09.12.08
Posted in Education at 1:42 am by Administrator
The Basic Education Act and Article IX, section 1 of the Washington State Constitution states “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children.” State funding for basic education has not kept pace with rising costs, resulting in severe budget shortfalls. Vancouver and Evergreen school districts have also been forced to provide more programs and services mandated but not funded by both state and federal governments.
According to both school districts, local levy dollars have been redirected and reserve funds have been depleted below recommended levels in order to maintain basic programs and services. Many programs have been cut and staff positions have been eliminated.
The state of education funding is at a crisis point:
Vancouver School District has joined the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools (NEWS) lawsuit against the state for under-funding education. The lawsuit requests that basic education be fully funded as required by the State Constitution.
Vancouver School District faced a $2.4 million budget shortfall for 2007-08 and had to reduce program and staffing levels for the seventh consecutive year.
Evergreen School District is facing a budget shortfall of over $2 million next year. One-third of its students are in portable classrooms and about half receive free or reduced lunches.
Cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) have been approved by the legislature but are not extended to all employees. Salary increases have to be redirected from other sources, including the local levy.
Vancouver School District will spend $2.7 million in levy proceeds to transport students in 2008-09. A total of $10 million in expenditures that are normally covered by state funds, such as special education and substitute teaching personnel, will have to be covered from levy funds.
Washington’s teachers are paid $3,000 less than the national average and $12,000 less than the average west coast teacher.
Washington State now ranks 45th in the nation in per student expenditures, and 46th in the nation for average class size.
Washington State’s school funding system receive a D+ rating from Education Week magazine
Basic education should be given top priority. I will work toward these legislative solutions:
Work to prioritize basic education expenditures within the state appropriations process
Build new schools and get our students out of portable classrooms
Pay our teachers competitive salaries and reduce class sizes.
Establish a strategic direction for higher education that will account for changes in demographics and workforce requirements.
Ensure that the proposed “core” curriculum requirement will not diminish resources for career and technical education, which is equally important. We may need to move to a 6-period day to accomplish this.
Every politician says they support education. Here is Don Benton’s voting record:
Supported property tax cuts that set in motion education budget shortfalls across the state
Opposed Senate Bill 6059 authorizing a direct voter initiative providing a cost of living increase for teachers
Opposed 2007 Senate Bill 5841 enhancing early childhood education
Opposed 2007 House Bill 1051 expanding high school completion programs at community colleges
Did not vote on 2006 Senate Bill expanding apprenticeship opportunities for high school graduates
Don Benton did not vote on 2002 Senate Bill 6387 Supplemental operating budget, which included:
$13.5 billion in K-12 education funding
opportunity grants to students in low-income families pursue training in high-demand fields
$60.6 million in special education funding
$12.4 in technology upgrades
$22 million to expand Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program to reach an additional 2,250 children
$25 million to provide health coverage to an additional 38,000 children
$1 million to Evergreen Schools for construction of a Health and BioSciences Academy
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09.08.08
Posted in Transportation and Infrastructure at 4:18 am by Administrator
Most of us would agree that economic growth is a good thing. Economies grow and new jobs are created through trade in goods and services with other regions. Adequate transportation and infrastructure are vital to that interaction and trade. If you were an employer with customers in Portland, would you locate here if you couldn’t get across the bridge? If you were a shipper and your drivers wasted several hours a day stuck in traffic on the I-5 bridge, would you locate a new warehouse here in Vancouver?
Like it or not, Vancouver’s economy is highly dependent on Portland. New jobs won’t happen if people and goods can’t get from here to there more easily. The current I-5 bridge is inadequate for current needs, and it will only get worse. If we want good jobs for future generations, we need to be able to move a lot more people between here and Portland than we currently do.
Since more lanes will only relieve congestion in the short term, we need to include a public transit option to increase capacity and meet future needs. To relieve traffic congestion, pay for the bridge, and make it faster and cheaper to use mass transit, we should charge a toll on the replacement bridge. A toll is not a tax. A toll is a user fee that is paid only by people who use the bridge. People who don’t wish to pay the toll should have the option of taking mass transit instead.
Time is money. Exactly how much is it worth? That’s determined by how much people are willing to pay to avoid traffic. The toll should be set at the price where congestion is eliminated, and it should vary depending on the time of day in order to maintain a free flow of traffic.
