Adams outlines priorities in challenge to Steele

WENATCHEE — Expanding access to health care, addressing housing affordability and pausing new data center development are among the priorities Maggie Adams says she would bring to the Legislature if elected to represent the 12th District.

Adams, a Snoqualmie Democrat, is challenging Republican Rep. Mike Steele of Chelan for the district’s Position 2 seat in the state House of Representatives.

In an interview with Ward Media, Adams described her experience as a union representative as a foundation for her campaign, pointing to the financial pressures facing workers whose hours and income fluctuate.

She identified a state single-payer health care system as her first legislative priority, arguing that the cost of coverage is leaving working households and retirees with difficult financial choices.

“In my time as a union representative of a workforce where the work hours are feast or famine, I know that affordable, accessible healthcare has slipped further out of reach as rates soar and for-profit health insurance companies prosper at unbelievable rates,” Adams said.

Adams said she would finance the system by shifting toward a more progressive model of corporate taxation, particularly targeting wealth generated by highly profitable technology companies. Her proposal did not specify tax rates, revenue estimates or an implementation timeline.

“This is no easy task, it will be a big lift, but Washington is known for innovation and solving big problems,” she said.

On development and natural resources, Adams said she would seek a moratorium on new data centers and battery energy storage sites until lawmakers establish updated environmental regulations.

She argued that state policy should prioritize residents’ and agricultural producers’ access to water and electricity, and that the benefits of large technology projects should be weighed against their resource demands.

“Water and energy consumption needs to be controlled in a way that keeps our orchards and farms irrigated and keeps energy costs down for residents,” Adams said.

She did not specify how the proposed moratorium would apply to projects already permitted or under construction, or what regulatory changes would allow development to resume.

Housing is another concern Adams said has become more prominent through conversations with Chelan County voters. She described a market in which high prices, limited inventory, vacation homes and short-term rentals make it difficult for working households to find housing.

Adams said new construction favors high-end vacation homes over the affordable starter homes working households need.

Adams said the housing and infrastructure challenges facing communities in Chelan, King and Snohomish counties share common themes but require attention to local differences.

Asked what voters would gain by electing her over Steele, Adams said she would prioritize working households and seek greater investment in public buildings, infrastructure and programs.

“By electing me, residents will gain a champion for the working class,” she said.

Adams characterized Steele’s priorities as advancing the prosperity of corporations and wealthy residents rather than working households.

“We need representatives who will represent the entire district, not just their own backyard,” she said.

In a response to an emailed request for some examples of work he’s done outside his own “backyard,” Rep. Steele pointed Ward Media to some things he has done in the last four years in the House, saying he was “committed to making sure every part of the district was cared for.”

Steele, the ranking Republican on the House Capital Budget Committee, identified several projects in King and Snohomish counties as examples of investments he helped secure. The enacted 2025–27 capital budget includes $1.2 million for the Snoqualmie YMCA expansion and $798,000 for the Sultan Osprey Park sports field expansion, among other projects that comprised a list of 21 examples from each county.

Asked where she would disagree with her own party, Adams pointed to agricultural labor policy. She said farmworkers should have the ability to organize and collectively bargain, and criticized Democrats as well as Republicans over their handling of the issue.

“Our agricultural workers deserve the right to collectively bargain for living wages, healthcare and safe working conditions,” she said.

Adams said she would maintain contact with constituents through regularly scheduled online office hours and town halls, and would personally respond to constituent emails.

“I think that all politicians representing LD12 should have to represent and stay in touch with their entire district, not just the residents of their hometown,” she said.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media