State Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen will open a staff office in Oak Harbor next week, but the move drew immediate fire from her critics in the state Republican Party, who accused the Democrat from Camano Island of using public funds for her reelection campaign.

The swiftness of the attack – Haugen announced her office opening just before lunch on Thursday and the state GOP fired its missive four hours later — may be a sign of the size of the target that’s been placed on the Democrat from Camano Island.

Haugen herself was surprised at the intensity of the attack, which included state Republican Party chairman Luke Esser accusing Haugen of using “a publicly-funded campaign operative who will cost the taxpayers $58,000 a year.”

“Sen. Haugen should be ashamed of herself for using taxpayer funds on her campaign,” Esser said in a press statement.

Haugen was aghast at the claims.

“I’m a lifetime member of this community. People know who I am; I am not a person who is trying to rip off this state,” Haugen said.

She said the only costs covered by the state for her Oak Harbor office were for a secure telephone line and Internet access.

“I paid the rent myself, I bought all the furniture in there,” she said.

The senator’s office announced this week that Gina Bull will be the managing legislative assistant for the lawmaker’s new office in Oak Harbor.

A “grand opening” is planned for 4:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 21. The office is located at 1091 SE Dock St., Suite 4, Oak Harbor.

The senator said she could have added another staff person to her Olympia office, but instead wanted someone based in Oak Harbor, the center of the 10th District. She said she had tried to have an office in Mount Vernon years ago but it proved unworkable.

“The center of the district is Oak Harbor. Would it make sense to open one up in Stanwood? No,” Haugen said.

Some lawmakers, due to their parts as head of committees that deal with fiscal matters or other roles in state government, are authorized a second aide.

Executive legislative assistant Nova Gattman works in Haugen’s Olympia office.

Haugen said she has hired Courtney Jones of Coupeville to work on her campaign, who started at the start of May, but said the staffer was being paid for by campaign funds.

Linda Haddon, an Oak Harbor Republican, is challenging Haguen for her seat in the Senate this November. The 10th District includes all of Island County and parts of Snohomish and Skagit counties.

Haugen registered with the state as a candidate for reelection in December 2006. Haddon registered as a candidate in January 2008.