The two men vying to be the next attorney general of Washington state will appear at a debate at Centralia College on Thursday during an event that will include a series of candidates running for federal, state and local offices.
The debate is organized by The Chronicle and will take place from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the TransAlta Commons at Centralia College. The event will be moderated by Centralia Mayor Kelly Smith Johnston and Centralia College President Bob Mohrbacher.
Pasco Mayor and City Council Member Pete Serrano placed first in the race for attorney general in the August primary with 42.11%. According to the Washington state voters guide, Serrano’s experience includes serving as general counsel of the Silent Majority Foundation, working as an environmental attorney for the United States Department of Energy and teaching as an adjunct professor at Washington State University.
According to the Voter Guide, Serrano graduated from Vermont Law School with a master’s degree in environmental law in 2010, earned his doctorate from Florida Coastal School of Law in 2009 and graduated from the University of California at Davis with a bachelor’s degree in Italian in 2004.
“As your next attorney general, my focus will be on Washington state, not Washington D.C. As attorney general, I will remove the partisan blinders to protect all Washingtonians. I look forward to representing you as your next attorney general,” Serrano stated in the voter guide.
Former U.S. attorney for Western Washington and former general counsel to Gov. Jay Inslee Nick Brown placed second in the August primary with 35.28% of the vote. According to the voter guide, Brown’s experience includes serving as a JAG officer in the U.S. Army at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and working as a partner at Pacifica Law Group. While in the Army, Brown earned a Bronze Star for his service in Iraq.
According to the voter guide, Brown graduated from Harvard Law School and Morehouse College with a bachelor’s degree in political science. At Morehouse, Brown was in the Army ROTC and worked in student government.
“As attorney general, Nick will work to keep all Washingtonians safe — from crime, gun violence, discrimination and the growing housing crisis. Nick believes Donald Trump poses an unprecedented threat to our country and will fight to protect our state from attacks on civil liberties,” Brown said.
The debate on Thursday will also include Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler, who previously represented the Third Congressional District in the House of Representatives and is now running for commissioner of public lands. Herrera Beutler advanced out of the August primary with 22% of the vote and will face Democratic King County Council Member Dave Upthegrove in the general election.
Joe Kent, who is making his second attempt at representing the Third Congressional District, will also speak at the event. With Congress in session, Kent’s opponent, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, can't attend.
As of Monday, candidates for the state Legislature who are scheduled to attend include Andi Day, a Democrat challenging state Sen. Jeff Wilson, and Mike Coverdale, a Democrat challenging state Sen. Jim Walsh.
The debate will also include all four candidates seeking a seat on the Board of County Commissioners.
These include Republican Sean Swope and Democrat Damian Bean, who are battling to represent District 1, and Republicans Lindsey Pollock and Christina Riley, who are seeking to represent District 2
Lewis County Public Utility District commissioner candidates Dave Fenn and Angie Brown will also be in attendance.
The event is free to attend and open to the public.
