Legislative District 10
Senator
Ron Muzzall, R incumbent
For starters, I have known Ron Muzzall since 1990, when we worked together on an initiative to provide funding for a major Conservation Futures type program. Even though we were working toward the same goal, I was not favorably impressed then and my opinion has not changed in the intervening decades. We are on the opposite side of just about every issue.
He was appointed to fill out the term of ALEC member former state senator Barbara Bailey. He has expressed his admiration for Bailey and his intent to continue her policies. Thus far he has been doing exactly that.
He has pushed back on premature release of nearly 1000 prison inmates. Inslee and Corrections officials devised a plan after the Supreme Court ordered action to prevent COVID outbreaks in state prisons. He believes the state has other options but doesn’t tell us what they are.
He has said that COVID response was not his business, and to check with our federal delegation. Gee, I thought the head fed said this was the responsibility of individual states. On the other hand, he is unhappy with governor Inslee for the shut down order, complaining about inconsistencies and unfairness. I have yet to see him with a mask.
I just checked his website and there is a page with COVID information and a short statement from Ron. Mainly he says this is a scary time but we’ll get through it. No mention of masks, and none on his face.
He has claimed that the proposed low carbon fuel standard would increase the cost of fuel dramatically and would not improve roads. He claimed the idea is expensive, regressive, and ineffective. He voted against the bill.
His voting record shows where his heart is. I’ve broken it down into some broad categories.
He really does not like people in the prison system. He voted against restoring voting rights for felons who had not paid their court debts; against creation of alternatives to total confinement for persons with minor children; against granting judges leeway in sentencing minors tried as adults; against a ban on private for-profit prisons; against certifying corrections officers; against a bill to prevent arrest of people on their way to court; against loosening parole conditions; and against allowing people to explain their failure to appear in court. He has spoken out in favor of the death penalty.
Nor does he particularly like poor people. He voted against expanding child care for homeless families; against expanding unemployment benefits; against allowing additional marijuana retail licenses for social equity purposes in “disproportionately affected areas” (read slums) or by people who have had a misdemeanor possession conviction; against allowing tenants to pay certain sums in installments; against protecting employee information from public disclosure; and against a bill of rights concerning the census.
His record on public health and welfare speaks for itself. He voted against requiring the Insurance Commissioner to look into excess profits of health insurance companies; against establishing a prescription drug affordability board; against prohibiting discrimination in health care coverage; against ‘mitigating inequity in the health insurance market caused by health plans that exclude certain mandated benefits’; against updates to the new Paid Family and Medical Leave program; against ‘studying barriers to use of the Death with Dignity act’; against improving access to TANF (welfare); and against updating laws around treatment of AIDS.
Nor does he seem to like kids or schools very much. He voted against the “comprehensive sex ed” bill. (See the whole long rundown in the discussion of R-90); against ‘nurturing positive social and emotional school and classroom climates’; against supporting access to child care for high school student parents; and against bilingual early learning in K-12.
He does seem to love guns, but not any controls on them. He voted against creating a Washington Office of Firearm Violence Prevention; against restricting possession of weapons in certain locations – like jails, courtrooms, mental health facilities, taverns, and airports; against ensuring compliance with court orders to surrender firearms, weapons, and concealed pistol licenses; and against background check requirements for firearms classified as “other” under federal law.
His environmental record is not exactly stellar. He voted against requiring a minimum recycled content of some plastic containers; against banning styrofoam packaging; against amending the state greenhouse gas emission limits for consistency with the most recent climate change science; against prioritizing natural beach protections; against limiting aerial herbicide applications in forest lands; against prohibiting water withdrawals for commercial bottling; against testing public water systems for PFAS; and against recovering costs of inspection, monitoring, and compliance of aquaculture/fish farms.
He’s not so hot on public participation. He voted against measures to increase election participation by young voters – motor voter, student engagement hubs at colleges, civics materials in high schools.
And for someone who rails about open government, he shows his inconsistency. He voted against accountability and transparency in government contracting; against creating a state office of equity; against using traffic safety cameras for congestion reduction and increased safety; and of course against the supplemental operating budget.
