Bloglander

Spokane City Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin will take on Democratic Sen. Lisa Brown in this November's election.

"I just thought, if I'm not happy with the leadership that's coming into the 3rd [District], I'm happy to step aside if there's a better candidate," says the two-term councilwoman, who says she will be running as a Republican. "People kept coming to me saying, 'You're the right candidate, you're the one that needs to come out.'"

A spokeswoman for Brown, who has represented Spokane's 3rd Legislative District since 1993, declined to comment.

Defeating Brown would be a coup for state Republicans, since Brown is the Senate majority leader and one of the few Democratic lawmakers in Eastern Washington.

McLaughlin says she's upset over Brown's handling of the state's budget deficit.

"We have had five special sessions in the last two years. We’re over a billion in debt, and yet we’ve had more revenues coming in than before and yet she can't get the votes to have a sustainable balanced budget," says McLaughlin, referencing the special session the Legislature is currently in. "These special sessions are certainly not special these days."

McLaughlin will make her official campaign announcement on Tuesday at 11:30 am at Madison Elementary School in north Spokane, at 319 W. Nebraska Ave.