We all know about the "tax and spend" mentality which permeates Olympia. For a refresher, next time you’re at the gas pump you should remember that we have one of the highest gas taxes in the country. Are those transportation dollars working to reduce your morning commute?

Just in the last four years, state spending has increased by more than 33 percent. In 2005, taxes were increased by around $400 million to cover added spending. Are you getting your money’s worth?

Next year, we will be facing a $2.4 Billion budget shortfall in the State of Washington. There is no question we have a spending problem, and worse, we lack realistic priorities about what should be the proper role of government. Funding public safety, transportation, education (public education funding is required by the state Constitution), and protecting the most vulnerable in society will be my focus in Olympia.

George Washington once remarked "Government is like a fire, useful in the fireplace, but if it gets out of its place, it will consume everything you own." Today, we are well beyond the originally intended scope of government functions in how we tax and spend. Can you afford to keep funding all these extra programs?

We do not have a revenue problem - we have a spending problem! I supported I-960 this past year to put the Legislature on notice that citizens are being taxed enough. The law requires a two-thirds majority to pass tax increases. Even so, the politicians in Olympia found a way to partially skirt the will of the people by pooling $75 million into a fee increase package. Is this what you want from Olympia?

People are weary of convoluted tax schemes like motor vehicle licensing where all kinds of government programs are paid for by auto licenses - the majority of which have nothing to do with roads and automobiles. Motor vehicle licensing has ended up being the "grab bag" for all sorts of good will programs.

Property tax reform is long overdue. There’s widespread feeling among homeowners that property taxes are too high. I support property tax reform that begins with repealing the state portion of property taxes. It concerns me that senior citizens and others on fixed incomes are living in fear of losing their homes due to exorbitant taxes – especially during this time of a volatile home-lending market and depreciating property values.

I intend to work on reducing our overall tax burden. I will support any effort, both short and long-term, that reduces property taxes and returns those taxing decisions to the local and county levels.

High gas prices, the softening real estate and housing markets, workers who fear losing their jobs, the weak U.S. dollar - all of these are signs of an economy which is heading for a challenging time.

Jobs and business are critical to our prosperity; profitable businesses that can grow are absolutely fundamental to our economy. While this seems obvious, it’s a concept that seems lost in the mire of Washington State politics. The free enterprise system has proven itself to be the best way to ensure a successful business climate – categorically, it alone produces the prosperity that the world has known. I will find and work to eliminate unnecessary regulations which hamper the healthy climate for private enterprise because I know it’s the key to our economy. Businesses, small and large, should be establishing themselves here, not moving out of state because of high taxes or excessive government red tape.

The high cost of health care is an issue which is of great concern to many people, and if it’s not, it should be. Whether it is the price of prescription drugs, the high cost of medical insurance, or state mandated coverage requirements which have resulted in a limited number of choices of health insurance providers operating in this state, Washington citizens are facing major health care problems today. Currently, Washington has less than ten health insurance companies to choose from - some states have over 100 options. We need to encourage competition and lower premiums by allowing more plans into the State. Imagine what a difference more competition would mean.

The increased cost of medicine, health care and health insurance has arguably been caused in part by mounting state and federal micro-management of the Health Care Industry. Currently there are 51 government mandates on insurance. If we can limit government intervention in health care, you will see lower costs and increased choices. I will support efforts to limit government intrusion into this critical industry and the return to time-tested free-market solutions. All citizens deserve affordable health care and I believe the private sector can deliver it IF government would get out of the way.

I don't need to tell anyone about the problems we face with daily traffic snarls on I-405, or on the bridges across Lake Washington – one of which is quickly becoming unsafe. An efficient transportation system is critical to both our economic vitality and to our Northwest lifestyle. The free-market choices which serve all of us best in so many other areas of our lives will serve us, too, with our transportation crisis.

The Puget Sound geography requires that private automobiles and trucking move people and commerce. Without the ability to timely move goods and services through the I-5 corridor and across our lakes, more businesses will go where they can count on delivery of people and product. It’s obvious to me from serving on a distinguished transportation committee, the Eastside Transportation Association, that our network of roads and highways need IMMEDIATE attention. But, that is not the way the government currently spends our transportation dollars. An inordinate share (around half) of transportation tax dollars goes to public transit that moves about 3% of all daily trips. And, to get the numbers to that dismal level, we subsidize around 90% or more of each rider's ticket. Does this make sense to you? Not to me, either.

Transportation decisions today are more about social-engineering and political ideology than they are about moving people. This is our problem. We support transit proposals hoping that some other people will decide to give up their cars and ride the bus, thereby creating less congestion. The problem is the folks in the next lane are hoping that you will do the same. The fact is, if the majority of people want to drive, and they are choosing to do so, that is their choice – and, rightly so. We simply need to apply the free-market principles of choice and find ways to accommodate more lanes of road. Period.

I believe in a first-class education based on four simple principles: competition, prioritized funding, parental choice, and accountability. The state Constitution mandates the funding of education, and the single largest chunk of the state budget goes to meet that mandate. We need to constantly be asking ourselves if the state school system is working to the standards we have a right to expect. Right now the answer is no, they are not. Why?

One of the biggest problems in our public education system today is that academic control is being removed from local communities and going to the state. Consequently, parents are being removed from educational decisions affecting their children. Scholastic test scores have dropped steadily over the past two decades, in spite of the fact that per capita funding has increased.

It is clear to me that throwing money at the problem is not the answer. Education already absorbs about half of the state's entire budget.

While many are in support of spending to maintain and create school infrastructure (buildings and equipment) and to support a fair-market salary for our invaluable teachers, somewhere there must be some reprioritization of spending patterns. For example, too much of our education funding is spent on a huge administrative bureaucracy that does not directly improve academic achievement. I believe a good portion of this bureaucracy can be eliminated, and the funds shifted to the local classrooms to meet our present needs.

Public schools need to continue to focus on academic skills. It is not the job of government schools to make up for perceived deficits of parental teaching of values and morals. That is the job of parents and churches. If we can bring back local control of the schools, parents and local boards will once again take their place in the process of educating our children.

I'm as concerned as anyone about our environment. My family has to breathe the same air and drink the same water as others. We all need to be good stewards of where we live, work and recreate.

Unfortunately, partially as a result of media hype, we are facing an onslaught of regulations and restrictions sometimes under the popular umbrella of "environmental" concerns which are, in many cases, social engineering in disguise. Environmental issues must be viewed over the long-term and decisions must be made using the best available science. Answers sometimes do not come easily, but we must be cautious in jumping on the bandwagon of those who are calling for more government control.