Late breaking news. I have now seen video of Ron Muzzall at a July 4 weekend campaign event hosted by Oak Harbor developer Scott Thompson. Nary a mask or distancing to be seen. On Ron’s shirt is a sticker that says “$30.00.” That would be Eyman’s initiative to destroy public transportation. Someone who was not a Republican had the temerity to attend the event and try to record it. He was attacked, ended up in Harborview with a concussion, and his camera taken from him and damaged. Ron was by no means the only R politico in attendance. None of them made a move to intervene. I think it gives us a painfully accurate picture of Ron’s real beliefs. Since then Ron has been seen at quite a few large gatherings without mask or social distancing.
Most telling is his statement that he does not expect to be particularly effective in office, but rather will act as backup and cheering section for others who are effective. Really?
But he did pass a bill to introduce “Celebrating Navy Day.”
Needless to say, Ron Muzzall and I are not friends.
Helen Price-Johnson, D
https://helenpricejohnson.org/
For people outside of Island County, Helen has been a county commissioner for the last 12 years, and it is in that context that I have known her and arm wrestled with her. We definitely have our differences. Those pale in the face of the present danger.
issues:
Housing – decent and affordable housing is a basic human need.
Environment – climate change is here and we must act NOW. Protect our clean water, shorelines, forests, and natural habitats.
Health care – invest in mental health and addiction treatment. Work on a plan to lower prescription costs.
Education – increase community college and apprenticeship programs, provide free early childhood education.
Transportation & infrastructure –increase multi-modal options: trails, park & rides, bus terminals, ferries, train, light rail. Replace aging infrastructure. Integrate transportation needs.
Veterans – all deserve respect and dignity. Improve veterans’ services & remove red tape.
While I have lots of niggly differences with Helen, they are differences on the same page. We can argue about how we deal with climate change, but we don’t disagree on the basic reality.
Among other things, note that Helen models the safety behavior of wearing a mask. That speaks to me of respect for the people she represents.
I checked out my blog post about Helen from her last campaign for county commissioner and guess what? She has the same underlying issues now as she had then. Sure, specifics change. But she still wants to do the right thing for all the people.
I’m not going to go into a whole long rap. Bottom line: if we expect to accomplish anything positive in the legislature in the coming years, we need Helen and not Ron Muzzall in the state senate.
I will be voting for Helen Price-Johnson for state senate.
State Representative, position 1
Greg Gilday, R
issues:
~ Healthy families need us to defeat COVID and reopen our economy.
We can both fight the virus and restart our economy. Other states & countries have demonstrated that. Greg is an honest leader. We can trust him.
~ Better schools, better roads, better government
After this emergency we need good people to ensure we have a better government. Our state budget will be a mess. Greg has the intelligence and character we need.
He’s a dad, local small business owner, trusted attorney, and our best choice to represent our community in the legislature.
It’s a surprisingly sparse website, and he mentions only the two issues shown above.
https://www.facebook.com/electgreggilday/
the focus here is on announcing campaign events and volunteer training – in person – in Oak Harbor.
An image posted September 1 shows what I presume are a bunch of supporters, all posed together without masks. And an entry from late August about his visit with Ron Muzzall (see Senate race), unmasked.
An image of Gilday, Bill Bruch (see house position 2), Ron Muzzall, and another house candidate, literally with arms around each other, and of course no masks. An August 16 post about how great it was to speak to so many people in Oak Harbor while doorbelling – without mask. What I conclude from all of this is that he does not take COVID seriously, and appears to share the Trump attitude that its over, lets move on.
He’s very proud of having overseen creation of the Rotary Adventure Playground at Freedom Park on Camano.
There’s a post about “growing and widespread resentment of the Governor’s use of emergency powers” and an admonition to elect more “common sense” (read: Republican) legislators to thwart such uses.
In June he was tracking COVID cases, and claiming that our area was doing better than the rest of the country, so we must be doing something right.
And he wishes us all a Happy Juneteenth. A refreshing surprise that he even considers it.
On the other hand, his biggest supporter appears to blame Inslee for just about everything, particularly “favoritism” in “allowing” the Seattle demonstrations but keeping churches shut down.
