INSIDE

Election 2002

On Tuesday, November 5, the nation will go to the polls. Here in Point Roberts there exists particular concerns that are handled at the local, state and national levels. What follows is a question and answer session with candidates who are asking for our vote.

Washington State Senate, District 42

Georgia Gardner
What do you believe is the greatest challenge facing Whatcom County residents and how will you, as senator, be able to help us meet that challenge?
Our economic problems are affecting every family in Whatcom County and my first priority as Senator is to help our businesses and help our workers. We have faced this challenge for the last several years, and we have met the challenge.
Although Washington state is either the highest in unemployment or close to it, Whatcom County has actually held its own. I think we can do more. I got retraining funds for our displaced workers and I got economic development money for our businesses. A portion of the state sales tax is kept in Whatcom County to provide programs to stimulate our lagging economy. I am working with schools and businesses to provide school-to-work programs and apprenticeship positions. I am working with Bellingham Technical College to tailor their training programs to our employment needs. Any business expanding or moving into the county will have a workforce trained to their specifications by BTC. I have worked to tie business incentives to job creation. I have obtained capital projects at BTC, Whatcom Community College, Western Washington University, and the Birch Bay State Park. I will continue to use my position as Senator to help the families and businesses in Whatcom County.

If you had to choose between promoting environmental protection or job creation, which one would it be and why?
There are very few instances where the best interests of the environment and the business community can’t be accommodated. I don’t believe in just saying no. I believe we can say, “No, you can’t do it this way, but you can do it that way.” I have worked with many groups until consensus is formed and that is always the best way.
However, sometimes there is no middle ground and I have chosen to protect the environment. When the drinking water supply in Lake Whatcom was threatened, I proposed legislation to halt logging, even though it meant a loss of timber jobs. I have an excellent environmental record and I am endorsed by both the Sierra Club and the Washington Conservation Voters. At the same time, I have a great deal of business support. I think that speaks to my ability to find solutions.

You’ve been in the state legislature for six years now, which brings experience but can also bring stagnation, a limited focus on pet projects and old solutions. Do you still have a fresh perspective, and how do you keep it that way?
It is hard to get stale in a job that has new crises and new opportunities at every turn! Here are some pet projects I’ve worked on over the six years I’ve been in the legislature, such as election law reform. I’ve passed a few clean-up laws every year and I’ll continue until the entire state of Washington is assured we’ll never have a “Florida experience.” I work on our never-ending supply of transportation projects.
However, there is always something new. This past year it has been consumer protection in the lending area. I get a lot of good ideas from my constituents that I am happy to pursue. There are a very wide variety of issues to address and it is an exciting challenge!

Should Point Roberts incorporate? If so, would you be willing to introduce legislation to allow it to do so with its limited permanent population?
I have introduced legislation in the past to allow incorporation at Point Roberts and would do so again. It is important for Point Roberts to have the ability to incorporate which they don’t now. Being a city is expensive because it must provide courts, police, jail, building inspectors, city clerk, city attorney, and so on. If Point Roberts can get the services it needs from the county, I’d advise against incorporation. There isn’t sufficient tax base to support all the expenses of a city.

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Dale Brandland
What do you believe is the greatest challenge facing Whatcom County residents and how will you, as senator, be able to help us meet that challenge?
This year our biggest challenge, one that will impact all of us, will be balancing the state’s budget. We have a projected deficit of 2.6 billion dollars so we will be making cuts and looking for efficiencies. As we do that, we will need to properly prioritize and make sure that we don’t jeopardize public safety and still protect our most vulnerable citizens like our seniors, our children, and the mentally ill.

If you had to choose between promoting environmental protection or job creation, which one would it be and why?
I believe that the two go hand in hand. If we do not have a healthy economy, we will not have the financial resources to invest in environmental protections. On the other hand, our environment and this area’s natural beauty are part of the reason companies choose to move their businesses here. We currently have the highest unemployment in the nation. Making job creation a priority now will help resolve many of our infrastructure problems, including our environment.

Your political career to date has been as chief executive-type of politician. Legislative politics often requires more of a co-operative, give and take approach to get results. How will your previous experience be useful in the legislative arena you seek to enter?
There is more to being the Sheriff than running the Sheriff’s office. I spend a great deal of my time working with people, on both sides of issues, to solve problems. I have done this locally and at the state level. It has been an excellent training ground to entering the legislative arena.

