Here we go again with the gratuitous underlining. It means nothing. I just don't know how to get rid of it. Sorry 'bout that.
Someone asked me at a candidates’ night how it is that we
are voting for 2 positions in the legislature. Just in case you didn’t realize
it, each legislative district is allotted one senator and two representatives
in the legislature. Which is why you will find ‘position 1’ and ‘position 2’
below.
position #1
She has no campaign website. Her Facebook page is pretty
silent on her positions, so I’ve had to go to her voting record.
voted against automatic voter registration
voted against requiring health insurance to cover
contraceptives and abortion
voted against a prohibition on ‘conversion therapy’ of
juveniles
chose not to vote on banning bump stocks
chose not to vote on exempting the legislature from public
disclosure
voted against amending greenhouse gas emission targets
downward
co-sponsored a bill (which passed) to charge fees for public
records
voted to authorize charter schools
voted against requiring paid sick leave
in her favor, she did vote in favor of net neutrality.
She’s rated 100% by the American Conservative Union and
Associated General Contractors of Washington, a mere 93% by the NRA. She’s
rated 0% by NARAL. She’s endorsed by Builders Association of Washington, NRA,
Washington Farm Bureau. She has links to the Northwest Policy Center, a
right-wing think tank.
Norma comes across as friendly, outgoing, concerned. Good
front. When we try to talk to her about specifics, like how the Forest
Practices Act allows wholesale logging of wetlands and steep slopes, she slides
off into her favorite topic, rare earths. No matter what subject you bring up,
she talks about rare earths. After a while you just don’t bother any more,
which I think is the whole point. Pretty clearly, whatever she says, her voting
record speaks for itself and it is not pretty.
A really important point is that it appears we are in
process of losing the US Supreme Court, and with it we are likely to lose Roe v
Wade. As mentioned below, it will fall to the states to legislate a woman’s
autonomy. Norma has demonstrated with her vote that she will NOT support a woman’s right to control her
own body. To me this is a drop-dead issue.
info@scottmcmullen.org
Scott is very much a political novice in spite of his 8
years on the Mt Vernon city council and it shows. He is still scrambling to put
together a viable campaign. His day job is as a firefighter, and he’s used up
all his personal leave days, which is pinching his ability to campaign.
Here are the priorities he has listed on his website:
education: fully fund k-12 education, no-debt school, safe
schools, apprenticeship programs
transportation: fully fund transportation programs, invest
in infrastructure, safe & efficient ferries
public safety: support first responders, common sense
measures to protect students in schools & curb gun violence
quality of life: protect native fisheries & natural
bounty of Salish Sea, GMA is vital, climate change is real, need to prepare for
effects and mitigate further damage, invest in clean energy to create jobs;
public/private partnerships to end affordable housing crisis.
I contacted Mr McMullen and we had a very positive
conversation which was unfortunately cut short. I want to continue that
conversation. I did send him a rather comprehensive list of questions. To date
those are not reflected on his website.
One question I posed on the phone was: It looks from your
church and your 8 children that you are a Catholic. What is your position on
abortion? He never hesitated. He said that yes, he is Catholic, but that he
believes in a woman’s right to control her own body. Period. Good answer. Given
the very strong (and disgusting) possibility that we are going to lose Roe v
Wade at the federal level, power to legislate on such issues will devolve to
the states. What we know about Norma Smith is that she has in fact voted to
restrict women’s access to reproductive health care. Scott McMullen will stand
up for women’s autonomy.
I’m waiting to hear more from Mr McMullen, but this issue,
as mentioned above, is a drop-dead for me. I’ll be voting for Scott McMullen.
position #2
sits on these legislative committees:
Public Safety (Assistant Ranking
Republican)
Education
Transportation
Joint Committee on Veterans’ and
Military Affairs
Community Economic Revitalization
Board (CERB)
Issues:
Affordable Housing – he will solve
that by reducing government regulation, although he doesn’t say which ones or
how that will reduce housing costs.
Opioid & Heroin Addiction –
sponsored legislation to fund a Snohomish County Diversion Center to provide
services to homeless people suffering from mental illness and addiction.
Co-sponsored proposals to provide prevention and treatment resources statewide.
