Vote ‘no’ on I-1033

Initiative 1033 will eventually affect the hospital care provided by physicians and nurses to voters in the Skagit Valley. This county has recently seen leaps forward in the services and quality of medical care available in our three hospitals. That progress will eventually arrest, only to stagger forward in fits and starts if the funding limits of Initiative 1033 kick in. We see medical care up close every day, and we see how improvements would pass by this area if the public hospitals of this county are severely limited in their financing options by the rules proposed in Initiative 1033. The members of the medical staff of Skagit Valley Hospital and United General Hospital have indicated their support for a no-vote on this initiative.

Edwin Stickle MD

Unified Medical Staff of Skagit Valley

Dire and doom reporting

Your continuing dire and doom reporting angle of what is happening within the Burlington-Edison School District is making it difficult for the community to move forward on this matter.

The board is made up of community members who volunteer to do a thankless job. They do not receive a single dime for their hard work and effort. They are voted in by the same exact people who have turned down the previous three bond measures. They take time out of their personal lives to perform a service to the community. I truly believe that they have the best interest of the Burlington-Edison School District and the community in their thoughts and decisions.

When is the last time you walked any of the grounds of the school district? You would be hard pressed to find a more clean and serene surrounding than that of the Burlington-Edison School District. That doesn’t just happen. That takes a village. That village shares a common goal and that is to provide the best possible environment for the youth of this community to get a solid education.

It’s easy for people to continue to point the finger and pick apart what has been done. The board is human. Humans make mistakes. This has been addressed. It is time to move on and find a solution to this. Long term, it’s tough to go wrong with purchasing property in a growing community. The county and city are taking a break from zoning issues because they can, but things will turn and growth will be back on again. Then what, will we have liquidated our properties? We must band together for the long-term health of the community. The solution that needs to be sought is to support the schools. Period.

Jen Willis

Burlington

I-1033 means more government

On Sunday, Oct. 18, the Skagit Valley Herald featured an article on the front page about Initiative 1033, the initiative that limits growth in government spending. The claims made by the anti-I-1033 crowd are identical to the claims made by the anti-I-601 crowd, which was the first initiative designed to limit spending by our government. None of those claims came true from 1993 through 2005 when I-601 was in effect. In 2005, the state Legislature gutted I-601 to allow for the almost 9 percent annual growth rate of state government spending during Gov. Gregoire’s first term.

I-1033 allows government to grow at the rate of inflation, plus population growth. That is faster than most people’s personal income grows. According to Eron Berg, Sedro-Woolley city attorney, government needs to grow faster. When government grows faster than personal income, the people are left with less and their standard of living goes down.

According to a recent study by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, Washingtonians pay more than 60 percent of their income to support government at all levels. When will the Eron Bergs and Chris Gregoires be satisfied, maybe at 70 percent or 75 percent, or maybe never. When do “We the People” stand up and say enough is enough. Let’s do it today.

 I-1033 isn’t perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction. Please vote yes on I-1033, and let’s start to demand government of the People, by the People and for the People.

Tina Newman

Mount Vernon

We need Niver’s expertise

Eight years ago, Ray Niver was elected to the Anacortes Port Commission. The port was fighting with airport neighbors, suing the city and losing money. The marina needed updating, the Fidalgo Bay waterfront was seriously polluted, and there was virtually no cooperation with the city or other agencies.

Today, the port has reached a high level of fiscal responsibility and cooperation with the city, the community and others. There are no lawsuits, the Fidalgo Bay waterfront is being cleaned up and the marina has undergone significant improvements.

Ray has been key to bringing this about.

He was a leader in dropping lawsuits, working with the city and port neighbors and developing port properties for marine uses and open access. He actively supports port environmental and conservation efforts. His strong fiscal oversight helps to ensure that port projects are needed, well-managed and within budget.

Of high priority for him are cooperative projects and funding, such as cleaning up the Fidalgo Bay shoreline, with the state DOE and private entities paying to reverse a legacy of industrial pollution.

For Ray, job creation is vitally important, but so is the quality of life for those who live here. He works to balance development with other needs of the community, focusing on cooperation with port neighbors and creative problem solving.