Should Point Roberts incorporate? If so, would you be willing to introduce legislation to allow it to do so with its limited permanent population?
No response was given.

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Peter Tassoni
What do you believe is the greatest challenge facing Whatcom County residents and how will you, as Senator, be able to help us meet that challenge?
The greatest challenge is continued voter apathy: when 66-80 percent of the citizens of Whatcom County don’t participate in our elections, democracy has failed. We live in a regime governed by the few. Thus, I support instant runoff voting (IRV) to break the duopoly of the current political party machines and meaningful campaign reform to get the “auction” out of the election by reinstating constitutional provisions created by our founding fathers like “it was a felony for any corporation to contribute to a political candidate, party or issue.” Disenfranchisement is the first step to civil unrest. We have both here in the United States. In fact, we have coined the term “going postal” to describe this process and its inherent violence. I would sponsor legislation to restore democracy to “we the people.” We must get the voting public re-engaged in the process.

If you had to choose between promoting environmental protection or job creation, which one would it be and why?
It is not an either/or choice. I choose both or neither. I wouldn’t choose environmental protection if it lost jobs in the long run nor would I choose job creation if it degraded the environment in the long run. It must be a win/win situation for it to work in the long run.

As a member of a smaller party, can you be as effective representing local constituents as a candidate from a major party with the clout and connections of big party machinery?
I would be more effective as the swing vote in the state senate since both parties would be lobbying me hard for their interests and consequently I would get more concessions than either of the existing major party candidates. I would be hitting both home runs and maintaining a high batting average while the other two majority party candidates would just be able to maybe get their personal top priorities considered by the majority party. When you need a home run, don’t rely on a singles hitter to get the job done.

Should Point Roberts incorporate? If so, would you be willing to introduce legislation to allow it to do so with its limited permanent population?
Point Roberts incorporation is a local issue for the county council and the residents of Point Roberts, not the state legislature. Growth Management Act governs the process for incorporation, I would not oppose incorporation if the residents of Point Roberts went through all proper steps to achieve incorporation.

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Donald Crawford
What do you believe is the greatest challenge facing Whatcom County residents and how will you, as Senator, be able to help us meet that challenge?
The greatest challenge facing Whatcom County is the over-regulation and over-taxation of our farms and businesses. We need to promote a more business-friendly environment. We don’t need to give money to businesses and any tax breaks should go equally to new start-up companies and large established corporations. We need predictable regulations so that people other than wealthy developers can afford to build in our county and so businesses will be willing to relocate here. If elected I would hold round-table discussions with business owners here in Whatcom County and make out a priority list of laws and regulations that should be eliminated to encourage economic development in our county.

If you had to choose between promoting environmental protection or job creation, which one would it be and why?
Jobs do not come at the expense of the environment; however, excessive regulation of the environment has clearly driven away businesses and jobs. I’m interested in finding and eliminating obstacles to the creation and growth of small businesses in our county. I suspect that some environmental regulations have gone overboard and could stand to be reformed without causing any harm to our environment.
Certainly treating seasonal drainage courses like they were salmon streams and requiring a 150-foot buffer on either side is a bit excessive and makes many properties in the county worthless for development. Regulations like that ought to be examined closely.

As a member of a smaller party, can you be as effective representing local constituents as a candidate from a major party with the clout and connections of big party machinery?
Libertarians in Washington’s legislature would be swing votes, courted by both Democrats and Republicans and beholden to neither. We could help force the Democrats to consistently protect civil liberties while helping the Republicans to consistently vote for smaller government.

Should Point Roberts incorporate? If so, would you be willing to introduce legislation to allow it to do so with its limited permanent population?
Without some background on the issue I couldn’t comment. I looked in the Heralds archives and couldn’t find any mention of the topic, and your paper’s archives aren’t searchable.

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State Representative, District 42, Pos. 1

Jim Boyle
Do you think that Whatcom County gets a fair share in terms of the state services and funding it receives based on taxes it pays? If not, how can you work to change that?
Recently Whatcom County moved from a donor county to receiving more in funding for transportation projects than what we pay in gas taxes. The continuing operation of Intalco is another benefit. However we can do better in efforts to protect our marine resources, attention to highway improvement projects and Medicaid reimbursement rates.

