Gov. Jay Inslee visited Federal Way Democrats on Monday to encourage the community to vote in the August primary and general election in November.

“It’s a great day for fishing, a great day for crabbing, but it’s an even better day for voting,” Inslee said, adding that Federal Wayans’ votes have the chance to affect education and public safety in big ways. “When working people vote, working people win.”

Inslee’s trip to Federal Way was one stop among 13 events throughout the state as part of the Washington Democrats’ “Get Out the Vote Tour.”

Inslee, who is running against a handful of other candidates for Washington state governor, said he is in favor of raising the state’s minimum wage, while he said his main opponent, Bill Bryant, is not. He has also repeatedly called on Bryant to disavow presidential candidate Donald Trump but claims Bryant has yet to do so.

Bryant, who is finishing up his own 15-day “Get Out The Vote Big Blue Bus Ballot Bash” tour, said Inslee has “done absolutely nothing” to make education a priority in the four years he’s been governor. Furthermore, Washington state citizens struggle to find jobs and “just have no appetite for new taxes.”

And it’s issues like these where voters matter.

Mike Pellicciotti, a Democratic candidate for the 30th Legislative District who is running against Republican Rep. Linda Kochmar, said it’s important for all voices in the Federal Way community to be heard.

“We’re dealing with a lot of issues right now, especially in Federal Way,” Pellicciotti said. “I talk to a lot of people at the doors, when I knock on their doors, who are very frustrated with a lot of the challenges we’re seeing in our community. The most effective ways to address those challenges and to bring about change is to make sure people vote.”

Those challenges include public safety concerns, which stem from Federal Way’s five murders and increased shootings this year. Pellicciotti said more can be done in Olympia to better support local efforts to address violent crimes in the community.

If elected, Pellicciotti said the Legislature could reinstitute probation for most felony offenses for “little to no cost to taxpayers.”

“I think that would allow for greater security and decrease the amount of economic crimes and property crimes we’re seeing in our community,” he said.

Pellicciotti would also look at the reinstitution of the state’s homicide investigative tracking system, “which, four years ago, our Legislature got rid of.”

Bringing back the tracking system, Pellicciotti said, would allow agencies to better identify homicide and violent crime suspects, as well as allow those agencies to communicate with agencies in different states to identify those suspects.

“For the amount of money the Legislature has spent in overtime payments to themselves by not finishing sessions on time, we would be able to pay for that homicide investigative tracking system,” Pellicciotti said.

Kochmar, an incumbent, agreed that it’s important for people to vote if they want to have a say in the direction of their state. She also pointed out that control of the House of Representatives is “up for grabs.”

“We need to do everything we can to help small businesses thrive and to help our people have jobs in their communities so they don’t have to drive to Seattle every day,” Kochmar said. “It’s very important for people to have a say in their government. The Democrats have been in charge of this state for 32 years, what they will always try to do is blame the other party. If you want to have a say in change, you need to be aware of what’s going on.”

Kochmar wants the Federal Way community to benefit from the $5 billion transportation revenue package coming to the South Sound region in more ways than one. Working with Highline College to provide workforce training in that sector, as well as apprenticeship programs, would ensure that a good portion of that workforce could come from Federal Way.

“A leader has to start trying to plan ahead for their citizens,” Kochmar said. “That’s what I’m trying to do.”

But Kristine Reeves, a Democratic candidate for the 30th Legislative District who is running against Republican Rep. Teri Hickel, said she doesn’t believe every voice is being represented in Federal Way.

“I think if we can do a better job of making sure that we’re registering voters and we’re getting folks to turn in their ballot and understand that, when your elected representative decides to increase the gas tax, what does that actually mean to people who are striving to get to and from work every day at $4 a gallon?” Reeves said. “For me in particular, it’s really about making sure that our community truly understands what decisions are getting made for them, and the only way they can have a voice in that process is to make sure they’re turning in their ballot.”

Reeves said one big issue where Federal Wayans’ vote will count is determining how to fund education in the next two years.

“As a mom of a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old, we’re going to be reliant on the public school system for the next 20 years, and I want to make sure there’s a voice at the table who’s thinking about what fully funding education really means for our children, for our teachers, for our school system and the administrators,” Reeves said, adding that funding education fully shouldn’t come at the expense of the social safety net or transportation.

Hickel agrees that the largest issue facing the community is a “fairly funded education system.”

“We have yet to supplement teachers’ salaries, which is a top priority for me,” Hickel said. “The next one is traffic and congestion and making sure transportation projects are congestion-relief projects.”

Hickel said she’s lived in Federal Way for over 25 years and knows the community well, and she hopes residents make themselves heard at the ballot box.

“We’re important, and our voice matters,” she said.

According to a Tuesday morning release from the Secretary of State’s office, 14.8 percent of King County registered voters have voted. According to the Office of Secretary of State, the turnout in the two most recent presidential-year primaries averaged about 41 percent.

For more information, visit www.kingcounty.gov/depts/elections.