In the 26th, a 'dynamic duo' looks to make inroads for GOP

The 26th Legislative District covers Gig Harbor, the Key Peninsula and Southern Kitsap County, and with those places a mixture of affluent commuters, retirees, rural small business owners and navy personnel. The area, represented in Congress by stalwart Democrat Norm Dicks, currently has a full legislative slate of Democrats.

In 2006 the district elected its Representatives with more than 55% of the vote, but in 2004 each race had a razor-thin one percent margin. This time around local Jan AngelRepublicans have a good feeling about their chances to use the 26th to make a dent in Olympia's Democratic majority. The Senate seat is off this year, and the GOP has recruited Kitsap County Commissioner Jan Angel (R-Port Orchard) and longtime Republican activist Marlyn Jensen (R-Gig Harbor) to seek the two House seats.

For Angel, who has been a Kitsap Commissioner for eight years, seeking a higher role in the statehouse was the right move, no matter the political climate of 2008.

"I don't know that it's the time or the year," she told Politickerwa.com, "but I think with my background, owning my own business, after being in politics and local county government for eight years, I think the excitement seems to be this is the next logical step for me."

She also feels that her experience in the county has caused her to believe that there is certain political work that must be done at the state level.

"I think the biggest thing is that the issues I have seen our citizens are struggling with, our counties and cities are struggling with have to be fixed at a state level," she said. "I want to tackle some issues at the state."

Kitsap County's State Committeewoman Shirley Brown agrees. "[Angel] is particularly well suited for the job because she has had to deal with unfunded mandates on the county level."

Angel's top issue is reducing the property tax burden and lessening the amount of regulation on local businesses, and she believes that many businesses choose not to stay in Washington because of those regulations.

"Property taxes are huge for a lot of people," Angel said. "I have surveyed a lot of folks and that's right at the top of the list. That is one of the things on the property tax issues. For business I am really concerned about over regulation. It makes it tough for Washington to be a business friendly state."

Her colleague Marlyn Jensen calls herself "a product of the American dream," the daughter of single mom who started working at age 10 and never stopped. She has been active in the Gig Harbor community over the years as a real estate agent with her own property management company, a Republican state committeewoman and a proud Young Life and basketball mom.

She, too, hopes to diminish the tax and regulation burden from the state, and wants to strengthen sentencing requirements for sex offenders in the state. Plus, like most in Washington, the connection of roads and the economy is important to Jensen, though she sees the traffic issue more on economic terms than a lot of others.

"Congestion on the highway has gone down quite a bit," she said of local roads, "because people cannot afford to go to the store even, a lot of them. It is hurting the retail businesses because of that, too."

It won't be easy to take over seats in hostile territory, though Angel did get a break recently when Rep. Pat Lantz decided to retire somewhat unexpectedly, opening the door for former Port Orchard Mayor Kim Abel to run for the Democratic nomination. Jensen has to take on incumbent Rep. Larry Seaquist, though he is only in his first term.

On the bright side, Committeewoman Brown believes the elected Kitsap and Pierce Democrats do not represent their constituents well enough, and thinks it is time for a change.

"At the beginning of this legislative session there was an article in the local paper that talked about the agenda of each incumbent," Brown recounted. "Not one of them mentioned the ferry problem. That alone is grounds for having them removed from office. I don't think they represent our district or the issues of our district at all."

They say their campaigns are going well so far. Angel cited strong business support and, in spite of the fact she says her busy schedule as a County Commissioner has kept her from campaigning too much, has raised about $13,000 since January. Jensen says her bid has been "fantastic" so far and, marked by donors big and small, has brought in nearly $12,000 since March.

And, like 2004, the Republicans will also have the added bonus of running down ticket from Dino Rossi.

"Whenever you have good candidates in a race it helps everybody," Angel offered, "and I'm very excited that Dino decided to run again."

But besides the up ticket ramifications, state tax levels and transportation woes of the peninsula, there is something to be said about the merits of a candidate herself.

"Both Jan and I are veterans. We've been around the block a little bit," Jensen said of herself and Angel. "We have been out there in the real world. We have energy, we know a lot of people and we work hard. They call us the dynamic duo and we really are a dynamic duo."