First Vice President, Programs

Candy Simon

In her own words, "My most important life’s work has been to raise five loving, talented, and creative children. They are all married now and have blessed our family with 11 grandchildren and a great grandchild. Each child is so precious, the joy of my life. I want nothing more than to assure that they will grow up with constitutional values and the freedoms we have had.

I grew up in a two-parent family who belonged to the Democratic party. I was taught that this was the party of the working class who cared about the poor. My love and belief in Jesus developed during Sunday School classes, hearing the stories of the Gospel. I decided during those developmental years that I would follow Jesus.

As a Social Worker, I worked 22 years for WA State Dept. of Developmental Disabilities and the Department of Children and Family Services. The beginning of my career was at Catholic Community Services working with single moms and at-risk youth. I became an advocate and speaker through CCS and spoke at legislative hearings on the needs of the populations with which I was working. I earned my BA in Human Services and graduated from Western Washington University in 1987.

The most exciting time in my career was working with the Snohomish County Association of Churches. Through the Housing Task Force, we decided that Snohomish County needed a low-income housing corporation. I became a founding member of the Housing Hope Corporation. Housing Hope has grown into a multi-million-dollar corporation that has helped families with emergency and transitional housing, as well as homeownership. Who would have ever dreamed?

During this time, I became the Director of the Church Hospitality Network whose church volunteers provided emergency shelter, food, and case management. To help further our cause, I became a Board member of the Washington State Homeless Task Force and Snohomish County Homeless Task Force.

I decided to further my education at the University of Washington and graduated with a Master of Social Work in 2004. I didn’t know it then, but my political belief system began to change during my schooling. We learned about “diversity”, but I recognize now that this was the beginning of teaching students Critical Race Theory. It gave me a knot in my stomach at the time, being taught that as a white person, I could not be discriminated against. I lived in cultures that were not exclusively white and knew that discrimination could happen to any race. Later, I received similar training while working for the State.

I met my husband, Wayne in 2012. He is a Republican and understood conservative values. He taught me why states rights are so vital to our survival. In 2021, I moved to a different church. The pastor there had not closed the churches during the pandemic. He explained that God is the highest authority, then We the People, then the US constitution, then WA State constitution and then the Governor. I am thankful to have people in my life who have given me insights to help us through these troubled times."