Four people have entered the District 2 legislative race, seeking to fill the seat that’s being vacated by longtime state Rep. J.T. Wilcox, who announced earlier this year he was retiring.
District 2 encompasses an area that includes a large swath of southeast Pierce County as well as east Thurston County, including the Nisqually area and the city of Yelm.
The primary race has attracted a former state worker, a person who works with youth and adults, a medical professional and a former Thurston County Sheriff.
The primary is Tuesday. Here’s who they are and why they are running.
Yanah Cook
Cook, who is “over 70” and retired in 2016, previously worked for the state Department of Transportation for 17 years in its contracts, plans and right of way department. She is active as a volunteer and has lived in the McKenna area for decades, she said.
Cook, a Democrat, said she is running because she feels District 2 has been under-served for a long time, pointing out the last woman to hold a House or Senate seat in the district was Marilyn Rasmussen some 16 years ago.
Cook began knocking on doors in the spring and has heard residents voice concerns about property taxes, sidewalks, lights, bus service and traffic, as well as wanting “farms and forests to be preserved,” she said.
A big topic she wants to tackle is fully funding K-12 education so that school districts don’t have to rely on voter-approved levies to cover those costs not covered by the state.
District 2 has witnessed the disastrous results of what can happen when levies don’t pass, such as the double levy failure suffered by Yelm Community Schools, which resulted in teacher and staff layoffs.
Not only does she want to fully fund schools, but also provide some relief to property owners who pay those taxes. She pointed out that first responders, such as area fire districts, also have to repeatedly go back to voters for funding.
If elected, she vowed to “work hard to change the status quo that has been going on for too long.”
As of Aug. 1, Cook has raised close to $13,500, about $8,000 of which has come from individual donors, according to state Public Disclosure Commission data.
Michael Holloman
Spanaway resident Michael Holloman, 36, is running for office for the first time. He is a director at Steadfast Supported Living, which works with youth and adults with behavior and developmental disabilities.
Holloman, who describes himself as a moderate and is running as a Democrat, said he was spurred to run because of what he called the “radicalization of the right,” raising concerns about Republican’s attacks on women’s reproductive rights, including those trying to conceive through in vitro fertilization. He said he and his wife conceived their first child through IVF.
There are other concerns as well, such as the proposed Republican platform known as “Project 2025,” with Holloman calling it “really intimidating material.”
Holloman acknowledged that when he was in his 20s he donated to Republican candidates. At the same time, he also has concerns about past Democratic policies, such as the restrictions placed on law enforcement in the wake of the George Floyd protests in 2020.
Another concern: more moderates are leaving state government, such as former state Rep. Wilcox, which opens the door for the legislature to swing more to the right or left, he said.
“I know I’m the best candidate,” said Holloman, “but I’m running uphill.”
Holloman is self-funding his campaign, he said.
Matt Marshall
Marshall, 40, is one of two Republicans in the field. He ran for the District 2 House seat in 2020, but did not advance out of the primary. He was, however, elected to the Eatonville School Board in 2019 and served one, four-year term.
Marshall, who lives in unincorporated Pierce County, is an orthopedic surgery physician assistant in the Olympia area, he said.
Marshall, who also served in the Army, believes his military, health care and school board background equips him well to talk to just about anybody and find middle-ground solutions for the state and district. He said he was about to walk away from politics when he was encouraged to run by some fellow Republicans.
Areas of concern for him: He believes there is plenty of money for roads and schools, citing revenue generated by marijuana sales and lottery tickets, and that people need to be held accountable so that money is allocated correctly. He also believes police have been demoralized and that needs to change.
“We have an issue with people wanting to apply,” he said.
He considers himself more conservative than Wilcox, calling himself a “Constitutional conservative” who believes in minimal taxation. He is not pro-choice, but he does support abortion in cases of rape, incest and when the woman’s health is in jeopardy. He said he has no intention of banning a woman’s right to choose, noting that a majority of the state is pro-choice.
As for other social issues, he takes what he called a Libertarian view: “It’s not for me, but I’m not going to say it’s not for you,” he said.
Marshall also was asked about his past association with the “Washington 3%” group, a nonprofit he says is frequently misunderstood. It was created for veterans outreach, he said, but was always linked with the national Three Percenters, which is known for its “ultra-right, gun-toting, body armor-wearing events,” he said.
Explaining that difference became tiresome and he left the group, he said.
As of Aug. 1, Marshall has raised a little more than $23,000, about $13,000 of which has come from individual donors, according to state PDC data.
John Snaza
The other Republican in the field, John Snaza, 59, of Yelm, perhaps has the most name recognition, at least in Thurston County where he was the sheriff for 12 years.
But he recently lost a re-election campaign and acknowledged that it took a lot out of him. Still, he was aware that Wilcox was leaving, and he grew concerned about some area news stories he had seen. He discussed it with his wife and he emerged as a candidate, saying, “I’m not done.”
“I really do believe I can make a difference,” said Snaza, citing his years of service in Thurston County and interactions with lawmakers. “I have a really good pulse on what’s going on in our community.”
He has a number of concerns, beginning with the economy and how rising inflation has hurt consumers and small businesses and made it more challenging for them to retain workers. Snaza, too, would like to see the permit process streamlined for small business owners to help reduce costs.
He’s also concerned about the high cost of housing and how it’s unreachable for so many potential young homeowners. And he’s concerned about hard drug use, particularly the deadly opioid known as fentanyl.
Snaza does not support the Blake decision, a judicial ruling that the state’s felony drug possession law was unconstitutional. He believes that hard drug use should not be a gross misdemeanor, but a felony again.
“I fought against drug use and abuse,” said Snaza about his years in law enforcement. He said there is a ripple effect to hard drug use, which can result in addiction, mental health problems and homelessness — a cost and impact to communities, he said.
As of Aug. 1, Snaza has raised more than $46,000, about $14,000 of which has come from individual donors, according to state PDC data.
