Mary Anito, Candidate for State Representative| District 34, Position 2

[Editor's note: This Candidate Statement was published without edits from The Highline Journal]

I’m Mary Anito, and I’m running for State Representative, Position 2, in the 34th Legislative District, which covers Burien, White Center, West Seattle and Vashon.

For five months I’ve been knocking on doors across this district, more than 600 miles logged since filing. Everywhere I go, I hear the same question: we’re paying more than ever, so why isn’t it working better?

I believe fiscal responsibility and strong public investment are not mutually exclusive. I’ve spent my career proving it. I trained as an engineer at Johns Hopkins and earned an MBA and a master’s in mechanical engineering at MIT. I’ve led operations at REI, Wayfair and Caterpillar, and today I run Jenito Homes, a renovation business. As a fiduciary on REI’s retirement plan committee, I was responsible for other people’s money, and I treated it that way. I’m also a public school mom of three, a PTA volunteer and a youth soccer coach.

Here’s what I’ll fight for in Olympia.

Fully funded schools, with results to show for it. Washington’s funding formula pays for a theoretical school, not the one our kids attend, and districts like Highline cover the gap with local levies. I’ll push to fund the real cost of education, including special education, and to publish the outcomes, so families can see their investment paying off.

Housing built, and people housed. Housing is my day job, and I’ve served as secretary and treasurer of ROOTS Young Adult Shelter. I know both ends of this crisis. We need permits that move, financing that lets families build, and support that gets people off the street and into stable homes.

Health care everyone can reach. Every Washingtonian should be able to see a doctor, get mental health care and fill a prescription without going broke. I’ll start with behavioral health capacity, so people get care before a crisis lands them in an emergency room.

Underneath it all is the cost of living. Families and small businesses here are stretched by rent, child care and everyday prices. We need good jobs, and a government that treats every tax dollar as a promise to deliver.

My opponent has held this seat for more than fifteen years while the state budget has grown dramatically. Yet our ferries cancel runs, our schools face a budget crisis every year, and the state’s credit outlook was recently lowered to negative. Seniority is only worth what it delivers. I’ll bring collaborative, accountable representation, and I’ll report back on results.

I’m grateful to have earned the endorsements of The Seattle Times editorial board and the Vashon Beachcomber, which backed my opponent in the primary. I’m also endorsed by the National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington and the Environment and Climate Council of the Washington State Democratic Party, and named a Moms Demand Action Gun Sense Candidate.

This is what we deserve in Washington, and it’s what I’ll fight for every day. I’d be honored to have your vote. Learn more at maryforwa.com. Y hablo español.

Mary for Washington | 34th

Get Mary Anito elected as the Democratic State Representative for Washington's 34th Legislative District, Position 2

Mary for WA 26

Mary is running against Joe Fitzgibbon. [The Highline Journal has not received a candidate statement from Joe Fitzgibbon]

The Highline Journal extended the same invitation to both candidates. Publication is provided at no charge and does not constitute an endorsement.