Issues

As government grows, liberty decreases.

I am a firm believer in free enterprise principles and believe that wherever they are allowed to operate we will thrive.  I believe in helping out our fellow man but the safety nets we have set up are being used as hammocks.  I believe that essentially lawmakers should consider two basic laws, those being:

1. Do all that you have agreed to do, and
2. Do no harm to another person or their property.

Government, while necessary, does not enlarge itself in a vacuum.  When the size of government increases, then liberty must necessarily decrease.  The balance of those two has become skewed, undesirable and unsustainable.

We do not have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem!  Government budgets can be decreased by 30% by trimming inefficiency and corruption without harming essential services.

I believe there is much to learn from both California and Greece about what not to do with our government, yet we are currently headed down those same perilous paths. The real Climate Change Legislation needs to evoke a change in the business climate in this state. As we are headed for insolvency in this state and this nation, we need to bring business in rather than drive it out. We need private sector jobs, thus we need to get government off our back and back on our side.

Representation should be by citizen statesmen who serve as a sacrifice for a time, not camp in Olympia for life.

I am pro-life, pro-liberty, and pro-property rights, all of which are meaningless without the right and the means to protect them. I believe that our state and nation was built upon individual rights, and that those rights are unalienable. I believe that the legislature should be filled with citizen statesmen that represent principles over popularity, and people before party.

New blood with new perspectives who are not beholden to the entrenched powers is absolutely necessary at all levels of government.

As a businessman, my job is to do the greatest amount of work, using the least amount of resource, with a long term goal for excellence. I am not afraid to take on any of the "sacred cows", such as labor, special interests, education, pension funds, transportation, or incarceration. One has only to look at our state's Labor and Industries debacle to understand that accountability is crucial at all levels in all agencies. Claims are down 55%, yet administrative costs are up 82%, and the expense per employee is the second highest in the nation.

We are dangerously close to bankruptcy in this state and in this nation.  I have a passion for making wise choices that will keep both from sinking.

It is time to send taxpayers and businessmen and women over to Olympia.  The perspective gained from being in the squeeze of the current onerous regulations and taxation is bound to be different than the perspective of a government employee.

We do not have a revenue problem or a tax structure problem, we have a spending problem!  Arguing over how we are going to milk the cow or how many times a day we are going to milk her is secondary when she is near death. It is a fact that if she dies, all of the milk dries up.  It is time to put aside our minor differences and be Washington State citizens and American citizens first and foremost.  I cannot sit idly by in my Stehekin home and watch my country go down.  I must do the best I can.  I am a scrapper. I have studied our founding documents, law, history and scripture, and believe we have something worth fighting for. 

I support the Washington State Republican Platform and believe we should actually stick to it. We were given a republic, we pledge allegiance to the flag of a republic, and the United States Constitution guarantees a republican form of government. If being a Republican still means being a person who will protect and defend the Republic, then I am proud to be a Republican.

I hope this resonates with you in this perilous time. There are plenty of places to disagree on social programs and budget priorities, but remember: If the host does not survive, or if the programs present well initially but are not sustainable, they are not beneficial to our state and nation.

Here is a link to the Washington State Republican Platform:

Washington State Republican Platform