IN THIS ISSUE
- Gregoire's Budget Tricks Continue
- Democrats Plot How To Increase Taxes
- Gov. Gregoire Punts Again On Viaduct
- New Interactive State Budget Website
- Passings
Chairman's Corner
Happy New Year!
I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and all the best for a Happy New Year!I am pleased to report that the State Party's efforts to monitor vote recounts in four important races around the state this month proved very successful. We held on to gain a seat in the State House and our party also took control of the Clark County Board of Commissioners for the first time in 30 years.
As 2008 draws to a rapid close, I wanted to remind you of some important victories that we achieved during what was a very difficult year for our party nationally:
- Rob McKenna received more votes than any Republican in state history, and Sam Reed also recorded a smashing re-election victory.
- Republicans gained seats in both the State Senate and State House for the first time since 1994.
- While Idaho lost a Republican Congressman, we re-elected all three Republican Members of Congress in our state.
- At the local level Republicans now control the legislative branch of 3 of the 5 largest counties in the state (Pierce, Spokane and Clark).
I want to thank each and every one of you for your support and dedication to the party and to our candidates during the 2008 election cycle. Together, we accomplished great things and made our great party even stronger. We must carry these successes forward to the 2009 and 2010 election cycles and elect more terrific Republican candidates to offices up and down the ticket.
All the best to you and your family for a very Happy New Year.
Sincerely,
Chairman Luke Esser
Washington State Republican Party
Gregoire's Budget Tricks Continue
Last week, Gov. Gregoire released her proposed budget for the 2009-2011 biennium. Through some accounting tricks, Gregoire managed to balance the budget without proposing a tax increase (she assumed that the federal government will play Santa Claus and give the state $1 billion to help balance the budget). Even the Democrat Senate Majority Leader pointed out the fallacy of this assumption.
Democrats Plot How To Increase Taxes
Recent news stories have revealed the latest Democrat stratagem for raising taxes in 2009. They are considering a referendum vote on tax increases early in the year, when they know voter turnout will be low. You can count on the WSRP to oppose any such effort by the Democrats in Olympia to raise taxes.
Gov. Gregoire Punts Again On Viaduct
It's deja vu all over again. Gov. Chris Gregoire announced yesterday she is once again punting rather than making a decision on the configuration of a replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Even though state law called for her to reach a decision by the end of 2008, Gregoire still couldn't bring herself to make up her mind.
New Interactive State Budget Website
Kudos to our friends at the Washington Policy Center for spearheading the creation of a searchable state budget website. The new site, fiscal.wa.gov, launched recently by the Legislative Evaluation and Accountability Program Committee (LEAP) and the Office of Financial Management (OFM), will be an unprecedented resource to citizens interested in the state's finances. This site was built to allow users, regardless of budget expertise, the ability to easily determine where their tax dollars are being collected and spent.
Check out the new website at fiscal.wa.gov today!
Passings
State Rep. Steve Hailey from the 9th Legislative District passed away last weekend after a courageous battle with cancer. Rep. Hailey had been recently re-elected to another term when he announced that he would resign his seat early next month to focus on his cancer treatments and to spend more time with his family. Funeral services are scheduled for this Saturday at 2:00pm at the Connell Community Center - 211 E Elm St. in Connell. Precinct Committee Officers from the 9th Legislative District will meet in Colfax early on Saturday morning to start the process of choosing a successor to Rep. Hailey.
Longtime 30th Legislative District Republican activist, Lloyd Gardner passed away late last month after suffering a heart attack. Lloyd was a passionate advocate for improvement in math and reading in the Federal Way School District and a Republican PCO for many years.