Public Safety – Making our communities safer

As a law enforcement professional, there is nothing I take more seriously than making our neighborhoods a safe place to raise families. This can only occur when our State Legislature starts putting families before felons through tougher sentencing laws that keep dangerous felons off the street.

It is commonsense to track sex offenders by requiring all first-time offenders to register their DNA with the state. Sex offenders that refuse to meet address registration requirements should face tougher penalties. Level 3 sex offenders should have constant GPS tracking, no exceptions.

Finally, public safety heroes need to be treated with the respect they have earned. Law enforcement and firefighter pensions should be fully funded and off limits to the meddling of state bureaucrats. This is no time to be playing chicken with the retirements of those who have sacrificed much to protect our communities.

I believe in tough sentencing enhancements for criminals, whose deliberate acts during the commission of a crime cause the death of a police, fire or corrections officer.

Transportation – Increasing our mobility

Mobility is very important to me as a police officer and all of us who commute to work on a daily basis. Based on their record of inaction, I don’t believe the current makeup of the State Legislature agrees. After a record gas tax increase several years ago, most of our commutes have gone up in length, not down. This just doesn’t make sense to the average observer.

We waste a lot of time sitting in our car rather than spending time with our families or pursuing service to our communities. Capacity is a key word that can no longer be ignored in Olympia. We need more lanes of travel and flexible mass transit solutions. I promise to pursue viable transportation options that reduce congestion, empower families and are respectful of the beautiful surroundings in which we live.


Fiscal Responsibility – It’s time to end the budget rollercoaster ride

For any one like me who manages a family budget, Olympia’s spending habits just don’t add up. We face a $2.7 billion dollar deficit due to irresponsible, rollercoaster budgeting habits that show no sign of slowing down. This must change.

I believe the solution is simple. Take a look at the $8 billion dollars of new spending enacted in the past 4 years and do something most of us have had to do in recent times: start cutting back. There is absolutely no excuse for any talk of a state income tax as one possible solution. We don’t need more taxes, we need less.

It’s time this state abandons the practice of charging families of the deceased a death tax which overburdens small businesses and makes difficult times much worse in many cases.

During Governor Gary Locke’s two terms, he instituted something called the “Priorities of Government” budgeting process which took a careful look at the priorities of our state government and went about funding them in a responsible fashion. In 2002, State Senator Dino Rossi employed this methodology, demonstrating bipartisan leadership in turning around a massive multi billion dollar deficit and balancing the state budget without any tax increases.

What has happened over the last 4 years is inexcusable. Our state has run away from the “Priorities of Government” and made increasing government’s size the one overriding priority. In essence, no excuse for increasing the size of government through new spending has been denied. It’s not fun writing family budgets, but it’s about time we elect some leadership that is prepared to make the tough decisions and balance this state budget without creating more hardships for hard working families.


Education – Raising standards, demanding accountability

Our children are failing to reach their potential due to an education environment in Washington State plagued by poor decisions and archaic bureaucracy. Interestingly enough, no one seems willing to take the blame.

The State Legislature plays an instrumental role in helping ensure the best education environment for our children. Ensuring proper funding of our education system is a “paramount duty” of the legislature as spelled out by our Washington State Constitution. Something must change when 2/3 of our 10th graders are failing parts of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. With all of the attention on fixing the WASL or lowering standards to make the test appear like a broader success, students in need of advanced placement courses are not seeing the full options they would otherwise be presented in a balanced education plan.

We do not need any more temporary fixes or adjustments to the WASL. We need wholesale reform and the current inhabitants of Olympia are simply unwilling to deliver on that.

Reform can only begin when we start raising standards rather than lowering them. We need a new way of measuring education success for students. It’s time for a new standardized test modeled on other higher performing states to properly assess students and provide a clear goal line for teachers and students alike.

Our education system wastes a lot of money on bureaucracy and this diverts funds from the classroom where the funds are most needed. I will ensure proper funding for public education through a new basic funding model that recognizes current unmet needs but also corrects wasteful spending when and where it can be identified.