I must admit, I was shocked to read the statements of the Snohomish County Republican Chair as he attacked our Democratic County Executive for cutting spending, reducing bureaucracy and for cleaning house (“Mixed report card for Reardon at mid-term,” April 9). It is apparent that the Bush Republicans in Washington D.C., are here in Snohomish County and they stand for bigger, slower government and more spending – even if it means running deficits year after year.
Let us not forget where we were when Aaron Reardon was elected Snohomish County executive. Years of deficit spending by the Republican-controlled County Council had led to a decline in the county’s bond rating, unemployment was high and voter confidence was low and there was a projected budget deficit of more than $13 million his first year.
Instead of ignoring the problems or shirking his responsibility, Reardon took action and did what he was elected to do. He attacked each problem and put forward solutions.
When Reardon was elected Snohomish County was operating in the red and had drawn down its reserves. Reardon responded by instituting a hiring freeze, streamlining government and made the tough decision to recommend eliminating 80 positions. Because of Reardon’s leadership, in his first year in office he ended four years of deficit spending, and closed a $13 million deficit to balance the county’s budget – all without raising taxes or decreasing services.
Reardon believes taxpayers should be treated like customers of Snohomish County and that they should expect and receive excellent service. He has an open-door policy and has worked to involve county citizens with frequent town hall meetings and reforms to make county government user friendly. Reardon has worked to improve government through technology. By making smart investments, county government is more available to citizens during non-work hours for a variety of services.
While there are great jobs in Snohomish County, almost 43 percent of our residents commute to King County for work. Reardon is working to grow and diversify our economy so more of us can live and work here – enabling us to spend more time with our families. Shortly after being elected, Executive Reardon went to work assembling a group of bi-partisan business, labor, environmental and education leaders to develop a strategic economic development plan.
That plan is already having a tremendous impact on our county’s economy. When Reardon was elected, unemployment in Snohomish County was at 7.87 percent. Today it is below 5 percent. Last year more than 15,700 jobs were added in Snohomish County – a 7.1 percent increase over 2004. Snohomish County’s job creation is twice the state average and five times that of the national average.
Executive Reardon has made government live within its means without reducing the vital services our citizens demand. He has preserved funding for the county’s senior centers and veterans assistance programs to take care of our growing elderly population and provide support to our veterans. He has worked with our County Council in a bipartisan manner to add new sheriff’s deputies and more deputy criminal prosecutors to better protect Snohomish County’s citizens.
He has also effectively worked to reduce sprawl and make growth pay for itself. Snohomish County is now a leader in the effort to preserve farm land for future generations. Executive Reardon is partnering with local farmers, environmentalists and even developers to make sure that farms are successful and farmland is available for production.
Through Reardon’s direction, Snohomish County has become a leader in the use and pursuit of alternative fuels. Snohomish County government is partnering with local farmers and Washington State University to develop alternatives to fossil fuels by investing in and using home-grown bio-diesel.
These are just a few of the accomplishments over the past two years. As he promised when he ran for office in 2003, Reardon has cleaned house and brought in new people with new ideas to solve old problems. And it’s working.
Now, with a Democratic majority on the County Council, voters can expect even more positive work. Just this year, our executive and council have passed long overdue legislation to increase access to voting, provide more recreational opportunities for families and create much needed ball fields for our youth.
Together, county Executive Aaron Reardon and the Democrats on the County Council are working to make government more efficient, create local jobs, improve our quality of life, protect our citizens and preserve critical services for those in need.
Mark Hintz is chairman of the Snohomish County Democratic Party.
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