EPHRATA — Republican candidates Deanna Martinez and Joshua Thompson discussed affordability, housing, water and government regulation during a candidate forum Wednesday night at the Art Semro American Legion Post 28 as they compete for an open seat in the Washington House of Representatives.

The Position 2 seat in the 13th Legislative District was vacated by Rep. Alex Ybarra, who is seeking election to the state Senate after Sen. Judy Warnick announced her retirement and chose not to seek reelection.

Both candidates presented themselves as conservatives focused on limiting taxes and reducing regulations, but each pointed to different experiences and priorities as qualifications for the job.

Martinez, a longtime Moses Lake resident, registered nurse and former Moses Lake City Council member and deputy mayor, told attendees she has spent years advocating for issues affecting Central Washington.

"I believe in the 13th District. I always have," Martinez said.

She talked about past advocacy efforts involving fuel taxes, housing regulations and local government issues, arguing that many policies developed in Olympia fail to reflect the realities of rural communities.

"Most families have at least one of the adults working two jobs just to get by," Martinez said.

Thompson, an Ellensburg City Council member and business consultant, focused his opening remarks on local problem-solving and community engagement.

The first-term council member talked about his involvement in efforts to address erosion concerns threatening the American Legion building in Ellensburg and said he has spent the campaign visiting hundreds of businesses throughout the district.

"If you're going to be a representative, you need to know the people you're representing," Thompson said.

One point of contrast emerged when candidates were asked how they differed from one another.

Thompson talked about a debate surrounding a homeless sleep center in Ellensburg, criticizing a proposal that he said would have placed temporary shelters near a daycare facility.

"It was completely unsafe," Thompson said.

Martinez responded by explaining her vote against closing Moses Lake's homeless sleep center, saying her decision stemmed from concerns about transparency and public participation rather than support for the facility itself.

"There wasn't an opportunity for the service providers or others to talk about that issue," Martinez said.

Housing affordability emerged as one of the evening's central topics.

Asked about shrub-steppe regulations that have been criticized by developers and local officials, Martinez said such regulations increase housing costs and undermine efforts to address affordability.

"If they truly want affordable housing, then they need to stop making silly regulations and stop making things more expensive," she said.

Martinez said making Washington more affordable would be among her top priorities in Olympia, along with increasing government accountability and examining whether taxpayer dollars are producing meaningful results.

"I don't support the income tax," Martinez said. "We need to be more diligent about what we're spending on."

Thompson offered a similar criticism of state regulations but connected the issue to broader concerns about housing supply.

"Shrub-steppe (regulation) is nothing more than a symptom of a runaway Department of Ecology," Thompson said. "We've seen how this has stifled building, and it's preventing our developers from providing the housing that we need."

He said excessive regulation has prevented developers from building enough housing and has contributed to rising costs across the region.

When discussing legislative priorities, Thompson returned to what he described as the district's three biggest challenges: water, power and housing.

"If we don't have enough water, it's going to stifle our agricultural system," Thompson said.

He said future power generation and infrastructure investments will be necessary to support continued economic growth throughout Central Washington.

"Our PUD is already fully subscribed," he said. "We have to start building new power generation now."

Both candidates also discussed the importance of working across party lines despite Republicans remaining in the minority in Olympia.

Martinez said she has built relationships with people from different political backgrounds throughout her public service career and would continue doing so as a legislator.

"I'm about relationships," Martinez said. "I'm about bipartisanship."

She said local communities need a stronger voice in decisions made at the state level.

"We need to get back to local government control, not state," she said.

Thompson talked about his experience serving on a city council where he is the political minority.

"I would have gotten nothing done over the last three years if I did not build the relationships that you need to find common ground," Thompson said.