Their questions. My Answers.

WFSE Local 443 - 2007 Candidate Questionnaire

1. Please describe why you are seeking our endorsement, and why you think we should endorse you.
I am not a political insider and as such, I will represent those people who put me on the Council.

Unions are people who pull together for a common cause. Governments should work in a similar fashion: working together for the benefit of the governed, not just for a privileged few.

2. What is your position on contracting out public services?
Citizens pay taxes to help pay for services that benefit all of us (roads, electrical infrastructure, sewage, etc). When the government subcontracts work like that out, a private company benefits, and the public runs the risk of having substandard work performed.

In short, since the public pays the state for services, then the state workers should perform the work. To do otherwise is for the State to avoid accountability in the event something goes wrong.

3. How will you support the development of family wage jobs in your community?
This is a great question, and it brings up the crux of my campaign. Right now, the City Council has been making decisions which demonstrate that the majority of its members are less interested in truly representing the people of Olympia, and more interested in pleasing the advocates of unrestrained growth and expansion (such as the Building Industry Association of Washington).

On the surface, we receive the lip-service of buzz words such as "job creation" from the political supporters of BIAW and other such groups, but the fact remains that very little (if any) of those workers are local. Obviously, bowing to corporations such as the BIAW does nothing to help job security in the Olympia area.

My election to the City Council will ensure that the people of Olympia will actually have a voice which is heard. I will work for the people of Olympia, and not be a yes-man for the corporate machine.