And his Facebook page warmly supports R-90, that anti-sex-ed referendum.(check out the rap on this at R-90)
https://www.stanwoodlaw.net/Attorney
https://ltco.com/staff-members/greg-gilday/
Land Title & Escrow President / Chairman of the Board
My impression from the limited information available is that Mr Gilday tries to look like one of the old style relatively responsible Republicans. He talks a lot about being fiscally conservative and how the legislature should be rewriting the budget to reflect the foreseeable shortages coming. There may be some point to that, but I see nothing about what he considers essential and what he would be willing to jettison.
I hold very much against him his support for R-90. As an attorney I would expect him to have read the legislation, that damned comprehensive sex-ed again. And if he has read it he knows that it is not the evil the R-90 promoters make it out to be. So I have to conclude that he is pandering to the rabble.
On the one hand he is exquisitely aware of COVID and what is needed to prevent deaths. On the other hand he and his campaign are busily planning and attending large indoor and outdoor events. One post on his Facebook page is by a tavern which refuses to require masks. Maybe the man is too much of a lawyer, talking out of all sides of his rather mobile mouth. I’m not particularly liking what I see. And the more I see, the less I like.
Angie Homola D
priorities:
A. Environmental protection and action on climate change
~ A just transition to clean energy
~ Transportation and land use planning
~ Farming, forestry, and aquaculture
B. Honest government and the rule of law vs politics and special interests
~ campaign finance reform
~ fair taxation and balanced budgets
C. Social Justice
~ support of treaty rights
~ Veteran’s services
~ Public safety
~ living wage jobs, childcare, and economic vitality
~ education and vocational training
~ affordable housing and housing the homeless
~ public and mental healthcare
~ ending opioid addiction
Angie’s philosophy:
~ Govern for the common good and respect the rule of law
~ Leave things as good as or better than you found them
~ Treat others with dignity and respect your elders
~ Collaboration and compromise work better than isolation and oppression
~ Take good care of the Earth and all that share it
~ Work hard, play hard, do your best
~ Inspire a love of learning and support for science
~ Plan for tomorrow when making decisions today
~ Transparent government of the people, by the people, for the people
I could go on at great length, since Angie and I have worked together for a long time. She is notoriously detail oriented. I told her some time ago that while others talk about god, mom, and apple pie, Angie presents a dissertation on comparative religions, a plan for a support program for new mothers, and a recipe for organic, gluten free apple pie. That kind of attention to detail makes her very good at just about everything she does. It was that attention to detail that put her in the position of becoming a whistle-blower. The people at the other end of that whistle blowing have never forgiven her for pointing out their misconduct.
Angie served as an Island County Commissioner. She had great plans, only to find, when she took office, that the cupboard was bare and the first order of the day was to cut jobs and programs. It was wrenching, but her attention to detail served us all well in figuring out how to pinch every penny at least two or three times before letting it go. She also donated back 20% of her salary to help balance the budget.
One of the constant refrains of Republicans is that they are fiscal conservatives and therefore they want to cut budgets and services. A true fiscal conservative looks at the long range economic impacts of any particular action to determine the costs and benefits. There are times when spending now will prevent huge future costs. That old “ounce of prevention.” It was with that in mind that Angie worked on the county’s budgets during her time in office.
She has served as a state legislative liaison, studying bills to determine the effects of their passage, potential unintended consequences, fiscal impacts, and whether they serve the intended purpose. I have learned about more issues than I can remember from discussions with Angie on legislative bills. All of which means that she knows her way around Olympia, knows who is on first and what needs to happen to reach second, third, and home base with any particular issue. She is effective.
And now we are dealing with COVID-19 with active sabotage by the federal government. Note that Angie has redesigned her entire campaign so that, unlike her opponent, she is not endangering anyone. Her supporters and campaign workers wear masks, maintain distance, and use electronic tools. They also don't knock on doors when delivering literature to doorsteps. In my book that gives her major points. Her virus denying opponent is fine with knocking on doors and gathering in large groups, all without masks. We need leaders who understand the seriousness of this pandemic.
