While we're pleased to welcome Democrat
Marie Glezen Camp Perez to the studio,
she is a small business
owner in Skamania County.
She has an economics degree from
Reed College and owns an auto repair
shop with her husband in Portland.
She's also the mother of a one year old.
Welcome to straight talk.
It's nice to have you here.
Thank you so much for having me.
Well, this is a crowded race.
9 candidates tell us why you decided to
get into the race and what your biggest
criticism is of Jamie Herrera Butler.
You know Jamie is an extremist, she.
Urged the Supreme Court to overturn Roe
and then she celebrated the collapse of
our rights by voting against contraception.
You know, if you are against abortion
and you're against contraception,
you are not a moderate.
You are an extremist,
you know she has been teeing up the
queue for the Supreme Court to take
away right to same sex marriage.
She voted against a bill codifying
same sex marriage.
This is not the path of a moderate.
We cannot rely on her to
safeguard our rights.
You know, as a small business owner,
it has been so offensive to me to
see her invite us to the job fairs
when the paper mill shut down,
you know we lost our paper mill and her
solution has been to host job fairs.
There were eleven employers there.
Laurel, right,
one of whom was selling Tupperware.
You're not going to put a kid through
college or save for retirement.
Selling Tupperware, right?
We need representatives.
To do something about this economy,
she has been there for 12 years
and she'd like us to think that the
gridlock is based on someone else,
but she's the one holding the bag on this.
You know,
there were cracks in the cascade locks.
That is one of the biggest
wheat ports in the country,
and her solution to this was to
end a send out emails about bean,
bagging, sea lions.
You know we have disinvested in rural
infrastructure to such a degree that
things are collapsing around our
ears and it is a huge problem for us.
We need real leadership.
Well, you are really the only main
Democrat out of all the nine.
That's really done.
Any fundraising. Where are all the
Democrats? Well, you know,
I feel really honored.
The other primary Democrat in
this race dropped out and endorsed
me because he saw that I have
the skills and the experience
to really deliver real results
in this working class district.
What do you think your chances are on
Tuesday of coming out in the top two?
Yeah, listen. This district is 43%.
Democrats so Jamie is relying
on Democrats to vote for her.
That is a very risky bet on her part.
So I I, you know, we've got to work hard.
We can't take anything for granted,
and we're we are working hard.
But we believe we can make it through.
Well, let's talk about the
economy because it's the number
one issue for Washingtonians,
and probably for most Americans
with inflation at a a 40 year high.
But the the Republicans blame
Joe Biden and the Democrats.
So why should the voters of Southwest?
Washington and 57% of them are not Democrats.
Why should they trust you as a
Democrat to help rein in inflation when
it's gotten to this point already?
Yeah, you know, I am a small business owner
like nobody knows this better than us.
You know I own auto repair and
a machine shop with my husband.
The same box of gloves that cost
me $5 and 2019 cost me $25 today.
You know 2 1/2 years into this
pandemic we still have no national
production of face masks.
You know medical grade masks that we
rely on to keep our first responders
safe so no one knows better than
small business owners working in
the trades like me that we have to
bring back a family wage, jobs,
manufacturing the things that really
grow the economy in the long term.
You know, spending has been out of control
and on the rise this this has been,
you know, decades in the making.
And I would argue that it's because
we are electing a lot of career,
politicians, extremists,
you know doctors and lawyers.
And not people who have to make
payroll and balance the budget
and keep facilities running.
So if we want to see a return to
solvency we have got to have small
business owners like me in office
we heard Jamie Butler say that they
shouldn't elect the Democrat you because
of big spending that Democrats are trying
to pass all these big spending bills.
We have spent trillions during the
pandemic and that has fueled inflation
and that Democrats can't be trusted.
They she says there needs to be a balance.
Check and balance with Democrats
in control right now of Congress.
What's your response to
her? I mean, she has voted
lockstep with the administration.
That led us here, you know.
I mean her record is very clear and
not delivering for this district.
She would love to pass the buck,
but she's the one who's been there
for over a decade, you know.
And so the position we're in today.
She's the one holding the bag. For that.
We have got to elect different people.
If we want different results and that's
what I bring to this table, you know.
I'm sure you know we want to talk
about aging infrastructure like
the dams you know and and our our
cascade locks like our bridges.
You know I drive across that bridge
every day and I would really like to
know that it's not going to fall out
from underneath me when I do that.
You know,
as a small business owner I don't look
at my 6 year old roof and say by golly,
that's an asset.
I hope it takes out a lift when it collapses.
No you you get out ahead of it.
You know interest rates have been
close to 0% for how many years?
And this Congress,
which is Jamies Congress,
has failed to invest substantially,
and any of the long term investment
store infrastructure that's going
to keep our economy thriving.
She mentioned the bridge, the I5 bridge.
She has been opposed to it.
She didn't want light rail or tolls.
She said she was representing her district.
