As Democratic state Rep. Clyde Shavers runs for reelection for his seat in the 10th Legislative District, two Republicans have stepped up to challenge him — a city council member and Navy veteran from Arlington and a self-described patriot, constitutionalist and Navy wife from Coupeville.

Shavers, Carrie Kennedy and Yvonne Gallardo will appear on the Aug. 6 primary ballot, which will whittle the candidates to just two for the general election.

Shavers, a Clinton resident, said he is proud to have passed seven priority bills during his first term in office. The new laws address clean energy independence with fusion technology, expand career learning opportunities for students, continue funding for veteran services, allocate funding for affordable housing and expand services to low-income groups and more.

He also launched the Purple Star Award, recognizing schools that go the extra mile for kids of military families. Oak Harbor Public School District was one of the first to receive this award, Shavers said.

According to Shavers’s opponent Kennedy, whose website highlights issues such as “All Lives Matter,” governmental overreach and parents’ rights, Shavers’s dishonesty inspired her to run.

Shavers, a Yale Law School graduate and Navy veteran, came under fire during his 2022 campaign when his father accused him of embellishing his military service by claiming to have been a nuclear submarine officer when he wasn’t.

“The reason I’m running is because I believe that I’m an honest, trustworthy individual,” Kennedy said. “I just feel that it’s imperative that our politicians, and I don’t consider myself a politician, but I am in that world now, so I guess I am. We have got to be above board in honesty and integrity and bring honor into this political arena so that the voters have confidence.”

Shavers said that his father’s accusatory letter was “deeply partisan.”

“As a representative committed to healing our communities, I now continue to take the punches and meanness and turn around with kindness and caring,” he said.

For Gallardo of Arlington, her local experience sets her apart from Shavers, she said. Serving on the city council for the last two years, she has seen how his decisions affect people locally. Prior to her time on council, she served on the planning commission for two years. Prior to that, she worked as the Monroe Chamber of Commerce director with a seat on the strategic planning board.

“I’ve been preparing for this for about 10 years, and I didn’t even realize I was doing that,” she said. “I think that’s a big strength.”

Shavers is now focused on lowering the cost of living, he said. He wants to expand the property tax exemption program to help seniors, veterans and others, and to lower the costs of groceries, gas and healthcare. He’s also working on ensuring retirement benefits.

Cost is at the forefront of Kennedy’s mind as well, as she focuses on inflation, immigration and mental health reform. She feels prices are too high, Washington shouldn’t be a sanctuary state and medical facilities are forced to provide services without being properly equipped to do so. She’s hoping to be a change of more “common sense thinkers” in Olympia.

“The property owners and the citizens are taxed to the point where we’re almost on the brink, and doing that kind of taxation from a few to benefit all isn’t sustaining what we need to grow,” she said.

Gallardo’s focus on mental health harkens back to her time in the Navy, where she saw people suffer before services expanded over the years. To address this, she plans on working on programs to transition people from homelessness and expand the roles of social workers in police departments.

At a recent candidate forum on South Whidbey, District 10 constituents expressed concerns about the budget cuts school districts have been forced to make.

Shavers serves as the vice chair of the House Education Committee, so he is always focused on improving school resources, he said.

“Every student, no matter what zip code they’re in, no matter what part of the state they’re in, they deserve the resources and tools to succeed,” he said.

Through his first term, Shavers has increased the cap of state funding for special education students each year and plans to continue to do so, as well as increase pay for educators.

Kennedy’s mother was a special education teacher, she said. Kennedy’s concern is the lack of transparency about where the money is going.

An equally big concern for her is what is being taught in schools. She believes in returning to the core curriculum of reading, writing, math, science, history, art and music.

Kennedy feels that, as parents know their children better than teachers and administrators, parents should be able to decide what is taught to them.

“When I say the agenda items, that’s a broad spectrum, but I think most people understand what I’m saying when I add that I don’t think they have a place in our classrooms,” she said.

Gallardo has had two kids in the school district and volunteered with the PTA, she said. She agrees that there needs to be more transparency both in funds and what is being taught.

Another big concern is the limitations to ferry service, which Kennedy blames in part for the layoffs of those who were not willing to get vaccinated. The infrastructure is not set up to spend the proposed time and money on an electric system, she said.

“I live on Whidbey Island, so it impacts a lot of constituents in my district, and that’s a huge concern,” she said.

Using the diesel ferries that are sitting on dry dock would serve more people in the quickest amount of time than the push for electric transportation, she said.

The stress caused by the ferry system has persisted for too long, Gallardo said. It’s not a recreational service. It’s one that people depend on daily for work, medical emergencies and general livelihood.

“It’s time to stop making excuses, and it’s time to take some accountability of that,” she said. “It is broken, and it needs to be fixed.”

Somebody who does not live in the area may read about the problems with the ferry and not understand the stakes, Gallardo said. Having lived in the area for 19 years, it weighs on her mind.

“When you’re in the parking lot waiting for three hours for a ferry that you thought you were gonna catch 15 minutes after you park, it’s so frustrating, and you don’t even know day-to-day if that is what it’s going to be like,” she said. “Coming back to mental health, do you want to wake up in the morning and go to work when you’re not even sure if you’re going to be able to get to work on time?”

Above everything, Kennedy says she is an honest person who is trying to do the right thing. While she is not a veteran like her opponents, she was the daughter of a Naval officer and the wife of a Navy Seabee, both 20-year career men, and she took care of the home while they were on 18–20-month deployments.

“I am working for the constituents. I’m not coming into this for any personal gain,” she said. “I’m not doing this for myself. God knows that this is a grueling process.”

Gallardo has deep roots in the state, having first been deployed here with the Navy. Since, she has been involved in countless committees and volunteer groups.

“I don’t just live here,” she said. “I work, I shop, I dine, I play, I camp.”

Gallardo’s background in Navy discipline and the various groups she’s served on as well as her ability to speak Spanish gives her the unique ability to reach across party and cultural lines, she said.

Kennedy claimed that identity is not important in this race.

“In two congressional races, I was the only woman in both races. I did not focus on that,” she said. “I did not focus on my ethnicity, and I’ve got an opponent that thinks that that’s OK, and I don’t agree with that. I am coming to this election with who I am as a person. I’m an American first.”

Shavers

Gallardo