INGRID ANDERSON and her SPECIAL INTEREST FRIENDS

 Mark voted FOR the Equal Pay Act in 2018 – the most important bill for helping to ensure equal pay for women in the past 75 years. 

 Ingrid and her friends KNOW that this claim JUST ISN’T TRUE. Mark voted FOR HB 1155, the bill providing meal and rest breaks for nurses. Just look at the roll call of votes for yourself: 

 Mark supports teachers. He believes they do important work and should be paid well for it. That’s why he voted FOR bills to raise teacher pay like HB 2242 in 2017 and he was the deciding 25th vote in favor of SB 6362 in 2018 – a teacher pay raise that wouldn’t have passed without Mark’s support. In the time Mark’s been in the Senate, the average teacher in the 5th Legislative District has gotten nearly a 40% pay raise. 

 The irony is that according to the state Public Disclosure Commission records, Ingrid’s own campaign has more funding from special interests than ANY OTHER CAMPAIGN IN THE STATE. Special interests are attacking Mark because they know that he has the most independent voting record in the Senate. Mark doesn’t cater to whatever lobbyists ask for – he fights for what he knows is right for the people of the 5th District and of Washington. 

 Mark voted FOR the bill that transitions Washington to 100% clean and green energy – the most important environmental bill of the past decade. And Mark played a critical role in passing SB 5993, legislation that forces oil companies to pay to clean up toxic waste spills, a bill that was opposed by every member of the fossil fuel industry. Mark voted to crack down on dangerous oil trains that travel through our communities, to protect our endangered southern resident orcas from oil tanker traffic, and to ban ‘fracking’. That’s why Mark has an 89% lifetime voting record with Washington Conservation Voters. 

 Mark was the 2020 legislator of the year for the Washington State Firefighters’ Association – he’s always worked hard to support our firefighters, and that’s why he’s endorsed by the local firefighters’ union in our district. Ingrid was only endorsed by a different firefighters’ local union, outside of the 5th district. 

 Mark has been a champion for affordable housing. This year, he’s endorsed by the Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund, and he was the 2016 lawmaker of the year for the Washington Low-Income Housing Alliance. Low income housing advocates applaud how Mark has worked to achieve real results, passing serious legislation instead of political posturing. He wrote and led passage of the bill to reduce tenant screening fees and red tape, to make it easier for tenants to rent homes, and he was a champion in the Senate for legislation to ban discrimination by landlords based on source of income.

 It’s true that Mark opposed a tax hike on banks - because the bill was introduced and passed illegally, and it’s since been overturned by the Superior Court and ruled unconstitutional. Mark knows it’s irresponsible to fund critical programs with an unconstitutional tax, because now those services are left in the lurch without funding. Mark believes we need to make our taxes fairer for the working families – that’s why he was the lead sponsor of a property tax cut for the middle class in 2018, and when it makes sense to do so he’s voted for tax increases on big oil  companies and to reform our estate tax to raise revenue for education. 

Mark’s politics fit the voters of the 5th district. Our voters have repeatedly supported gun responsibility initiatives like universal background checks, and so has Mark – he’s got an ‘A-’ grade from the Washington Alliance For Gun Responsibility. Meanwhile, 5th district voters also supported the latest $30 car tabs initiative, and Mark is working to make sure that’s being implemented as the voters intended, without slashing important transportation projects.