Welch column: Hopes for state shouldn’t be tall order

Published 1:30 am Sunday, January 18, 2026

I hope that Todd Welch’s dreams for the 2026 Legislature come true (“State’s chance to start a better course,” The Herald, Jan. 7). Two key takeaways for me: 1) “Continued spending on broken or ineffective processes is not compassion… it is a waste of vital funds taken from working Washingtonians,” and 2) “Washingtonians deserve leadership that measures… by whether families can afford to stay, work and thrive here.”

The Herald has done a good job of highlighting our state’s track record of mismanaging public resources, providing maritime business to Florida, and unwittingly supporting Federal immigration initiatives. I wish it would devote more space on how the 2026 Legislature will regulate less, impose fewer taxes, and reduce the cost of living for working Washingtonians who live paycheck to paycheck.

I hope state leaders will also take Todd’s advice to heart. Locally, we would do well to follow it, especially in encouraging new construction.

In 2024, Island County leaders increased building permit fees by 40 percent effective in 2026 and added a 20 percent increase beginning in 2027. Sadly, the commissioners received no public comment about them. Had I known about these fee increases, I would have recruited 10 of my neighbors to ask our leaders to reconsider and find a different way to shore up their budget. Do increased building permit fees encourage new construction? As one of my favorite philosophers, Homey the Clown, once opined: “I don’t think so.”

Island County is one of the least affordable places to live in Washington with median home prices at $625,000, compared to Garfield County’s $299,000. My county’s average annual wages of $55,000 are $43,000 lower than the state average, and this reflects an economy based on public and service sector jobs, according to a recent county Comprehensive Plan.

Welch’s hopes for a better course for the 2026 Legislature is a tall order given the complex web of political and economic interdependencies at the federal, state and local levels in my 67th year around the sun.

Shouldn’t each level of government work toward strategies to ensure that “families can afford to stay, work and thrive here?”

Eric Steiner

Freeland