Rep. Patrick Sullivan, Covington-D, said that if elected to his third term in Position 2 in the 47th Legislative District he will make school finance reform and improving the state’s economic climate among his top priorities.

His challenger, Tim Miller, Auburn-R, new to the political arena, hopes to bring his skills as a longtime transportation planner and his understanding as a small business owner to bear on the region’s problems.

Sullivan spoke last week at a candidates’ forum at Emerald Downs sponsored by the Auburn Area Chamber of Commerce. Miller, who could not make it to the forum because of a family medical issue, was represented by his son, Chris.

The 47th Legislative District includes the cities of Auburn, Kent, Covington, Lake Youngs, Black Diamond, and Ravensdale.

The general election is next Tuesday.

Before taking state office in 2004, Sullivan worked for the King County Council. He was the first mayor of the City of Covington.

He is a member of the Joint Education Finance Task Force that he said is working to “create a school finance system that is more transparent, understandable to the community and accountable to the public.”

Sullivan said he supports the state Board of Education in its efforts to increase the number of credits needed to graduate from high school from 19 to 24. He called that “a good idea” but wants flexibility built in, so that students who already have a career path can do what they need to do during the school day to meet their goals.

As a member of the Appropriations Committee, Sullivan sponsored the Job Development Fund, which provides grants for infrastructure improvements, so cities and towns can be ready for incoming businesses without having to increase local taxes.

Sullivan said he supports a business bill of rights that has “real teeth in it” and will continue to focus on low taxes, small business assistance, incentives for companies to keep local jobs here, and eliminating tax loopholes for those that don’t.

Miller said his father worked for the Alaska state Department of Transportation as a transportation planner and served three cities as a traffic engineer before moving to Auburn in 1987. Recently, he has been a traffic engineering consultant to cities and DOTs. He is also a traffic safety advocate and developer of educational materials for children.

Miller explained how his father’s credentials as a small business owner mesh with his expertise in transportation.

“My father is very much in tune with the needs of small business owners and what can be done with transportation to solve the problems,” Miller said. “He wants to take his expertise down to Olympia, provide a voice for you of somebody with experience in transportation as they are considering what they might do in this area.

“… He’s been in the community in Auburn, has seen taxes and things go up over the years and he deals with it every day, just like you do,” Miller added.