Ranker stresses his experience in 40th District race

Ranker, an ardent environmentalist who thinks local economies can thrive while still being green, is on so many organizations it'll make your head spin.  And the 38-year-old is now trying to parlay all that experience into a job as the next state senator for the 40th Legislative District.

The Democrat, who just had his first child with Dr. Tina Torri, was born in England and came to the Northwest, Orcas Island specifically, when he was in elementary school.

He attended community college in California, worked as a high school counselor for at-risk youth, has owned a bar and restaurant in Australia, finally returning to Washington to attend The Evergreen State College where he earned bachelor's degrees in coastal ecology and community development.

Ranker is a first-time county councilman but has a bevy of experience at all levels of government and is well-known in the state's Democratic Party. He's also endorsed by 40th Rep. Jeff Morris, the House's Speaker Pro Tempore.

Ranker believes his experience will be helpful in Olympia, though Republican opponent Steve Van Luven, who spent 171/2 years in the state House of Representatives on behalf of Bellevue and the surrounding area, thinks otherwise.

Van Luven maintains that he is the only one with experience in Olympia, and that Ranker's involvement in lobbying for San Juan County and other issues at the state Capitol don't equate to the former representative's experience.  "One of my opponents," Van Luven said, referring to Ranker, "talks about going to Olympia and testifying. Give me a break."

But Ranker said Van Luven is mistaken, and that if a person is pitching an issue in a hearing in Olympia, "You're too late."  "It's incorrect and my record speaks for itself, and it's why I have tremendous support in Olympia," he said.

Some of Ranker's positions:

- "We have to protect, ruthlessly, our local jobs and our local economy," Ranker said, advocating for sustainable development and the protection of community diversity - young families need to stick around and living wage jobs need to be created.

- The WASL "can be a good benchmark on the school and students, but it shouldn't be a graduate requirement," Ranker said. Basic education needs to be redefined, there should be more vocational prep classes, too.

- "It's not OK that we don't have uniform health care," he said. But any system shouldn't be fully publicly furnished, nor should it "break the backs of small business."

- A senator should work to market our counties as "a local hub for very skilled craftsmen, technicians and scientists and experts" in the marine trades industry. The Bellingham waterfront is a perfect place for that, Ranker said.

Ranker supports gay marriage. "The government should stay out of it," he said. Lake Whatcom should be "prioritized in Olympia," he said, and the landscape plan should be kept, though the impact to schools from the decrease in timber dollars needs to be reduced.