Gubernatorial candidate visits Quincy

QUINCY — Gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp made a visit to the American Legion Gun Club of Quincy to give an introduction to himself and to talk about the issues he sees as important to the residents of Washington state.

Culp grew up on the Olympic Peninsula where his dad was a deputy sheriff. During his junior year of high school, his parents moved to Republic and purchased a hardware store. There, he met his high school sweetheart. In 1980, Culp joined the Army, serving as a combat engineer and drill sergeant.

In 1988, Culp moved back to the west side of Washington. He started and owned a construction business in the Puget Sound area for 20 years. Ten years ago, he sold the business to his son when he was hired as a police officer in Republic. In his time as a police officer, he has been a patrol officer, narcotics detective and K-9 handler. Currently he is the chief of police.

Culp never had a desire to become a governor or become involved in politics, he said, but circumstances changed. He entered the public spotlight in November 2018 when Initiative 1639 was passed. The day after the vote, Republic residents were stopping Culp and asking him if he was going to enforce the new law, he said. His response was that the law was unconstitutional.

To reach more people interested in how he would respond, Culp made the announcement on Facebook. His next idea was to create a sanctuary city for gun owners. This Facebook post went viral.

“There were people from Australia and Britain saying, ‘Stand up for your rights because you won’t get them back,’” Culp said.

While Culp was given the opportunity to speak on different news outlets, he wasn’t able to fully express his views. He decided to write a book, which was released on Presidents Day 2019. From there, he began getting requests to speak at various events.

“People started asking if I was going to run for governor,” Culp said. “I don’t like standing in front of people.”

As more people asked, Culp started taking them seriously. In July 2019, he put his name in as a gubernatorial candidate.

Homelessness was one of the issues that Culp addressed. He believes that the homeless crisis isn’t about a lack of homes but an issue of addiction and mental health.

Currently there are proposals running throughout the state that suggest building and giving homes to homeless people. Culp said he is concerned that drug addicts will die in those houses. He pointed out that in the Seattle area, people are allowed to have up to six grams of heroin and not get arrested.

“It’s not compassionate to let them stay in a cycle of addiction,” Culp said.

In the county where Culp lives, there is zero tolerance for drugs, he said. Addicts are required to go to jail or to go through a program that helps them become clean.

“I’ve had people go through the program thank me for saving their life,” Culp said. “They have gotten their kids back. They have gotten a home and gotten married. That’s compassion. To build homes doesn’t make sense to me.”

Culp promised that as governor, every bill that comes across his desk will have to pass three basic questions before he will sign it: Is it constitutional? Will it help the citizens of the state of Washington? Can we afford it without a new tax?

“We have plenty of money,” Culp said. “We have a $53 billion budget in this state.”

When asked about the sex ed laws that are being considered in this legislative session, Culp said he would never sign anything like them. He also said he was against the gas tax and is all for fewer taxes.