SPOKANE, Wash — With just over three weeks until Election Day, KREM is rolling out a series of interviews with local candidates in key races — contests for state legislature where no candidate had a dominant victory in the August primary.
Washington's 6th Legislative District covers a vast swath of Spokane County, including Freeman, Cheney, Medical Lake, Airway Heights, and Nine Mile Falls.
Rep. Mike Volz (R) currently holds position 1. This year he's facing a challenge from Democrat Zack Zappone. Zappone is a relatively young candidate, born and raised in the Spokane area, seeking public office for the first time.
"I have a track record of working really hard and using best practices to fight for needs within the schools and in the community, and thought I could do a better job of fighting for those needs here in the sixth district," he said.
Zappone's life has been focused on education. He received it at North Central High School in Spokane before going to Georgetown and Princeton universities. Then, he provided it as a history teacher in the Tri-Cities, and is now a substitute in Spokane Public Schools.
He said it was problems with the education system that prompted him to run for office.
"As a teacher, I got really frustrated by all the different areas that intersect, that support our schools and support our community and support families," said Zappone. "That's housing, it's transportation, it's jobs, it's healthcare. And schools are kind of the epicenter of all of that."
He chose the legislature because he believes the problems run deeper than just inside the classroom.
"The state is the area that touches on all of these issues. And my mind thinks about — instead of one silo — I believe in the care for the whole person," said Zappone. "There's only a handful of former educators or current educators who serve in the legislature, and over 50% of the state budget is spent on public schools. And so I think we need to have more representation of people who've actually worked in our schools, who know our schools, and can support our schools."
Of course, if he gets elected, much of Zappone's attention will have to be devoted to the pandemic.
"I think the legislature needs to continue supporting our public health officials," he says on that issue. "We need to continue making tests easy and accessible... contact tracing... and taking steps to get the coronavirus under control. That way we can reopen our economy, what everyone wants to do."
The next legislature will also have a huge budget deficit to overcome. Zappone said he's well-prepared to handle it.
"[We should be] looking at where there's waste, where programs aren't working," he said. "I studied program policy evaluation. I drive a 2000 Saturn that doesn't have air conditioning. I don't believe that we should be having really extravagant services and extra bells and whistles. We need to make sure that government operates lean. That's what I do in my personal life. That's what government needs to do. But it is also about making sure that we're meeting the needs of our community."
On the issue of racial justice, Zappone said police should undergo more training, and that mental health resources need to be dramatically expanded so that crises can be properly dealt with.
"We need to make sure that there's oversight and accountability for police. We need to make sure that people feel protected and safe," he said.
But Zappone also believes, again, the issue must be addressed holistically.
"We need to look at how… we invest in our community to address underlying issues," he said. "We've had a historical disinvestment in communities of color, and so we need to be looking at how can we invest in job training programs, living wages, housing programs, education.”
Zappone trailed Volz by about 10 points in the primary, and it's been roughly a decade since a Democrat was elected in the 6th district.
However, Zappone said he thinks the district is more purple than people realized, and that his August results exceeded expectations.
He'll need to exceed them again on November 3 to take a seat in Olympia.