U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland addresses local and national issues at town hall in Lacey

A Republican candidate in the race for state representative of the 22nd Legislative District took the opportunity to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland Thursday night at a Town Hall meeting in Lacey.

During the gathering at the Lacey Community Center, Strickland and Thurston County Commissioner chair Carolina Mejia answered questions from the public, including from Loretta Byrnes of Lacey, one of two Republican candidates for the Position 1 seat in the legislature being vacated by Democrat Laurie Dolan. Byrnes is not running against Strickland.

During her turn to ask a question, Byrnes asked Strickland about issues such as rising housing prices that are impacting Thurston County.

Byrnes asked Strickland to clarify the definition of affordable housing. Byrnes said she is an economist and the congresswoman really meant to say subsidized housing, because the term affordable housing is subjective.

Strickland said affordable housing is defined as one spending 30% of their income or less on housing, and that she and other politicians are working to make housing more affordable for Thurston County residents.

Byrnes also asked Strickland about her stance on the electoral college, which Strickland has been adamant about abolishing in the past. Byrnes said the electoral college is in the Constitution, indicating that the process should not be abolished due to this fact. She also brought up states’ rights and their importance, asking Strickland about her stance on the topic.

“States’ rights was a mechanism used to preserve slavery,” Strickland said.

Many in the crowd began to applaud, but Byrnes started laughing.

Strickland spoke about voter suppression that is exacerbated by states’ rights, saying voter suppression efforts disproportionately target people of color. She also tied it to the idea of minority rule, mentioning the Republican control of the U.S. Senate and the ability for former President Donald Trump to lose the popular vote but still win the 2016 presidential election.

Strickland also brought up how Trump repeatedly sued states over the 2020 election results and lost every time.

“Secretaries of state who were both Democratic and Republican said these elections were legitimate,” she said.

The town hall also covered topics such as climate change, farm land shortages, and the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

About 60 people attended the town hall meeting, and many had questions to ask. Questions ranged from local issues such as housing prices to national topics such as whether Congresswoman Strickland thought Donald Trump would be held responsible for the Jan. 6 insurrection.

During the meeting, Rep. Strickland said she will continue to push for women’s rights and equality.