Page 8 • The ENUMCLAW Courier-Herald • Wednesday, October 31, 2012
www.courierherald.com
Plateau voters asked to make a House call Plateau voters will decide who represents them in the state House of Representatives during the general election season that culminates Tuesday, making a choice between two incumbent legislators and two challengers. Incumbent Christopher Hurst, a Greenwater resident who prefers the political label of Independent Democrat, is looking to defend his House seat against Lisa Connors of
RATES FROM 7 natural gas on which the company is not allowed to earn a profit. The remaining 45 percent covers the cost of delivering the natural gas. Puget Sound Energy’s aver a ge we ster n Washington residential natural gas customer using 68 therms a month will realize a drop of 7.1 percent, or $5.82, to $76.59. The rates could be subject to further revision. Commission staff will be reviewing the wholesale costs and purchasing and hedging practices of all four natural gas companies in Washington to ensure that they are appropriate in current market conditions. The commission deci-
Auburn. Cathy Dahlquist, a Republican from Enumclaw, is challenged by Democrat Brian Gunn. While Dahlquist is seeking a second House term, Hurst is looking for his sixth twoyear term. The Courier-Herald provided each with an identical list of questions. Here are their responses.
1.
What are your the plans and goals for the upcoming legislative ses-
sion made today on Avista’s natural gas rate request is separate from the general rate case filed by the company in April. The UTC is expected to make a final decision in that proceeding next March. The utilities distribute natural gas to customers but do not produce their own fuel. About half of Washington’s natural gas supplies come from the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia and the other half from Rocky Mountain production sites such as Wyoming. Bellevue-based Puget Sound Energy serves more than 785,000 natural gas customers in parts of Snohomish, King, Pierce, Lewis, Thurston and Kittitas counties.
The residents and staff at
Enumclaw Health & Rehab
sion and beyond? CONNORS: My top priority will be to serve on the Education and Education Appropriations committees continuing necessary reforms and increasing education funding. I will focus on funding education first. As a first term legislator I will also focus heavily on communication with constituents and building relationships with legislators and the business community. DAHLQUIST: My plans are to continue what I started to improve public education by focusing on what is best for students and measurable outcomes. I also want to continue reforming state government in the areas of Labor and Industry, workers compensation and the Growth Management Act that will encourage economic growth in our state and not hamstring growth with over reaching regulations and bureaucracy. I am one of only a handful of elected legislators that actually owns a small business. I will continue to work needed government reforms that will offer relief to business so people can get back to work. My work on business friendly legislation has been recognized with awards from the Association of Washington Business and the National Federation of Independent Business. I was named Legislator of the Year by the Fraternal Order of Police for
important public safety legislat i o n . My support for i mprovCathy Dahlquist ing student outcomes has earned me the endorsement of pro education organizations, Stand for Children, the League of Education Voters and the Washington Education Association. GUNN: The upcoming legislative session in Olympia will be dominated by another debate over how to balance the budget in the face of declining revenues. Legislators will be under tremendous pressure to make further cuts to education as well as cutting programs for the elderly, the disabled and the homeless. But budget cuts don’t fill potholes. Cuts don’t educate our children. And cuts don’t create jobs. The people of Washington are doing a great job for business. Productivity is up 120 percent since 1970. At the same time, tax preferences for corporations have tripled from $15 billion to $45 billion. It’s time to close tax loopholes for big business. Many corporate tax loopholes aren’t doing any good for the people of this state. Corporations used to be subject to much higher tax rates and they were still extremely profitable. It’s time once
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again for big business to pay its fair share. I look forward to working on creating health insurance exchanges, but these exchanges must serve the people and not the insurance industry by driving down costs, establishing strict requirements for continued participation and providing consumers with reliable information about insurance plans and their eligibility for tax credits as well as state and federal assistance programs. I also support the American Health Security Act of 2011 which would provide federal guidelines and strong minimum standards for states to administer single-payer health care programs. Washington state could then pass legislation to establish a Medicare-forall style single payer system. I believe access to high quality health care is a civil right, but it just makes good economic sense to get better control over the cost of providing health care: single-payer programs do just that. HURST: To begin with, working on our economic recovery and jobs is my first priority. Without a strong economy, we will never have the money to fund education properly – first things first. We are now recovering from the worst economic disaster since the Great Depression, which was caused by a global banking meltdown that began in 2007. We have passed strong laws to keep such an event from ever
happening again in our financial markets, but we are still recovering from the damage. I also feel that we need strong public safety laws to protect honest, law-abiding citizens, because without public safety, nothing else in society will work. As a 25-year veteran police commander and detective, I have been working to pass laws to protect citizens from violent crime and sex offenders. I also know from my years in police work, that our first line against kids becoming involved in drugs, gangs and crime is a good education system. We need a dedicated education budget and for the legislature to fund education first. Those are my top three priorities in the legislature and, really, they all work together. Describe your plans and goals for longterm economic stability. D A H L Q U I S T : Identifying the priorities of government is the first step in recognizing what services are most important. Education, public safety and serving the most vulnerable (those that are unable to care for themselves) are the core government services that should not be compromised. It is fairly simple, operating state government leaner and not spending more than you have. Plan for the future and long term stability by continuing to reform pensions and fully funding what is owed and
2.
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