On Oct. 8, a candidate debate facilitated by Northwest Passages in partnership with Gonzaga University, Sen. Maria Cantwell and Dr Raul Garcia debated their stance on a variety of issues as they both contend for the U.S. Senate seat. Soon after, Carmela Conroy and Michael Baumgartner took the same stage as they both work toward garnering enough votes for the 5th District Congressional seat. Ballots are due Nov. 5.
Sen. Maria Cantwell
Sen. Cantwell believes in growing the middle class by bolstering our manufacturing supply chain, fighting inflation by lower costs across the population, providing affordable housing, and building apprenticeships for jobs of tomorrow to drive up income. She supports federal student loan forgiveness especially for public sector jobs so that student loans are not prohibiting Americans from gaining access to economic growth. She believes in a value based health care delivery system and is concerned that Project 2025 threatens Social Security and Medicare and that we should enact a process where the government pays for policies as they go.
On the matter of abortion, she believes that decisions should be made between the patient and doctor, and aims to restore a woman’s right to choose at the national level.
On the matter of climate change and clean energy, Cantwell worked on the Yakima Basin Project to strategically get more water while also saving fish, and believes in maintaining our treaties on tribal lands in the preservation of salmon. She supports innovating and diversifying energy sources to keep electric costs low.
On the matter of the Israeli/Palestine conflict, Cantwell wants to bring hostages home, and says that Israel is our ally, and collectively, with neighboring nations, a two-state solution and ceasefire should be the objective. On the matter of Ukraine, Cantwell supports efforts to stabilize the country against Russian aggression.
On the matter of immigration, Cantwell advocates for allowing a legal process to be established for those who want to work in the U.S., effective border appropriations for national safety, and she stated that “demonizing the backbone of who built America is not the way to go.”
On the matter of the fentanyl crisis, she helped pass the Fend Fentanyl Act, which enabled a national emergency. This gave the government new tools to go after cartels and money at the border for detection and surveillance. She believes in low barrier treatment for addicts.
On the matter of homelessness, she understands the nuances of being unhoused, and that not everyone in that predicament is on drugs or mentally ill. She is in favor of programming like Gonzaga Haven, which provides resources to help people become productive members of society.
On the matter of health care, Cantwell believes that “pharmacy benefit manager middlemen” are counter-productive, as they are the third- and fourth-highest entities on Wall Street, serving their financial bottom line versus what is in the best interest of the patient. She believes in negotiating the cost of medication. On the matter of online privacy protections, she will fight to pass a federal privacy act and believes that American people should be given the leverage to hold tech companies accountable when they breach privacy rights and agreements.
Dr Raul Garcia
Dr Raul Garcia stated that he is not a career politician, but a scientist. As a medical doctor, he will look for science-based solutions to crime, open drug use and accountability for government spending. He appreciates legal immigration and relates this topic, as his family emigrated from Cuba. He says that he accomplished success through the opportunity of immigration and hard work. Below is a synopsis of Garica’s stance on various issues impacting citizens.
On the matter of inflation, Garcia believes that government spending needs to undergo an audit as a measure of accountability and funds that are not being spent effectively should be diverted back to communities.
On the matter of student debt, he believes in the necessity of bringing resources to marginalized cultures to level the playing field.
Garcia believes in supporting Washington as a pro-choice state. He aims to support the will of the people and protecting women’s rights is the will of Washingtonians.
On the matter of clean energy and climate change, Garcia is a proponent of nuclear energy, hydroelectric energy, and bringing industry back to America as a part of building clean energy, while simultaneously boosting our economy. He has studied the Snake River dams and understands the need to find balance in protecting those dams and the fish. On the matter of the Israel/Palestine conflict, Garcia believes that America’s role is to find peace. He says that Israel is our ally.
On the matter of immigration, Garcia firmly supports children who have DACA status, in addition to a less bureaucratic process for legal citizenship. He believes that a country has the right to vet who comes in and out of its borders to remain sovereign.
On the matter of fentanyl, Garcia says he would propose the American Against Fentanyl Act, advocating for felony manslaughter charges for dealers and mandatory rehabilitation for addicts.
He also believes that to address the issue of homelessness, you must follow a process of identifying and rectifying the root causes, promote drug rehabilitation and mental health services. As a medical doctor, Garcia believes that insurance companies have too much power, and that doctors and patients should be the driving force in health care. He does not think that insurance companies belong on Wall Street.
Michael Baumgartner
On the matter of national debt, Baumgartner believes that Congress needs to reign in reckless spending, reduce regulations that cause price increases, and privatize the TSA.
He believes the cost of college is outrageous and it should be made more affordable, but does not approve of wiping out student debts that were borrowed in good faith. He thinks that community colleges and trade schools should be promoted.
He believes in a bipartisan approach to balancing the budget, and that we need to stimulate the economy by producing more American energy. He will fight to protect entitlement funding such as social security. He believes in science based protections of the environment and embracing the improvements in hydroelectric and nuclear energy, power stations being a part of. Baumgartner believes that unions should be optional. He states that the Pro Act, which would supersede the state’s right to work stance, would drive up costs on public infrastructure.
Baumgartner stated that the Affordable Care Act provided access to care but falls short on the cost of health care. He advocates for price transparency and the negotiation of the cost of care.
Baumgartner believes abortion is a state matter and would not vote on any abortion legislation because it is the role of the state, to include cases of rape. He does believe in supporting young mothers and families.
On the matter of foreign policy, he believes that the U.S. military needs to be upgraded and we cannot afford to be isolationists. Baumgartner believes peace is possible, Israelis and Palestinians are all “all God’s children” and we must keep Israel strong and secure because it is the only democracy in the Middle East. He stated that Iran must be dealt with and also does not support anti-semistism.
He believes in securing the borders and that there is abuse of the refugee asylum. He believes that the wall needs to be finished and the traffic of fentanyl, along with terrorists, is a threat to American safety and sovereignty. He believes that drug trafficking in Washington is a problem and attributes that to laxed laws coming out of Olympia.
He says Washington needs demand reduction to stop drug consumption and an all government approach to addressing the fentanyl crisis.
Carmela Conroy
On the matter of economy, Conroy believes that we need to look to more than domestic issues to solve our problems, that the government could make housing more affordable, and there should be affordable loans.
She believes in an open market economy, investing in good debt, a mandatory spending program, and the protection of Medicare and social security, which she firmly states are not entitlement programs, but earned benefits. She contends that climate justice should be a collaboration between the local and federal government. She is pro-union, believes in protecting workers rights, negotiating for better benefits, safety, and a respectable pension.
On the matter of health care, she believes that pharmacy prices should be negotiated and that the Affordable Care Act should cover pre-existing conditions, and the federal government should intervene to break up monopolies. On the matter of abortion, she believes that, “we the people” deserve our own rights to our own bodies, and that we should restore women’s rights at the national level.
Having spent 20 years in foreign service as a diplomat, Conroy believes that the example of American democracy leads the world stage, and we should work on maintaining our alliances and lead by example.
She believes, in regards to the Israel/Palestine conflict, that the role of the U.S. should be as peacekeepers to promote a two-state solution, and we should bring our hostages home.
She believes in holding pharmaceutical companies responsible for the opioid epidemic that has now escalated into the fentanyl crisis, and she will not choose party over country in strategies to support immigrants who want to work in the U.S., while also creating effective collaborative multi-government solutions to address crime coming through the borders.