Ruth Bennett
Party: Libertarian
Age: 51
Personal: In a relationship with her lesbian partner. No children.
Education: Graduated from R.E. Long High School in Longview, Wash. Graduated from Washington State University, with a bachelor's degree in anthropology in 1975.
Professional: Owned and recently sold a travel agency in downtown Seattle, which she built from 1984 to 2000. Now does some consulting and traveling, but is mostly retired. Earlier jobs included working in lumber mills, teaching sailing at a girl scout camp, installing filing shelves in medical offices.
Political: Ran for lieutenant governor in 2000 and for state House of Representatives in 2002, losing both races. She is also the former state chairwoman of the Libertarian Party in Washinton and in Colorado.
Key issues: Bennett wants the state to legalize same-sex marriage. "It's time we had marriage equality in this state," she says. The government shouldn't give special rights -- i.e. the benefits of marriage -- to a particular class of people, like heterosexuals, she says. Other issues include giving patients and doctors the power to try experimental drugs or procedures without the FDA's lengthy approval. Patients should also be able to buy drugs from Canada or anywhere else, Bennett says. "Choice is my theme all along," she says. "Libertarians want people to make their own choices about all things all the time." She'd also like to eliminate the state's business tax, as a way to encourage businesses to come to Washington.
Money raised/spent: She'd raised $2,525 and spent $1,685 by Aug. 17
Top contributors: Brett Wilhelm, general manager of Tru G. Wilhelm, Inc. of Greenbank, Wash. contributed $1,350.
Quote: "In a free country, who gets to choose? As long as people's choices are peaceful and voluntary, no one else whould be telling them what to do."
Key influence: A therapist friend, Jan Prince.
Favorite book: "The Queen's Gold", a children's adventure book about understanding between cultures.
First priority if elected: To conduct performance audits of every state agency and ensure that spending is in line with the agency's mission. "Only when we have a clear picture of where we are can we have a clue about what we're going to do next."
Website: bennettforgovernor.com
