Ann "Gas Tax" Rivers and the lie of the "one year bump."

I've got to wonder: Is Rivers certifiably insane?

Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, one of the key negotiators in the funding package, said she’s heard significant concern from her constituents who, she said, don’t recognize their increased tax bill is a “one-time bump.”

“It’s short-term pain for long-term gain,” she said. 

Let me rephrase for Gas Tax:

It's OK if I shoot you this year... you can heal next year.

You see, I do understand Rivers' lie that it's a "one time bump."  It's simply not believable.

But then, with Gas Tax Rivers' record of lying on taxes and fees, what is it that Rivers says about this that IS "believable?"

It is a MASSIVE, UNCONSCIONABLE, INEXCUSABLE increase in our property taxes which, even if it were to completely disappear next year would STILL be inexcusable!

Besides the obvious fact that it is NOT a "one time bump," EVEN IF IT WERE, THE PAIN THIS YEAR FOR MANY IS REAL.

How the hell was the GOP-controlled Senate thinking that this would be... in any way... "acceptable?"

Is it any wonder the GOP lost control of the state Senate?

And WHAT "long term gain" is that woman babbling about?  What will those of us paying the bills get out of this except a smoking check book?

A commenter below the article describing Rivers' insanity says it best:
Dick Rylander · Battle Ground, Washington

 

A couple of pieces of food for thought:

1) 2019 will see a 1x reduction in property taxes of $.30/$1000.

2) 2020 the 1x reduction will be gone and, along with any assessed value increase in 2019, will lead to an increase in taxes again.

3) The $1.50/$1000 levy is already under assault. The State Superintendent (Chjris Reykdal) along with some superintendents across the state, is asking the legislature to increase the $1.50 to an estimated $2.31/$1000. On a median priced home in CC ($350,000) the change from $1.50 to $2.31 would take the $525 levy to $808 (a 53.9% increase).

Although the carbon tax and capital gains tax efforts failed in the legislature they are sure to return. Democrats say they want a more balanced tax system and that they would reduce property taxes if other taxes were implemented. In the end, the one thing that's sure, is that tax increase efforts will continue as expansion of government and redistribution of wealth are pursued.

_____________________________________________________

And this, you see, is the thing: with the clueless GOP morons who voted for this in office and running for re-election... why on earth should anyone ever vote for a GOP legislator again?

Folks, there was zero reason... none... for this increase.  Supporters of this insanity will point to the state Supreme Court McCleary decision as their excuse.  The problem was that is the Court had no right or ability to force the Legislature to do anything, and the Legislature's only job here was to tell the Court to drop dead.

But what did the GOP-Controlled Senate do?

They rammed this massive, humongous tax increase in and then broke it off instead.

Rivers, in the article, continues to insist as she babbles that this is a "one year increase."

That is simply a lie.  There is a minor decrease next year, and then in the follow on year, 2020, the 2019 decrease will disappear, and then the taxes will continue to increase.

Rivers, obviously, doesn't care about the damage she inflicted on her district.  Tens of millions of dollars will be sucked out of the local economy as the people of this county generally and her district particularly scramble to pay HER bill... that we never should have seen in the first place... and which was most CERTAINLY NOT the County Assessor's fault.

Here's the idiot list that voted for this stupidity.

Vote accordingly this November.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS

Barkis (R)	Caldier (R)	Chandler (R)	DeBolt (R)	Dent (R)
Graves (R)	Griffey (R)	Haler (R)	Harris (R)	Klippert (R)
Kristiansen (R)	MacEwen (R)	Manweller (R)	McDonald (R)	Muri (R)
Nealey (R)	Smith (R)	Stambaugh (R)	Stokesbary (R)	Walsh,J (R)
Wilcox (R)	Young (R)

SENATE REPUBLICANS

Angel (R)	Bailey (R)	Baumgartner (R)	Becker (R)	Braun (R)
Brown (R)	Ericksen (R)	Fain (R)	Fortunato (R)	Hawkins (R)
Honeyford (R)	King (R)	Miloscia (R)	O'Ban (R)	Pearson (R)
Rivers (R)	Rossi (R)	Schoesler (R)	Short (R)	Walsh (R)
Warnick (R)	Wilson (R)	Zeiger (R)

Locally  Paul Harris was the only one to betray us in the House.

