David Carrier, an Economics Instructor at Washington State University Vancouver and a Democratic candidate for State Senate in the 17th Legislative District, said Vancouver’s economy is tied to Portland’s. “If we want good jobs for future generations, we need to move more people and goods between here and Portland,” he said. (more...)

David Carrier, a Democrat and a part-time economics instructor at Washington State University Vancouver, will run for the 17th District Senate seat currently held by Sen. Don Benton.

Carrier, a 52-year-old political newcomer, will face Benton, a Republican, and Martin Hash, a Democrat, in the Aug. 19 top two primary, which will narrow the field to two candidates for the general election.

Carrier was born in Massachusetts, grew up in Maryland and graduated from the University of Maryland. He lived in Africa from 1981 to 1984, working with UNICEF and the Mennonite Central Committee to design and supervise construction of wells and earthen dams for water supply and irrigation.

He earned a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Notre Dame in 1995, and later worked as a senior economist with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, evaluating strategies to reduce or offset carbon emissions at coal-fired power plants.

A mountain-climber and kayaker, Carrier moved to Clark County in 2003, he said, to take advantage of “the mountains, the rivers.” He is a member of the board of the Southwest Washington Community Land Trust and the Jubilee Oregon Campaign for National Debt Review, which advocates for elimination of the national debt of the world’s poorest countries.

He lives in Cascade Park and has one son, who is in college.

Two recent events prompted his decision to seek elective office, Carrier said.

During the 2008 legislative session, he scheduled three meetings with Benton in Olympia to express his concerns about the absence of affordable housing and health care and the need to curb predatory lending. Twice, he said, Benton stood him up.  When they finally met, “His answer to every question was to cut taxes,” Carrier said. “That was a turning point for me.”

The second catalyst was his experience helping to run the 17th District Democratic Caucus in February as a  precinct committee officer. “People were so energized,” Carrier said. The caucus drew 90 people, he said, and participants reached unanimous consensus on five resolutions, including one calling for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. “I have a dream of bringing that kind of participation into the Legislature,” he said.

Carrier said he hopes to run a low-budget, nearly paper-free campaign, relying on a blog and a campaign Web site to inform voters of his positions on issues.  “I’m disturbed by the influence of money on politics,” he said. “I won’t be accepting any money from special interests,” at least in the primary.

Carrier said his approach to problem-solving is to try to find consensus. “If you listen long enough to both sides of the issue, you can find middle ground.”

I'm David Carrier and I'm running for State Senate in the 17th Legislative District. I am an Economist and teach economics part-time. I’m sick and tired of waking up every morning to more bad news about the economy. At the end of the Clinton Administration, the economy was humming along so well that the Congressional Budget Office predicted that we would completely eliminate government debt by about 2012.

When conservatives took control, they enacted the largest tax cuts in history, which added $1 trillion to the national debt. Of the $9 trillion national debt, fully 70% was created under the watch of just three so-called "conservative" presidents: President Reagan and the Bushes. That’s $30,000 for every person in America. 

Since your children will have to repay that debt, I think it’s fair to ask: did you get your money’s worth? Have conservative economic policies worked?  Are you better off?

Deficits are not just irresponsible, they have wrecked the economy. They crowded out private investment and drove up interest rates. We now have surging inflation and rising unemployment. Mortgage foreclosures and bank failures have caused chaos in financial markets, and the value of the dollar has plummeted. We’re very likely in a recession, and if you haven’t been affected yet, you will be. It could get much worse.

Many people are hurting- many have lost their jobs, some are losing their homes. Food and energy prices have skyrocketed. Many families live without health care. The number of Americans receiving food stamps this year will reach a record 28 million. That’s 1 out of every 12 Americans. In West Virginia, it’s 1 in 6.

The scary thing is, conservatives think nothing needs to be done about this- just cut taxes and markets will take care of themselves. That’s a joke. That’s what they said in 1932. Let's not risk another Great Depression.

As an economist, I’ve devoted my career to understanding economic problems. Now I want to do something about them.

Fortunately, our state government is already working on solutions. In just 3 years as Governor, Christine Gregoire has turned state deficits into surpluses, created 225,000 new jobs, and extended healthcare coverage to 84,000 children. Our state has been voted one of the 3 best managed states in the country, and we ranked 3rd in the nation for economic growth in 2007.

You know why? Because we’ve invested in transportation, ports, and schools. But more importantly, we’ve invested in people- through education, job training, health care, affordable housing, and renewable energy. This is the key to future economic growth and security.

My opponent in the state legislature voted “no” on these policies. I’m going to vote yes. It’s clear that conservative policies don’t work. Investing in people does. We can’t just walk away from our responsibility to each other and to the common good. In the end, what’s good for people is good for the economy.

Thanks for your support!

[Carrier] is a stark contrast to how our current Senator Benton thinks and conducts himself- such as missing 17 meetings of an Early Learning, K-12 and Higher Education Committee on which he sits. (more...)

Carrier... told The Columbian a little story earlier this month that is illustrative of Benton's attitude toward his constituents, which is basically either you agree with him or he may not even talk to you. (more...)

Democratic precinct committee officers in the 17th legislative district will be selecting a nominee between David Carrier and Martin Hash... at their monthly meeting for who's better qualified to take on serial web entrepreneur Don Benton.