A toll bridge with high capacity mass transit is the best way to support job growth in Vancouver for future generations. We need to build it now, while we still have federal support for the project. I read the finance chapter of the EIS and am convinced that we can pay for the bridge without increasing taxes. I fully support the recommendations of the Columbia River Task Force.
I also support expansion of the Port of Vancouver, which will add between 4,000-5,000 jobs within the next 15 years. The Port currently provides about 2,300 direct jobs, $82 million in annual tax revenue, and nearly $99 million in annual payroll income to local residents.
Don Benton is opposed to replacing the I-5 bridge, and he voted against funding infrastructure development for the Vancouver waterfront
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09.02.08
Posted in Labor and Trade at 3:12 am by Administrator
Are you disturbed that our plants and jobs have moved offshore? That many of our goods are made in sweatshops without labor or environmental regulations? Or that the global economy is caught in an economic and environmental crisis at the same time huge corporations are earning record profits? In order to support workers and rebuild the local economy, we need to think about our priorities every time we shop. Living wages, comprehensive health benefits, and protection of workers’ rights attract high quality workers and businesses to our state, and provide incentives for higher education and training. What’s good for workers is good for the economy.
I support the following pro-labor policies:
Buying locally and at family or employee-owned businesses whenever possible.
Policies that protect workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain collectively, and that strengthen and enforce laws that prohibit employer intimidation and coercion.
Policies that ensure that workers have legal rights to safe, healthy and fair conditions at work.
Strengthening prevailing wage, minimum wage, and indexing laws.
Extending of unemployment benefits in times of economic hardship.
Policies to establish a ‘living wage’ designed to ensure that low-wage workers and their families can live above the poverty level.
Policies that guarantee pay equity for women who perform similar jobs and have similar skills and experience as their male counterparts.
Worker’s rights to organize and choose who shall represent them in negotiations with management.
Requiring nonunion workers to pay their fair share of services provided by a union in cases where a union is representing them and negotiating on their behalf.
Providing all residents with access to portable and affordable health care coverage.
I oppose the privatization of Social Security. This is corporate welfare to the banking and brokerage industry.
My opponent Don Benton opposed the following bills, which were supported by the Washington State Labor Council (details at www.wslc.org/legis/vr-sen08.htm):
Opposed SB 5261, granting the insurance commissioner the authority to review individual health benefit plan rates to ensure rate hikes are justified and reasonable.
Opposed SSB 6333, establishing a citizens’ work group on health care to review proposed statewide plans and propose a plan to provide comprehensive, affordable health care for all Washingtonians.
Opposed SB 6241, prohibiting the sale or use of prescriber-identifiable prescription data by Pharmaceutical Companies for commercial or marketing purposes.
Opposed SSB 6809, providing a tax exemption for low income working families, as measured by the federal earned income tax credit.
Opposed SHB 2815, requiring the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and establish a green jobs initiative to increase the number of green economy jobs to 25,000 by 2020.
My opponent’s campaign materials do not have the union label. Mine do.
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08.15.08
Posted in Campaign Finance at 10:30 pm by Administrator
Senator Don Benton’s campaign literature proudly proclaims that “He fights for us!” We wonder: who was Don Benton fighting for when he opposed SB 5930 providing affordable health care to all Washington residents; SB 5659 establishing family and medical leave insurance; HB 1359 creating an affordable housing program; SB 5841 enhancing early childhood education opportunities and achievement; and SB 6809 providing a tax exemption for working families?
Don Benton also routinely boasts of being the most prolific fundraiser in the State Senate. His list of donors includes Wal-Mart, the Pawnbrokers Association, and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. Do you suppose that campaign contributions of over $6,000 from various insurance companies had anything to do with Senator Benton’s opposition to HB 2572, providing health insurance to small businesses? With over $20,000 coming from the banking and mortgage industry, is it any wonder why he voted “NO” on SB 6381, a bill aimed at requiring mortgage brokers act in the borrower’s best interest?
The Senator also routinely misses votes on legislation he doesn’t like. For example, he missed the vote on a 2005 House Bill establishing a homeless housing program; a 2006 House Bill expanding apprenticeship opportunities for high school graduates; a 2008 House Bill addressing the achievement gap for African-American students; a 2007 House Bill authorizing utilities to engage in environmental mitigation efforts; and a 2005 Senate Bill providing tax incentives for clean and alternative fuel vehicles.