I want someone in the legislature who represents my interests and knows how to do the right thing even under very difficult circumstances. That’s Angie. I will be voting for Angie Homola.
State Representative, position 2
Bill Bruch, R
https://billbruchforhouse.com/
former LaConner Town Councilmember
Chair, Skagit Co Republicans
property and project manager
“My opponent has thrown in with the Seattle Democrats and I am running for office because the excessive taxation, over-regulation and government mandates coming out of Olympia are hurting families and businesses."
Issues:
~ less taxes and regulations/ more fiscal responsibility
~ no state government mandated k – 12 sex-ed (see the discussion at R-90)
~ preserve property and water rights
~ address the homelessness and addiction epidemics
“I fully support NAS Whidbey, including OLF Coupeville. . . a necessary and vital economic driver. . . we must do all that we can to keep it in full operation.”
“We must be open to a variety of solutions (to homelessness, addiction, etc.) and recognize that many private sector non-profits and community faith-based organizations can be far more effective at helping people through challenging times than government programs.”
He attacks Dave Paul for voting in favor of the updated HIV bill.
He lauds the fact that R-90, the referendum to reverse the sex-ed bill, will be on the November ballot. (again, see R-90 for the full rundown). And of course he blames Dave Paul for voting in favor of the sex-ed bill.
He’s got several large diatribes against “contract” tracing and how unconstitutional that is. “The true data and study after study shows there is NO Covid emergency and it is time to fully open up the state.”
(Obviously he's not particularly concerned with the 200k+ people who have already died, or the many thousands more if Washington opens up too soon.)
He is virulently against any regulations or controls to stop the spread of COVID. This includes objections to any financial relief – because it would take money from corporations and give it to “illegal aliens.” He calls COVID a plot by Bill Gates and Dr Fauci, and that wearing a mask can cause heart attacks, so advocates against their use. He thanks the hundreds of people who attended the “Re-Open Washington” rally at the Snohomish County courthouse in Everett. (this was late May)
“When our government lets you go out for groceries and hardware but demands a mail-in vote, you can be certain they’re not really concerned about keeping you safe from a virus.”
He wholeheartedly supports a class action lawsuit which claims that federal law does not allow for the guaranteeing of healthy people.
And he blames China for the virus, with various false claims.
And here’s a major diatribe against the sex-ed bill, claiming it requires showing kids pornography, and ‘graphic sex lessons as early as 2nd and 3rd grades.” It further accuses the bill of promoting abortion and teaching high risk behaviors. “This is a coordinated indoctrination of our youth. Planned Parenthood is backing this as it promotes abortion.” Oh, and “one of the largest pornography sites is offering sex ed.” This is why I checked out the bill. You will see that it does none of these things.
And its all a Communist plot. Really.
Some really interesting (and a bit nauseating) conspiracy ranting about how George Soros is really behind the censorship on Amazon. Etc.
In fall 2019 The Skagit County Republican Party and its chair, Bill Bruch, which have strongly supported Donald Trump, both recently joined We Speak, a right-wing Christian alternative to Facebook.
Questions posed in a telephone poll. Would the facts below change your opinion of Bill Bruch?
~ Bruch has been sued multiple times for mismanaging other people’s money
~ In at least one instance Bruch failed to appear in court on one of those charges
~ Bruch supports Trump and Trump’s wall
~ Bruch calls COVID a plot by Bill Gates and Dr Fauci, and that wearing a mask can cause heart attacks, so advocates against their use.
~ Bruch wants to roll back Medicare and coverage for pre-existing conditions
~ Bruch wants to institute an “age tax” on older people to pay for their medical coverage
~ Bruch supports Spokane’s proud Nazi legislator, Matt Shea.
I now have copies of 2 of the actual court cases. He did indeed fail to appear - twice. He swindled elderly people out of literally millions of dollars. In the really big case he hired doctors to claim that the sick elderly victim was mentally competent, got him to sign a power of attorney, and then wiped out his bank account. If none of the other negative issues existed, this would be enough. I’m wondering what this man is doing walking the streets rather than spending time in prison for fraud.
