Rep. Norm Dicks was storming toward his 17th term in the U.S. House of Representatives, with 48,737 votes, or 68.22 percent of the turnout, while opponent Doug Cloud trailed with 22,700 votes, or 31.78 percent of the votes counted by Tuesday night.
Dicks, a Democrat born in Bremerton, is the voice in Congress for the 6th District, which covers Clallam, Jefferson, Grays Harbor, Mason and Kitsap counties and part of Tacoma in Pierce County.
The North Olympic Peninsula gave Dicks decisive approval, with 57.19 percent of Clallam County voters and 70.69 percent of Jefferson voters choosing the longtime congressman.
Both Clallam and Jefferson counties plan to count more ballots on Friday.
Dicks jubilant
Reached Tuesday night in Tacoma, Dicks was jubilant about Democrat Barack Obama’s presidential victory.
“This is a historic night,” he said, “with the first African American elected president, and enhanced [Democratic] majorities in the House and Senate.
“That puts a lot of responsibility on the Democrats to deliver … we have to come up with a game plan.”
As for the Peninsula, Dicks vowed to continue “working on the Elwha Restoration Project and the national park system and on restoring our salmon runs.”
And Dicks, 67, said he has no plans to slow down, much less retire.
“As long as I enjoy it, as long as the people have confidence in me, I’ll continue to serve,” he said. “I am not for term limits.
Cloud is a Republican who has faced Dicks in the general election twice before.
Reached in Gig Harbor on Tuesday night, Cloud, a 50-year-old attorney, said he will “quite possibly” try again in two years.
As Democrats wrested congressional seats from Republicans across the United States, Cloud added, “It’s a disappointment. But hey, our day will come. I suspect this will be the high-water mark for the Democrats.”
After 16 terms in the Congress, Dicks has become a powerful member.
Two committees
He serves on the House Appropriations and Homeland Security committees; as such he is chairman of the Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee and vice chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
Dicks has said bringing in new jobs and protecting existing ones, cleaning up Puget Sound and restoring the Elwha River are his priorities for the Olympic Peninsula.
The congressman also has asserted that the country cannot drill its way out of current energy challenges, and favors development of domestic alternative energy sources.
He has also advocated a sharp reduction in the troops deployed in Iraq, and said in 2006 that he regretted his earlier support of the war.
Cloud, for his part, has expressed disgust with the “corruption and ineptness” of Congress.
He’s called Dicks, who was first elected to Congress 32 Novembers ago, “out of touch with the district and the issues of today.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailyews.com.
