For 19 years, Dennis Kampe has directed the Clark County Vocational Skills Center, helping high school students from throughout the county acquire marketable skills in fields as diverse as automotive technology, cosmetology, restaurant management and fire science.
The center, which Kampe helped launch in 1983, has won national recognition; Bloomberg BusinessWeek magazine named it one of the top three skills centers in the nation.
Now Kampe, a Hockinson Democrat and a lifelong Clark County resident, wants to take what he has learned about vocational education and the job market to Olympia. He’s running for the 18th Legislative District seat that is being vacated by Rep. Jaime Herrera, R-Camas. He’s the only announced Democrat for the 18th District seat among four Republicans and one independent.
Kampe, 63, kicked off his campaign with a series of get-acquainted events this month.
He already has won endorsements from several local Democrats, including state Sen. Craig Pridemore, state Reps. Tim Probst and Jim Jacks, and Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart. Kampe also has the backing of former Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn.
Kampe said his goals, if elected, are the same ones he has pursued at the Skills Center: Ensure a highly skilled workforce, recapture lost jobs and create new ones that pay a family wage.
Society needs people with vocational and technical skills even more than it needs college graduates, Kampe said. About 65 percent of jobs require some kind of technical skills; about 25 percent require a bachelor’s degree.
“When we come out of the recession, we’ll see a shortage of people who can do tech work,” he said, adding that there already is a local shortage of auto technicians, construction workers, nurses and dental hygienists. “Right now, it’s hard to find a welder here.”
If elected, he said, he’d work to change the state funding formula for vocational education.
“I think we are starting to slam doors of opportunity on students,” especially those who are not college-bound, he said. “When they leave high school, they should be ready to go to work, or go into a tech or vocational program.”
This is Kampe’s first run for public office, not counting his high school Future Farmers of America campaign. He said he was planning to run against Herrera before she announced she would seek the 3rd Congressional District seat.
“This was not a snap decision for me,” he said. “It is something I have been thinking of doing for several years. I have been a real student of the campaign process.”
Kampe said he’s not daunted by the 18th’s long record of voting for Republican legislative candidates.
“I really feel connected to the community. I think people are not looking for politicians; they’re looking for someone to be a voice for them. I’m very committed and enthusiastic.”
Kathie Durbin: 360-735-4523 or kathie.durbin@columbian.com.
