Hi, I'm Mark Hodgson.

I'm running for State Representative, Position 2, in the 24th Legislative District. I'm a father, grandfather, Navy combat veteran, and 20-year state trooper who grew up on the Olympic Peninsula.

The issues facing this district aren't abstract to me. I've lived them.

Where I come from

My family moved to the Peninsula in 1990. I grew up in apartments, duplexes, and a trailer before my parents qualified for a first-time homeowner's program through HUD. I still remember what it felt like to finally be home: no more moving, no more changing schools, no more white walls.

That stability changed everything for our family. It's a key reason I'm running.

When I started my own family, I worked three jobs at a time: fast food, retail, temporary work, patching together enough to cover rent, utilities, and groceries. We measured success one month at a time. When my son came home from the Air Force, he faced the same wall. It took him a year to find a family-wage job. Families across the 24th are facing that wall right now.

My record

I enlisted in the Navy in 1998 and served as a Special Warfare operator in Iraq and in support of the Global War on Terrorism, making me a 4th generation veteran. For the past 20 years, I've worked as a state trooper on the Olympic Peninsula.

I'm proud to be endorsed by VoteVets, an organization dedicated to electing progressive veterans.

What I'll fight for

• Affordable housing and a path to homeownership for working families
• Living-wage jobs in rural communities
• Public safety policy that works for the Peninsula, not just the I-5 corridor

Our community needs ground-up solutions, not top-down policies designed for somewhere else. I've been there. I'll bring that to Olympia.