Republican Party puts plenty of cash behind Boyce, Goers

Follow the money this political season and it shows the Republican Party spending tens of thousands to support select candidates, including Senate candidate Bill Boyce of Kent and House candidate Carmen Goers of Auburn, running to defeat Democrats for the state Legislature.

Boyce is on the Aug. 2 primary ballot for the 47th Legislative District Senate seat against Kent Democrats Satwinder Kaur and Claudia Kauffman. One of them will replace Sen. Mona Das, D-Kent, who decided not to seek reelection to another four-year term. The two candidates with the most votes advance to the Nov. 8 general election.

The 47th District includes parts of Kent, Auburn and Covington. The Senate seat has switched back and forth between Republicans and Democrats over the last 16 years. Das narrowly defeated Auburn Republican Joe Fain in 2018.

Boyce, president of the Kent City Council, has received nearly $86,000 from the Olympia-based Senate Republican Campaign Committee, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission website on July 14. The group gave Boyce $43,863 on July 11 and $42,000 on June 13. That pushes Boyce over $200,000 in campaign funds compared to $73,522 for Kaur and $41,937 for Kauffman, putting him more than $120,000 higher than his challengers.

As far as the largest donations from the committee to legislative candidates, Boyce ranks a close second to Ryika Hooshangi, of Sammamish. Hooshangi is running to defeat Redmond Democratic Sen. Manka Dhingra in the 45th Legislative District (Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish and East King County). Hooshangi has received nearly $92,000.

The Republicans also are putting a lot of financial backing behind Janelle Cass ($55,000), an Edmonds business owner challenging Democratic incumbent Sen. Marko Liias, of Mukilteo, in the 21st Legislative District; and State Rep. Jesse Young ($55,000), of Gig Harbor, who is taking on Democratic incumbent Sen. Emily Randall, of Bremerton.

So where does the Senate Republican Campaign Committee get its money?

The biggest contributors to the committee include State Sen. John Braun, who lives just outside of Centralia, and donated $60,000 to the group from his surplus funds campaign account, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission. Braun also donated another $25,000 as did his wife Linda Braun. John Braun is president of Braun Northwest, a Chehalis company that specializes in making emergency vehicles. Braun won reelection in 2020 to another four-year term.

Braun, the Senate Republican Caucus leader, spoke at Boyce’s campaign kickoff in December at the accesso ShoWare Center in Kent.

State Rep. Jeremie Dufalut, of Selah, isn’t running for reelection and gave $50,000 from his surplus campaign account. Former State Sen. Randi Becker, of Olympia, donated $32,900 in surplus funds.

John Goodman, chair of Seattle-based Goodman Real Estate, contributed $20,000. George Petrie, CEO of Goodman Real Estate, donated $10,000.

Goodman is the developer that built three Kent apartment complexes: the Midtown 64 Apartments at West Meeker Street and 64th Avenue South in 2020; the Platform Apartments downtown on West Smith Street across from Kent Station in 2014; and the Signature Pointe Apartments, 25102 62nd Ave. S., in 1989.

Goodman also announced plans in December 2021 to turn the former Hawthorne Suites hotel into apartments along South 212th Street in Kent. The company bought the hotel building and 6.4 acres on Nov. 17, 2021 for $19 million.

In addition to helping to fund the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, John Goodman and George Petrie have made two contributions of $1,000 each directly to Boyce’s campaign.

The committee’s motto is, “Improving education. Controlling taxes and spending. Moving Washington in the right direction for all.”

Goers leads money race

With $60,000 from the Olympia-based House Republican Organizational Committee, Goers has raised $155,206 so far in her efforts to win the 47th District House Position 2 seat to replace Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, who retired after 16 years in office.

Republicans Ted Cooke and Barry Knowles also are running for the position. Knowles has raised $3,005 and Cooke $2,605.

The Democratic candidates against Goers are Shukri Olow, of Kent, who has raised $64,612 and Chris Stearns, of Auburn, who has raised $45,086, each nearly $100,000 less than Goers.

The biggest contribution to the House Republican Organizational Committee is $25,000 from the surplus campaign fund of State Rep. Jeremie Dufault, of Selah, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission.

The committee’s priorities include “working to take the majority, making life more affordable through tax relief, strengthing public safety by supporting law enforcement and empowering parents by guaranteeing curriculum transparency and educational flexibility,” according to its website.

The committee has numerous $10,000 donations, including from Seattle real estate developers John Goodman and George Petrie, the same two men who made large contributions to the Senate Republican Campaign Committee and to Boyce. The wives of the two men, Shawn Goodman and Alyssa Petrie, each contributed $10,000 to the group.

Goodman Real Estate has assets valued at more than $3.5 billion, according to its website. Goodman owns more than 40,000 apartment units and 2.5 million square feet of office space in the Puget Sound region and calls itself the leading developer of multifamily housing.

Goodman and Petrie contributed heavily last fall to Bruce Harrell in his campaign to become the mayor of Seattle. Goodman contributed $90,000 and Petrie and his wife put in a combined $100,000, according to washingtonobserver.substack.com.

The long list of $1,000 individual contributions to Goers includes Goodman and Petrie. Pastor Casey Treat, founder of the Christian Faith Center in Federal Way and Mill Creek, also contributed $1,000 to Goers.

Boyce, a Boeing human resources leader, also contributed $1,000 to Goers as he aims for a fellow 47th District Republican to win a House seat as he goes for the Senate position.