As citizens consider voting in a brand new crop of state legislators, mainly because of their dissatisfaction with the current crop’s performance, I really hope they don?t throw out the baby with the bath water. Sen. Claudia Kauffman, who is just completing her first term in Olympia, thoroughly deserves re-election.
Using her experience of managing budgets for large organizations, she has repeatedly distinguished herself as one of the few fiscal realists in the Democratic Party. For example, she voted against Senate Bill 6143, the ill-advised package of new 2010 taxes. This year she voted against over-ruling the voter-approved Initiative 960 that requires a two-thirds legislative majority for passage of any tax increases.
Sen. Kauffman also has consistently shown leadership supporting the economy of our state. For example, she sponsored several bills that provide assistance to small businesses, the area of our economy where most new jobs are created. She sponsored an innovative Local Revitalization Financing (LRF) bill that allows the City of Auburn to retain, for local infrastructure improvements, sales tax collected here in our community rather than sending it to Olympia. She has been a champion of early childhood learning which is definitely an investment in our future prosperity.
Her opponent Joe Fain is an interesting newcomer to politics, trained by consummate politician County Councilman Pete Von Reichbauer. But we would be shooting ourselves in the foot if we were to vote Sen. Kaufmann out of office, given her voting record of keeping state spending in check and her ability to deliver economically tangible results for her constituents.
Rich Wagner
Auburn
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