In the Senate?

King, Braun, Rivers and Wilson are the ones who bent us over.

And one of the morons who voted for this now runs the House GOP: Wilcox.

No, Senator, there is no gain for those of us paying the bills.  But there sure is for the special interests who own you like slavery was still legal.

An example of slimy politics: Herrera's latest mailer.

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler has repeatedly proven herself to be utterly worthless except for her ability to get re-elected.

She has had 8 years to address the Number One economic issue confronting the people of Southwest Washington, namely, resolving the obvious problems concerning cross-river transportation.

What has she accomplished in these 8 years?

Absolutely nothing.

Her latest mailer, sent out at taxpayer expense, is a pure campaign piece. "Jaime fights against Oregon tolls."

"Tell me what you think of the proposed tolls on I-5 and I-205."

It's of note that Herrera has, to date, already failed to do anything about these tolls.

And it's not as if she's opposed to ALL tolls, you see.  She has no problem charging the people of Clark County tolls to get the CRC/Loot Rail scam up and running.

But that's what the downtown mafia who owns her like the 13th Amendment was never passed demands that she does.

But the purpose of this mailer is to set in your minds the idea that she opposes ALL tolls... which is simply not true.

She has no problem sucking the $100,000,000+ a year out of the Clark County economy that tolls for the CRC Scam would cost us; she's just got a problem with OREGON tolling us.

And why does she have a problem with it?

Because she knows that when Oregon enslaves the people of Washington State like the blood-sucking worms they are, that will monumentally galvanize even MORE opposition to the CRC Scam over HERE because THAT unneeded, unwanted and unaffordable rip off will charge ADDITIONAL tolls that Herrera DOES want... and the people will freak.  Her opposition to Oregon tolls, besides being based on political expedience, is based on her concern that it will be a problem the CRC won't survive.

Confusing, isn't it?

This piece, for example, doesn't come out and say:  "I will fight against ALL tolls," or what she occasionally calls "user fees" when it suits her.

Oh, no. 

Just the tolls OREGON would impose...a political distinction that Herrera hopes is without a difference.

I'm sure that, right now, if a poll were held in Clark County today, the majority responding would answer yes to the question: "Is Jaime Herrera Beutler opposed to tolls?" And many people who read this mailer would answer in the affirmative as a result.

Even though the reality is that such a conclusion is far, far from the truth and she's playing you, the people supporting her, like a violin.

Vote for whomever you like.  But when someone is making an effort to manipulate you like Herrera is, it should at least give you pause.
 

Memo to Davey: When YOU are in a hole, stop digging - Lies, damned lies and Theft 3 Gellatly lies.

Unfortunately, Clark County is cursed with a lowlife GOP party chair with the integrity and character of an MLK hooker.

We just recently got rid of a self-delusional narcissist when he finished 8 horrific years as president. He babbled many things during and after his horrific term in office, but one of THE most outrageous things that waste of skin has said to date is this:

 "We didn't have a major scandal that embarrassed us"

Is it possible the worst president this country has ever known actually believes that?

This article points out a mere 18 or so.

President Obama and his mouthpieces have embarked on a bizarre scheme to hypnotize America into forgetting the many scandals of his presidency. They seem to think that intoning “this administration hasn’t had a scandal” over and over again will make history disappear. It’s the lamest Jedi Mind Trick ever, and is being pushed on people who know Star Wars is just a movie.

Obama also said, at major fund raiser in California:

Speaking to donors at a private fundraiser in California, Obama railed against former House Oversight Committee Chair Darrell Issa for calling his administration corrupt. 

“Here’s a guy who called my administration perhaps the most corrupt in history — despite the fact that actually we have not had a major scandal in my administration,” he said, referring to Issa, according to a transcript of his speech.

And when he hasn't been babbling that nonsense, his posse has been mouthing the words:

Sunday on CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” President Barack Obama’s close friend and longtime adviser Valerie Jarrett said, “The president prides himself on the fact that his administration hasn’t had a scandal.”

Sadly, this is the pattern favored by Theft 3.  Yesterday, on Facebook for example, he portrayed himself as being as pure as the driven snow.

