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49th District candidates disagree on guns, taxes

Incumbent Moeller being challenged by political newcomer Ross

By Lauren Dake, Columbian Political Writer
Published: October 11, 2014, 5:00pm

Jim Moeller

Age: 59.

City/neighborhood: Vancouver/Northwest neighborhood.

Occupation: Chemical dependency counselor for Kaiser Permanente.

Party affiliation: Democrat .

Endorsements: Washington Education Association PAC, Washington State Labor Council AFL CIO, Washington Conservation Voters, among others.

Total funds raised: $84,812.

Campaign website: www.jimmoeller.org

Lisa Ross

Age: 47.

City/neighborhood: Vancouver, N.W. Hazel Dell.

Occupation: Certified public accountant.

Party affiliation: Republican.

Endorsements: Gun Owners Action League of Washington, Clyde Holland, Bill and Oliver Hidden, among others.

Total funds raised: $16,674.


Campaign website:
www.SelectLisaRoss.com

The legislative candidates vying for the 49th Legislative District Position 2 offer stark policy contrasts on issues ranging from raising taxes to gun rights.

Jim Moeller

Age: 59.

City/neighborhood: Vancouver/Northwest neighborhood.

Occupation: Chemical dependency counselor for Kaiser Permanente.

Party affiliation: Democrat .

Endorsements: Washington Education Association PAC, Washington State Labor Council AFL CIO, Washington Conservation Voters, among others.

Total funds raised: $84,812.

Campaign website: <a href="http://www.jimmoeller.org">www.jimmoeller.org</a>

Lisa Ross

Age: 47.

City/neighborhood: Vancouver, N.W. Hazel Dell.

Occupation: Certified public accountant.

Party affiliation: Republican.

Endorsements: Gun Owners Action League of Washington, Clyde Holland, Bill and Oliver Hidden, among others.

Total funds raised: $16,674.

Campaign website: <a href="http://www.SelectLisaRoss.com">www.SelectLisaRoss.com</a>

Incumbent Jim Moeller, who holds the second most powerful position in the House, is a liberal Democrat who isn’t afraid to call for increasing taxes and doesn’t pause when describing some open-carry advocates as “nuts.”

Moeller has an advantage in the Democratic-leaning 49th District, as evidenced by him dipping into his own war chest to the tune of $31,000 to help the Democratic party. He has raised about $85,000.

Political newcomer Republican Lisa Ross, a certified public accountant, is a familiar face at open-carry advocate events and has done her best to position herself as the candidate who won’t hike taxes. She’s raised $16,674.

More than a decade ago, Ross moved with her family from Alabama to the Hazel Dell area. She unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the Vancouver Public Schools board last year and touts the core Republican ideal of limited government.

Ross recently announced she has been battling the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis since she was a teenager. After trying multiple medications, she tried marijuana.

“I got my life back,” she wrote.

If elected, she would work to keep medical marijuana untaxed and work to diminish the stigma it has with some members of her party, Ross said.

Moeller grew up in Vancouver and for more than two decades has worked as a chemical dependency counselor for Kaiser Permanente. He was elected to the Vancouver City Council in 1995 and re-elected in 1999. In 2002, he was elected to the state House of Representatives in the seat vacated by Val Ogden.

If Moeller is re-elected, he said, he can already picture explaining to the people of his district why raising taxes was necessary.

“The biggest question facing the Legislature this coming session is going to be McCleary,” Moeller said, referring to a state Supreme Court decision requiring enhanced education funding. “It’s going to be raising the revenue that is going to fund McCleary.”

Moeller said Republicans are using such slogans as “fund education first” instead of proposing specifics on what should be slashed to fund state public schools.

“We’re going to raise taxes on somebody … whether it’s going to be us generally or businesses or property owners of this state,” Moeller said.

Ross said she had an answer for where to cut: the Department of Ecology, the Department of Transportation, the Washington Health Care Authority, for example.

“It’s fund education first, and it’s a lot better than fund education last,” Ross said, “which is the way it’s been funded.”

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Columbian Political Writer