Should Point Roberts incorporate? If so, would you be willing to introduce legislation to allow it to do so with its limited permanent populations?
I do not support Point Roberts incorporating as it simply adds another layer of government. The current county council is doing a good job of responding to local needs. However, I would still sponsor legislation that would allow Point Roberts citizens to decide on incorporating.

What lessons learned in your current line of work will make you effective in the state legislature?
Currently, I am executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Washing-ton and, along with my wife, own a small business - Treasury of Memories.
In these positions, I know first-hand the struggles many people have in making ends meet. I know the pressures of trying to make payroll, the difficulties in balancing a budget and the importance of a cooperative government in helping businesses succeed. These skills and experiences are needed to address the current budget deficit and will make me empathic to the everyday concerns of the people in Whatcom County.
My real-world experience in bringing people together to solve problems is exactly what is needed in Olympia.

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Doug Ericksen
Do you think that Whatcom County gets a fair shake in terms of the state services and funding it receives based on the taxes it pays? If not, how can you work to change that?
Whatcom County does very well in terms of tax dollars we receive back from the general and capital budgets but we have traditionally not done well on transportation funding. In the past four years, I have been able to work with our legislative delegation and local leaders to begin to turn the tide on transportation funding while continuing our level of support in the other area.
Whatcom County has a four-year regional university (Western Washington University) and two-year community college (Whatcom Community College) and a technical college (Bellingham Technical). We are the only county of our size to have all three types of schools. Due to this fact, we receive a fair share of capital and general fund dollars.
Whatcom County has ranked at or near the bottom of gas tax distribution for the last ten years. We have tended to send in more of our gas tax dollars to Olympia compared to what we receive back. In fact from 1990-1999 (most of that time before I entered the legislature) we received only 59 cents back for every dollar of gas tax we generated. That ranked us dead last in Washington.
Under the projected current law budget (that is to say without R-51 dollars) Whatcom County is expected receive $1.15 for every $1 of gas tax we generate over the next 10 years. This is not guaranteed and we must work very hard to make sure these dollars actually show up. It is also important to note that while we will be funding some major projects over the next ten years, our overall increase in distribution is also due to declining gas sales in Whatcom County’s border communities. The people of Blaine and Point Roberts know very well that Canadians are not buying gas in our border towns like they used to.
If R-51 doesn’t pass, Whatcom County will receive 58 cents back for every dollar raised by the new gas tax, the new one percent sales tax on cars, and the 30 percent vehicle weight fee increase. To compare that to other counties, King County will receive $1.57 for every dollar generated and Asotin County will receive just three cents back for every dollar generated.
If R-51 should pass, Whatcom County will receive a combined rate (current law plus R-51) of 88 cents back for every dollar generated over the next ten years.
Clearly we have made some progress on the transportation funding issues, but much work remains to be done.

Should Point Roberts incorporate? If so, would you be willing to introduce legislation to allow it to do so with its limited permanent population?
If Point Roberts would like to incorporate and believes that it has the tax base to support incorporation, I would be fully supportive of this idea.

This will be your second term in the state legislature. What have you learned that makes you a more effective representative and have you picked up any bad habits?
In my four years in the legislature I have many things that make me a more effective representative for the people of Whatcom County. My knowledge on transportation issues will prove to be a valuable tool for our region as we continue to grow and more demands are placed on our infrastructure. The relationships that I have built with other legislators and key government leaders will be important to shaping the future of Whatcom County and our state. Having served three years in a 49-49 tie in the House and one year in the minority party, I have learned lessons that will make me a very effective leader in reaching out to the minority party should the Republicans regain control of the House of Representatives.
My wife, Tasha, would tell you that the biggest bad habit I have picked up in Olympia is spending too much time working on my legislative duties and not spending enough time with our two children, Elsa and Adel.

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State Representative, District 42, Pos. 2

Kelli Linville
Do you think that Whatcom County gets a fair shake in terms of the state services and funding it receives based on the taxes it pays? If not, how can you work to change that?
Whatcom County’s allocation of tax dollars is based on population and need. We have been able to get the community additional dollars in terms of worker re-training, water quality projects, support for farms and help for Point Roberts school, which increase our revenue. We have always paid out more than we received in gas taxes. With R-51, we will be receiving $1.21 for every dollar we pay. I will continue to fight for our fair share of revenue at the state level.