"And since being made aware of that rule, I do my best to abide by it."

Which, apparently is his effort to excuse his past conduct of lies, exaggerations, misstatements, character attacks... the list is endless.

In fact, among other nicknames this clown has garnered is the descriptive "Davey Delete" because he was known for brutally attacking his opponents and then, having been humiliated by the facts, making his lies simply disappear by simply deleting his many attacks against those wise enough to call him out.

Smile, Davey!

 "I have never been accused of GRAND theft, larceny, or embezzlement by any reasonable human being"  (my emphasis added)

Seriously.

But he HAS been accused of 4 counts of Theft 3.  He HAS been accused of failing to appear in court and he HAS had to deal with warrants for his arrest as a result.

He HAS been accused of multiple counts of DUI.

After all, do mug shots take themselves?

And the "I've never been evicted for failing to pay rent (or any other reason?)"

The fine folks at "Riverstone Residential West, LLC" may take a different view: an eviction lawsuit based on nonpayment of rent, case number 09 205630 1 filed in Clark County Superior Court, alleging Theft was behind in his rent in 2009 for a total of $2,150 tends to, well, cast a different light on Theft's claims.  Theft did a pretty good job of avoiding service, simply by, allegedly, refusing to answer the door.

Ultimately, the rent finally got paid.  But Theft would have the casual observer think that no effort was ever made to get him evicted.  The record indicates that such is not the case.

Not that Theft, such a sterling fellow, would EVER post something not absolutely truthful, right?

And THAT was such fun that less than a year later, they had to do it again: Clark County Superior Court number 10 2 03417 3.

Having shown the pattern that has served Theft so well in handling party legal issues, a default judgment against Theft and others was entered when they simply failed to show up.  $3,900.88 for unpaid rent and various other fees.

Theft, BEING Theft, filed suit against Holland Residential in Small Claims Court, for $5000.

The grounds?

That Holland "Purposefully filed false information on (his) credit and refus(ing) to correct it.  Damaging (his) credit rating, costing (him) a great deal of time and money."

The suit was tossed, of course.  That's the nature of the beast.

Now, clearly, Davey has had issues.  Here, he holds himself out to be as pure as the driven snow, so to speak.

Much of his other fanciful self-flagellation has nothing to do with much of anything.  His expenditures of Party money may be somewhat more problematic.

He has, he claims, "never failed to appear for a court hearing" (which, of course, he HAS: the judgment in Case Number 10-2-03417-3, one of the eviction cases, clearly states "no appearance by Judgment Debtors" as the basis for the case outcome.

And yes, I recognize that he qualifies his bogus claim by writing "thereby allowing a default judgment to issued against an organization for which (he) was the principle fiduciary."

Really?

Odd, that:

Apparently, Brent Boger (who is an attorney) takes a somewhat different view:

"I cannot defend anyone ever allowing entry of a default judgment in a judicial proceeding.  I am critical of David Robert Gellatly for that.

Odd that Theft claims he hasn't done what Boger claims that he HAS done.

How confusing.

He sticks to a great many numbers... Was it $74,000 or $51,000?  Did he lie to the executive board when, as I understand it, he told them he would appear at the AG lawsuit and then failed to do so?

He ends his babbling by claiming he "... has never made ridiculous false allegations and slander... (which is an outright lie, of course) which landed (him) in court."

Well, the idiotic case HE filed against Colwell doesn't provide cover for Theft; he's lied about and slandered others, including me, on numerous occasions.  That it wasn't worth suing him over?

Since he's got nothing to pay, what good would it do?

And then this idiocy:

The irony of Crain carrying this scumbag's water is hard to overstate, given that Theft feed me information to trash her with.  It almost seems like the political version of domestic violence: Theft beat her up to me, and she still supports the guy doing the beating.

For her part, clearly Crain is even more delusional than Theft.

And anyone reading this can see that Obama and Theft have the exact same mindset when it comes to their actions.

Nothing bad that's happened is their fault.  They're both completely innocent.  They're both victims.  Overwhelming evidence to the contrary... neither of them did anything illegal or, for that matter, even wrong.

And in Theft's case, he's spent a thousand percent more time trashing conservatives than he has his leftist, democrat buddies... which is zero time at all.