Where are you on that? I?
5 bridge replacement is moving forward
now and they are planning light rail.
Where are you?
Do you support the I5 bridge?
Yeah, I what are we gonna
wait for a school bus to fall
through it before we fix it?
I mean, this is silly.
You know these are family wage jobs,
they're American jobs,
and you know Washington
state can be a leader in the
trades if we invest properly.
Do you support light rail on that new bridge?
I think it should certainly be light
rail ready, which is the plan right now.
And what about tolls?
It's so controversial,
but the people who are designing
that say that tools are
necessary to help pay for it
also to control congestion.
Yeah, you know, you mentioned
I have a degree in economics.
Economists love to say that
tolls are a regressive tax.
I was really relieved to hear from the
Mayor of Vancouver that there will
be a similar to a voucher program.
If you are on a fixed income,
there's going to be a a path for you
not to have tolls on that bridge.
So I'm going to go back to
manufacturing because I know
that's really important to you.
How would you try to bring
manufacturing back to the United States?
Yeah, that is so critical. You know.
I actually, my husband and I
bought a machine shop in 2020.
It was one of the machine
shops that we relied on.
And they were going out of business
because they're two guys were retiring
and they couldn't find an apprentice.
And that is a huge, you know,
I can keep a Honda Civic running for
500,000 miles if I've got good parts
and the reality is we are not getting
quality parts from manufacturers in China.
Frequently we have got to have
quality American parts to keep the
cars running that drive our middle
class Americans to work every day.
So it has got to come from
career and technical education,
making sure that our kids are graduating.
With the skills they need to
be successful in the trades,
you know these are family wage jobs.
You know nobody in China is
going to build a porch for you or
wire in a heat pump for you.
You know these are American jobs that
can't be offshored and we've got to be.
Empowering our students to be
successful in those trades.
I'm going to talk about kids I
know childcare is an issue for you.
You have a one year old.
You've dealt with it.
What would you do if you were
in Congress to try to address
the concerns that that a lot
of parents have childcare?
It is awful right now.
People are spending like $15,000 a year.
If you can even get a spot
in daycare right now.
I mean, it is so challenging since 2019.
One in 10 childcare facilities shut down
one in 10 childcare so you know you want
to talk about workforce participation.
There's a huge flag we have got to
have childcare and one of the reasons
that people aren't going into this
field is because they can't afford to.
You know, these are low,
not always high paying jobs.
And so I think one of the things Congress
can and should be doing proactively is debt,
public service, debt forgiveness.
Just like we let teachers you know,
lose some of their interest rates
or get a better interest rate when
they're teaching in public schools?
You know, those early education teachers?
Kids are learning just as much
then from zero to five.
That is when so much in the
brain is happening.
We've got to support that.
Another top issue for Washingtonians.
There's a new Washington State poll
out that shows voters overwhelmingly
support a ban on assault style
weapons by nearly two to one margin.
Would you support a ban
on assault style weapons?
Listen, I support the Second Amendment.
I am a gun owner.
Everybody I can see from my house in
rural Community County is a gun owner.
But we. Know that we are in a
a terrible place right now.
I I think about you know
these school shootings.
I think about sending my own
son to school what we're
doing right now isn't working,
and so absolutely,
we need to be investing in
things like red flag.
I'm going to bring you back to
the ban on assault style weapons.
I think they support that.
I think that needs to
come from the community.
And you know what I'm seeing
right now is that there is not
that grassroots support for it,
but. Washington state in general they say
2/3 of the people support it and you're
trying to be a leader in your area,
so you kind of just take a stand right.
Right now I would not
support would not support it.
Well, let's talk about abortion because
of the other candidates in this race.
Are pro-life and the Supreme
Court overturned Roe V Wade,
as you know, how important do you
think this issue is in the race?
Oh, it's it's fundamental.
I mean, this is not about the
minutiae of constitutional law.
This is about do Americans have a
right to privacy to bodily autonomy?
I mean that. That is huge.
So we are seeing a really fundamental
collapse in rights and I, you know,
am so saddened to see this happen.
And you know,
people think that their rights are
protected in Washington state.
They are not,
they are teeing up a federal ban on
abortion and the other candidates
in this race would vote for that.
I want to give you about 40 seconds or
so for a final thought to leave with our
voters before Tuesday's primary election.
Well, you know there are profound.
Differences between the
candidates in this race.
I am the only candidate who is going to
stand up for a woman's right to choose.
I'm the only candidate who's going
to support LGBTQ rights, you know?
And I'm the only candidate who's
actually working in the trades,
growing family wage jobs and and
that is what America needs. Now.
We need to empower the people
who are making things better at a
Community level and not extremists,
and not career politicians.
Marie Gleason Camp Perez. Thank you.
Joining us here on straight talk.
Nice to have you here.
The primary is on Tuesday.
Be sure to vote.
Thanks again for joining us.