Elizabeth Scott: A Voice for Education in Washington's 21st

According to her website, Elizabeth Scott is "an educator, a community leader and local budget watchdog, a school leader who helps students learn debate and speech skills and takes the time to deliver dictionaries to kids who need them. She is a loving wife and mother of three who says, 'Now is the time for the rest of us to step up and fix the mess in Olympia.'"

Perhaps this is why Scott has decided to run for office in Washington's 21st district. The aspiring State Representative has been endorsed by a number of influential people, including DiAnna Brannan, founder of the Christian Homeschool Network, radio host Kirby Wilbur, and Rob McKenna, Washington State's attorney general, as well as a number of Republican and Libertarian activists, local politicians, and Republican Women's groups.

Scott's professional background is heavy in education and her dedication to the issue is evident in her campaign. She has taught English as a Second Language to students in Illinois, South Carolina and Washington, as well as overseas in China and the United Arab Emirates. She taught at Edmonds Community College, North Seattle Community College, Lake Washington Technical College, and was a founding faculty member of Cascadia Community College. Scott also worked as a Reasearch and Policy Analyst at Evergreen Freedom Foundation in Olympia, Washington.

She attributes this experience to knowing the "critical role" schools and colleges play in "shaping the future," and claims she can be advocate for her district and the state's kids. Scott says education can be improved in a number of ways,

"...reward good teachers, give principals freedom and flexibility, and stop micromanaging from Olympia if we attach the money to the student and allow competition do its miraculous work from within the system. I will work to raise academic standards by returning to an emphasis on math and reading so our students will be able to meet basic federal requirements, and by allowing principals and teachers to take a creative approach in order to help their students reach these standards."

But she isn't a single-issue candidate. Scott is a big proponent of individual rights and liberty. As a member of the National Rifle Association, Scott says she will do what it takes to see to it that the Second Amendment is upheld. She will also be a strong defender of property rights, working to remove excess tax and regulation. She is for smaller government with less spending at both the state and federal levels, and has spoken at a number of Tea Parties over the last year.

So what other credentials does Scott bring to the table? She's been very active in her community over the years; she's been a member of the Edmonds Citizens' Levy Review Committee, where she worked to avoid tax increases. She's been a member of the Evergreen Republican Women's Club since 2004 and even served as the Outreach Chair from 2005-2006. She has also volunteered with local middle school and high school students in a number of capacities.

As mentioned above, Scott is a member of the N.R.A. and is currently learning marksmanship. A self-described "Midwest farm girl," she is also a member of the Washington State Farm Bureau, the Snohomish County Chapter of the Citizens' Alliance for Property Rights, and Evergreen Freedom Foundation.

Scott has a B.A. in Linguistics with a minor in Literature from Seattle Pacific University. She also holds a M.A. in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Illinois. She and her husband Paul are the parents of three children and are very active in their church.