Published: Sunday, September 28, 2008
HERALD ENDORSEMENTS
Give Walser a chance to advocate for U.S. 2
No issue looms larger in Snohomish County's portion of the 39th Legislative District than U.S. 2.
Since 1999, 50 people have died on the dangerous, mostly two-lane highway between Snohomish and Stevens Pass. Eighteen of those deaths occurred in crossover crashes. Yet the Legislature, largely for partisan reasons, has failed to make U.S. 2 safety improvements a high priority. The district is represented by three Republicans in a Legislature that's dominated by Democrats. Each party blames the other for a lack of attention to U.S. 2; the truth is both share in it. Moving forward, we think having someone from the majority party advocating for U.S. 2 improvements is the most promising way to achieve them.
That's the primary reason we endorse Democrat Fred Walser of Monroe, who is running against longtime Sen. Val Stevens of Arlington.
Walser, who spent some 40 years in law enforcement -- many of them with the Washington State Patrol and most recently as Sultan police chief -- co-founded the U.S. 2 Safety Coalition, a grassroots group whose work is largely responsible for the recent infusion of $14 million in relatively minor fixes to the deadly highway. We say minor because the total needs amount to about $2 billion, according to a state study that was done thanks to the group's effective lobbying.
Walser's voice of experience and commitment to U.S. 2 improvements is badly needed in Olympia. He'll be a tireless advocate for funding, and for smart approaches to other public safety issues, like sentencing reform. He argues for a return to broader judicial discretion, along with more effective treatment options for drug abusers and the mentally ill as alternatives to building more expensive prison space.
Stevens has had her share of successes in the Legislature, particularly as a watchdog on Children's Administration, the division of the Department of Social and Health Services that oversees child protection cases.
Her fiscally conservative views have provided a voice against reckless spending and for personal responsibility. But we think she has been too partisan on transportation, when she could have worked more effectively with majority Democrats, at least offering to vote with them on gas-tax increases in exchange for needed improvements to U.S. 2. And we think her total denial of a human contribution to climate change -- she says such a suggestion represents "arrogance beyond belief" -- is dangerously misguided.
Despite Walser's recent guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of lying to a public official while he was Sultan police chief, we think his transgression was no more than a minor memory lapse that got blown out of proportion. The case pales against his 40-year career of integrity and selfless public service.
HOUSE, POSITION 1
In a rematch of the 2006 race, our nod again goes to incumbent Republican Dan Kristiansen in a close call against Democratic challenger Scott Olson.
The amiable Olson is bright and has done his homework on issues. He understands that investments in quality education and transportation infrastructure are two effective ways to support business growth, and rightly complains that for too long, his opponent did too little to support U.S. 2 improvements.
But Kristiansen has made a difference recently on U.S. 2, helping to make modest progress. He seems to have his foot in the door on the issue, and we think the district is best served having him continue.
HOUSE, POSITION 2
Republican Kirk Pearson has made himself effective by working across the aisle, especially on public safety issues. He's easily earned another two-year term. One of his priorities in the next session is to finally win passage of mandatory, credible drug and alcohol assessments for DUI suspects so they get appropriate treatment, an important change he and leaders of the Snohomish County DUI Task Force have been pushing for years (and, incidentally, one that Walser has lobbied for, too).
Pearson is challenged by Democrat David Personius, a folksy candidate who bills himself as "a regular guy with regular solutions," like allowing slot machine gambling in non-tribal casinos to raise more revenue. Personius is an interesting, engaging candidate, but we don't think he makes an effective case for replacing Pearson.
Since 1999, 50 people have died on the dangerous, mostly two-lane highway between Snohomish and Stevens Pass. Eighteen of those deaths occurred in crossover crashes. Yet the Legislature, largely for partisan reasons, has failed to make U.S. 2 safety improvements a high priority. The district is represented by three Republicans in a Legislature that's dominated by Democrats. Each party blames the other for a lack of attention to U.S. 2; the truth is both share in it. Moving forward, we think having someone from the majority party advocating for U.S. 2 improvements is the most promising way to achieve them.
That's the primary reason we endorse Democrat Fred Walser of Monroe, who is running against longtime Sen. Val Stevens of Arlington.
Walser, who spent some 40 years in law enforcement -- many of them with the Washington State Patrol and most recently as Sultan police chief -- co-founded the U.S. 2 Safety Coalition, a grassroots group whose work is largely responsible for the recent infusion of $14 million in relatively minor fixes to the deadly highway. We say minor because the total needs amount to about $2 billion, according to a state study that was done thanks to the group's effective lobbying.
Walser's voice of experience and commitment to U.S. 2 improvements is badly needed in Olympia. He'll be a tireless advocate for funding, and for smart approaches to other public safety issues, like sentencing reform. He argues for a return to broader judicial discretion, along with more effective treatment options for drug abusers and the mentally ill as alternatives to building more expensive prison space.
Stevens has had her share of successes in the Legislature, particularly as a watchdog on Children's Administration, the division of the Department of Social and Health Services that oversees child protection cases.
Her fiscally conservative views have provided a voice against reckless spending and for personal responsibility. But we think she has been too partisan on transportation, when she could have worked more effectively with majority Democrats, at least offering to vote with them on gas-tax increases in exchange for needed improvements to U.S. 2. And we think her total denial of a human contribution to climate change -- she says such a suggestion represents "arrogance beyond belief" -- is dangerously misguided.
Despite Walser's recent guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of lying to a public official while he was Sultan police chief, we think his transgression was no more than a minor memory lapse that got blown out of proportion. The case pales against his 40-year career of integrity and selfless public service.
HOUSE, POSITION 1
In a rematch of the 2006 race, our nod again goes to incumbent Republican Dan Kristiansen in a close call against Democratic challenger Scott Olson.
The amiable Olson is bright and has done his homework on issues. He understands that investments in quality education and transportation infrastructure are two effective ways to support business growth, and rightly complains that for too long, his opponent did too little to support U.S. 2 improvements.
But Kristiansen has made a difference recently on U.S. 2, helping to make modest progress. He seems to have his foot in the door on the issue, and we think the district is best served having him continue.
HOUSE, POSITION 2
Republican Kirk Pearson has made himself effective by working across the aisle, especially on public safety issues. He's easily earned another two-year term. One of his priorities in the next session is to finally win passage of mandatory, credible drug and alcohol assessments for DUI suspects so they get appropriate treatment, an important change he and leaders of the Snohomish County DUI Task Force have been pushing for years (and, incidentally, one that Walser has lobbied for, too).
Pearson is challenged by Democrat David Personius, a folksy candidate who bills himself as "a regular guy with regular solutions," like allowing slot machine gambling in non-tribal casinos to raise more revenue. Personius is an interesting, engaging candidate, but we don't think he makes an effective case for replacing Pearson.
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