Snohomish County reacts to State of the Union

Published 11:24 pm Monday, January 28, 2008

President Bush delivered his final State of the Union address Monday, touching on an array of subjects that are a source of concern for residents of Snohomish County.

Bush laid out ideas he said will help children leave failing schools and cut fat out of federal programs and shake the nation of its economic jitters.

He also spoke of the need to remain steadfast in Iraq, where the toll of American deaths is nearing 4,000.

Abraham King of Arlington would appreciate Bush and Congress focusing on the economy.

Though Boeing and Microsoft help keep Puget Sound’s economy humming more strongly than many other parts of the country, King is looking forward to getting a few hundred dollars from the $150 billion stimulus package sought by Bush.

“We’re all worried about our money,” King said.

Marjory Christoferson of Marysville doesn’t disagree with Bush often but is up in the air over the value of such a package.

“Sure, everyone would be happy to get a little extra money, but I don’t really know if it’s a good thing or not,” she said.

For Sherrie Davis and Andrew Pickett, health care is the issue on their minds. Bush was not planning any new initiatives as he and Congress continue battling over how much to spend on health insurance coverage for children.

“Hopefully he’ll work on fixing the health care system all around,” Pickett said.

He and Davis work at Everett Rehabilitation and Care Center and spent Monday in Olympia lobbying state lawmakers for higher wages and benefits for nursing home employees.

“We need better wages to provide health care for our families,” Davis said. “It’s not just us. The elders we take care of need assistance so they can afford the care they are receiving.”

Bush took aim at federal spending by announcing a desire to reduce or eliminate some 150 federal programs he considers wasteful or bloated. He also said he wants to keep lawmakers from earmarking monies to pet projects — though any plan he pursues won’t affect billions of dollars already secured by members of Congress.

Fiscal responsibility is something Diane Symms of Mukilteo said she’s been waiting to see from this administration.

Symms, president and chief executive officer of Lombardi’s restaurants in Everett, Ballard and Issaquah, said she voted for Bush but has been “disappointed” with the increased federal spending in his two terms.

“I’d very much like to see our federal government, and for that matter our state government and our local governments, stop spending so much money,” she said. “Where is it going to come from?”

Symms also said she’d like to see Bush fix the alternative minimum tax that now costs small businesses like hers a lot of money every year.

“It’s taking tax dollars out of my business that I could put into helping my employees or re-investing in the business,” she said.

While Bush put forth an initiative to aid elementary and secondary students in struggling schools, Shawn Kieffer, 19, said he’d like the president not to ignore higher education and its rising costs.

Kieffer brews coffee and makes sandwiches at a Marysville grocery store to help pay his way through Everett Community College.

“Three classes cost $1,200,” he said. “That’s pretty expensive. Not a lot of people can afford a higher education.”

Bush’s speech comes as the competition heats up on who will be his successor.

That’s where Amy Zimmerman, 24, of Monroe finds her attention directed.

The nation needs to focus on resolving the situation in Iraq and preventing the economy from falling into recession, she said, adding she doesn’t have much to say about the current administration.

“(Bush) came in office when I graduated from high school. I have to say I don’t have a whole lot to compare to,” Zimmerman said. “I’m very interested in what’s going to happen over the next four years.”

Terrie O’Neal, 60, of Snohomish, said she planned to watch the State of the Union speech, but isn’t as interested in Bush’s final year of presidency as she is in the coming general election. She plans to cast her ballot in favor of either Arizona Sen. John McCain or former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, both Republicans who “believe in democracy,” she said.

“Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, they’re socialists,” she said.

Brenda Shelby, 51, of Snohomish said she doesn’t pay much attention to national politics.

“This may sound elementary, but I’m glad that the world is still turning,” Shelby said. “I’m kind of interested that we have a female running for the presidency. I want to see how it’s going to turn out.”

Christoferson and King are still keeping on eye on Bush.

His performance as president has been stellar, Christoferson said.

“I just think he has been a wonderful president,” she said. “I love him to death. He’s a Christian man and he sticks to his principles, and is one of the sweetest people on Earth.”

Bush has suffered a lot of criticism, but King is not one of the critics.

“He’s still doing his job faced with some of the toughest decisions in the Oval Office in a very, very long time,” said King, a plumber who served in the Navy.

“We’ve made it through some rocky roads and haven’t exactly gotten a flat tire from going through the potholes,” King said.

Herald Reporters Kaitlin Manry, Yoshiaki Nohara and Krista Kapralos contributed to this report.

Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.