Political newcomer Jacob Bond is not afraid to call himself an underdog.

The 27-year-old combat veteran and emergency medical technician said he does not plan to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars backed by his Democratic Party.

“Everybody likes an underdog and I think that’s a good position for my campaign to work with,” said Bond, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, and Republican Joel Hussey, of Redmond.

If elected as 45th District state representative, Bond said he hopes to help fix the partisan gridlock in the Legislature.

“I’ll be a Democrat on the ballot, but the Democrats have been in office, the Republicans have been in office and the system is still broken,” said Bond, who lives in Kirkland’s Juanita neighborhood with his wife. “I’d like to bring common sense back. If the current incumbent gets back into his position, we’ll continue with that broken government.”

A Redmond native, Bond joined the U.S. Marine Corps right out of Marysville High School in 2003 and was deployed to Iraq twice. He completed the EMT program at Pierce College and also studied international business at a university in south central Mexico, where he also did immigration advocacy for his wife and others. He is currently finishing up his business degree at Bellevue College and is also a state-licensed financial advisor.

Bond believes his broad background will give him an edge in Olympia when addressing different issues.

One of his personal priorities as state representative would be supporting veterans.

“I do have a personal passion and there’s something that really pushed me into the political arena – veterans,” he said. “I hold them near to my heart and I’ve worked with several organizations that help veterans.”

Unfortunately, he said veterans coming back from combat get lost in the fray of things and don’t know where to turn for benefits.

“When I came back (from Iraq) people said there are tons of benefits out there, but no one showed me where to go for these,” said Bond. “So that’s going to be a personal endeavor for myself when I get into the house if people elect me.”

His other priorities include education and job creation.

“Trying to find innovative ideas for job creation, not only within the district, but the state of Washington, is going to be huge.”

Bond is currently working with the Woodinville Wine Association to connect winery representatives with educational institutions to mold a new program to produce skilled labor. He has found that when students graduate from different wine programs in Western Washington they are not prepared to run a business. With the new program, he hopes it will give students a “fighting chance” when they graduate from wine programs.

“Hopefully that’s a start to many innovative ideas. We’d like to get a lot of apprenticeship programs, and bring veterans coming back from war zones into much-needed industries,” he added.

He also aims to focus on constituents who are not being represented and the problems that are being put to the side.

His biggest criticism of his incumbent challenger was Goodman’s so-called “drug agenda.”

“I just don’t think that marijuana should be on the top list of issues. I think it should be addressed, but it’s definitely not on a double working family’s list of things they need to get passed in the Legislature,” said Bond. “I’ve got my neighbors who are struggling to make their mortgage payments; I’m pretty sure pot’s not on the grocery list.”

He also criticized his opponent for dropping his bid for Congress to run for re-election in the state house.

“To me, that shows him hedging his bets. I think it’s a disservice to the people to jump back and forth,” said Bond.

So far, he has raised nearly $3,000, according to the Public Disclosure Commission. However, his campaign is not focused on raising a lot of money or gaining huge endorsements.

“We’re out there so that we can be engaged by voters. We need to focus on the people,” he said.

Part of that focus means putting the “trivial bills on the wayside” so the Legislature can help get people back to work, he said.

He noted he and his wife are ready to have children, but they are afraid for their children’s’ education and prospects for a job.

“We shouldn’t be passing our problems off to our children. So that’s the goal whenever we’re passing legislation, is how are our children going to be affected in this,” Bond added. “And that’s really what I want to bring to voters is it’s not just us, it’s our future as well. If we don’t have the common sense to look at a week, a year, 10 years into the future, we’ve failed before we’ve started.”

More information

For more information, visit www.vote4bond.com/