He does not represent special interest groups. He is not a pilot, airplane owner, boater, real estate developer nor businessman using the airport or marina for personal gain. He represents only those who pay taxes and live in this community.

Please vote for Ray Niver. His attention to port finances, his courage to ask hard questions and his honesty and integrity make him an excellent choice. We need his experience, expertise, energy and commitment.

Marlene Moore

Anacortes

Face up to facts, conservatives

A response to the recent, entertaining letters by Lawrence Pirkle and Elma Johnson. Maybe it’s time for conservatives to face up to some facts.

Fact No. 1: Republicans controlled the entire government for six of the eight years during the Bush administration. Democrats never held a veto-proof majority in the few short months they controlled Congress. No bill could have become law without the support of President Bush. We tried things your way, folks (for eight years), and your way clearly didn’t work. Give Obama a chance; it took eight years for Bush and the Republicans to run this country and its economy into the ground. It’s going to take Obama and the Democrats longer than nine months to fix it.

Fact No. 2: The arrogance, incompetence, and downright dishonesty that passed for “leadership” during the Bush years has been soundly rejected at the polls by the American people in the last two national elections. It’s never easy to admit you’re wrong, and everyone is entitled to their opinions, but perhaps conservatives should accept that their views are no longer shared by a majority of Americans.

Joe Macdonald

Anacortes

Letter-writer doesn’t get it

I’m writing in response to Dr. Lawrence Pirkle’s letter of Oct. 13. Obviously Pirkle just doesn’t get that it was the Bush administration that left President Obama all of the economic ills that plague us today as well as the illegal war in Iraq (initiated by Bush and opposed by then Sen. Obama) and the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan. As with most members of the extreme right, he conveniently distorts and denies the Bush legacy that left our economy in shambles.

Pirkle thinks that it’s embarrassing that many people chose to stand up against hate in Mount Vernon when Glenn Beck came to town. What is embarrassing is that he demeans respectable people who have received the Nobel Peace Prize such as former President Jimmy Carter, who tirelessly works to promote peace by providing shelter to the homeless throughout the world; Vice President Al Gore, who actively works to ensure that we can continue to enjoy life on our fragile planet; and President Barack Obama, who, after just 10 months in office, has lifted the status and credibility of the United States from the chasm where Bush left it.

What is truly embarrassing is that Dr. Pirkle, a dentist and business owner, gets caught up in the same type of ill-informed “jawing” that Glenn Beck and other extreme right-wing demagogues like to use when talking about people they dislike. Pirkle’s disrespectful reference to our nation’s first lady, Michelle Obama, as “Mama Obama,” is inexcusable and smacks of racism, and his reference to the “Three Stooges Award” is juvenile. These tactics are extreme and destructive to our community and our country and do not speak well for him. Hate is not a Mount Vernon value!

Arthur Gallegos

Mount Vernon

Vote against I-1033

Please vote against Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1033.

The current recession has reduced tax revenues for state, county, and city programs that we all depend on. I-1033 will make it impossible for governments to climb out of the recession, by freezing all general fund revenues at 2009 levels.

Except for an artificial inflation and population factor, increased revenues generated by economic recovery, tourism, or new business would be used to lower property taxes — not to restore needed programs, nor build up reserves for future projects, nor deal with disasters.

There will be no incentive to attract tourists or new retail stores to town, because the taxes they generate can’t be used to pay for the services they will require.

And if another slump hits, the cap would reset to an even lower baseline, digging an ever deeper hole.

Fees are included in the calculation, even if they pay for a service related to the fee. So if we receive more from dog licenses or building permits or kids’ baseball registration, we’d have to give that back, too. 

Lower property taxes may sound like a great idea, but this is a simplistic approach to the complex problem of funding the government services we need. 

By locking all budgets into a recession-depressed baseline, the social services, parks, jails, courts, streets, fire and police services, ecological cleanups, school programs, open space preservation, health services, and many other programs we value and depend on will have to be cut.

The City of Anacortes has maintained a conservative, balanced budget for many years. We already have lower property tax than other areas because of our fiscal caution. But we cannot maintain the level of service our citizens expect in future years if this initiative passes.

Vote against I-1033.

Cynthia Richardson

Anacortes City Council member