With today’s political landscape often dominated by loud voices from the ideological extremes of both parties, Medical Lake Mayor Terri Cooper — Republican candidate to represent the 5th District in Congress — believes she can be the voice for people in the political middle.
“I think I have the ability to unify people,” Cooper said in a March 6 interview
Cooper, who announced her candidacy on March 2 at the Spokane County Republican Convention, joins a large field of candidates from both parties vying to succeed Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rogers, who decided not to run for reelection to the seat she has held since 2004.
Republicans in the race are Jonathan Bingle, Spokane City Councilman; Michael Baumgartner, Spokane County Treasurer Michael Baumgartner; 7th District state Rep. Jacquelin Maycumber; Rene Holaday, talk radio host and legislative aide to former state Rep. Matt Shea; former state employee John Guenther and Ferry County Commissioner Brian Dansel. Three Democrats have tossed their hat into the 5th District ring: Carmela Conroy, former diplomat, deputy county prosecutor and Spokane County Democratic Party Chair; small business owner Ann Marie Danimus and OB-GYN Bernadine Bank.
Cooper said one of the reasons she decided to run — a decision she didn’t make until a couple days before the county convention — was she realized looking at this list that there was nobody she would vote for.
“I’m not a career politician. Elected official, yes, but I’m not seeking a job, I don’t need a job,” she said. “What I do need is to represent community, like I’ve done in Medical Lake. I’ll just scale it to Eastern Washington.”
Cooper has called Medical Lake home since her family moved there in 1973 when her father was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base. She graduated from Medical Lake High School, married her high school sweetheart, Ken Cooper, soon after, and after returning to Medical Lake in 1982, raised three children and now have 11 grandchildren.
Cooper cites her experience as a public servant as another reason why she should be elected to Congress. She worked six years as court administrator in Medical Lake before taking over a similar position at Cheney Municipal Court in 2004, where she served until retiring in October, 2023.
Cooper passed the Washington State Judicial Officer Exam in 2002, enabling her to also serve in the capacity of court commissioner, something she did at Cheney and also at Airway Heights Municipal Court. She founded the Cheney Youth Court in 2008, and has implemented other court and probation services such as a local community service program, cognitive awareness group and individual classes, traffic school and Eastern Washington University career internship.
She is a founding member of the Washington State Association of Youth Courts and the Eastern Washington Court Managers group. In 2017, she was presented with the Court Management Council’s Court Manager of the Year award.
Together with her sister, Gerri Johnson, Cooper founded the citizen-led community revitalization organization Re*Imagine Medical Lake in 2015. In 2021, Cooper decided to run for Medical Lake mayor under similar circumstances she is citing in running for Congress.
“Running for mayor never crossed my mind until I saw a lack of anybody stepping in for change,” she said.
As mayor, Cooper faced one of the greatest challenges any elected official can face when wildfires broke out south of the city on Aug. 18, 2023. The resulting Gray’s Road fire burned through homes in the south and southeast portion of the city, as well as developments around Silver Lake, Clear Lake and up to Interstate 90.
Cooper worked with local and state officials, providing fire and shelter information to residents as wind-driven fires devoured forests and homes. Afterwards, she worked on victims recovery, helping to establish the Spokane Region Long Term Recovery Group, a group working with government and nonprofits to aid victims of the Grays Road Fire and the Oregon Road Fire which broke out at the same time north of Spokane around Colbert.
These experiences gave Cooper the feeling she was capable of leadership. Her work in the courts provided a knowledge of government finances, experience with a wide variety of individuals experiencing different, sometimes difficult, situations and the daily operations of government.
“The minutia (of government) is completely different inside than it is looking from the outside in,” she said.
Cooper said she has brought on a consultant and campaign manager to help her run for Congress. While she hasn’t put out an official platform yet, some of the points she brings up echo most other candidates positions — better control of the budget, preserving the four Lower Snake River Dams and securing U.S. borders. Cooper said she will focus on protecting the interests of Eastern Washington — not only rural but also urban needs and concerns. “Ninety percent of people want the same thing,” she said. “Public peace and safety, a living wage, the ability to raise a family, own a home and be secure.”
