Independent Diamond wants to unseat Condotta for District 12 post

As many of us are familiar, elections for the Washington State House of Representatives will be held later this year in November. Our region, Legislative District 12, is currently represented by republican incumbent Cary Condotta, who has held the position since 2003. This year, Condotta, who usually runs unopposed, will run against independent Dr. Ann Diamond of Methow Valley for position one.

Last Monday, April 16, Diamond held a town hall meeting at the Wenatchee Valley Museum as a chance to meet some of her constituents. Cashmere Valley Record Staff Writer Kyra Planetz sat down with Diamond after the event and asked her to respond to the following questions:

CVR: Why did you want to run for this position?

Dr. Ann Diamond: I don’t feel like I’m being represented and that also plays into why I’m running as an independent. Often times I hear a party response, something that sounds like its crafted somewhere else, instead of relating to what’s happening on the ground here in this region. As a physician, probably the strongest reaction I had early on was to repeal and replace because so many people here rely on the Affordable Care Act to have access to healthcare. I am also intrigued by the issue of critical access hospitals in our area, which have stayed open directly because of the Affordable Care Act. That’s what got me started, I put together an advisory committee of doctors and hospital administrators to meet with one of our state representatives who didn’t seem to know exactly what was going on. He refused to face the facts and continued to talk about hospital closures that didn’t exist. At that point you realize you’re wasting your time and you can either shut up and go back to work, or you can step up and try to represent what you know is happening in healthcare in the region.

CVR: What issues are you passionate about and what are you hoping to change if elected?

Diamond: Certainly healthcare, but I also love that there’s more collaboration for work on public lands and the effort to decrease fuels. My region has been—well the entire region, has been affected by mega fires and we need to reduce fuels and also use it to our economic advantage by harvesting timber that otherwise will burn. If we want people to live here than we need to find a way that they will survive. I’m also interested in affordable housing and workforce housing. I think housing is going to be a big part of how we’re able to recruit businesses and technology, and certainly other individuals, who want to work in this region. Right now, you can’t move here easily—there’s no place to live. You can’t work in a region if you don’t have a roof over your head.

CVR: How do you think running both as an independent and a physician will benefit you or affect your decision making?

Diamond: I want to work in health and wellness, I feel like I have credibility as a physician, I think if you’re going to do policy about healthcare it’d be nice to have a healthcare professional involved. In terms of independent, I think it’d be very difficult if we had a state house that was all republican or all democrat—but we don’t, so I think one vote matters. As an independent, I would like to try to pull together a bipartisan caucus of some sort. Hopefully on issues there will be bipartisan support and not just party support. I’m excited, I think an independent could make a difference, otherwise I wouldn’t do it.

CVR: What is your strategy for beating 15-year republican incumbent, Cary Condotta?

Diamond: My strategy is to learn this district; hear what people have to say, as much as I can, and running independent I really want to hear from people who may or may not agree with me. I will change my mind if somebody can convince me that there’s a better way of doing things. But I also believe there’s common ground and if we can find what that common ground is, we can pull in the same direction instead of in opposition to one another. One of things about eastern Washington is that it’s very small-town community oriented, people are accustomed to getting along and accomplishing things with people they don’t necessarily agree with. We need to get back to that instead of playing party politics.