OLYMPIA, Wash. — Hilary Franz said a traumatic event she endured as a 4-year-old helped prepare her for a career in public service.
Franz, a Democrat, is Washington State Lands Commissioner and announced a run for Washington governor in May.
Franz said a close family relative abducted her and her older sister in July of 1974, taking the girls from Portland, Oregon to Reading, Pennsylvania.
According to Multnomah County court records, Franz’s father located his daughters three months after they were taken.
Franz said the incident made her resilient.
”You miss that sense of home, you miss that sense of safety,” said Franz, “You miss your father, you miss your grandparents, you don’t know if you’ll ever see them again.”
Franz said she considers herself lucky because she had a family that supported her.
”Every one of us has a responsibility to take care of our neighbor, every one of us. But when you also then see how lucky and fortunate you’ve been, where you almost could have had it all taken away, it makes you even more grateful and more determined that you have a responsibility to take care of others,” said Franz.
If elected, Franz said she would make housing the state’s top priority.
Her ideas include helping renters who are struggling to pay their bills to keep families in homes, said she would push to streamline permitting to allow for more development, and said state-owned properties should be made available for housing.
Franz said raising taxes could be needed to help those experiencing homelessness.
“I do think we need to look at opportunities for generating more revenue,” said Franz, “Though it shouldn’t be necessarily on the backs of working families.”
Franz said oil companies should be held accountable if they are gouging drivers with gas prices, which were highest in the nation earlier this year.
The higher prices have been attributed to the state’s Climate Commitment Act, passed to reduce carbon emissions, something Franz supported.
She said she would not roll back those restrictions just to lower gas prices.
Incumbent Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Washington, announced he would not seek a fourth term this spring.
In addition to Franz, Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, has launched an exploratory committee, ahead of a potential run.
State Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah, is also running for governor.
Republicans Dave Reichert, a former Congress member and King County Sheriff, and Semi Bird, the Richland School Board director are in the race.
The primary for the 2024 governor’s race is on Aug. 6, 2024.