Bottom Line: We’ve got a right-wing criminal “businessman” who is willing to hurt people for money. It feels almost incidental that he sees conspiracies around every corner. He’s ready to believe that Black Lives Matter is an Antifa conspiracy, that COVID is overblown and a power grab by Bill Gates and Anthony Fauci. I would love to hear him speak on climate change and environmental issues. Even if we had no alternative, I would not vote for this guy. He belongs in jail.
Dave Paul, D incumbent
Dave lists his issues as follows:
Care – worked to:
~ lower cost of prescription drugs
~ reduce the cost of insulin
~ fund COVID response
~ fund mental health & substance abuse services
I could go on here, but bottom line he is doing his best to respond to the crisis in all parts of our society caused by COVID and the response to it.
Education – The man is an educator, so its not surprising that he puts a fair amount of focus here. He has worked to:
~ reduce the cost of Running Start programs
~ establish a Running start summer term program
~ improve support for para-educators
~ remove high-stakes testing as a graduation requirement
~ provide affordable college and tech schools
Family Wage Jobs – worked to:
~ ensure living wages
~ guarantee the right of unions to bargain
~ better parental leave policies
~ increase childcare options
~ require more flexible work schedules
~ mandate pay transparency
~ create apprenticeship programs
Environment -worked to:
~ clean up and preserve public lands for fishing, hunting, and recreation
~ reduce the effects of climate change on farming, fishing, and tourism
~ reduce greenhouse gases by investing in farming and forestry
~ phase out coal by 2025 (that’s the Colstrip plant in Montana, where PSE gets a significant share of our electric power).
Housing – yes, he wants affordable housing, so wants to see more apartments, condos, “starter homes” and mid-range housing. He does not want to weaken the Growth Management Act because that may lead to more housing, but not more affordability.
Supporting Veterans – worked to:
~ expand support for veteran students
~ increase access to education, affordable housing, and healthcare
~ grant veterans and their children in-state tuition
~ full retirement benefits.
He has proposed a whole menu of what he calls simple fixes to make life easier for veterans and their families.
He lists Community Investments. This is the part where he tells us what bacon he has brought home.
$300k+ for the Anacortes Family Center, to improve childcare and housing affordability programs
$1 million for Ebey’s Landing to protect historic structures within the reserve
$1 million for the Ferry to Ken’s Corner trail segment
$1 million for upgrades to Skagit County’s emergency communication (911) system.
He supports raising the minimum age for buying assault rifles to 21, and adding further regulations on the sale of guns.
He supported the sex ed bill (again, check R-90 for the whole rap) and the loonies, including his opponent, are trying to crucify him for it. To quote from his constituent update: “I trust our parents, teachers, and school board members to make the best decisions for students at the local level. I have experienced first-hand how this relationship works and know how important this collaboration is to develop appropriate curricula for our students.
“The legislature passed a bill to help promote healthy families, providing better tools for parents, educators, and school districts to teach affirmative consent and bystander training that protect our children, as well as strengthening the requirement for school districts to consult with parents and guardians when developing this important curriculum.” Perish the thought, teaching kids to say no to inappropriate touching, and to intervene when it is happening to someone else.
He is endorsed by a slew of Dem organizations, unions, good government and issue organizations, and even the Washington State Patrol Troopers’ Association.
In the legislature he has sponsored or supported:
~ 100% clean electricity (no more coal fired PSE power)
~ stronger efficiency standards for commercial buildings
~ the Solar Fairness Act
~ expanded transportation electrification and pollution reduction
~ appliance efficiency standards
~ phase out of climate impacting super pollutants
~ shoreline habitat protection
~ orca protection
~ oil spill prevention
~ toxic cleanup funding
~ and more
I have met Dave Paul and spoken with him a number of times and he is obviously very bright, thoughtful, and easy to talk to/argue with. As with others, there are issues on which we disagree, but we don’t have to argue about the underpinnings. We have a shared understanding of how the world works. I have been most pleased with what I see Dave Paul doing in the legislature and will be most happy to vote to keep him there.
I will be voting for Dave Paul.
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