Jennifer Morton hopes that a successful stint as a city councilwoman in Airway Heights will lead to a chance to serve as a state legislator in Olympia.
Morton is running for the seat that Mike Volz is vacating as he focuses on his duties as Spokane County treasurer.
Morton is a Republican and a retired Air Force veteran who spoke with SPR's Doug Nadvornick.
This interview lightly edited for length and clarity.
Jennifer Morton: I work in health care. I work in Providence full time and I'm on the Airway Heights City Council part time. And then in between, I volunteer throughout the community.
DN: What's your vocation at Providence?
JM: I go from clinic to clinic. I'm basically like a utility player. So wherever they need to plug me in, I go and I help out each clinic. So that's what I do.
DN: Nursing skills, that sort of thing?
JM: It's scheduling. It's doing referrals. It's whatever the clinic needs at that time. So it's kind of fun. It's a new adventure for me in that sense.
DN: Are you a Spokane native?
JM: I’m not. I was born in Haiti and I was adopted out of an orphanage there, brought here to Spokane and raised out in a little wheat town called Davenport, Washington by a single father. And I came and I graduated from Eastern, earned my bachelor and my two masters there. And then I've just always been in this area. I served in the military for more than 22 years. And then recently my, oh, I started a small business. I'm a former small business owner. And then most recent now is serving on the Airway Heights City Council for the past six and a half years.
DN: What did you do in the military?
JM: I was a civil engineer. Yeah, you wouldn't think it. And so did that for some time. I transitioned, became an instructor. And then I went back to civil engineering and then before I got out, I had finished my paralegal training. So I was going to do that, but had gotten out. So I've done a lot.
DN: Were you ever at Fairchild?
JM: I was. Yeah. I was at the 141st and just had an amazing time there. I love the military. That's where my heart is at. And I love our veterans. I myself as a veteran, so I will always be grateful for that opportunity to serve in the military.
DN: Political candidates don't on a whim just decide to run, or most of them don't. So what was your thought process behind getting in and running for the state legislature?
JM: Initially I had been hesitant to run. I was approached by some individuals who felt that this was a great opportunity for me to step out and it took awhile for me to seriously consider it. But I think one driving force is serving on the Airway Heights City Council has allowed me to see how government works, even if it's just at the local city level and we have done such wonderful, tremendous things at that level in my city. I thought maybe this would be a great opportunity to see if I could do some good at the state level. And in the 6th District, it's a wonderful district. I love it. I've been here the majority of my life and I'd love for the opportunity to serve on a greater level. And that was one of the main reasons why I decided to run.
DN: So what have you learned as a city council member? You've seen the sausage making now from the inside a little bit. What are the things that have stuck with you?
JM: Yeah, it's really interesting because at the city level, it isn't what we see on the national level and maybe at times at the state level. There is a lot of rhetoric and it's about ideology. But when it comes to the local level, the city level, that doesn't work. You really need to be able to work with individuals with different perspectives, ideas, and views, and really find common ground where you can work together towards a common goal or priority. It's really having that temperance and understanding of how to work with people who have different points of view. So I think that's what I've learned at the city level.
It's really great because you really get to see the impact that you have by the choices or decisions and policies that you pass at the city level. So that's what I've learned is that you need to be able to be open, communicative, and receptive to different points of view, but still be principled and still hold your values. But you can still find common ground with someone who doesn't agree with you necessarily.
DN: And where would you say you've had the most influence on the Airway Heights City Council?
JM: Oh, wow. So I ran on four pillars, which was clean, affordable water. It was increased housing. It was building or creating a K-12 school system. Airway Heights only has one elementary school. All the rest of the grades are bussed out of the city and the community had been crying out for over 30 plus years for another school. And then the last one was infrastructure.
