Don Barlow
House - District 6 - Washington
Tribe: Ottawa

 

322 John L. O'Brien Building
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7922
barlow.don@leg.wa.gov  | Legislative Page

 

Dr. Don Barlow, a member of the Ottawa Tribe, a committed educator, and a veteran of the Idaho National Guard represents hope for the next generation in Spokane.

 

Family Values and the Value of Family
Two-time president of the Spokane school board (Washington's best), licensed mental health counselor, and widower with three children, Dr. Barlow understands the everyday challenges facing families. Dr. Barlow will improve education for all children, particularly special education programs, seek equitable funding for eastern Washington hospitals, bolster funding for mental health assistance, and widen assistance for the energy bills of low-income families.

Real Plans for Reform
Dr. Barlow has served eight years as a school board member striving to find practical solutions to the problems facing schools in the Spokane area. He recognizes the needs of students statewide and will take his proven record of problem-solving to the halls of the state legislature that “we can do better.” Dr. Barlow has a plan. To ensure that all children succeed, he will strengthen standardized testing in schools, make class sizes smaller, pay teachers more, refocus graduation requirements on science and math, improve early childhood education while building career planning services in high school, fully fund state mandates, and attend to the needs of special education programs.

Better Businesses, Better Jobs
Jobs with living wages will secure the futures of families across the state. Building business will build jobs and wages. To make businesses more competitive and to attract new businesses to his district and the state, Dr. Barlow will restructure taxes so that businesses are taxed on their net revenue, provide tax breaks to foster innovation and entrepreneurship, and boost start-up assistance for small businesses to succeed. Meanwhile, he will seek to make taxes fairer for all families and stabilize state revenues by moving away from reliance on fluctuating sales taxes. Beyond taxes, though, Dr. Barlow will make sure Washington develops and adheres to an economic development strategy that will ensure the prosperity of Washingtonians.