Washington State Democratic Chairs Organization

Paul Spencer
PO Box 173
Stevenson, WA 98648
spencerinthegorge@yahoo.com
360-223-5756

To the Voters of the Washington state 15th Legislative District -

I am running for State Representative, Position 1, of the 15th Legislative District. I retired in 2008, and now have the time to be fully involved in public service. In particular the development and direction of rural WA counties is a major concern of mine. This paper is an inventory of some of my major concerns and positions. Feel free to contact me at spencerinthegorge@yahoo.com for further discussion of these matters.

First, I am determined that forested WA counties (e.g., Skamania County) return to the timber management business on the federal forest lands. This activity would be developed on a sustainable basis – not on the rip-and-run, boom-and-bust harvest cycles of the early 1980s and before. What is sustainable? For timber it could be as much as 250 million board feet from the 2nd growth 'plantations' in the Gifford Pinchot N.F. – combined with selective harvesting for forest health in older stands. Collaboration between local citizens and forest managers is essential to achieve this via such entities as our Mt. Adams District Collaborative Group, which I helped to create. As a State Legislator, I would push policies that integrate WA DNR's (Dept. of Natural Resources) successful forest management practices with those of the National Forests in our state.

In this regard, please note that the current Superintendent of Publlc Lands (the WA DNR) is Democrat, Peter Goldmark. Goldmark has continued the rational forest management practices of the previous superintendent (Republican Doug Sutherland) and added programs in support of woody biomass utilization. The point here is that Democrats such as myself are not preservationists; we support sustainable forest management practices.

Second, I support careful eco-tourism development such as the Broughton Mill resort project. As long as long- term residence is excluded, it fulfills a number of objectives: 1) one of the last logical resort sites within the context of the current applicable federal statutes; 2) potential solution to the traffic issue involving wind-surfers in the area; 3) clean-up of the mill site in the context of a viable economic project; 4) possible reduction of wildfire dangers along this section of the Underwood Bluffs. This is likely to be the last major tourism-focused project on the WA side of the Gorge Scenic Area; and it fulfills the vision that folks like Phil Crawford, Van Vandenberg, Wayne White, and I had 25 years ago, when we created the Skamania County EDC to promote economic diversification via destination-resort tourism.

Third, I propose positive encouragement and possible investment in solar- and wind-based electrical generation systems in the District. Therefore, I support most of the SD&S wind turbine project above Underwood. In addition wind-rich counties should increase careful and environmentally-sensitive regional development of these resources in alliance with their PUDs via public/private partnerships. Within Skamania County I helped to obtain signatures on the petitions that brought Initiative 937 to the voters in 2006. I-937 has been a major factor in the development of wind-based generation of electricity in our state. I will work to amend the current law to increase the portion of energy required to be generated by renewable sources (and by conservation); and I will support increased incentives to build renewable-energy-generation capacity in Washington.

In this same vein we need to add woody and agricultural 'waste' biomass to our definitions of renewable resources, both on the state and federal levels. The state has made a good beginning. Now we need to encourage the development of the production side, since, given current fossil-fuel prices, the biomass alternative can be economically viable. In this regard I support public/private arrangements (just like New Deal support for rural electrification) as an important part of the process.

In the eastern parts of our 15th Legislative District, the impact of feral (mostly abandoned) horses on our rangelands is an increasing problem. The Legislators from our District must work with the Yakama and other landowners toward workable compromises. Some potential solutions are controversial, such as humane slaughter of abandoned horses, but it's decision time.

CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) in the Yakima valley and on the Yakama reservation appear to be strong sources of ground and air pollution. These, along with other pollution sources in the region, must be investigated by the State Legislature for potential mitigation via regulation and program.

More generally, our state has the most regressive tax system in the USA. (We're middling as far as average tax loads, but the ends of the income spectrum are statistical extremes.) The simplest solution would be to scrap the sales tax and go to an income tax, a la Oregon. Income tax is typically a progressive tax, while sales tax is always regressive. Income tax is simpler to administer, as there are orders of magnitude less transactions to monitor. Also, there is an inherent fairness issue within the state. Our state currently loses sales tax income to all of us on the border with Oregon, because we buy some percentage of taxable items in Oregon, where there is no sales tax. Income tax spreads the load to all regions of the state. As a start, I support Initiative 1098 (I- 1098).

The wheat-growing region of our state is becoming the same kind of chemical-dependent, investment-house- controlled industry as that of the corn-growing states of the Midwest. There are quasi-organic, old-fashioned techniques that can brake the current trend toward industrial farming. We need to bring the academics and the practitioners into public hearings to discover the bases of their actions (and lack of action), at the least. From this information we can make decisions as to the rationality of the current direction and, if warranted, begin to create or redirect public policy.

Another trend is the relegation of our state's agricultural base to the status of plantation. Large parts of the food processing, storage, and direct-market sectors of our agricultural economy have gone to the 'big box' stores and to the buyers for huge, regional processor/warehouse corporations. I will promote regulation, tax incentives, and related programs that increase the local content of our food industry and decrease corporate consolidation.

To sum up, yes, I'm a 'tax-and-spend' liberal – in the current context. Increase taxes on the very wealthy and spend on long-term investment in smaller, local business with both feet in our state and no intention to maximize profit by moving operations to South Carolina – or wherever. Spend on infrastructure that supports greater energy autonomy for our citizens. It can start in Districts like the 15th. We need to show that old-school Democrats who support small-business and working people in rural districts can work with those from the metropolitan areas to rationalize our policies and programs in favor of the overwhelming majority of our citizens.

I invite Republican and independent voters to consider that the rural forested and agricultural regions of our state are short-changed by their tendency to elect Republican politicians in a state with a solid – and stable – Democratic Party majority in the State Legislature. The Republicans are the “Party of No” at the state level as well as the federal level. Many are 'heel-biters' with almost no clout in our state government. We rural citizens will be well-advised to elect some Democrats who support our causes and can negotiate with the urban Democrats on a collegial basis. I am one who identifies with rural needs and with Democratic Party principles. I can raise our issues effectively in the State Legislature.