To be bipartisan in politics is more than just a willingness to form relationships with members across the aisle; it is a genuine desire to solve problems for the public, even if you have to vote with the opposition.
Chad Magendanz, a computer science teacher and former Microsoft program manager, has a proven record of that. During two terms in the state House of Representatives from 2013 to 2017, the Republican’s moderate voice helped solve thorny challenges, including as a negotiator for the “McCleary remedy,” after the state supreme court ruled the state was failing to adequately fund public education.
Pragmatic leadership, focused on solutions, is what both his district and Olympia need. Magendanz, also a former Issaquah School Board member, has earned a chance to represent the 5th Legislative District, spanning east King County from Issaquah to Enumclaw.
The death of state Sen. Bill Ramos during the legislative session led to an election for the Senate seat this year. The Metropolitan King County Council voted to appoint first-term House Rep. Victoria Hunt, D-Issaquah, to the seat in June. Voters gave Hunt 54% of the vote in the August primary to Magendanz’s nearly 46%.
Magendanz leads the fundraising race with $280,000 to Hunt’s $267,000, as of mid-September, according to the Public Disclosure Commission.
His record as a centrist Republican is rare in these times. He sponsored legislation that both helped to save the state’s charter schools and build out the state’s electric vehicle-charging infrastructure. His main agenda appears to be an independent voice in the Legislature.
Getting elected as a Republican in King County in the era of President Donald Trump is no easy task. Magendanz is unafraid to criticize the president, expressing indignation over Trump’s legally dubious use of executive power to send the military into U.S. cities, his clawback of previously approved congressional funding to states and his use of tariffs. But he also doesn’t default to the cynicism often conveyed by local Democrats who fight every policy from the administration, no matter the merits.
In contrast, Hunt’s record was in lock-step with the left-leaning House leadership, supporting the full menu of tax increases — the largest in state history. A former Issaquah City Council member and data scientist with expertise in clean energy, she can be a collaborative lawmaker. She sponsored well-meaning bills, including ones to increase public awareness of sewer spills and make it easier for power utilities to follow the state’s energy transition laws. But when it’s time to vote, her collaboration on the toughest issues ends.
Hunt clearly got an earful from constituents following her support for tax hikes this past session. She acknowledged the hastiness of the tax bills, including raising business and occupation tax rates, telling the editorial board: “We made decisions that we need to revise.” But even then, she had trouble saying where she disagreed with her party.
Despite increasing revenues and a reasonably healthy economy, the Democrat-controlled Legislature this session approved the tax increases while making severe cuts to programs benefiting our most vulnerable residents, including foster children, preschoolers, working-class college students and babies exposed to drugs in the womb.
The 5th District deserves a lawmaker in touch with the district and constituents. Washington state needs lawmakers who make up their own minds rather than who exhibit blind allegiance to the special interests that elected them.
Magendanz checks both of those boxes. He is the best choice to represent the 5th District in the state Senate.
