Name: Ted Cooke
Running for: 47th Legislative District State Representative – Position No. 2
Party: Republican
Current Position: Senior Software Tester and Lab Manager on the Microsoft campus.
City: Covington
Contact: (206) 779-8495 ted.cooke@outlook.com
Website: http://www.tedcooke.org/
Social Media: Facebook
PDC Page: Campaign Contributions
Education: Bachelor of Theology from Beacon University, 2000
Endorsements: pending
Auburn Examiner Candidate Questionaire:
The Auburn Examiner did not alter or edit any of the candidate’s responses.
Candidates were asked how much they agreed with the following statements. Their options were Strongly Agree, Somewhat Agree, Neutral, Somewhat Disagree, and Strongly Disagree.
The existing state government is going in the right direction to benefit the people of Washington.
Somewhat Disagree
Voting by mail should not be allowed except in the case of absentee voting
Somewhat Agree
There should be stricter rules and regulations on the use of money in political campaigns.
Somewhat Disagree
State and National Parks should be protected from being sold to private or corporate entities.
Somewhat Disagree
Environmental protections and regulation are more important than corporate tax revenue.
Neutral
Collective bargaining rights for all unions and public employees must be protected.
Somewhat Disagree
Marriage should legally be defined as a relationship between one man and one woman.
Strongly Agree
Public school sex education should be comprehensive, including all contraceptive methods without preference shown to abstinence.
Somewhat Disagree
At what point during human development should the law protect human life?
Legal protection should begin at conception
Legal protection should begin after three months gestation
Legal protection should begin after six months gestation
There should be no legal protection until after birth
More restrictive gun control is needed to protect public safety.
Strongly Disagree
Open carry of firearms should be permitted everywhere, without restrictions.
Somewhat Agree
Qualified Immunity for Law Enforcement Officers should be repealed.
Strongly Disagree
Chokeholds and Vascular Neck Restraints should not be permitted by any Washington Law Enforcement agencies.
Somewhat Disagree
There should be more emphasis on the rehabilitation of criminals than punishment.
Somewhat Disagree
I support the death penalty.
Strongly Agree
911 Dispatchers should be legally designated as first responders.
Somewhat Agree
There is a mental health crisis in Washington State.
Strongly Agree
A dedicated line, separate from 911, should be created for incidents requiring mental health crisis responses.
Neutral
The COVID-19 Pandemic has been handled well by local and state agencies, including the Governor.
Strongly Disagree
The COVID-19 Pandemic has been handled well by national agencies, including the President.
Neutral
The following were open questions with no limitations placed on the candidate’s response:
What is the number one platform issue of your campaign, and why is it important to you?
Lower taxes. My 80 year old mother was recently taxed out of her home of 45 years because she’s on a fixed income and her property taxes kept going up. I’ve also had multiple friends have businesses fail or go stagnant because of a myriad of state business taxes.
How will you make decisions with an equity lens, understanding the impacts to all communities before making them?
I am a strong believer in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s dream of bringing all people together and looking at the contents of character, not the color of skin. We should always have equality of freedom and equality of treatment under law. The problem with Socialist attempts at equality of outcomes is that they apply, enforce and exacerbate arbitrary racial distinctions. We had 90 years of slavery, almost half under the Democrat party. Then we had 100 years of segregation under the Democrat party. Now we’ve had over 50 years of legal differential treatment of people based on race- quotas in hiring, quotas in education, availability of programs, etc. Again from the Democrat party. We still haven’t fully tried the great Dr. King’s dream. I believe his dream is the answer.
Is there a responsibility of the Washington state government you feel would be better managed on a county or city level?
Responsibilities of State government aren’t well defined because unlike our federal Constitution – which delegates specific, limited powers to the federal government – our State Constitution assumes all powers reside with the state. There is no section of the State Constitution which says, “The legislature shall have power to…” In terms of responsibilities the state has assumed I think almost all legislative commissions to allow special interests to influence state law & policy should be dissolved and if lower jurisdictions want to take up such commissions they should be free to.
What is one problem under the jurisdiction of the office you are running for, and explain in simple concrete terms your plan to address it?
Homelessness. I support a sober shelters act which would mandate that larger jurisdiction of 50,000 or more people – 21 counties and 24 municipalities – establish sober shelters with police presence, sanitation and on site counseling for drug addiction, employment and mental health. We also need to get back Western State Hospital certification and open a couple more institutions like it across the state, as well as state supported community mental health centers. Overall I’m for shrinking the state budget, but this is one area which we’ve sorely neglected and it needs investment.
Excluding the First and Second, which is your favorite U.S. Constitutional Amendment, and why?
Fourth, no deprivation of life, liberty or property without a warrant from a judge naming a specific entity, based upon oath or affirmation, and the due process which flows into the next four Amendments.
If you could recommend one book that best represents your values/describes your ethos, what would it be?
Ted.Cooke@outlook.com said:
11 Principles Of A Reagan Conservative by Paul Kengor
Candidates were asked to agree or disagree with the following statement:
I commit to representing the best interests of my constituents and not those of my party, donors, or special interest groups.
Agree