Policies
& Statements
Spokane Fires
Throughout the past week we have seen our friends, family and neighbors suffer through the terrible ordeal of being evacuated from their homes due to wildfire danger, then dealing with the uncertainty of not knowing how or if their homes were impacted. One of our community members tragically lost their life. Spokane is strong, and we will get through this; but we shouldn't have to do it alone.
Wildfire danger is growing in Spokane and our communities have suffered through recent fires that have damaged our communities including Malden Fire in 2020, Medical Lake and Oregon Road Fires in 2024, and now the Upriver Fire in 2026. Washington needs to focus on making sure that essential services and maintenance of our lands are properly funded, while also considering policies that address residential development in the wildland urban interface.
The federal government has shown that, for now anyway, we are mostly on our own when it comes to mitigating wildfire danger. We need to remain diligent, stay informed and make sure that the representatives we send to Olympia love and understand this beautiful place we call home. I have lived here for over 36 years, I understand the treasure that we have, and I will be your voice to help pass the needed protections to make sure this treasure doesn't get taken away bit by bit.
Data Center in LD6
Data centers can be massive users of our natural resources and I support a ban on their construction unless they meet strict requirements to be self-sufficient and sustainable. I hear that the proposed data center Avista announced may be located in Legislative District 6. While I support technological advancements, data centers are being permitted and built quicker than local governments and citizens can assess their impacts, and that is not ok.
Legislative District 6 is already under economic and environmental strain. We are facing shortages of clean water, concerns about affordable housing, rising costs of utilities, and aging infrastructure that is susceptible to wildfire risks. According to Avista, this data center could use up to 500 megawatts of power, which would be more than half of the power used by all current residential and business customers in Spokane County. Spokane values its open lands, river, and sole-source aquifer and has focused on protecting our important natural resources. We need to allow time for governmental oversight and regulation to catch up with the needs and unique concerns that a data center creates before we allow one to be built in our area.
I will be an active and vocal advocate for making sure that anything of this magnitude, with this level of impact to our community, is considered carefully and held accountable to our neighbors, so that we do not just allow the abuse and thoughtless use of our precious land and resources. I acknowledge that there can be some financial benefits to a data center, but I do not think that the benefits come close to outweighing the cost at this time. With further regulation and consideration that might change, but this is being done too fast and with too little oversight or even sharing of information to the community.
Spokane 3
I am disturbed and upset about the unjust prosecution of my fellow Spokanites: Jac Archer, Justice Forral and Bajun Mavalwalla II. The right to protest is extremely important in the United States, we use this tool to make sure our voices are heard. When the government takes punitive action to silence protesters we need to raise our voices even louder. The Spokane 3 and everyone who protested on June 11, 2025 were exercising their constitutional rights and supporting their neighbors. For individual reasons many of the charged protesters chose to take a plea deal, which is their right. It is also the right of these 3 brave individuals to choose to fight their charges in court. I hope these three, and all of us here in Spokane, continue to appeal this decision and work towards a more just ending.