In a race for a seat in the House of Representatives for the 6th Legislative District, voters can choose a candidate with more than two decades of experience in government or someone who believes it’s time for a change.

Republican state Rep. Mike Volz is running for his fifth term in Position 1 in the district, which includes Airway Heights and much of the West Plains, much of the north of Spokane and parts of the city’s North Side, including Indian Trails and Hillyard. He has already laid the groundwork for those areas and said winning support for a daycare center and legislation regarding a property tax exemption would be areas of focus if he wins another term.

He’s running against Democrat Steven McCray II, who says he would be a fresh voice for the district, emphasizing a focus on affordable higher education, combating homelessness and addressing water pollution on the West Plains.

Volz has a clear advantage in the race, having won nearly 62% of the vote in the August primary.

Mike Volz

Republican Mike Volz started in local government as an accountant in 1999 and then held a number of positions in the financial industry until his election as a state representative in 2016.

Volz, who is currently in his fourth term, said he was initially interested in the position because of his commitment to “quality public education.” Because his wife is a high school teacher and his three children have gone through the public school system, he specifically cited a desire to have input into the McCleary decision — which alleged that Washington state failed to provide adequate resources for all children in the state.

“I was on the K-12 Education Committee and the Budget Committee, the budget committee that did a lot of work to resolve that lawsuit and have a stable source of funding for K-12, regardless of where students live,” Volz said.

Volz lists some of his most memorable accomplishments as securing capital funding for Excelsior Wellness and the Ashley House, which serve adolescents struggling with behavioral health issues and adolescents dealing with serious injuries or illnesses, respectively.

Although he only served the first two terms on the Education Committee, Volz said his financial background compelled him to continue running for office.

“I still enjoy it, I still think I can contribute,” he said. “I enjoy interacting with all kinds of people, and I really enjoy solving problems.”

Currently serving on the Transportation Committee, Volz says he switched committees to secure funding for the North Spokane Corridor.

If re-elected, Volz is expected to continue his current work, specifically establishing and operating a multi-purpose child care center in the Hillyard area — an area he describes as historically underserved.

He also said he is investigating property tax reforms related to mobile homes and small businesses.

“I could introduce some legislation on property tax relief,” Volz said. “I think we’re going to introduce a bill on this this year, to get some relief that really helps small businesses and other people who pay these property taxes.”

In 2021, Volz introduced a bill to reduce the interest on back taxes from 12% to 9% for properties with four or fewer residential units.

Steven McCray II

In addition to believing “an uncontested candidate is bad for democracy,” Democrat Steven McCray II said he is running for state representative to address PFAS contamination in the water, homelessness in Spokane and education.

High PFAS levels on the West Plains have been linked to firefighting foam used at the Air Force base and Spokane International Airport.

McCray, who currently serves as an elected commissioner for Four Lakes Water District 10 north of Cheney, said he is “very concerned about the lack of response to the PFAS situation at Spokane International Airport and Fairchild.”

“I want to be a voice for the people whose water is poisoned,” he said.

PFAS, perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are man-made chemicals linked to cancer, heart disease, high cholesterol, thyroid disease, low birth weight and other illnesses.

To address the problem, McCray said he would focus on obtaining state funding to allow private well owners throughout the county, and possibly the state, to test their water. This would be a step toward determining the true scope of the problem before looking at mitigation strategies.

McCray also said he thinks he would be a better advocate than Volz for the Spokane-area homeless community because he is nearing completion of his degree in social work. His approach to reducing the problem would involve restructuring Washington’s laws on housing finance and apartments.

“I don’t believe that the traditional, single-family home is going to be sustainable in the long run,” he said. “And so we need to create opportunities for people to be able to buy into multi-family housing, and that would be one of the first places I’d work on that.”

McCray supports funding education “at all levels, to the fullest extent.” He believes Washington state should fully fund early childhood education, along with apprenticeship programs and “at a minimum” through a bachelor’s degree program in secondary education.

“Another thing I want to focus on is getting a fair distribution of the state dollars for our education,” McCray said. “And I want to make sure that at all levels of education — pre-K, K through 12 and then for college — I want to make sure that people can go to school and get the full education that they want.”

As a legally blind person himself, McCray is active in disability issues in the community. He serves on the legislative subcommittee for the Governor’s Committee on Disability Issues and Employment, is a diversity representative on the Spokane County Democrats Executive Board, and is secretary of correspondence for the nonprofit Spokane Council of the Blind.

The general election in Washington will be held on November 5. Ballots must be placed in a ballot box no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day.