Camas pilot drops 18th district bid

John Ley, a Delta Airlines captain from Camas, has withdrawn his name from the District 18, Position 2 state representative race to replace retiring Republican Rep. Liz Pike.

“The people deserve a representative who can give 100 percent of their time and energy fighting for the people,” Ley said in a press release sent to media outlets April 16. “Events in my personal life have changed and I can’t make that commitment any longer.”

Ley announced his candidacy in August of 2017, after Pike said she would not run for re-election to the state legislature but would, instead, run for the Clark County Council Chair seat.

Weeks later, Pike, also of Camas, said she planned to retire from politics completely and would not seek the Council Chair position or run for re-election to the 18th District.

When he threw his hat in the ring last summer, Ley said he hoped to halt an Oregon plan to toll Interstates 5 and 205 at the Washington border, create more jobs on the Washington side of the Columbia River, restructure the state’s business and occupation tax and improve the quality of Washington children’s education.

“I decided to run because I wanted to help restore responsible, citizen-focused, state government,” Ley stated in the press release sent last week. “As time allows, I will continue to fight for what is right on behalf of the people. … I want to thank those citizens who encouraged me and supported my candidacy.”

Ley ran in 2014 for the District 18, Position 1 State Representative seat held by Brandon Vick. Ley did not advance beyond the August primary in that election.

The candidate filing week for the Aug. 7 primary election is May 14-18. Candidates must withdraw by May 21. The cut-off for registering to vote in the Aug. 7 primary is July 9. Ballots will be sent July 20. For more information about the election, visit www.clark.wa.gov/elections.