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Campaign Phone Number
5095995718
Biography (max 750 char)
Karina Wallace is a grassroots, first-time candidate for Washington State House, District 9. A mother of six and former Washington State Certified Peer Support Specialist, she's navigated disability, caregiving, and the same rising costs facing families across Eastern Washington. Karina refuses corporate PAC money and lobbyist donations, answering only to voters and worker organizations. Her platform centers on affordability, paycheck protections, lobbyist accountability, and access for people with disabilities and chronic illness. She's not a career politician — just a neighbor who decided ordinary people need a seat at the table. Her motto: 'Just figuring it out, one honest step at a time.'
My top budget priority is affordability — making sure working families and small businesses aren't squeezed to cover gaps caused by corporate loopholes and hidden fees. Before new revenue, I want a real audit of where existing state dollars go and whether contracts and subsidies are actually delivering results. If new revenue is needed, I'd look first at closing loopholes that let large corporations avoid paying their share, not raising costs on working families. If reductions become necessary, I'd protect core services — healthcare access, disability support, and public safety — before touching programs families depend on daily.
Public confidence starts with transparency. I support faster disclosure of lobbyist meetings, closing gift loopholes, and cooling-off periods before officials can become lobbyists, so people can see who's actually influencing decisions. I'd also support clear, plain-language voter education, especially in rural areas where information is harder to access. Trust isn't rebuilt with slogans — it's rebuilt by making the system harder to buy and easier to understand. I don't take corporate PAC or lobbyist money myself, because elected officials should answer to voters, not donors. That should be the standard, not the exception.
Real public safety comes from stability, not just enforcement — affordable housing, accessible healthcare, mental health support, and good-paying jobs prevent a lot of crises before they escalate. I support well-resourced, properly trained law enforcement paired with real investment in crisis response and behavioral health services, so officers aren't the only option when someone needs help. Rural communities in LD-9 also need faster emergency response times and better-funded local resources — safety shouldn't depend on your zip code. Effective public safety means prevention and dignity, not just reaction.
Local journalism keeps government honest, and it's disappearing in rural communities, including parts of LD-9. I'd support state-level incentives that help sustain local news outlets — especially nonprofit and independent newsrooms — without giving government control over editorial content. Access to reliable local information is civic infrastructure, similar to broadband access, and rural areas deserve the same access to trustworthy local news as bigger cities. A well-informed community is harder to mislead and easier to represent honestly.
I support keeping redistricting nonpartisan and independent, with real transparency around how lines are drawn and enough public comment time for communities to weigh in before maps are finalized. For 2031, I'd want stronger safeguards against maps drawn to protect incumbents or parties, and clearer public access to the data and criteria used. Communities like ours in Eastern Washington deserve district lines reflecting real, shared interests — not political convenience. Transparency here builds the same public trust I want across state government.
The greatest challenge facing LD-9 is affordability — rising costs are hitting families, farmers, and small businesses while wages and rural infrastructure haven't kept pace. State government's role isn't to micromanage local communities, but to make sure working people aren't quietly subsidizing corporate loopholes, hidden fees, and underfunded rural services. That means paycheck protections, honest lobbyist disclosure, and real investment in rural healthcare and infrastructure. I'm running because I've lived these pressures myself, and LD-9 deserves a representative who treats affordability as urgent, not political.
