Heck and McDonald Debate 10th District Issues

By Janine Unsoeld

www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

A debate Monday night between the 10th Congressional District candidates, incumbent Democrat Denny Heck and Republican challenger Joyce McDonald, drew about 60 people. The event was held at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia.

Cythnia Iyall, chairperson of the Nisqually Indian Tribe, moderated 11 pre-determined questions, and Allyson Brooks, vice president of the Olympia chapter of the League of Women Voters, asked several questions posed by audience members, written on index cards.

The debate was taped for broadcast on Thurston County Television (TCTV).

Heck mentioned the Seahawks game in progress as a possible reason for the sparse crowd and kept the audience up on the game score during the debate and announced its outcome at the debate’s end, which received the loudest cheer of the evening.

Heck answered each question with confidence while McDonald read some answers about national or international issues from prepared notecards.  She spoke most warmly and effectively about being a former foster parent and softball coach, and her time as a state legislator. McDonald also has several years of experience on the Pierce County council.

Questions covered standard election issues: the revenue disparity between rich and poor, federal legislation for curbing carbon emissions, the quality of the rail system with regard to safe fossil fuel transport, immigration, foreign policy, wounded veterans, jobs and more.

Questions posed by the South Sound audience were also wide ranging. McDonald was sometimes vague, as was Heck, who also liked to tell stories and use his allotted time to its fullest capacity.

In brief:

Should the Washington Redskins be compelled to change its name or face Congressional censure?

McDonald: …Public pressure should do the job for them…. the market tends to work quite well in these cases...I don’t think it’s the role of government….

Heck: Yes. Nobody has the right to engage in a racial slur….It's deeply insensitive to the First Peoples of this nation....

The Trans Pacific Partnership - How can we protect our local environment and jobs?

Heck: Well, I think you've touched upon two of the three criteria I think applies to any proposal for the Partnership...this is kind of a big deal - this is a proposal to enter into a trade agreement with 11 other nations…it is fraught with both danger and opportunity: Three criteria should include: 1) assurance that its adoption will not harm workers…2) Assurance that we are not just exporting low governmental standards… 3) assurances that it will protect our sovereignty….we ought not to delegate the right to set policy for America. 

McDonald:  …At the Congressional level, I would very clearly be working on it depending on what committee picked it up…this is a very important issue, a more important issue for Washington State than for some others so I’d be following this very closely….

The proposal to de-list the Great Wolf from the protection of the Endangered Species Act:

McDonald: I wouldn’t support that...I don’t think they’ve come back with enough population to warrant that…

Heck: …Science ought to dictate this…it ought not to be a political decision, it ought to be based on science. It just seems to me that it shouldn’t be that difficult to determine whether or not the base of that population is sufficient….

What to do about the high incarceration rate in the United States:

Heck: …I think it’s more than worrisome when America has the highest incarceration rate in the world…This is a very expensive way to deal with problems in our society...it’s a lot cheaper to invest up front…in a strong education system so they can see the future of hope….

McDonald: …In Pierce County, we put in place other alternatives to incarceration and allow… alternatives to court such as drug court and veteran’s court…and put people into pathways…rather than just put them in jail and throw away the key…As a former foster parent, I understand that some people have to play the hand they are dealt, but we need to bring people alongside so they can get the help and encouragement and modeling that they need to become productive citizens….

Funding priorities and if you would increase funding for the National Park Service:

McDonald: I’d love to but… my priority will be getting on board with a plan that will reduce the federal debt so we don’t continue to burden our future generations….so I won’t be going there to increase funding. I’ll be going there to see if we can’t find a way to maintain…what we have….

Heck: The fact of the matter is that we get to the point that the funding for providing for some of these facilities and services is so low that it will end up costing us more in the long term… our national parks have been degraded over the last several years…The bigger threat is sequestration….

If Shelton were to receive 400 new immigrants who are meeting their families in Mason County, who should pay for the bi-lingual teachers and the load on the schools and the community?

Heck: It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provisions for the education of all children….It is unequivocal….

McDonald: Unfortunately, the state of Washington would have to pick up the bill for those children… but this is just another example of …where the federal government has…failed to do its job….to enforce existing law. In my perspective, this is something that should be picked up, at the very least, by the federal government….

Should President Obama ask for a declaration of war against the Islamic State? How would you vote and why:

McDonald: Well, I think it’s evident that the Islamic State has made a declaration of war against the United States and its citizens by beheading American citizens and other citizens of allies of the United States…I think it’s definitely something that should be debated in Congress. It’s not that simple, an act of declaring war and then we run into a country, and start bombing and put troops on the ground…. War is a very serious matter and people’s lives, people we love, who put their lives on the line….Our military is the best in the world….so I’m just not sure this is the right time to be making a declaration of war….but when the time comes, the President should go with Congress, and with one voice, we should take care of the business that must be taken care of.