Should Point Roberts incorporate? If so, would you be willing to introduce legislation to allow it to do so with its limited permanent population?
I don’t think that new incorporations are a good idea at this time because of the limited amount of revenue which the state has to pass on to local governments. What might be a better solution is to treat Point Roberts as we would a remote and necessary school and appropriate extra funds through the county that would meet the Point’s needs.

You’ve been in the state legislature for nine years now, which brings experience but can also bring stagnation, a limited focus on pet projects and old solutions. Do you still have a fresh perspective, and how do you keep it that way?
My nine years in legislature have been a challenge and a pleasure. I view my job as an opportunity to solve problems by thinking outside of the traditional “regulatory box” to try new ideas that make a measurable difference. Education reform, environmental excellence program, dairy waste program, watershed management and performance based budgeting are all new ways to view government operation and it keeps me energized and excited about representing the best community in the state!

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Gene Goldsmith
Do you think that Whatcom County gets a fair shake in terms of the state services and funding it receives based on the taxes it pays? If not, how can you work to change that?
Absolutely not. When the Canadian dollars were flowing into Whatcom County, we became a donor county, and we were ranked 39th out of 39 counties on returning monies based on our tax revenue. We need to base our returning dollars on our population, not on the history of revenue collected. With Referendum 51, Whatcom County would send $240 million to Olympia and receive $140 million, only a 58 percent return. We do not receive what we pay for. However, we get more than our fair share of state and federal government employees including Western Washington University, the community college, the co-tech, the regional transit, the 4th Corner Uniserve, Border Patrol, U.S. Customs, Coast Guard, U.S. Immigration, the department of ecology, etc. These add to our local economy and in some of our cities, replace the market economy.

Should Point Roberts incorporate? If so, would you be willing to introduce legislation to allow it to do so with its limited permanent population?
We need to understand Point Roberts is a donor community to Whatcom County (they give more than they receive). Understandable if they want to consider incorporation, they want to see more of their tax dollars stay in their community. If the citizens of Point Roberts vote to incorporate, I would be willing to support such legislation.

What lessons learned in your current line of work will make you effective in the state legislature?
Working for a nationwide legislation firm has enabled me to look at what other states and jurisdictions have accomplished through innovative thinking. It appears that our state is stuck with old thinking and ideas. We just raise taxes and increase spending and think that the failed programs will finally work.
Since I left the legislature, I have wondered where our current legislators get their research. Many states are moving forward with school choices initiatives, tort reform to make health insurance available, competitive bidding between public and private sectors, reducing regulations, reforming their worker’s compensation and unemployment insurance programs and lowering taxes to generate the economic growth to fund the core functions of government.
We need to get out of the old thinking patterns and step into the future. For further clarification please check out my website at www.genegoldsmith.com.

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U.S. Representative

Rick Larsen, Democrat
What do you believe is the greatest challenge facing Whatcom County residents and how will you, as a member of Congress, be able to help us meet that challenge?
The greatest challenge facing Whatcom County is the same challenge facing Washington state and the rest of the nation – our economy. For me, the economy is job number one. I voted for worker training and unemployment benefits to be used as an economic stimulus that will help families pay their mortgages and put food on the table. The faster we can move goods from one place to another, the more jobs there will be in Whatcom County. We are spending too much time on the road.
As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I worked to get federal dollars for our local projects. For instance, federal transportation appropriations provided $2.5 million for infrastructure and border projects. New businesses will come and old businesses will stay if we can assure a qualified workforce. For example, I’m working to secure funding for a program with the Bellingham Technical College and Whatcom Community College to train much needed radiation technicians.