Working toward increased enforcement against suppliers/dealers. Note that this
conflates homelessness with mental illness and addiction.
Fiscal Responsibility – he is bent at
having to fully fund education. Calls a capital gains income tax “irresponsible
and must be defeated.”
Transportation – he is opposed to any
mileage tax, claiming it disproportionately punishes rural districts. Reforming
the permitting process for roads & bridges will reduce costs. Really? Need
funding for maintenance and preservation. Seems like a really narrow definition
of transportation.
Safe Communities – he wants more
funding for local cops and more cops in schools. He will “continue to stand for
first responders” and “ensure those who have committed crimes are held
accountable.”
And here’s his voting record:
voted to promote renewable natural
gas
voted against gender pay equality
voted against automatic voter
registration
voted against protecting students
from for-profit schools
voted against creating a Marbled
murrelet habitat reporting system
voted against allowing municipalities
to bank at credit unions
voted against establishing a
Washington State Women’s Commission
voted against a tax increase for
public transit funding
voted against restrictions on
‘conversion therapy’ of gay teens
voted against increased reporting
requirements on campaign contributions
voted against requiring health
insurance to cover contraception and abortion
voted against protecting ag workers
and communities from pesticides
voted against the Washington voting
rights act
voted against extending the voter
registration period
voted against banning bump stocks,
stating “I don’t think that banning accessories on a firearm is going to make
safer communities.”
Dave is an administrator at Skagit
Valley College. He has an obvious and particular interest in education. From
his website: Dave facilitated expanded outreach of financial aid
to community groups, including instituting College Goal Washington events on both
the Mount Vernon and Whidbey Island campuses. He has also led the expansion of
student support for Latino students, the addition of bilingual staff members,
and dedicated financial assistance for DREAMers.
Here are a few other of his focus points:
- Our property tax system in broken. Instead of fully funding our schools, state legislators have raised property taxes, resulting in greater funding inequities across our state. A more balanced approach should include decreasing unnecessary tax give-aways to big oil, and removing sales tax exemption for out-of-state residents.
- Climate change affects quality of life and important local industries. He will work to significantly reduce carbon fuel dependencies and promote renewable energy industry.
- Farmland and agrarian economies are critical to our district. Pressures from population growth can be mitigated with common-sense solutions, such as public-private partnerships that purchase development rights, and agriculture-friendly entrepreneurial zones.
- A diverse economy is a healthy economy. We have established employers and industries, as well as fishing, agriculture, timber, tourism, and hospitality. More can be done to help diversify and strengthen our economy, and thus provide living wage jobs.
I spent a productive
evening posing questions for Dave Paul
at a candidate event. He’s better than his campaign literature suggests. One of
the issues raised was the fact that certain elected officials go to lengths to
avoid facing their constituents. Dave committed to regular town hall events.
I asked about the state’s
regressive tax structure and the possibility of an income tax. Dave is enough
of a realist to agree that even whispering about an income tax is political
suicide in Washington. Instead, he proposes to educate taxpayers, and to
institute a comprehensive program addressing the many tax loopholes and
giveaways in the current code. He wants to avoid double taxing ordinary working
people but says he has seen as many as 700 business tax exemptions, some of which
support the fossil fuel industry. He favors a carbon tax (think Initiative
1631) and a Capital Gains tax, among others. Someone pointed out that millions
of $$ of our taxes go to support the Washington Military Alliance, a private
non-profit supporting the military, and questioned why our taxes pay for that
but not for a Peace Alliance. Dave was not aware of this
organization but reasoned that it was most likely all about jobs. And Dave
proposed that we use such funds to promote peaceful jobs, such as in solar and
wind, jobs which improve our communities.
Dave is enough of an
environmentalist to understand the connection between the 4 Snake River dams
and starving Orcas. He supports removal of the dams, which will open thousands
of miles of stream habitat for salmon, which will then provide a food source
for our painfully diminished Orcas. Good on him.
Everything I have seen and
heard leads me to believe that he has the right ideas and the
administrative/bureaucratic background to understand how the legislative system
works.
Given Dave Hayes’ legislative
record, I would likely support even a less qualified candidate. Luckily Dave
Paul is highly qualified and will represent my views in the legislature. I will
be voting for Dave Paul.
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