Heck: …Not once has war been formally declared since WWII….think back to all our conflicts we’ve been involved with in the last seven years – not once, except WWII, did we formally declare war. What’s happening now at least is that the President is operating under…the Authorized Use for Military Force, AUMF, it is called. It was adopted by Congress in 2002, and that’s what he’s using… as his justification… What I do think is appropriate…and it’s past due, is for Congress to at least try…to… make it more reflective of our times… new conditions and/or limitations, new instructions to the President and our Armed Forces with respect to our involvement there….I think it’s a Congressional responsibility… to at least attempt it.

For more information on Representative Denny Heck’s positions, see an article dated January 8, 2014 titled, “One Year in Congress: Is Congressman Heck Giving ‘Em Heck?” go to www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com and type key words into the search engine.  

HB 1437 Farmland Preservation Bill Scheduled for Hearing

League of Women Voters Address Agriculture Preservation

By Janine Unsoeld
www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

A bill that seeks to update property tax program and help small farms across the state is scheduled for a hearing in front of the House Finance Committee on Thursday, January 30, 1:30 pm, in JLOB House hearing room A. Legislative schedules are subject to change.

The bill, technically known as E2SHB 1437, concerns small farms under the current use property tax program for farm and agricultural lands, and is scheduled last on the agenda.

Currently, for farms less than 20 acres, the one acre under a farm house is assessed at the 'highest and best use'. This subjects smaller farms to a higher tax rate and works against efforts to preserve working lands. 

Farmers say that taxing one acre of a small farm at fair market value hurts small farms, and ask that all farms in the current use program be assessed the same.

Farm land that is enrolled in the Open Space program is currently assessed based on current use rather than fair market value. This reduces pressure to convert farmland to other uses.

Thurston County Assessor Perspective

In a telephone interview held earlier today with Thurston County assessor Steven Drew, Drew said he doesn’t think the bill will get out of committee.

In response to an article published by Little Hollywood on January 22, Drew explained his position about HB1437, and his role as an assessor, saying he actively supported the bill as it passed out of the House last year.

“The thing that is often lost and not well represented is that I support the concept and the bill as written. I did a great deal of work with Senator Fraser and Representative Reykdal to engineer the bill so it would pass….”

Drew said the bill was a result of a five year dialog with interested stakeholders.

“It was not the utopian bill, but what passed out of the House had the best scope. Just prior to the Senate hearing, I was informed…that it was not going to pass out of (the Senate) committee….I intended to save the bill, not oppose it….I was trying to keep it on life support.

“The tension between small and large farms is unfortunate…I don’t think the bill will get out of the Finance committee. There’s a healthy tension between what can be done to keep the issue on the forefront….Maybe this can lead to studies and citizen initiatives, but the goal is to find a way to help a bill that would pass and address part of the problem.

“There are issues with quarter horse ranches, stables and uses – those are real sticking points. The number one reason why the Legislature amended the citizen initiative…was an abuse of the original law as passed. Believe me, I got an earful from the county assessor association for being ‘off the farm’ so to speak. Anything that challenges the purity of the state process is seen as a negative, but that’s nonsense, right?

“You could put a couple horses in a field, or grow crappy hay, or sell hay to your neighbor who buys it back just to get the tax break – that’s abuse! Some large farmers are abusing this and getting tax breaks, so the large farmer does not like idea of opening it (the legislation) up.

“There’s a factual issue, a reason why home sites are valued at one acre and the state board of tax appeals has consistently ruled in favor of that one acre parcel.  We are obligated, as assessors, to uphold state law, but prefer not to value in that way. This is why I’m interested. Everything I do is driven by statute, and that limiting factor creates a disparity. I seek a solution.”

Agriculture Preservation Forum

The League of Women Voters of Thurston County held a farmland preservation forum tonight at United Churches of Olympia. About 60 people were in attendance including City of Olympia Stephen Buxbaum, Olympia councilmember Nathaniel Jones, and Port of Olympia commissioner Sue Gunn.

Information gathered from the forum will be used to update the national League’s position on federal agriculture policy, which it hasn’t updated since 1988. R. Peggy Smith of the League introduced the speakers, saying, “New thinking is needed. The loss of farmland is one of the biggest agricultural issues in Thurston County.”

Speakers and topics included:

Lucas Patzek, Thurston County director of Washington State University Extension, gave a current and historical statistical overview and inventory of farmland in Thurston County. My Favorite Quote: “How are we going to preserve big farms within the urban growth boundary?”