Local communities are where the rubber hits the road for national security issues. When did you last cross the border at a Whatcom County port of entry? How was your experience? Long lines at local borders, a signature of the entrances to our communities, have persisted since September 11 despite staffing increases. What, including and beyond staffing, would you propose to make the border more open to legitimate trade and travel while meeting the demands of national security?
I last crossed the border on Monday to attend the Point Roberts voter forum. The lines were very short at both Peace Arch and the point and the inspectors were kind and courteous. I’d like to think that the lines were short because of the additional inspectors I have been able to get for our ports of entry but I think it was also a slow Monday evening.
I also recognize that fewer people are crossing the border because of frustrating experiences with long lines over the summer. I’ve procured more than 111 new INS border inspectors, which allowed us to open more lanes at our ports of entry and got Nexus up and running. I also secured funding for the cameras and technology that help protect our border. INS and Customs need to be able to coordinate database checks. We need to encourage sharing information so our agencies can be more efficient.

Point Roberts often feels cut off, misunderstood and forgotten. Have you ever been there? How do you think the community can become more connected to the mainland and county, state and federal resources? Should Point Roberts incorporate? If so, would you be willing to promote legislative changes at the state level to allow it to do so with its limited permanent population?
Since being elected, I have been to Point Roberts no fewer than five times. I am continually impressed and amazed by the activism in Point Roberts. The question of incorporation is something I will leave to the residents of Point Roberts. I would like to commend Point Roberts residents for staying in contact with me and my staff. It helps to me to better represent you and your needs.

What is your greatest strength when it comes to working with others and reaching consensus? What’s your weakness?
It takes teamwork to get things done. As a Democrat, I have worked with Republicans on the Northern Border Caucus to get more INS inspectors, border patrol agents and Customs inspectors at our ports of entry. I worked with Republicans to get pipeline safety legislation passed in the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time since the accident in Bellingham in 1999. I am working with Republican Jennifer Dunn to increase Medicare reimbursement rates in Washington state so our seniors will have access to quality health care.

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Bruce Guthrie, Libert.
What do you believe is the greatest challenge facing Whatcom County residents and how will you, as a member of Congress, be able to help us meet that challenge?
Whatcom County’s biggest issue is the economy. Washington has one of the highest unemployment rates of any state and one of the highest tax and regulatory burdens of any state.
Small businesses create most new jobs in our economy. Small companies have a natural competitive advantage over large companies because small companies are less bureaucratic and therefore more innovative. But large companies buy influence by giving campaign contributions to state and federal politicians. This gives them an unfair advantage in the form of corporate welfare and special tax breaks that are not available to small companies. Most large companies like Boeing are mature or shrinking and unable to provide any job growth. Somewhere, the next Microsoft is now a small start-up. This is where real job growth comes from.
When Georgia Gardner and the taxpayers and ratepayers of this state bailed out Intalco/Alcoa, we may have saved a few hundred high-profile jobs, but the economy-stifling effect of the higher tax burden cost us more jobs that smaller companies were prevented from creating. We'll never see the jobs that were never created, so we don’t see the cost of bailing out large corporations. Ask yourself: with all the successful job-saving that the government has done, why do we still have higher unemployment than most states? We are actually creating our own problem. Let’s reduce corporate welfare, which creates unfair advantages for large companies at the expense of greater future job growth in small companies. By reducing corporate welfare, we can also reduce federal spending and federal taxes which will spur economic growth. Why should we have to send our money to the black hole of Washington, D.C. and then beg to get some small fraction of it back in the form of pork? The result is ineffective, inefficient over-spending by the federal government.
Our congressional representative will never be as powerful as those from bigger or more politically influential states. We will always lose the battle for pork and wind up with less than our fair share of that small percentage of our tax money that makes it back to anyone. Let’s reduce the federal tax burden so we can spend our money here to create good, local jobs efficiently.

