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State Rep. Barlow loses seat

Richard Roesler and Jonathan Brunt
Staff writers
November 7, 2008

OLYMPIA – Two years after ousting an incumbent to claim a seat in the state House of Representatives, Rep. Don Barlow finds himself on the opposite end of the equation. After an expensive, close race, Barlow, D-Spokane, has lost to Republican challenger Kevin Parker.

A second race in the same western-Spokane district, meanwhile, remains too close to call.

State Rep. John Ahern, D-Spokane, trails Democratic challenger John Driscoll by 373 votes out of more than 60,000 cast. Driscoll has a 50.3 percent lead to Ahern's 49.7 percent. The tight race could end in an automatic recount.

Thousands of ballots still remain to be counted. But Parker has a 52 percent to 48 percent lead over Barlow. And recent ballot counts have trended more toward Parker.

Reached at home this morning, Barlow conceded that he's likely lost.

“I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that I'm not going to be reelected,” he said.

He said he expected the later ballots to trend Republican, but had hoped for a larger cushion of initial Democratic votes.

In 2006, Barlow narrowly edged out Republican incumbent John Serben by 260 votes. Barlow and state Sen. Chris Marr, also elected that year, were the first Democratic lawmakers elected for decades in the 6th Legislative District, a crescent-shaped area wrapping around Spokane from the west. Even amid 2006's “tsunami” of votes for Democratic lawmakers in Washington, the Democratic coup in Spokane stunned Republican Party leaders.

Both parties were clearly hoping to gain ground in the district this time.

“I knew it was going to be a tough election,” Barlow said. “The second time around, I knew I was the target.”

Money poured into the battleground district, with candidates and their allies raising more than $800,000 this year.

Barlow said he'll miss the activity and friends in the Legislature, but feels he got a lot done in just two years. He sponsored bills tightening training requirements for counselors, establishing an Eastern Washington veterans' cemetery, and improving state funding for education. He said he plans to return to his longtime career as a teacher and counselor.

“When one door closes, another one opens,” he said.

Parker praised Barlow as an honorable man and said he was touched by personal stories of people he met during the campaign.

"It was a long journey but a very enjoyable one," Parker said.

He added that he hopes to bring change to Olympia, push for tighter state budgeting, and join forces with other Eastern Washington lawmakers to represent the region. High on the agenda: moving forward with the North Spokane Corridor project.

"I want to earn the respect even of those who did not vote for me," he said.

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