Perhaps one of the more hotly contested races in the Nov. 5 General Election, the state House race for position 1 in District 23, has incumbent Tarra Simmons (D), a lawyer and nurse, facing Kurt Robertson (R ), a 20-year Marine Corps and Navy veteran and a teacher at Olympic College.

The two offer complete differences on issues important to constituents.

Robertson said he is a “law and order” candidate. “We have the lowest ratio of police to people in the United States because nobody wants to be a cop in Washington,” he said. “Ms. Simmons voted for the No Pursuit law, for example. That’s incredibly damaging.”

Simmons said she is also concerned with law enforcement, and wants to increase staffing and support. “Investing in more housing and behavioral health services would help our law enforcement focus more on violent crime and community policing,” Simmons said.

When it comes to cost of living issues, Simmons said her agenda is to incentivize builders and relax zoning laws for multi-family dwellings and accessory dwelling units. “The biggest cost driver for most households is the cost of housing,” Simmons says in an e-mail. “Many families are paying over 50% of their income on housing, so we need to stabilize rent prices. We also need to streamline permitting.”

Robertson said he felt that the state’s response during COVID exacerbated housing issues. “We told landlords that they had to give tenants a break on their rents, but we didn’t give them a break on their mortgages,” Robertson said. “Washington is business unfriendly. We don’t promote it.” Robertson said those decisions impacted housing supplies at all levels.

Robertson said he believes that the Washington gas tax is too high at nearly 50 cents per gallon. “I don’t have any confidence that the state of Washington is spending the money from that gas tax in a responsible way.”

Simmons, however, said she believes it’s the oil companies who charge too much. “I would like transparency in the profits of oil companies who are driving up our gas prices,” she said.

The issue of transportation is another in which the two are on opposite sides, though both desire better and more reliable ferry service. “The governor wants electric ferries, but electric ferries aren’t really possible right now,” Robertson said. “We could do some interim things, there are some hybrid ferries we could use. We also have a couple of ferries sitting in Eagle Harbor that we could refurbish, but right now, for example, Bremerton is down to one ferry. I think transportation has been mishandled by the state.”

Simmons said that, “We need to fix our ferries. We also need to fix major congestion issues in Kingston, Bainbridge Island and the Gorst corridor.”

Both candidates have varied career backgrounds with Simmons working as a lawyer as well as a registered nurse. Her website says that she is a “national leader for the fight in criminal justice reform.” She is a former drug addict who was previously incarcerated and overcame those barriers.

Robertson has worked for Boeing and for British Petroleum, as well as doing business consulting work and teaching. He’s lived in Australia, Saudi Arabia and China and traveled throughout the world. He served as a volunteer firefighter in Kitsap County as well.