You might have noticed her eye-catching roadside signs: The word “DONKEY” with the “D” crossed out and replaced with an assertive “C.”
C is for Conkey, and Democrat Jennifer Conkey aims to be noticed as she jumps into a race to unseat one-term Democrat Jim Jacks in the 49th District.
“I did some market research with my signs,” she said. “What I really love is, they put a smile on people’s faces.”
Conkey is a 38-year-old wife and mom, an East Coast transplant who decided with her husband to move across the country to Vancouver four years ago because, in her words, they wanted to raise their two sons “in a place reminiscent of our own childhoods, a place where our two young boys could enjoy the wonderful outdoors and learn the value of community.” They landed in Vancouver’s historic Lincoln neighborhood.
Conkey has degrees in elementary education and speech and hearing but has found her niche in market research and business development.
Though she’s not a political insider, she has followed politics for most of her life, “like sports fans follow football,” she writes on her website. “I have always believed in the people being central to our political process.”
Conkey made her political debut at the April 10 Clark County Democrat Convention and launched her fledgling political campaign with a loan of $9,400. Her issues, she says, are economic development, bridge tolls and children. She said she was alarmed to read recently that half of Vancouver school students qualify for federal free and reduced-price meals.
Conkey draws on her East Coast background to discuss local challenges.
The city has “incredible opportunities” in the areas of technology and green energy, she said, but it needs to engage in the kind of strategic planning that built North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park.
Academic, political and business leaders there “came out with this comprehensive plan to bring businesses in,” she said. “Nothing will fall into your lap.”
Regarding tolls on a new Interstate 5 bridge, “My position, quite frankly, is that I don’t like the tolls,” she said. “New Jersey is a perfect example. Nearly every highway has a toll. Tolls just place an unfair burden on residents. Once they’re in place, they don’t go away.”
She’s running, she said, because “our elected politicians seem out of touch with the daily struggles of our families.”
“Families today need two full-time salaries merely to survive. With the soaring costs of food and fuel, our shrinking middle class continues to get squeezed and more and more of our struggling families are falling below the poverty line.”
