SPOKANE, Wash. – Former Spokane City Council President and mayoral candidate Ben Stuckart has announced that he is running for the open third district state house seat.
The open seat is being vacated by Representative Marcus Riccelli, who announced he is running for the State Senate, according to a release from Stuckart.
“People are fed up with high rent, lack of action on mental health, substance abuse and rising costs,” Stuckart said in his announcement. “The 3rd LD is one of the poorest in the state and we need someone who is not afraid to name the big issues but also has the legislative experience to go to Olympia and solve problems.”
For the last four years, Stuckart has worked for the Spokane low-income housing consortium.
“I have revisited many lessons, including the value of everyone being at the table when finding solutions, the importance of compromise to move forward as a community and the severe problems with many systems that can be fixed at the State level. I am a problem solver by nature and look forward to talking to voters for the next 9 months looking for solutions together,” he said.
Stuckart also said his campaign’s support is bipartisan, with former Spokane Councilmember Karen Stratton and President and owner of API Kerry Lynch as his co-chairs. This decision, according to Stuckart, is “how we solve our big problems, together.”
Additionally, Stuckart announced he is running with the support of a bipartisan coalition, including endorsements from Don Barbieri, Jim Frank, Sharon Smith, Pete Raynor, Rick Eichstadt, Gary Livingstone and Rob McCann.
