Friday, October 4, 2013 • Port Orchard Independent
Editorial CONTINUED FROM A6
turn the Citizens United decision, a decision that has filled the coffers of Republicans and Democrats alike. In the meantime (and, yes, the latter will take years) Washington’s congressional candidates should agree to a voluntary cap (no more than $2 million, for example.) That also should extend to those who self-finance their campaigns. Last, somehow, the next generation needs to keep the faith. Study history, embrace civics, internalize the U.S. Constitution. The shutdown is a case study of what not to do. America needs innovative and farsighted leadership. That rests, at least for now, with a new generation of Americans. — The Daily (Everett) Herald
Railroads CONTINUED FROM A6
every 582,167 miles traveled, one fatality per 82 million miles, and 2.65 accidents at rail crossings for every million miles traveled. Our state Department of Transportation notes, “Rail is a safe and efficient way to move both people and goods. Freight trains reduce the number of large trucks on our congested highways, and for passengers, it is more than 23 times safer than traveling by car.” Why are these statistics important? Rail traffic plays a major role in trade, and trade plays a major role in Washington’s economy. Per capita, we are the nation’s top exporter. The potential is even greater today because Montana and Wyoming coal, which is cleaner than many other varieties produced around the world, is in
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Letters CONTINUED FROM A6
Voters should be wary of Angel’s ALEC ties Before voting for Jan Angel for State Senate, I suggest readers web search “ALEC Exposed.” As the News Tribune reported on Sept. 16, “Some out-of-state companies with ties to ALEC have helped the effort to elect Angel, who is ALEC’s co-chairwoman for Washington.” The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) sounds innocuous. You may not have heard of them — that’s by design! In an investigative report, “The United States of ALEC”, Bill Moyers said it’s “The most influential corporate funded political organization you’ve never heard of.” ALEC is funded primarily by large corporations such as Exxon-Mobil and wealthy special interests like the Koch brothers for one purpose — to introduce and pass legislation at the state level that benefits themselves. Do a little research and then decide for yourself: Do you want demand. Exporting coal from Washington and Oregon would add more than 11,000 new jobs and $115 million in payroll. Just one oil terminal in Vancouver could generate up to 250 construction jobs and up to 120 permanent full-time positions, primarily from the local community. The bottom line is, if we don’t build the shipping terminals here, the trains will simply go through Washington to Canadian ports, taking the jobs with them. To enhance safety, railroads have invested heavily in technologies that provide advance notice of potential problems. Some of these technologies include wheel impact detectors, wheel journal detectors and detector cars that X-ray the rails for metal defects. These and other technologies have significantly reduced derailments over the past 20 years. The Association of American Railroads reports that, in 2012, 99.9977 percent of all rail-
out-of-state interests “representing” you? Do you want the cochair of ALEC in Washington State — Jan Angel — to serve as our next Senator? Doug Mattson | Gig Harbor
I’m a “No New Taxes” voter Allow me a moment, to offer my opinion about the candidacy of Nathan Schlicher for state senator in our local 26th Legislative District. Get lost, Mr. Schlicher. I’m a “No New Taxes” voter. You’ve voted for every new tax increase proposed by the legislature since you were appointed — not elected — to office last winter. If elected, you also will vote for a state income tax. You don’t get it, Mr. Schlicher. Voters in this district don’t want more taxes. We pay enough taxes, while our jobs and health care disappear. You’re fiddling while Rome burns. I’ll be voting for State Rep. Jan Angel, who opposes new taxes and strongly supports both education and preventive health care, among other sensible issues. Angel easily has earned my vote.
Page A7
Why is California billionaire supporting Schlicher? It’s nothing new for wealthy individuals to pump a ton of money into national races, but the intense interest of Tom Steyer, a hedge fund manager and billionaire from California, should raise some eyebrows. Steyer has self-financed a political action committee known as NEXTGEN PAC to the tune of $3.8 million dollars. Out of millions pumped to his PAC, Steyer has directed $150,000 to the She’s Changed PAC, which is dedicated to destroying Republican Jan Angel’s ascension
to the state Senate. The next largest PAC in Washington State is the Washington Education Association, which has raised a comparatively paltry $821,000. On top of $150,000 given to the She’s Changed PAC, Steyer donated an additional $150,000 to Washington Conservation Voters, which promptly funneled the money back to the She’s Changed PAC. $300,000 of Steyer’s personal fortune has been dumped into the pocket of the inexperienced and unknown Democratic candidate. Steyer’s PAC has spent more than $1.5 million dollars since the end of July, though the Angel
and Schlicher campaigns have only raised a combined total of less than $800,000, including party donations. Steyer, who claims to be an environmentalist, and opposes the Keystone Pipeline project, made his fortune in the oil industry and has hundreds of millions of dollars currently invested in competing projects, including offshore drilling. This raises the question: What is his interest in our election? In a race that saw less than 30,000 ballots returned in the primary, what incentives does Steyer hope to gain by supporting Nathan Schlicher? Elizabeth Doll | Gig Harbor
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Dick Sypher | Gig Harbor
shipped hazardous materials, including oil, reached their destination without an accidentrelated spill — and that railroads spill less liquid hazmat product than trucks or pipelines. Multiple federal agencies regulate the movement of hazardous materials by rail, including the Federal Railroad Administration, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the Transportation Security Administration. The federal government also requires railroads to route hazardous materials on lines posing the least safety and security risk. Will all this guarantee that there will never be an accident? Of course not. But it’s important to keep things in perspective so we can make informed judgments about issues that are important to us all.
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