Whom was Senator Benton fighting for when he missed a 2005-07 appropriations bill that contributed to public employees and teachers’ retirement funds, and a 2005-07 appropriations to allocate additional funds to homecare agencies to provide dental, vision and vacation benefits for their employees? Did Senator Benton’s support from the tobacco industry have anything to do with missing the vote on a Senate Bill enhancing enforcement of liquor and tobacco laws?
Whom was Don Benton fighting for when he launched his subscription-only legislative news website for registered lobbyists (which ultimately failed)? When state legislative ethics counsel Mike O’Connell warned Benton to “erect firewalls” between his legislative duties and business dealings, Benton refused to acknowledge the obvious conflict of interest. He signed the solicitation himself and referenced his legislative experience as reasons to subscribe to his service.
Whom was Don Benton fighting for when he accepted donations well over the $2,500 contribution limit as head of the GOP state party? Even members of his own party were embarrassed by his actions. King County GOP chairman Reed Davis said Benton left the party in “near chaos.”
It appears that while the senator was busy raising money for his perpetual re-election, the people of this state were left to fight for themselves.
Partial list of Senator Benton’s votes: Education
Supported 2003 Senate Bill 6059 suspending COLA salary increases for teachers
Opposed 2007 Senate Bill 6059 restoring COLA salary increases for teachers
Opposed 2007 Senate Bill 5841 enhancing early childhood education
Opposed 2007 House Bill 1051 expanding high school completion programs at community colleges
Did not vote on 2006 House Bill expanding apprenticeship opportunities for high school graduates.
Did not vote on 2007 Senate Bill tuition waivers for families of fallen veterans and national guard members
Opposed 2007 Senate Bill 1128 operating budget, which included:
$1 million for construction of new K-12 schools
$15 million for opportunity grants for low-income students to pursue training in high-demand fields.
$60 million in special education funding
$1.1 billion for additional classroom space including Clark College and WSU-V
$22 million to expand the Early Childhood Education program to reach an additional 2,250 children
$25 million to provide health coverage to an additional 38,000 children
$1 million to Evergreen Schools for construction of a Health and BioSciences Academy.
Health Care
Opposed 2006 House Bill 2572 establishing small employer health insurance partnership program
Opposed 2007 Senate Bill 5930 providing affordable health care to Washingtonians
Opposed 2008 Senate Bill 6333 establishing a citizens’ work group on health care
Opposed 2008 House Bill 2687 providing mental health treatment and services
Opposed 2007 Senate Bill 5659 establishing family and medical leave insurance
Environment
Opposed 2008 House Bill 2815 cutting greenhouse gas emissions and creating 25,000 green collar jobs
Opposed 2008 Senate Bill 6580 addressing the impacts of climate change
Opposed 2006 Senate Bill 6508 incentives to increase local production of biofuels
Opposed 2005 House Bill 1397 to adopt stricter California emissions standards for cars and trucks
Did not vote on 2007 House Bill authorizing utilities to engage in environmental mitigation efforts.
Did not vote on 2005 Senate Bill providing tax incentives for clean and alternative fuel vehicles.
Did not vote on 2006 Senate Bill on oil spill regulations.
Housing & other
Opposed 2007 House Bill 1359 creating an affordable housing program
Opposed 2008 House Bill 2687 providing affordable housing, housing for the homeless, and weatherization
Opposed 2008 House Bill 1128 providing adult day care and services to families, children and disabled
Opposed 2008 Senate Bill 6809 providing a sales tax exemption for working families
Opposed 2008 Senate Bill 6381 requiring mortgage brokers to act in the best interest of borrowers
Opposed 2008 Senate Bill 6452 requiring full disclosure of yield spread premiums
Don Benton’s other missed votes:
Did not vote on 2005 Senate Bill amendment for public employees and teachers’ retirement funds.
Did not vote on 2007 Senate Bill enhancing enforcement of liquor and tobacco laws.
Did not vote on 2008 House Bill addressing the achievement gap for African-American students.
Did not vote on 2007 Senate Bill providing for privacy protection for voter registration information.
Did not vote on 2005 Senate Bill providing dental, vision and vacation benefits for homecare workers.
Did not vote on 2007 Senate Bill regarding health insurance information for students.
