POULSBO — Earl Johnson doesn’t claim to have all the answers, but he knows things need to change in Olympia.

Johnson, a Bainbridge Island Republican, is challenging 23rd District State Rep. Sherry Appleton (D-Poulsbo) in the Nov. 7 general election.

After Sept. 11, 2001, when he survived the destruction of the Word Trade Center, Johnson returned to Bainbridge Island to embark on a new path of public service. He is currently a fire commissioner for the Bainbridge Island Fire Department.

“I like how the governor’s office has set priorities of government,” Johnson said. “However, the Legislature didn’t impose it on themselves.”

The area’s quality of life is one of the reasons tens of thousands of people have moved to the area and elected officials must work to find ways to maintain the quality and handle the growth, he said.

Government should operate with the concept that there is an entire gamut of needs, but a limited pool of resources, he said.

“There should be an agreement of what the top priorities are and at some point it will run out,” he said.

Everyone has needs they feel are important and deserving of state funding, but those must be prioritized in the proper context, he said.

“Not everything is going to get funded, but they’re all a part of the quality of life,” Johnson said.

The Puget Sound is at the heart of the region’s quality of life and developing and maintaining sewer systems is at the heart of the matter, he said.

“I don’t think we do a lot about water quality until we get serious about sewer expansion,” Johnson said, alluding to his own personal experience when a sewer plant was installed in Seattle and how it improved Elliot Bay.

Eventually, everything from septic systems finds its way into the waters of the Sound, and the state needs to work with counties and cities to find a solution, he said.

The Washington State Ferries system is another important element of the area’s quality of life and Johnson said residents of the Peninsula are unfairly taxed in this area.

“The only way we can get anywhere using our gas tax money is by going through Shelton to Olympia,” he said.

Residents pay at the fare box to ride the ferry and once the Tacoma Narrows Bridge is completed, they will pay $6 roundtrip, he said.

However, instead of advocating an increase in the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax, Johnson said the discussion needs to be encompassed in a statewide transportation funding solution.

“We have to raise the discussion and put it into a broader Department of Transportation issue,” he said.

No matter what the state does, communication is critical on all levels, he said.

“We can’t always be the bearers of good news, and a lot of these problems are complex requiring multiple approaches,” he said.

In order for those approaches to be successful, all involved parties need to communicate clearly with one another, he said.

“It can’t be a one-time thing, it has to be a way of life,” Johnson said.