Four candidates are running for State Representative from the 34th Legislative District, Position 2. They are Democrats Michael Heavey, Joe Fitzgibbon, Marcee Stone, and Independent Geoffrey “Mac” McElroy.

Independent candidate Geoffrey “Mac” McElroy believes the Democratic Party is too entrenched in the 34th District and does not offer its constituents enough options.

“The Democrats here are very open minded, as long as you have a ‘D’ behind your name,” said McElroy, 46, an Arbor Heights resident who owns Mac’s Triangle Pub at the corner of Delridge and Roxbury in the heart of White Center. McElroy earned his UW Masters Degree in business administration, then spent 10 years in the Navy and served in Desert Storm and Desert Shield. He was involved in anti-submarine warfare, and was a Naval instructor for three years. His daughter recently graduated from the United States Naval Academy. At Byrne Specialty Gases he worked his way up from floor-sweeper to operations manager.

“I started working out problems as the eldest of five children,” he recalled. “My dad would give me projects with some limited resources. I joined the Navy and really got a good handle on how systems work, and learned about bureaucracy and politics. I was basically working in one of the biggest governmental businesses in the world. The whole notion that you tell someone what to do and they do it is patently false, and doesn’t work on the inside (in the military) or the outside world. You have to learn how to work with people, often in stressful circumstances.”

He said he is a fiscal conservative and social liberal, and that government “should not be involved in decisions that are between you and your god.

“I absolutely believe we have a workable framework to create success in our government, and can provide a safety net for the underprivileged. Small businesses in Washington State create $20 billion in tax revenue annually. Better to create something through small business than to deplete something through taxes. We can increase our tax base by creating value. Then we are able to pay for the social programs we think are important.

“You don’t buy something you can’t afford. You don’t spend money you don’t have. And you should get maximum value for your dollar. If we work to get to the goal as opposed to achieving the status quo we’d have a whole lot more created, and a lot less spending and waste. This notion that we can’t compete globally is ridiculous. But it is going to require some out of the box thinking.”