League of Women Voters Forum

Here's the text of my opening remarks at the LWV Forum last night.

The last time my opponent and I were together in this room, at last week’s Chamber of Commerce forum, I asked him to provide details of the economic plan he’s been talking about through the entire campaign. He hasn’t, yet, and in fact it’s hard to tell what his position is on just about anything.

Tonight I’d like to focus on some of my ideas and plans, and the most important issue is jobs. How do we get more jobs? How do we keep the jobs? Where will the jobs come from? In 2007 we had the lowest unemployment in the history of the county, because of the construction boom. Now we have the highest unemployment in many years because of the construction bust. According to the state economist, it could take 20 years for the construction industry to recover.

It is absolutely essential that we move past the boom-and-bust economy that’s gotten us into this mess. A return to 2007 is simply not possible: the housing bubble has burst, and not only did our leaders get suckered by it, they helped it happen here. This has to change.

Farming, CWU, tourism, and renewable energy are our largest assets, yet they have all been getting less attention than they should as the county has struggled with the mess it has created. Moving on from the latest bust means paying attention to helping farmers get their products to markets faster and cheaper, capitalizing on CWU’s presence, protecting and improving our tourist attractions, and making sure we keep as much of the benefits of renewable energy as possible right here in Kittitas County. At the same time, we need to do a far better job of motivating economic progress in all parts of the county.

Getting farm products to market cheaper and faster means being fully involved with the state’s 20-year transportation plan, which is being finalized and implemented right now. Capitalizing on CWU’s presence means actively working with CWU administration and faculty, not ignoring them as we have in the past, and supporting CWU in the legislature. Protecting and improving our tourist attractions means preserving some of the best rural and forest land in the entire state, and using county physical assets to attract tourists. Insuring that as much of the benefits of renewable energy projects remain here means negotiating smarter and tougher with renewable energy developers. I can talk more specifically about each of these topics as we find the time this evening.

Finally, motivating economic progress means accepting that we live in a totally different economy than we did just a few years ago. Unfortunately, my opponent and his supporters seem to think we can turn back the clock. We can’t.

None of this will be simple or easy.

But in spite of the county’s economic and employment crisis my opponent’s party has endorsed someone who has serious problems with competence, judgment, professionalism, and integrity. Over a week ago I posted documentation of these problems to my blog, available through steveverhey.com, and invited Obie to correct the record. He hasn’t.

In raising these issues, of course, I have naturally invited my opponent to raise similar concerns about me, if he can – after all, nobody’s perfect.

On my blog, in interviews, in chats with voters, in these candidate forums, and in meetings with voters that I organized myself – and invited my opponent to – I have been as clear as I could be about where I stand on the issues that face the county, and why. On the other hand, my opponent seems to have a hard time actually answering questions, so it’s hard to tell where he stands on just about anything. I hope we can hear about his economic plan and get some clear answers this evening.