We're a small town. And so those four pillars that I ran on are active and alive in the community and that's what I'm mostly proud of. And you can see it. We're set to have the second school built, which will be opening in the fall of 2027. Super exciting. The water situation has been, we have clean, affordable water. Infrastructure, we're building that out now. I'm sure if you've been to Airway Heights, you've probably seen a couple of roundabouts. And we have a new public safety building for our fire, and then it'll be a police and other city services. So everything that I ran on has really transformed the city and it will continue to do that. So I would love the opportunity to be able to do that at the state level.
DN: Now, if you go to Olympia, you would step into a different situation that is more, polarized may not be the right word, but it is more partisan. So how do you take that approach where you've been more collaborative in Airway Heights to something that is a little different in Olympia?
JM: I think for the most part, Washingtonians are kind of tired of the political infighting. And I think, as someone serving currently now in a public office, is that you need to be receptive to different viewpoints, but also keep to your principles as well.
The other thing is, it's okay to disagree. Decisions that I make, people might not always agree with me, but I would hope that I would be able to be the kind of person that can articulate and explain to them why I made that decision. And hopefully that would persuade them to come to my side and I would use the same process that I've used at the city council level, at the state level, to hopefully bring the other side over to my side by finding common ground. I think that's really possible. Just being respectful of people and being willing to find common ground with them.
DN: Now, I asked you before what influence you thought you had at Airway Heights. What influence do you hope to have as a state legislator? And maybe that gets into the next question, which is, what are the issues that you feel the most?
JM: My campaign is focused on three priorities, which is public safety, affordability, and accountability.
Public safety is foundational to any thriving community and I believe law enforcement has really been on the defense for some time now, not just in our community, but across the nation. My desire would be to be able to provide more resources to law enforcement and our first responders, and also, a safe community allows businesses to thrive as well and that's part of that. And so that would be public safety. Find a way to increase really the number of police, of law enforcement on the ground. That also includes addressing the crime issue, the drug addiction, the mental health issue that we are seeing on the street through the homelessness crisis. Being able to provide preventive programs and facilities to address these issues. So my focus would be treatment first, and then housing for secondary and so that's my first priority.
My second priority is affordability. Like any Washingtonian, you've gone to the gas pump and you've seen the cost of gas, but that also includes housing. It includes groceries and anything else that you can think of. And I just, I don't think it's right. Washingtonians, they work really hard for their money and they're not getting ahead because just the cost of just living, affordability is rising. And I think there's something that can be done on our end as legislatures and I'd love to be a part of bringing a solution to that for the 6th District.
The third is accountability, which is, I believe that our government needs to be accountable with the taxpayer dollars that they receive, that they need to remember that every tax dollar that they're spending, it's a taxpayer has worked really hard for that tax dollar and they need to be responsible. We need to see more responsible budgeting, which we're not seeing. We're currently in a deficit, and so I would love the opportunity to be able to bring transparency when it comes to budgeting and being accountable with the taxpayer dollars. And just remembering that we serve the people, the government serves the people, and I think Olympia has forgotten about that.
DN: Tell me about an elected official you admire and why.
JM: Oh, wow. That's a good question. So direct contact, I'd have to say Rob Chase. State representative from Spokane Valley. Yes, for the 4th District.
I admire him in the sense that he, out of his own volition, really has come alongside me and has been a great support and encouragement to me and just helping me throughout my campaign. No other elected official has done that. He really has been a good friend of mine and just recently met. But yeah, I admire him. I admire his character and I hope to one day be able to be the kind of representative that he is, if I do make it to Olympia.
DN: How do you get people to go along with what you're trying to, where you're trying to push them?
JM: So I'm a pretty even-keeled person and I'm open and receptive to all kinds of ideas, but I think having a good understanding what it is that you're trying to convince people, that you are wanting them to do. So I would say just presenting your case, presenting your facts, presenting your idea in a way that's persuasive to individuals, but also knowing that there's politics, it's really a gray zone. There needs to be lots of flexibility. You can't be a person who thinks inside the box and that's not me. I don't think inside the box. I'm always looking for ways to accomplish something and it might not be the specific path that I would use, but that's why it's so important to be receptive and open to other people's ideas and opinions to get ultimately to that place that you're wanting to go.
