Preserve Washington

If our elected officials woke up tomorrow in the private sector instead of in Olympia, most of them would - and should - be fired. Our government has gotten too big with far too large a budget. We need: a lower tax burden, better transportation options, less government waste, meaningful environmental protection that doesn’t trample property rights or put a stranglehold on commerce… essentially reduced bureaucrat intrusion into our lives. To that end, I support smaller government with fewer laws more consistently enforced.

Since her appointment, my opponent Maralyn Chase has helped to usher in an era of fiscal irresponsibility. Chase has been part of the largest budget increase in Washington’s history - where the budget has swelled 33%, an 11 billion dollar increase. In other words, over 5.7 million dollars per day! In her last session alone, she proposed over 35 billion in new spending. This type of spending is unsustainable. Worse, it's contrary to what the People of Washington instructed when they voted to cap government growth with Initiative 601. Chase cast votes to override that initiative, playing a role in allowing our state government to grow to its present unsustainable level. Chase believes most programs are underfunded and unabashedly supports a graduated income tax. As your State Representative I’ll fight to reduce the size of our current government and to limit future government growth. Let us all remember that; “Government isn’t the solution; it is the problem.”

So here's the deal. I'm new to Washington - I only moved here in March of this year. Why am I running for office? Good question! The short answer is that I was asked to run; the whys and wherefores are below.

I moved here in March from my home state of Michigan. My wife, Kathryn, and I have long loved Washington, and figured we would move here when we retired. Our retirement plan was unceremoniously accelerated when the economy in Michigan crashed. If you watch the national news, it will not surprise you to hear that southeastern Michigan is no place to try to make a living selling real estate, or much anything else.

The root cause of the economic chaos in Michigan is the actions of the state and local governments. To make a long story short (if you're interested in the long story, click here), the state had a balanced budget until the current governor was elected to her first term. Spending went out of control, taxes were raised, and business started leaving in droves. Companies no one ever thought would leave Michigan started packing up, closing plants, moving headquarters...and with them went the jobs. Add in the mortgage mess, inflation and stir...that's a recipe for economic chaos.

When I got here and started to talk to people, started researching, began seeing what was going on…I must confess I got more than a little concerned. I began warning everyone,"Don't let what happened in Michigan happen here" and they all listened. In the course of spreading that message I started to meet people, people that heard the message, people that care about and love Washington. They told me that it was vital my message got out; they said my perspective coming from such economic chaos was fresh and valuable. I was encouraged by lots of people to throw my hat in the ring.

I came to the conclusion in Michigan I was part of the problem - not because of what I did, but because of what I didn't do. I decided I couldn't just sit back and do nothing. I plan on spending the rest of my days here in Washington and will do all in my power to insure that we here in Washington never have to face what I left in Michigan.

I hope you will join me in doing something to preserve the Washington we love. Comparatively speaking, Washington is doing an outstanding job at weathering the economic storm that is pounding the rest of the nation. It has been different for a reason - lower taxes than most, solid business base, and all its natural beauty and resources. However, we currently have representatives that seem intent on recklessly spending us into the same economic crisis as the rest of country. Our state can struggle just like everywhere else, if we let it happen. Let's work together to keep Washington strong.