Local communities are where the rubber hits the road for national security issues. When did you last cross the border at a Whatcom County port of entry? How was your experience? What, including and beyond staffing, would you propose to make the border more open to legitimate trade and travel while meeting the demands of national security?
The last time I crossed was on August 25th. I am a member of a speed skating club in Langley, B.C. During the winter months, I go into Canada about two or three times each week. The experience is always a time-wasting invasion of my privacy.
One goal of a free country is free and open borders. One dirty bomb is too many, so inspection can’t bring us security. The root cause of our problem is our military aid to Israel and unpopular dictatorships such as Saudi Arabia. After eliminating this, we will no longer be a target for terrorists and we can have cross-border trade, constitutional rights and security at the same time.
After we bring al Qaida to justice and stop supporting unpopular foreign dictatorships, we should be able to reduce funding for ineffective, trade-stifling, privacy-invading inspection at all of our border crossings. We should end the counter-productive, violence-creating drug war and welcome all non-violent immigrants who want to work anyway.
Saddam Hussein poses a threat to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel and his own people, but not to us. His overthrow is the responsibility of regional leaders and Iraqi rebels, not the United States taxpayers or soldiers. The only ethical and constitutional use of U.S. troops and taxpayer money is for the defense of individual rights of non-violent people on U.S. soil. There is no credible connection between Iraq and our real threat, al Qaida.
We must repeal the U.S. Patriot Act which nullifies our right to be free from warrantless search and seizure. This act violates the 1st, 4th, 5th, 9th, 10th and 14th amendments. It is unconstitutional and is the biggest attack on the bill of rights in decades. All members of congress swear an oath to defend the Constitution. Rick Larsen voted for this act, and in so doing, he violated his oath. He, and the others who voted for this act have demonstrated that they are unfit to hold public office.
Privacy and civil liberties are what make America great, as well as strong. Let’s address the root cause of terrorism, instead of the symptoms. We can maintain free and open borders and the civil liberties that inspire the world.

Point Roberts often feels cut off, misunderstood and forgotten. Have you ever been there? How do you think the community can become more connected to the mainland and county, state and federal resources? Should Point Roberts incorporate? If so, would you be willing to promote legislative changes at the state level to allow it to do so with its limited permanent population?
The people of Point Roberts could most benefit from easing border restrictions and inspection. Wouldn’t it be great if it were as easy to get into Point Roberts as it is to get into Oregon? That should be the goal of a free country, not moving more in the direction of the Berlin Wall or the Iron Curtain. If they want to have closer connections with the rest of Whatcom County, this is the way to achieve them.
I have never been to Point Roberts. I’m sure that most Point Roberts residents are not unhappy that I and others haven’t been there. It sounds like an excellent place to go if you like privacy and community. These are probably among its major appeals. There should be some places in this county where people can go to get away from big government and invasive laws.
The people of Point Roberts should come together, if they choose, and determine their own goals, without seeking resources from the Federal Government. I support the rights of people to self-government, including the recent efforts to form Freedom and Pioneer Counties. Why not in Point Roberts as well? As a federal candidate I have little influence over legislation at the state level.

What is your greatest strength when it comes to working with others and reaching consensus? What’s your weakness?
I am an excellent facilitator. I know when to be quiet and listen, and when to ask questions that set a productive course for discussion. I am able to cut through noise and unimportant data and get to the critical issues in order to increase the chances that the group will successfully achieve its most important objectives.
If I have a weakness in this area it may be that my enthusiasm sometimes makes me impatient for progress. I have an entrepreneurial bias for action and a distrust of “decisions made by committees.” They often wind up devoid of innovation and vision. Committees are often unwilling to take bold steps or even reasonable risks and they can drain all the passion from an otherwise beautiful initiative. “Too many cooks spoil the broth.” Committees often fall prey to group-think that stifles the concerns and distorts the ideas of creative individuals. In spite of this, consensus must be reached and all interested parties must be involved in decisions, otherwise proper, successful implementation is impossible. Two heads are better than one. Group decision making is therefore necessary.
It is often asked, what could I, as the lone Libertarian, do in a Congress full of Republicans and Democrats? First of all, I would not be the only small libertarian. Ron Paul of Texas is a libertarian, though officially a Republican. He does not vote the Republican party line, but instead votes according to the Constitution (still a very libertarian document), and the interests of the residents of his district.
Too often, Republicans and Democrats vote for the interests of the large corporations and special interests who fund their campaigns. Also, I would never be alone. I would vote with Democrats on some issues and Republicans on others, but always with the Constitution and the interests of the people of the 2nd Congressional District at heart.
Second of all, I like to say that Congress is drunk on spending and bad regulation. You could think of me as a designated driver in a room full of drunks.
I will fight for freedom, prosperity and full employment. Vote for Bruce Guthrie if you value your rights and want corporate welfare and influence peddling reduced.
(Editor’s Note: The other two candidates for the Second Congressional District, Norma Smith and Bern Haggerty were asked to participate but chose not to respond.)

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