One is laser-focused on the economy, while the other is consumed with national security as a top concern.
The race for the District 6 position in the U.S. House of Representatives presents two very different choices for Congress.
Derek Kilmer, the incumbent, a Gig Harbor Democrat, is quick to point out his efforts to work across party lines and get Americans working again.
Todd Bloom, a Tacoma Republican, aims a bright spotlight on his extensive military background and his concerns about terrorism and Middle East instability.
And while Bloom dwells on the shortfalls he sees in his opposing party’s policies on the economy and health care, Kilmer eagerly touts his preference to put aside “partisan bickering” in the search for solutions.
Todd Bloom
Bloom is the admitted underdog in the race, a place underscored by the Primary Election where he pulled in roughly 24 percent of the vote. Kilmer more than doubled that, collecting approximately 58 percent of all votes cast.
Bloom, 53, talks with ease about the military, the economy and taxes. He is a Navy reservist — he joined in 1997 and was called to active duty following 9/11 — and currently has the rank of lieutenant commander.
One of his top concerns is the growing threat of terrorism. He also intensely criticizes the country’s nuclear deal with Iran, which Kilmer voted for, said our Navy was “humiliated” when U.S. sailors were held at gunpoint (after they entered Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf in January), and called the repayment of Iranian funds for never-delivered military equipment that had been held by the U.S. since the Iranian revolution as “ransom,” as the U.S. withheld the repayment until the release of three American prisoners in January.
With his military experience, Bloom said he could offer valuable oversight on U.S. policy in the Middle East.
He has worked as a financial executive and attorney (in Louisiana), and is currently on leave as a senior tax manager while he runs for office for the first time since a shot at student government while in college.
“I have a lot of credentials and experience in the economy; I know a lot about taxes. I know what it means to make a payroll, to hire and fire, and discipline and train,” Bloom said.
New leadership on the economy, and national security, is needed in the nation’s capital, he said.
Bloom said his experience on those key concerns make him the best fit for the 6th Congressional District, which stretches from Bainbridge Island to the Pacific Coast and includes the counties of Kitsap, Jefferson, Clallam and Grays Harbor counties and parts of Mason and Pierce counties.
He downplays his lack of time in elective office by pointing to his education and experience.
“Why would I run for dog catcher when I don’t know much about dogs?”
Bloom earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Simpson College, a master’s at the U.S. Naval War College, and his law degree at Tulane University.
Much needs to be done, he said, to spur the economy.
“I’ve been watching the economy struggle along since the Great Recession. I really think I can contribute a lot more to that recovery than the incumbent can,” Bloom said.
The growth rate since the recovery started after the recession has been “uneven and weak and tepid,” Bloom said, and he promises to restore strong growth by reforming the tax code and cutting regulations, especially those that hurt small businesses.
The economy would rebound more with a moderate reduction of tax rates, he said.
“I don’t think we’re going to blow a hole in the budget by reforming and cutting tax rates,” he added.
Bloom also favors a repeal of “Obamacare,” the Affordable Care Act, and is quick to quote President Bill Clinton’s recent assessment on the campaign trail that it’s a “crazy system.”
Republican opposition to the Affordable Care Act led to the shutdown of the federal government in 2013, and there have been more than 60 votes in the House of Representatives to repeal the legislation since it was signed into law six years ago.
Some components of the Affordable Care Act are worthy, Bloom said, such as the provision that young adults can remain on their parent’s health insurance until they are 26, and the protections for individuals who have preexisting medical conditions.
Bloom prefers the current Republican plan on health insurance, which some have derided for its lack of details during its roll out this past summer. Critics have noted the new GOP approach for the replacement of Obamacare is based on familiar Republican proposals, such as sending federal Medicare funding to the states in the form of block grants; expanding health savings accounts; targeted tax credits; and allowing people to purchase health insurance that’s available in other states.
Minimum wage
While Washington voters will cast ballots this November on an increase to the state’s minimum wage, Bloom expressed skepticism on the notion that it would improve the economy.
He noted a recent analysis that said the cost of fast food in Seattle was rising along with wage increases, and added that increases in the minimum wage are passed along by businesses to consumers.
Bloom is also against any attempt to increase the federal minimum wage.
“I don’t favor raising the federal minimum wage,” Bloom said, and also added that he wasn’t in favor of any minimum wage set at the federal level.
One of five children, his parents were “farm kids,” and they owned a farm near Des Moines, Iowa. His father became a professional engineer after their farm was lost in a catastrophic fire.
Bloom has lived in the 6th District since 2002, calling Louisiana home before then. This election, he noted, is a “change election.”
As such, he’s supporting Donald Trump for the presidency.
“I’m not a strong supporter. I don’t approve of a lot of what he’s said from time to time,” Bloom offered. “I do think that he will introduce change.”
Formidable foe
Bloom acknowledges the wide regard for Kilmer in the district, and his well-funded campaign, are significant obstacles. (Kilmer’s campaign has raised $1.9 million through Sept. 30, according to the political website, Opensecrets.org, run by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. Bloom has raised $10,395.)
“I knew this was going to be an uphill battle,” he said. “Obviously, the power of incumbency is incredible.”
