Rick Thomas (Washington)
Rick Thomas was a 2016 Independent Republican candidate for District 29-Position 1 of the Washington House of Representatives.
Biography
Thomas earned an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts in 1981. In May 1981, he was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He served as an infantry and Special Forces officer until 2011. In 1994, Thomas earned a master's degree in Asian studies and national security affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School. In 2003 he was a National Security Fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.[1]
Elections
2016
Elections for the Washington House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election was held on August 2, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was May 20, 2016.
Incumbent David Sawyer defeated Rick Thomas in the Washington House of Representatives, District 29-Position 1 general election.[2]
| Washington House of Representatives, District 29-Position 1 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  David Sawyer Incumbent |
59.28% | 24,234 | |
| Independent Republican | Rick Thomas | 40.72% | 16,646 | |
| Total Votes | 40,880 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||||
Incumbent David Sawyer and Rick Thomas defeated Branden Durst in the Washington House of Representatives District 29-Position 1 top two primary.[3][4]
| Washington House of Representatives, District 29-Position 1 Top Two Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | David Sawyer Incumbent |
41.00% | 6,252 | |
| Independent Republican | Rick Thomas |
35.29% | 5,381 | |
| Democratic | Branden Durst | 23.70% | 3,614 | |
| Total Votes | 15,247 | |||
| Source: Washington Secretary of State | ||||
Campaign themes
2016
Thomas made the following statement to Ballotpedia regarding his political philosophy:[1]
| “ | I believe that our 29th District has been left behind by a legislature that focuses almost exclusively on the needs of King County and Greater Seattle. Partisan unity has caused our current representatives to pay scant attention to the issues that matter most to our residents: job creation, real and substantive improvements to our public education, traffic congestion and veteran's care. I will make these issues my top priority and I will work with anyone - of any party - in order to improve our district and help our citizens.
I believe in exercising fiscal responsibility and ensuring that our state government operates within its means. I believe that performance measures and accountability should be a part of every major public program so as to ensure that they are all executed on time and on budget. Because tax increases impact the middle and lower classes the hardest, I will make our government exercise due diligence in our public projects so as to ensure that taxes are not raised on those who can afford it least. I'm running because I'm tired of the partisanship that prevents our government from doing the work of the people. I earned a reputation for being collegial and collaborative in solving problems and I will bring that productive approach to the Washington State Legislature; as mentioned previously, I will work with anyone - of any party and background - in order to improve matters for the people of our district. [5] |
” |
See also
- Washington House of Representatives
- Washington House of Representatives District 29-Position 1
- Washington House of Representatives elections, 2016
- Washington State Legislature
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted through Ballotpedia's biographical submission form on July 24, 2016
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "General Election Results 2016," accessed December 2, 2016
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2016 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 23, 2016
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 2, 2016 Primary Results," accessed August 25, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
