On the Issues
We enjoy an amazing quality of life in Eastern Washington. Whether we farm, build, teach, sell, manufacture, provide health care, move products or offer a service, we add to the healthy economy of District 9. Our campaign will encourage dialogue on four key issues.
Economic Climate
In recent years, our state’s operating budgets have raised warning signals. Today we find ourselves struggling with a massive budget shortfall. As we work together to solve this challenge – and we WILL solve it – let’s use the four basic questions posed by those who were challenged in 2003:
- What are the results citizens expect from government?
- What strategies are most effective in achieving those results?
- How should we prioritize spending to buy the activities that are most critical to implementing these strategies?
- How will we measure progress?
By prioritizing expectations from our state government, we are involving the public and have a mechanism to keep the public informed. This process was successful in 2003 and should be used in every budget-writing year.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cornerstone of life in our District. With a variety of dry land and irrigated farms, we’re one of the most productive growing regions in the world. Cow-calf and feeder operations and food crop storage and processing add to our ability to export billions of dollars in agricultural products every year. Wheat, potatoes and cattle are third, fourth and fifth in the value of Washington crops produced behind apples and milk. A healthy export market is critical to our agricultural interests, and that means a viable transportation system of roads, rail and the Lower Snake and Columbia River System. Our dams not only provide the ability to move commodities, but they also provide clean, renewable energy and are vital to life in our region.
Education
Education for all, whether it’s skills based or academic, is important to our success. Washington’s competitiveness rests on well-educated and technically competent citizens. Our schools rank at the top or near the top because our parents and other residents know the value of education. School levies enjoy broad support. Levy equalization is critical to our schools in the 9th District and must be protected. We need to encourage policies that support additional enrollment of Washington students, at both state and independent institutions, in high demand programs that are critical to our state’s economic growth, as well as advance investments in research at our state’s research universities.