Steven Drew, Thurston County Assessor, spoke on the economic aspects of farming and the Open Tax program in Thurston County. Favorite Quote: “Our policies are not keeping up with the pressures to urbanize…we need creative solutions to meet those pressures.”

Chris Wilcox, a fourth generation owner of Wilcox Farms in Roy, spoke about his family’s farm and the need to be continually innovative. My Favorite Quote: How do you change an egg? We have organic eggs, omega-added eggs, liquid eggs, and hard boiled eggs…we didn’t do this by accident.”

Loretta Seppanen, a board member of South of the Sound Community Farmland Trust, spoke about her organization’s efforts to purchase and preserve farmland. The organization assisted Kirsop Farm with the leasing of its land on a 99 year contract, and purchased land now called the Scatter Creek Farm and Conservancy. My Favorite Quote: “The Farmland Trust buys the whole farm and leases it back to farmers…who will use the land to produce food for our community….”

Lisa Smith, executive director of Enterprise for Equity, discussed her organization’s successful collaboration with regional partners to assist in the business development training of local farmers. My Favorite Quote: “You’ve heard how hard it is to be a farmer…that’s why I’m not a farmer…so when you buy that food, please eat it!” (Smith cited the 2012 National Resources Defense Council report statistic that 40% of food in America is thrown away uneaten.)

For more information about farmland preservation and HB 1437, go to www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com, and read “Small Farms Try Again for Tax Program Changes,” published January 22, 2014 and other stories using the search button and typing in key words.

For more information about legislative bills and schedules, go to www.leg.wa.gov. Legislative schedules are subject to change.

Above: Produce from Kirsop Farm at Acqua Via restaurant in downtown Olympia - a great example of a local "farm to fork" connection.

Civility in Thurston County Conversations

Civility in Thurston County Conversations

By Janine Unsoeld
www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com

The League of Women Voters, an organization that supports voter rights and voter education, is acting to address the increasing apparent lack of civility in various political processes. 

 

The Thurston County chapter of the League has chosen this topic for a series of upcoming discussions in hopes of generating new ideas about how we can all contribute to civility within our democratic processes.

The definition of “civility” that has been adopted for the League of Washington State is: “Being civil does not mean being silent.  It does not mean avoiding contentious public issues.  On the contrary, healthy disagreement is central to a robust, flourishing democracy. Civil dialogue strengthens policy.  Only by considering all sides is it possible for us to make progress while keeping everyone’s dignity and democratic rights intact.”

Civility discussion meetings will be held Wednesday, October 17, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m., at The Evergreen State College, Seminar Building II, A2107, and later that evening, October 17, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., at the Olympia Community Center, Room 200, 222 Columbia St. NW. 

 

A discussion meeting is also scheduled for the afternoon of October 16 in a League member's private home, and the home cannot accommodate a large group. Given the amount of interest already generated, a request was made by the League to just publish the location of the two Wednesday meetings.  

Cynthia Stewart, a local League board member, will facilitate the discussions.  In an interview today, Stewart expressed excitement in getting back to these in-person focus group conversations that the League used to sponsor in the 1960’s and 1970’s.

She will lead participants in discussions exploring the following questions:

1.      How important is civility to you in assuring that we continue to have a democracy?  How would you describe the degree of civility that you feel is important?  To what extent does the definition above describe your own attitudes about civility in democracy?

2.      How would you describe current national, state and local processes (e.g., campaigns and elections, legislative processes, regulatory processes, etc.) in terms of the extent to which they are conducted civilly?  What would you change, if you could?

3.      What are the boundaries of civility?  When is civil disobedience appropriate?  When is some other form of protest or engagement appropriate?  When are they inappropriate?

4.      To what extent does information or lack of information affect our ability to act and react civilly in our democracy?

 

5.      What could/should the League of Women Voters and individuals do to enhance civility in our democracy?

Stewart, a trained dispute resolution mediator, says she has learned that, when parties are in conflict, “the intensity of their anger is a reflection of the extent that they have needs that are not being met. It’s better to stop and ask what do they need and deliberate, acknowledge that, and try to address that need.”

In an effort to increase League membership and garner interest in a younger population, an intern from The Evergreen State College will work with the League starting in January to help with future focus groups and broaden membership.

The League of Women Voters is not just for women - it is open to men and women alike and tackles other topics such as health care, quality of government, education, transportation, and alternative energy. The League also researches and publishes detailed position papers on these topics.

Future focus group topics will be announced in the local League newsletter and on their web site each month. The League is also training moderators who can be available across the state to facilitate discussions of controversial topics. 

For more information and directions to meetings, go to the League web site, www.thurstonlwv.org

 

Above: Disputing ducks earlier this week in Olympia near Percival Landing. They worked it out.