A group of District 5 Democratic candidates looking to unseat their office-holding opponents met at the home of district precinct officer Gary Fancher on Tuesday, July 22, to network with community members.

District 5 state house position hopefuls David Spring and Jon Viebrock, as well as state Senate candidate Phyllis Huster, met with supporters and neighbors interested in learning more about their candidacies.

“As a parent, I decided enough is enough,” Spring said about the seemingly uphill battle being fought over the construction of a new high school. As a long-time area resident, Spring is concerned about the future of the Snoqualmie Valley, Issaquah and Tahoma School Districts.

As of July, the projected student enrollment at Mount Si High School is 1,536 students. With a physical building capacity of 1,235 students, Mount Si High School will be 301 students over capacity, according to Carolyn Malcolm, Snoqulamie Valley School District spokeswoman.

To accommodate the extra students, the district plans to bring in two double-wide portable classrooms.

“Every year it’s going to get worse and worse and worse,” Spring said.

Like Spring, Viebrock is concerned about the future of local education.

“The choices for the parents in our district are very poor, and it’s fixing to get worse,” he said.

The environment and decreased oil dependence are included in Viebrock’s action plan.

“Getting off of oil is not just a national security issue, it’s a national survival issue,” he said.

In addition to decreasing oil dependence, Viebrock wants to strengthen public transportation from the Eastside to and from Seattle, control government spending and protect rights and wages of working class people.

Described himself as “one of those people who watches the news and yells at the T.V. set,” Viebrock hopes to bring accountability to state government.

“I’m volunteering to be accountable,” he said.

Huster understands that change will take time.

“You have to walk before you can run,” she said. The Senate hopeful is looking to start a dialogue between voters and politicians so that everyone’s needs are met. Like Viebrock, Huster wants to improve transportation to and from Seattle and outlying suburban areas.

With a campaign focus on three E’s — economy, education and environment — Huster is interested in streamlining the decision making process to cut out unnecessary expenditures.

“There’s more than enough money, but we’re not spending it wisely,” Huster said of the state’s annual $67 million budget.