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Posted in Campaign Finance at 10:16 am by Administrator
Don Benton has outraised David Carrier 10:1 in this election. Conventional wisdom says that the more money you raise, the more likely you are to win. We think that values win elections. And the source of campaign funds says more about a candidate’s values than anything else.
Don Benton has the distinction of being the State Senator who accepted the most campaign contributions from corporate lobbyists and political action committees (PACs). David Carrier will be the only State Senator who did not accept campaign contributions from lobbyists and PACs. We don’t think corporate and PAC money will lead us where our constituents want to go.
Elected officials should represent voters- period. We hope you agree, and will take this information into consideration when you choose who will represent the 17th District. Send the message that we’re ready to get government to work for us again.
DON BENTON’S CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS $213,000
as of Sept. 1, 2008
TOTAL SPECIAL INTEREST CONTRIBUTIONS $91,000
BANKING total $20,000
WA Indepent Bankers PAC (Lakewood) 500
Money Tree (bundled contributions) 3,500
WA State Pawnbrokers Association 1,500
Pawn Exchange (Issaquah) 1,000
Payroll Complete Services (Keith Smith) 1,600
WA Assoc. of Mortgage Brokers (Edmonds) 500
Bank of America, Inc. 3,200
IQ Credit Union 1,400
Wash Mutual PAC 700
Sav Pac Wash. Fin. Lea. 400
PMSA WA State Pac 500
Credit Union Legislative Action 700
Boeing Employees Credit Union 1,300
Thomas Young, Regents Bank 1,450
Monte Schwartz, Regents Bank 300
Ken Kirn, Columbia Cascade 1,000
Russell Investment Group 550
INSURANCE total $6,000
Progressive Insurance Co. (Tacoma) 1,500
Premara Blue Cross 1,500
Regence Blue Shield 700
Aetna Insurance Co. 500
WMLA Pac 200
Pemco Insurance 800
Insurance Physicians (Seattle) 800
CORPORATIONS total $17,000
Philip Morris Company 700
Reynolds Tobacco Company (Winston-Salem) 500
Wal Mart, Inc. (Bentonville, AR) 1,500
Weyerhauser 900
AT&T 1,600
Motorola Inc. 250
T Mobile 800
Holland America Line 1,500
Thomas Mears, Holland Inc. 1,450
Glacier NW (concrete, building supplies) 1,600
Eli Lilly & Co. 200
Les Schwab, Inc. 250
Vancouver Toyota 200
MacFarland Cascade Pole & Lumber 500
Alan Webb Nissan 500
Vine Street Properties (McKinley) 1,600
White Pages.com Inc. 200
Big I 900
Kemper Holdings 1,000
Nutter Corp. 800
POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEES total $48,000
WA State Farm Bureau 800
WA State Dental PAC 700
WA Beverage Assoc. 1,600
WA Auto Dealers Assoc. 2,300
WA Software Alliance 350
WA State Farm Bureau 800
WA State Dental PAC 900
WA Education Association 1,600
WA Public School Employees 700
WA Affordable Housing 1,600
WA State Labor Council 200
WA Council of Fire Fighters 700
WA Taxpayer Assoc. 500
WA Organization of Vocational 250
WA Chiropractic Trust 1,400
WA Optometric PAC 1,100
WA Collectors Assoc. 1,600
WA VMA 800
Western WA Trial Lawyers 800
Central WA Lawyers for Working Families 800
Physicians EyePac (Seattle) 1,600
Farmers Employees PAC 800
MAC PAC 800
Puget Sound Pilots (Seattle) 1,400
Justice Pol. Action 800
Taseca Homes (Vancouver) 1,600
United Subcontractos Assoc. (Lakewood) 300
NW Sport Fishing Industries (Oregon City) 500
WSVMA 800
Justice PAC 800
Inland Northwest PAC (Spokane) 800
TPM PAC (Spokane) 400
International Union of Painters 1,400
Intl Union of Operators 200
Clark County Chiropractic Trust 1,000
Clark County Chiropractors 300
David Nierenberg- D3 Family Funds 2,900
Tapani Underground 300
Evergreen Memorial Gardens 100
Cam and Barbara Thomas, Underwood 2,900
Jeanne and Morris Bush 3,200
Brent McKinley, Vine St. Prop., Arlington 1,450
Bruce McCaw, Developer Bellevue 700
Yarrow Bay Development 500
Muckleshoot Indian Tribe (Auburn, WA) 800
Individual Chiropractors 2,100
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