Pam Kohlmeier
Pam Kohlmeier (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Washington House of Representatives to represent District 9-Position 2. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Kohlmeier completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Pam Kohlmeier was born in Ames, Iowa. She earned a high school diploma from Manson High School, a bachelor's degree from University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1991, and a an M.D. from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1995. She also earned law degree from the Gonzaga University School of Law in 2018. Her career experience includes working as a physician, lecturer, and attorney at law.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Washington House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Washington House of Representatives District 9-Position 2
Incumbent Joe Schmick defeated Pam Kohlmeier in the general election for Washington House of Representatives District 9-Position 2 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Joe Schmick (R) | 63.9 | 50,211 |
 | Pam Kohlmeier (D)  | 35.9 | 28,236 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 109 | ||
| Total votes: 78,556 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Washington House of Representatives District 9-Position 2
Incumbent Joe Schmick and Pam Kohlmeier defeated Arianna Arends in the primary for Washington House of Representatives District 9-Position 2 on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joe Schmick (R) | 65.8 | 26,958 |
| ✔ | | Pam Kohlmeier (D) | 28.3 | 11,582 |
| Arianna Arends (D) | 5.7 | 2,348 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 95 | ||
| Total votes: 40,983 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Kohlmeier in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Pam Kohlmeier completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kohlmeier's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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As an emergency physician, Dr. Pam treated patients for about 15 years. Intrigued by the intersection of medicine and law, she earned a law degree from Gonzaga, and taught on health law, professionalism, and health equity for a university in Eastern Washington. During the pandemic, Dr. Pam volunteered over 2,000 hours to support hospitals which lacked the hospital beds and staff they needed, and has served on Boards to improve education and health issues.
Dr. Pam has lived on the South Hill in Spokane County for over 18 years and her roots are rural. She and her husband, Dr. Stephen Thew, both graduated from small town high schools. Dr. Pam's town lacked a hospital when her mom suffered a medical emergency and died when Dr. Pam was 15. This tragedy contributed to Dr. Pam's career path.
After two family tragedies -linked by a lack of access to care- Dr. Pam is committed to using her lived experiences and understanding of law and medicine to improve the health of our families and our community.- Protecting Rural Health. Dr. Pam understands the challenges of providing healthcare access in rural communities. Hospitals are struggling financially and patients are already often forced to travel dozens of miles away to access the care they need. Dr. Pam understands that part of improving access to care involves expanding broadband access in rural areas and then increasing access to telehealth services in areas where they are lacking. By expanding access to telehealth in publicly funded libraries, schools, and firestations, individuals may access care closer to where they live without having to travel large distances.
- Improving Access to Mental Health Services. Dr. Pam is committed to improving access to mental health services. Post-pandemic many friends and family members have been struggling with symptoms of depression and anxiety. Our mental health system was already not able to meet the needs of our community, and the post-pandemic effect has worsened an already struggling system. Mental health services provided by psychologists and psychiatrists are often done effectively using telemedicine, where patients can have appointments in the privacy of their own homes without having to drive long distances to access this care. A key to improving access is to expand telehealth capabilities and also the number of available providers to deliver this care.
- Address Provider Burnout. After practicing emergency medicine for about 15 years, Dr. Pam experienced burnout herself. And that was pre-pandemic. Now, the stressors placed on providers are even more intense. Numerous healthcare providers, especially primary care doctors and nurses, are exiting the practice of medicine. This contributes to patients being unable to access the care they need when they need it. Dr. Pam has a plan to address provider burnout by decreasing the continuing education requirements to maintain licensure and encouraging providers to use that time for their own wellness. Law and medicine continue advancing, yet doctors are required to do over 3 times as much continuing education. Wellness takes time and this will help.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Washington House of Representatives District 9-Position 2 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 2, 2024
