At least one of them figures it can’t happen quickly, but Democrats running for the Legislature in the 5th District want to make changes in state government.

David Spring and Jon Viebrock, who are running for state representative, and state Senate candidate Phyllis Huster are trying to unseat Republican incumbents in the general election in November. The challengers discussed issues recently with constituents in Snoqualmie, which is part of the district that also includes Maple Valley.

The environment and decreased oil dependence are included in Viebrock’s action plan.

“Getting off of oil is not just a national security issue, it’s a national survival issue,” he said.

In addition to decreasing oil dependence, Viebrock wants to strengthen public transportation to and from Seattle, control government spending and protect rights and wages of working-class people.

Describing himself as “one of those people who watches the news and yells at the TV set,” Viebrock hopes to bring accountability to state government.

“I’m volunteering to be accountable,” he said.

Huster said change will take time. “You have to walk before you can run,” she said.

The Senate hopeful said she is looking to start a dialogue between voters and politicians so that everyone’s needs are met.

Like Viebrock, Huster wants to improve transportation for outlying suburban areas.

With a campaign focus on the economy, education and the environment, Huster said she’s interested in streamlining the decisionmaking process to cut out unnecessary expenditures.

“There’s more than enough money, but we’re not spending it wisely,” Huster said of the state’s annual budget.

Spring said he’s concerned about the future of education in the Tahoma School District and other local school districts.

The trio of Democrats were the only challengers for the incumbents in last month’s primary election, so everyone advanced automatically to the November ballot. The closest outcome involved Rep. Glenn Anderson and Spring, who garnered about 51 percent and 48 percent of the votes in their race, respectively. Sen. Cheryl Pflug (58 percent) finished well ahead of Huster (41 percent), as did Rep. Jay Rodne (59 percent) against Viebrock (40 percent).