THE YELM COMMUNITY BLOG ENDORSES KAREN VALENZUELA FOR THURSTON COUNTY COMMISSIONER & AGREES WITH THE OLYMPIAN’S EDITORIAL BOARD!
From The Olympian:
“Valenzuela deserves chance to finish term”
“Karen Valenzuela, who was appointed to a vacant seat on the Thurston County Commission in February, is running for the remaining year in the term. Valenzuela, 60, should be elected on Nov. 3 so she can demonstrate her leadership skills to county voters in advance of next year’s commission election…
Democrat Valenzuela has drawn Republican Pat Beehler as an opponent. Hes a capable candidate, but does not make a compelling case for removing Valenzuela from office…
The Olympians editorial board believes that Valenzuela has a superior grasp of the states Growth Management Act and understands the need to preserve agricultural and forest land in rural portions of the county. As a former Tumwater City Council member she knows the importance of funneling growth into the urban areas surrounding the counties three major cities.
Valenzuela has tackled some tough issues in her first few months in office. She walked in the door facing a huge budget crisis and managed her way through that mess in a responsible fashion. She also has worked to put the finishing touches on the countys critical areas ordinance, to resolve agricultural land issues, to set stormwater standards and to protect prairie lands. She and her colleagues have clearly concentrated their efforts in strengthening the countys environmental protections…
Valenzuela has demonstrated her leadership abilities through a tough period. Her idea to foster stronger relationships with other elected officials in the courthouse is long overdue. Voters should give her that opportunity by electing Valenzuela on Nov. 3.”
ALL COUNTY REGISTERED VOTERS MAY VOTE FOR DISTRICT 3 COUNTY COMMISSIONER!
BUILDERS / REALTOR DONATIONS TO 2009 RACES
THURSTON COUNTY COMMISSIONER VALENZUELA OPPONENT PAT BEEHLER RECEIVED: $23,658.34
“A lot of money gets spent on political campaigns and most of it is not from us individual citizens or even from groups or coalitions of groups of citizens. It’s from organized business, usually corporate business, always business that has an economic stake in the policy that the successful candidates will be creating.
The builders and realtors in our community are digging deep into their commercial coffers this season to buy their candidates’ way into office. There’s a lot at stake. The political tilt of our community in the form of County, Municipal and Port elected positions could shift dramatically either way. For the first time in nearly a decade at the federal level and nearly twice that long locally, we have seen the light pf progressive philosophies regenerate our hopes for the future.
Big business in general and the development business in particular don’t like the prospect of electing officials who will craft rules to protect the interests of the public and individual taxpayers at the expense of a few people who would expand the sprawl and encroachment of the built environment solely for their own profit.
Twenty-three of your fellow citizens who care about our community have pooled their resources to apprise you of how much builder/realtor spending is fueling local campaigns this year and which candidates have benefited the most. A thumbnail dossier on current Olympia Councilmember Craig Ottavelli adds a chilling profile of how public policy becomes private profit soon after a candidate is ushered into office on the developer PRE-PAID plan.
Visit www.23citizens.info for the ongoing, updated compendium of cash for consideration and Help Me “Out” the Development Industry’s Attempt to Buy Our Local Elections.
Through a newly-formed Independent Expenditure Committee I’m calling Twenty-Three Citizens Who Care About Our Community, I have mailed an alert to selected Olympia voters about the disturbing trend of builders and realtors pouring very large sums of money into our local political campaigns…
over $200,000 since 2006!…
Candidates funded by this commercial pool of money can look deceptively like the people’s choice, as voters mistakenly assume the people have spoken with their pocketbooks. The people have spoken, but the special interests have spoken in a much louder monetary voice.
Please help me to apprise the largely uninformed public of the extremely distorted impression they may get from the large quantity and misleading content of the avalanche of messages distributed by these groups.”
Thank you,
Walt Jorgensen
Olympia, WA
If you have any questions, please contact me at waltjorgensen@comcast.net
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