Jay is the Democratic
incumbent governor and, while I have some serious disagreements with him on the
issue of aquaculture (he promotes it as part of his environmental agenda), for the
most part he has done a reasonably good job. He is touted in the press as the
country’s “most environmental governor” – which mainly shows how bad things are
elsewhere. On the other hand, he has just appointed one of my favorite
environmental attorneys to the State Court of Appeals for our district.
education:
Willamette University law
Former legislator, regional director of US Dept of
Health & Human Services
Worked on sustainable energy since 1990. Voted in
favor of an assault weapons ban.
Agenda: Strengthening the economy. Cleaning up our
environment. Improving our schools.
He has just appointed one of our favorite
environmental attorneys to the state Court of Appeals for our district. Strong
supporter of women and their right to choose. Has called for a halt to “bomb
trains” in Washington. Supports LGBT rights.
Issues:
budget
– invest in k-12 education, fulfill obligations under McCleary decision, insure
protection for the most vulnerable, build on success of LEAN management.
Implement a sustainable budget.
economy
– Support industries of strategic importance. Encourage business diversity.
Ensure career readiness. Expand workforce training and education in STEM.
Growth and prosperity for everyone. Workforce development. Implement paid
family leave. Created the Office of Economic Development and Competitiveness to
support business.
education
– Give our kids a strong start early. Retain skilled teachers and principals.
Improve graduation rates. Focus on STEM. Reinvest in higher education. Signed
bill to lower college tuition. Signed Washington DREAM Act to grant college
funding for undocumented children of immigrant parents.
efficient
government – require plain language. Conducted a summit on race and equity.
Revamped state agencies, saving tons of time and money, under a program called
Results Washington. “the Tax code is encrusted with the barnacles encrusted on the ship of
state, of loopholes” long since outdated.
energy
and environment – Reduce carbon pollution. Reduce toxics. Strengthen the
shellfish industry. Dealing with climate change and its impacts.
From the re-election website home page: “ We only have one planet, and only one
chance to get it right when it comes to climate action.” Has written a book on
the economic opportunities of a clean energy future. Established a Clean Energy
Fund. Directed Dept of Ecology to limit carbon pollution via a new Clean Air
Rule. Fought to save State Parks from budget devastation, closure and sale.
Working against oil port facilities, championed oil train safety legislation,
and required increased inspections.
health
care & human services – Healthiest next generation initiative. Blue ribbon
commission on children and families. Cannabis patient protection act. Select
committee on quality improvement in state hospitals. Issued directives to all
state agencies to work with local and tribal health authorities and other
officials to respond to the growing problem of opioid addiction.
safe
communities – firearm fatality prevention executive order. Justice reinvestment
initiative. oil transportation safety. Emergency prep.
LGBTQ
– a strong advocate for equality, fighting efforts to weaken equal rights in
WA. Campaigned for marriage equality in 2012. Directed state agencies to create
‘safe spaces’ inclusive work environments.
transportation
– Pushed through a transportation investment package with heavy emphasis on
bikes, trails, rail, and transit. Has instructed WSF to develop a ‘Ferry
Reliability Plan” to prevent missed sailings. Electrification of WA roadways (this means
providing recharge stations everywhere). Keep our roads safe.
veterans
– Honor their service by keeping promises. Issued executive order to promote
jobs for vets. Increased vet new hires by 40%. Signed a bill to allow vets and
their families to attend colleges under in-state tuition fees. He has done more and expects to do more in
future.
women’s
health care – strongly pro-choice. Fighting Republicans’ attempts to de-fund
Planned Parenthood. Working to expand access to reproductive care and family
planning services.
Endorsed by Washington Conservation Voters
Endorsed by FUSE Progressive Voters
Bill Bryant
R Seattle Port Commissioner,
venture capitalist
education: Georgetown University,
trade & diplomacy
The Republican opposition is Bill Bryant, a Seattle Port
Commissioner and venture capitalist. His business kind of says it all. He
supported the Port of Seattle leasing a berth for Shell Oil’s Arctic Explorer.
He also supported the Port suing the City of Seatac to avoid having to pay
their new higher minimum wage. Kind of puts the lie to his claimed priorities
of: “kids, jobs, traffic jams, taxes, salmon, and fixing broken bureaucracies.”
priorities:
kids
– “fully & equitably fund education” “The education system is failing kids.”