Bloom questions Kilmer’s effectiveness in office, and noted that Kilmer sponsored only two bills that have become law.
But Bloom did acknowledge that voters look to more than accomplishments in Congress when casting a ballot.
“He’s really well-liked. I think he’s got a reputation as a nice guy; ‘Why would I vote against a nice guy?’ That seems to be his real claim to fame.”
Even so, he hopes his experience and professional background will help solidify him as the 6th District’s best choice.
“I’ve got the competence; I’ve got the values.
“I’m capable and I know what I’m doing; I am going to apply common sense solutions to the problems we’re experiencing,” Bloom said.
Derek Kilmer
Kilmer, 42, is seeking re-election to a third term in Congress.
He coasted to victory in 2014 with almost 63 percent of the vote against Marty McClendon, and in his first shot at the seat (succeeding the venerable Norm Dicks) he racked up 59 percent of all votes cast to defeat Bill Driscoll.
Before voters in the Evergreen State sent him to Washington, he was a state lawmaker in Olympia for the 26th District, with a term in the House before serving as a state senator from 2007 to 2012.
Kilmer sees much left to do in Congress.
“I’m not done,” he said. “I’m not done working on behalf of our country and working to get this economy on track and working to get this government on track, too.”
On the economy
A former vice president of the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County, Kilmer said he has brought his experience and background in economic development to Washington, “working to make it tougher to offshore jobs and leading the efforts to ensure that shipyard workers don’t take a pay cut when they travel for work.”
“We’ve got work to do to get this economy on track,” he said.
Kilmer said he wants to see an economy that works for everybody. He recalled his co-sponsorship of a bill to increase the federal minimum wage.
“If you work hard, you shouldn’t live in poverty,” Kilmer said. “In many parts of our country, that’s the case.
“I think if you want to encourage people to work, work has to pay more than public assistance,” Kilmer said. “So there’s a value in increasing the minimum wage in that regard.”
Kilmer grew up in Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula. The son of two school teachers, he supports strong schools. (His educational background includes a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and a doctorate’s degree from the University of Oxford.)
“I’ve consistently supported our public schools and I also know that education is the door for economic opportunity.”
Financial aid is the key to that door, Kilmer said.
Student debt now surpasses credit card debt, and Kilmer promised to continue to work hard to boost financial aid and reduce student debt, and to help military veterans entering the workforce.
Kilmer also said he’s committed to protecting seniors, like his 106-year-old grandmother, on issues such as Social Security and Medicare, so “people can count on benefits they’ve earned.”
On Obamacare, which was passed before Kilmer was elected to Congress, he said: “There are parts of it I like and there are parts of it that need to be fixed.”
A central theme of his campaign has been the ongoing dysfunction in Congress, and he’s committed to improving the tone in Washington.
“We’ve got to fix a broken political system,” Kilmer said.
“We don’t have to define success as making the other party look stupid.”
Kilmer is a member of the Bipartisan Working Group, a collection of Democrats and Republicans that “focuses on making progress rather than focusing on the partisan bickering that too often dominates our political landscape.”
“This is not a group that sits around the table and sings, ‘We Are The World.’ We are not doing trust falls into each other arms,” Kilmer said.
Instead, they’ve spent months working on issues such as problems with campaign financing and bipartisan ways to fix them.
Not in lockstep
Still, he’s also drawn a line when he feels necessary.
“When you have politicians in Washington, D.C. pushing for a government shutdown, I stood up against them.”
When shipyard workers and park rangers were not getting paid, Kilmer rose again and said those in Congress shouldn’t get their paychecks, either.
“I gave up my own salary. I’ve sponsored a bill that says, ‘No budget, no pay.’”
That approach has earned accolades. He was named by The Washington Post as “one of the five most effective Democrats in Congress,” and he’s also received the Retail Federations “Hero of Main Street” Award and the AMVETS American Veterans Silver Helmet Award.
Earlier this month, he was presented with the Navy’s Distinguished Public Service Award.
Kilmer said he’s very proud of the work his office has done on behalf of 6th District residents.
“It’s some of the most important work we do,” he said, calling out examples like the time where they were able to get a long overdue medal awarded to a Vietnam War veteran.
“One of the greatest days I’ve had in the office is to pin a Purple Heart to his chest in front of his family, in front of his neighbors,” Kilmer said.
His office estimates its responded to more than 27,000 emails, phone calls and letters, and Kilmer has made a showing at more than 300 community events as a congressman.
He’s also held more than a dozen telephone town halls and hosted numerous “Kilmer at Your Company” gatherings at businesses across the district.
“I’ve made it a real priority to be available and accessible and accountable to the folks I represent.”
Kilmer noted his leadership on efforts to restore Puget Sound at the federal level, and his role as co-founder of the Congressional Puget Sound Recovery Caucus. That will continue if he’s re-elected.
“It is a gem of our region and we need to protect it,” he said.
“I know our kids are only as safe as the air they breath and the water they drink and the earth we pass on to them,” Kilmer said.
“I’m not done working on behalf of our country and working to get his economy on track and working to get this government on track, too.”
