State candidate visits area

An independent candidate for the state Legislature visited the Grand Coulee Dam area last Thursday and Friday, knocking on doors and speaking at the chamber of commerce luncheon.

Ann Diamond is running to represent the 12th Legislative District, which includes most of the Grand Coulee Dam area.

A physician who founded the first family practice clinic in the Methow area, Diamond, said her travels during her campaign have taught her that small towns share in common many issues of concern: housing, healthcare, education, transportation and jobs.

She said those problems stem from structural issues, some of which can be addressed at the state level. She said the state's Growth Management Act, passed in 1990 to address rampant growth in large cities, should be re-examined with an eye to its effects on rural communities.

"We need to go back and look at that road plan and see how we can help rural communities best determine their own growth, as opposed to the lid that was put on because we were perceived as being agricultural," she said, after noting that zoning laws can present a hindrance to building enough housing.

When she canvassed some of the area last summer, she found that the local office of the Bureau of Reclamation had 50 jobs it couldn't fill "mostly because of housing. And that is the exact same issue in Chelan. ... When you look at it, it is a structural problem in our small communities."

Diamond said one of the joys of living in a small community is that each person can make a difference by participating in discussions and working toward a shared goal. She started a farmers market in the Methow after discovering they lacked fresh produce, she said.

Diamond noted that the Legislature currently has 48 Democrats and 50 Republicans in the House of Representatives, so an independent could bring a powerful swing vote to the 12th District.

Diamond said the campaign has been fascinating because it gives her access to people in a different way than she has as a doctor.

Just as she does with her patients after agreeing to a path forward for treatment of a malady, she said, she would use the same listening approach to represent all in the district.

"I am not going to caucus with either party," she said.

Diamond is facing Republican Keith Goehner, a Chelan County commissioner.