Democracy for Vancouver

Tim Probst - running for 17th LD state representative

Tim Probst, running against Jim Dunn in the 17th Legislative District in Clark County, received a big “pat on the back” today from our local Columbian. With endorsements from the likes of newly elected City Councilman Pat Campbell, Representative Deb Wallace and local philanthropist and investment manager David Nierenberg, it is no wonder that Rep. Jim Dunn is undecided about whether he is going to run for another term.

Like the Republicans’ campaign for the US Presidency, this race is starting to look like it’s over before it has hardly begun.

As the Columbian article points out, Tim comes to his candidacy with excellent credentials and with a history of supporting populist issues such as public funding of campaigns and vocational training programs for the underprivileged:

Probst (chief executive officer of the Washington Workforce Association and a Democratic Party activist) has a long résumé that includes a stint as a state policy analyst in Illinois and nine years as director of the Washington Workforce Association, which advocates for programs that invest in the education and training of the state’s work force to compete in the global economy.

He holds a degree in government and international relations from the University of Notre Dame and worked as a state budget analyst, legislative liaison and assistant to Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar from 1994 to 1998.

Last year, he helped push Clark County’s 17th District Democratic Committee to pass a resolution calling on Gov. Chris Gregoire and the Democratic leadership of the House and Senate to pass comprehensive “clean elections” legislation, including public funding of local campaigns.

The article also points out that Tim is on the state’s oversight board for dropout prevention programs.

As most people that pay attention already know, Jim Dunn has not done a good job of representing the 17th LD. In addition he has recently been stripped of his committee assignments and state travel money and publicly rebuked by his own caucus leader after an alleged inappropriate remark to a member of the opposite sex.

We need more people like Tim supporting us at the state level. You can support Tim’s campaign as follows:

• Endorse. Send an email to timprobst@comcast.net with your name and title as you would like it to appear on his endorsements page, for example, “Teacher, Frontier Middle School,” or “US Navy Veteran,” or “Parent and concerned citizen.” Please be sure to include the statement, “I endorse Tim Probst.”

• Donate. It’s simple to donate online, and every little bit helps. I hope to have far more small contributors than large contributors, and so far that is the case! Go to www.ElectTimProbst.com and donate $5, $10, or $20.

• Party! RSVP to kciocia@gmail.com for our fundraising party, Friday night, February 22, 6:30 PM, at the Walker-Kerofsky home, 1009 NW Goldendale, Camas, WA 98607. Any donation gladly accepted, $25 suggested donation.