Legislative Questionnaire
Candidate Information
- Candidate Name: Mark Boswell
- Position Sought: State Representative 31st LD Pos. 2 (Non-incumbent)
- Home Legislative District: 31st
- Democrat: Yes
Campaign Information
- Manager or Point of Contact: Same
- Phone: +12537091290
- Address: 13411 SE 342nd St., Auburn, WA 98092
- Website:
- Email: mmb74bos@comcast.net
- Facebook:
- Twitter:
Part I – Candidate Background
1. Please briefly describe your qualifications, education, employment, community and civic activity, union affiliation, prior political activity, and other relevant experience.
I have been a PCO and actively involved in the Democratic Party since 2000. This includes Chair of the 31st LD Democrats for 5 of those years and State Committee Man for even more years. As a US Naval Academy (Annapolis) graduate I served 6 years on Active duty and retired from the US Naval Reserve. Worked as Mechanical and Systems Engineer (SPEEA Member), and project manager for two different major corporations which provided additional communication experience. As well as In recent years I have also been a Grange member.
2. What prompted you to run for this office? What are your campaign’s most important themes, issues, or priorities (three to five)?
Legislating for strong communities:
1) Solicit everyone’s needs in defining, funding and building the integrated transportation system the 31st LD requires.
2) Fund adequate schools and empower our teachers to educate our youth for democracy and all life’s opportunities.
3) Create new good jobs by shifting our energy system to alternatives (5 well paying jobs per each fossil fuel job eliminated).
3. What steps are you taking to run a successful campaign?
Setting up a creative campaign team
Coordinating with the other 31st LD Democratic candidates.
Setting up a website , and creating issue videos for media
Will seek appropriate endorsements and opportunities to address 31st LD communities
Part II – Local and State Issues
1. Do you support Initiative Measure No. 940 (“De-escalate Washington,” requiring, among other things, that law enforcement officers be required to obtain violence de-escalation and mental health training, so that officers will have greater skills to resolve conflicts without the use of physical or deadly force)?
Yes
2. Do you support the right of public workers, excluding military, to bargain and strike?
Yes
3. Would you support a statewide “Ban the Box” law, prohibiting employers from asking about job applicants’ criminal history until after an initial screening or interview?
Yes
4. Do you support legislation that reimburses the cost of reproductive health care services, such as SB 6105, the Reproductive Health Access for All Act?
Yes
5. Would you support an automatic voter registration act such as HB 2595 (Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2018), streamlining procedures in order to automatically register citizens to vote?
Yes
6. Would you support a bill that would enable the state of WA to create a single health financing entity to provide health care financing for all Washington residents, independent from employment, such as the WA Apple Care Trust?
Yes
Part III – Free Response
1. Why are you running as a Democrat? What aspects of the Democratic platform most resonate with you?
Government is society’s system for protection against negative forces to great for individual,s families or communities and provide the common resources to improve life for every citizen. The parts of the party platform that most resonates with me: “Corporations are artificial entities, and not entitled to Constitutional protections as persons. We oppose the undue influence of corporations on our society, government and political process.”
2. In the past, many Democrat-sponsored bills have died in the Republican-controlled Senate. Please list three failed bills from the past legislative session that you will champion when elected.
Carbon tax is essential to dealing effectively global climate change and accelerating conversion to alternative energy sources, particularly photovoltaics.
The death penalty is never fair or rational. It must be ended to save the lives of those falsely convicted and reduce the load on our judicial system.
Sexual harassment – no person should ever be subjected to sexual harassment under any condition, but particularly not by those in authority in a work environment.
3. What important state and local issues have you worked on (or taken an interest in) that you feel aren’t getting enough attention from elected leaders and the media?
Climate change’s impact on food production, mass transportation benefiting everyone, and building energy systems for the healthy productive future. Modern petroleum based farming methods have been shown to produce no more volume of food than organic farming to produce food that is inadequate for promoting health.
4. Do you think Washington public schools are adequately funded? If not, what minimum requirements should be met in an adequately funded public school system? What specific forms of taxation would you support to attain that funding?
Originally Washington school funding was based upon timber harvest. This is out of date for a number of reasons. Washington’s schools aren’t adequately resourced yet. Our society’s most precious treasure is our children. Having a strong society requires providing our children with a adult engagement, safe home environment, good nutrition, well educated and paid teachers and adequate infrastructure. This must be a public education system creating equal opportunity for every child. The Republicans, working for defective wealthy interests wish to destroy public educaton and only provide good education to the children of the wealthy.
5. What are some obstacles inherent in proposed legislative solutions to climate change? How would you approach those obstacles in order to best overcome or minimize any negative effects?
The solution includes the need for a smart electrical network and integration energy systems outside Washington State. There are no technical barriers to immediately converting 85% or more of our energy system to to alternative energy. The barriers are conversion management and vested economic interests working against the power, economic and health interest of our society. Legislation can speed the fix.
6. What are some obstacles inherent in proposed approaches to tax reform in Washington State? How would you approach those obstacles in order to best overcome or minimize any negative effects?
The biggest tax problem we have in Washington state is the same one afflicting the entire nation. In the 1950’s for every dollar i taxes paid by individuals, the corporations paid $1.50. Today, for every dollar citizens pay the corporations pay only 25 cents. The best tax system taxes those who benefit from society’s systems in proportion to the benefit taken from society’s systems. Corporations and wealthy individuals have grossly under paid on taxes since Ronald Reagan. The highest marginal tax rate should never be less that 51%.
7. Do you support the voter-approved call for a Constitutional Amendment to overturn the Citizens United Supreme Court decision (I-735), and if so, how do you propose to work toward that goal?
Each state must pass a law stating that corporations are not people and that money is not speech. In the end, when sufficient states have passed such laws it will be possible to create an amendment that clarifies that “people” in the 14th amendment refers only to ‘natural persons’ (human beings).
By typing my name below, I declare under penalty of perjury the foregoing is true and correct.
Printed Name: Mark M Boswell
Date: 05/20/2018