Graduating students are not well enough trained to succeed in community
college. His mantra is “fund education first”. He wants to “reinvent the last 2
years of high school” into job training and apprenticeship programs. He
declared himself deeply disappointed by
the court decision against charter schools, calling it “morally wrong”. He claims that Inslee has no
plan to deal with education. He is a big supporter of charter schools.
jobs
– focus government on supporting job generating sectors of the economy. Bolster
exports. Fund workforce development in high schools (as mentioned under
education above). Reinvest in tourism. Eliminate or streamline redundant and
uncertain permitting requirements, making it easier for companies to add jobs. Eliminate
the “culture of ‘no’” in permitting agencies, wants apprenticeship programs;
moratorium on all new regulations until existing regulations are justified; tie tax incentives to job creation
& investment
Touts his project with the Port of
Seattle, partnering with Norwegian cruise lines and the building trades in a
public private partnership to rebuild a cruise ship docking facility, saying it
created lots of new jobs and generated new tourism.
He claims that government can’t do
anything new or different, and is threatened by change. He is proud to have
built overpass over RR tracks to port. Its really about jobs, which are created
by easy access in and out of ports.
traffic
jams – cost time & money. He claims traffic jams are all WSDOT’s fault. He
is pushing for statewide “freight corridor” to separate commercial from all
other traffic.
taxes
– He has been on King County/Seattle Port Commission since 2008. He claims
taxes are based on wants rather than needs. He wants moratorium on new regulations
until the effectiveness of existing regulations can be evaluated. He proposes a
4 year zero base budgeting exercise that will refocus the budget on the state’s
key obligations and priorities. He objects to Inslee’s proposal to close tax
loopholes to generate funds to meet the McCleary school funding mandate. “We need to take a pressure hose to Olympia.” He claims the
funds are there and they just need to ‘fund education first.’
salmon
– He wants to protect Puget sound, salmon, orcas, etc, but does not say how. He
touts a contained “splash box” rooftop water treatment system, but doesn’t
explain how that relates to his wanting to be governor.
fixing
broken bureaucracies – He claims that Inslee lacks leadership. He lists all the
problems with many agencies and lays the blame on Inslee.
Wow,
that was a lot of work. What it boils down to is that Bryant, along with Dave
Hayes and Barbara Bailey and probably all the other Rs in the legislature,
claims that the money is hiding somewhere in the state’s budget to pay for the
mandates in the McCleary decision requiring full funding of k-12 education. The
claim is that funds are being frittered away on such foolishness as medical
support, aid to veterans, public works (those traffic jams), unnecessary
environmental priorities, etc. The last budget out of the legislature
sacrificed all of those and many more programs to come up with at least part of
the McCleary mandated education funding. The court was not amused and has
assessed a $100k/day (yeah, per day) fine on the state until it comes into
compliance. So Inslee and all those “tax and spend” dems have tried to close
some of the loopholes enjoyed by industries which don’t need them or are in
fact damaging the state. Bryant and his fellow Rs roared their objections. That
old mantra “no new taxes.”
Bryant
is all hot for Charter Schools and is unhappy that the court objected to the
use of scarce public education funds to support them. Some charter schools may
be a good thing. Most are not, and they draw disproportionate amounts of tax
funding from public schools.
Bryant’s
other pet project, “freight corridors,” has been shot down on a national level
for some time now, thank goodness. Imagine something bigger than I-5, but you
can’t use it. Only those hauling freight for companies which have paid for the
privilege may use them. Now imagine just where such a highway would be built,
and all the forests, FARMS and communities
which would be flattened in the process. No doubt it would move freight
quickly. Not sure how much it would do to alleviate the traffic problems on the
more common roads used by the rest of us.
I
do wonder why someone who believes that government can never do anything new
and is threatened by change would want to participate in that government.
Inslee,
by contrast, wants to focus on public transit as a way to move people. His
focus is on people over freight. And while Bryant talks a good, if general,
line on wanting to protect the environment, Inslee is actually doing it.
I
could say a whole lot more, but
I’ll be voting for Jay Inslee
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