Washington State Rep. Stephanie McClintock will prioritize enhancing public education if elected to a second term.
McClintock will soon wrap up her first term as 18th District representative, position 1, and plans for a second. She previously served as a board member for Battle Ground Public Schools from 2013-17 and works in public affairs. She took office in January last year, following her predecessor Brandon Vick's encouragement to pursue a career in politics.
“I love being in Olympia. It’s such an honor,” McClintock said. “... [My] priority is listening to constituents and hearing what they have to say, real people, real-life issues concerning them.”
McClintock said her greatest concern is low test scores and parents opting their children out of Washington’s public schools. She will seek bipartisan support to pass a bill that failed last legislative session, which would require schools to provide an exit survey for parents taking their children out of public education.
“I want to find out why they are leaving,” McClintock said. “I've talked to parents, and it's mostly around the poor test scores … It doesn't have to be a partisan thing, to want to understand why parents are pulling their kids out.”
Additionally, McClintock sponsored an unsuccessful bill to provide financial assistance to school districts with buildings over 50 years old with a history of failing to secure bonds needed for new construction. To tackle the issue of low test scores, she plans to introduce a bill prohibiting the non-educational use of cell phones by both students and teachers in classroom settings.
“The adults in the room need to set an example. We need to put our phones away, pay attention to each other [and] to our kids. We just need some guardrails and parameters on these devices,” McClintock said.
She said her favorite part of the legislative session was being on the capital budget committee. In March, McClintock and Rep. Greg Cheney secured over $16 million to fund the construction of Madrona Recovery, a new 54-bed youth mental health center in Brush Prairie through the state’s capital budget. A priority for McClintock is funding projects that will enhance law enforcement services. McClintock helped source capital funds to open Vancouver’s Southwest Washington Basic Law Enforcement Academy in January during her term. The facility’s first class graduated in May.
“It was a joint effort by our southwest Washington delegation to get something started here locally so we can get some more law enforcement officers onto our departments because they are very lean and working some long hours. Anything I can do to support law enforcement is top of mind,” McClintock said.
McClintock looks forward to knocking door-to-door for her re-election campaign. Last year, she visited roughly 10,000 residences and established a new goal of 12,000.
“The community engagement is something I love,” McClintock said. “The [social] aspect comes naturally, but asking for money is the worst part. But I know how much money it takes and will budget it well.”
McClintock is a member of the education, capital budget and consumer protection & business committees.
Voters can reach McClintock by email at vote4stephanie.mcclintock@gmail.com or by calling 360-600-8170. Learn more about McClintock’s campaign at vote4stephaniemcclintock.com.
