Hammond to attend Warden meet-and-greet event

WARDEN — Sylvia Hammond, Democratic challenger for the seat in the state House of Representatives currently held by Rep. Matt Manweller, R-Ellensburg, will be holding a meet-and-greet with voters in Warden Wednesday.

The event will be held at 5 p.m. in Volunteer Park and is the latest in the Democratic hopeful’s efforts to barnstorm across the expansive 13th Legislative District.

“My goal is to hold at least one meet-and-greet in every town of our district,” Hammond said in a press release. “In the past few weeks, I’ve been in the town of Kittitas, the three precincts of Selah in our district, Sprague, and Odessa. We have an amazing district with amazing people.”

Stretching more than 200 miles from Reardan in the east to Snoqualmie Pass in the west, the 13th District is among Washington’s largest and contains dozens of towns. With more than six months before the November elections, Hammond has some time to complete her goal.

Hammond has lived in the rural Ephrata area for 38 years. A retired substitute teacher and potato farmer, Hammond’s legislative priorities focus on funding education in rural counties and negotiating trade deals that would benefit Washington farmers.

“In order for a farmer to survive, they need to be able to sell what they grow,” Hammond said in an interview with the Columbia Basin Herald.

In a press release, Hammond said that she enjoys listening to the voters and their suggestions for improving the 13th District.

“People have great, common sense ideas, and they want to be heard,” Hammond said.