party lines.

For instance, Republican Smith wants to see changes in regulations on health insurance providers to allow them to offer more options. Democrat Knue said he leans toward a single-payer health care system.

Smith was appointed in January to replace former Rep. Chris Strow, who resigned to work for Puget Sound Regional Council’s Prosperity Partnership. Smith served as the House’s minority assistant whip. She said she drew on her six years of experience as a special assistant to former Republican U.S. Rep. Jack Metcalf, of the 2nd Congressional District.

Knue’s leadership roles have been in professional and community organizations, as well as 32 years of teaching in high school. He’s also lobbied for education bills and in 2006, he narrowly lost to incumbent Rep. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, in the Position 2 race.

Knue said he challenged Smith this time because she had less experience in the House than Bailey.

To accomplish his goals if he’s elected, Knue said that he would talk with key stakeholders and work to bring them together, regardless of what side of the aisle they were on.

Knue said he’d approach being a lawmaker like he approached teaching.

“You clearly identify the problem and ask what solves the problem — where do we want to be,” he said. “Let’s have that conversation about how we want to get there.”

Smith touted her ability to work with fellow legislators to resolve differences to get bills passed.

Of the 39 bills that Smith sponsored, she said 19 passed, including 16 resolutions. The three bills that resulted in new laws included regulations aimed at preventing toys with toxic materials from getting into children’s hands and an additional level of community notification on sex offenders as well as requiring DNA sampling of sex offenders.

Smith said that part of her role as a member of the minority party is to ensure that issues are debated, that problems are solved and that better laws are passed.



Health care

Knue said he wants to see the state and nation move to a single-payer health care system, but also is willing to consider other options to ensure that people can get health insurance.

“I’m open to take a look at anything. What we have now isn’t working and isn’t sustainable,” Knue said.

Smith wants to follow some of the recommendations in a governor’s 2007 blue ribbon task force and eliminate some of the mandates that state law places on insurance companies. She said that lifting some of the cumbersome mandates will help make it possible for insurance companies to provide lower-cost plans to 19- to 34-year-olds, the group that makes up about half of the uninsured people in the state.

She said she also wants existing programs to reach out to the parents of uninsured children, of which 75 percent are eligible for existing free or low-cost programs.



Education

Both candidates want more money to go to schools, especially toward reducing class size. Smith wants to see the class sizes from kindergarten to third grade decreased. Knue wants to see more options of technical education, starting in junior high.

But the candidates differ on the funding approach.

“I don’t know how to find the money to make that happen,” Knue said, considering the current economy.

Smith said she is waiting for Basic Education Finance Task Force’s recommendations, which are due in December. Smith said she expects that the recommendations will be agreeable to lawmakers in both parties.

“Fundamentally, we have not changed funding for education since our revenue has changed,” she said.



Growing economy, businesses

Both candidates want to protect farming in the region and improve the economy, especially for small or family-owned businesses.

Smith said that the culture of state government needs to change to address the economic climate and reduce regulations that impede growth.

State lawmakers need to address the $3.2 billion difference between spending in the 2008-09 budget and the projected tax revenues for 2010-11. Lawmakers in the 2009 session will set the 2010-11 biennium budget.

“Common sense and fiscal restraint should be practiced to safeguard taxpayers’ dollars,” she said.

Knue said he would like state government to foster growth of new businesses by offering tax breaks during a small business’s “incubation period.” Some port districts offer similar breaks in leases to new business tenants.

Knue proposed that state agencies help farmers and other industries that rely on natural resources by developing programs that will ensure that farms and forests can be sustained.

“You help our natural resource-based economy stay vibrant — agriculture, timber — help them in such away that makes them a positive contributor to the environment,” Knue said. “Farming is always looking at the next generation, and they are cutting agricultural programs in the state and all over the country.”

Marta Murvosh can be reached at 360-416-2149 or .