Michelle Rylands' campaign website highlights the following issues:

In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled our legislature was failing at meeting our most basic duty—funding public education. Five years later legislators are still dragging out the legislative session in a standoff that costs taxpayers money, and doesn't help our students, families or schools. Five years later, we continue to fund our schools with box tops, fun runs, and raffles. Five years later, we're still trying to manage without the funding we desperately need. Classrooms are packed, students are using old textbooks and schools are understaffed.

As a mom and PTA President, I see the gaps in our schools firsthand and I know our kids deserve better. I want to be students', schools', teachers' and families' advocate in Olympia. In one of the most innovative states in the country, we better be able to provide the education our students need and deserve.

Our legislature is not doing enough to make sure we have the tools and resources our students and teachers need to be successful. I intend to fight for our kids every chance I get.

Getting to work and school is taxing on our community – in more ways than one! Workers and students spend hours each week stuck in traffic, rather than being home with their families. The legislature's approach to addressing infrastructure challenges has been to raise gas taxes and car tabs to fund mega projects in cities like Seattle and Bellevue. A gas tax hits residents living in the suburbs and rural communities the hardest. Car tab taxes can only be increased so far before they're just simply unaffordable.

We need to be more creative in coming up with solutions. We can't keep imposing regressive taxes on families trying to get to work, and we need to pay attention to the different transportation needs within the rural areas and suburbs.

I intend to fight for solutions that will clear our roads without adding more regressive tax burdens.

While Seattle-based corporations continue to receive multi-billion-dollar tax breaks, our local mom and pop shops are struggling to keep their doors open. This dynamic doesn't help small businesses or workers trying to make ends meet. Small business owners should be at the table when it comes to B&O tax discussions, so they know lawmakers will take their needs into account. At the same time, we must close corporate tax loopholes and ensure that corporations making billions and shipping our jobs out of state pay their fair share.

As a former small business owner myself, I know the hard work it takes to keep our local businesses alive. It's no small hurdle to set up your own shop, get everything in order, manage employees, stock inventory, and market your brand all while navigating the government red tape.

We need to make it easier for small businesses to flourish, thrive, and create good jobs in our community. We can do that by listening to small business owners and their workers and prioritizing our local community over national corporations' interests. As your next State Senator, I am committed to making it easier for small-town businesses to thrive so we can work where we live and achieve our American dreams.