And frankly, instead of doing his best to shatter the party base, isn't going after the democrats what he's SUPPOSED to be doing?  Instead of wasting all this time trashing a PCO, shouldn't he be spending more time trashing democrats?

One wonders: what has he done FOR Republicans... instead of TO Republicans?

Repost: The Hinton Filter: what it is and how it works.

Pondering running for office...
_____________________________________

It's a simple processor, based on my experience and what I've watched government become.

There are, of course, two major parties.  They each stand for something, based on their branding, messaging and advertising.

That's what their candidates tell us, anyway.  And that's the perception of a great many of the voting public.

Having been buried deep inside this process... having made my living off politics or politically related positions for the past 23 years... and having been politically active for the past 29, you learn a lot along the way.

Many of the lessons have been painful.  And oddly, most of them have been a caricature of politics as it's presented in generalities.

I started out with a PoliSci degree and nothing else.  I thought I had it all figured out.

Man, was *I* wrong.

The stereotype of a teenage boy when it comes to girls ... a tried and true history to be sure... is that they will say and frequently do... anything to get a girl out of her clothes.

It's not about love, of course.  It's about sex.

The girls, at some level, know that.  They need to be lied to for the boy to get what he wants, so they're lied to.  But the emotions and hormones are sooooo strong that they are usually ignored... and we all know the typical outcome.

Politics is a lot like that... in so many ways.

Just replace the words "teenage boy" with the word "politician"... and the words "teenage girl" with the word "voter".

We all know that.  It's portrayed that way in the movies and TV... and has been for decades.

I know it when I see it.

And I object.

There's a book-learnin' aspect to this: the thing I first learned after I finished my degree and got out of the military is that the entirety of what we're taught these days about politics and about government is by no means factual.  It is all... in its entirety... theoretical.

That is, the book-learnin' presents how it's SUPPOSED to be.

But real life presents how it is.  And how it is?

Is nothing like the books.

Oh, the schematics were accurate, as far as they go.  There are 3 branches of government.  They're the Executive, Legislative and Judicial and so on and so on.

But what goes on with the PEOPLE that make up the schematic, that's another thing entirely.

I'm reminded of one of the sayings on my blog:

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Dr. Martin Luther King

Indeed.

So, I speak my mind.  

My voice isn't for the left or the right.  Some have a hard time understanding that, to be sure.

Others, seeking to silence me; or at least minimally, discredit me with claims that I am some sort of mercenary, getting paid to write what I write; attack and vilify me, even going so far as to dig up and threaten me using information about both me and my wife, which, to put it mildly, would violate the Privacy Act (Social Security numbers and the like).

I speak my mind on a variety of issues concerning the political realm.  I call people out who we have hired to govern us and represent us in government... who, if they were employed by anyone reading this, would immediately be fired for what they've done and are doing.

These politicians count on a short attention span.  They count on us "forgetting," or, in the case of the RINO CCGOP chairs who endorsed my brother-in-law, Marc Boldt, for county chair in 2015, they specifically asked us to actually ignore his voting record as a commissioner and elect the Young Democrat-endorsed Boldt anyway, because of their hatred of conservatives:

Brent Boger
Ann Donnelly
Ron Rasmussen, Sr.
Mike Gaston
Margie Ferris

I don't ignore voting records.  I don't ignore the pledges made by candidates and incumbents.  I don't ignore when someone who claims GOP allegiance gets endorsed by the furthest possible leftist political group in Clark County AND five GOP chairs who blinded themselves to help us get the leftist Chair we have now... with 39% of the vote.

The GOP is supposed to stand for something.  If it doesn't, then it will fall for anything, as it did when it elected many of those we have in charge of us now.

I freely admit I voted for many democrats in the last election, because I had to ask myself the question:

Is it better to have an honest democrat in office that you oppose?

Or to reward a lying, dishonest Republican that you despise when the only thing separating the two is the letter after their name?

That's an easy choice for me.

None of the Republicans I oppose, for example, ran on a platform of foisting stratospheric tax increases on us.  In fact, some ran on just the opposite:

"The people have spoken and have listened."

$700 million later, it looks like there's a difference between "listening," and "hearing."

I wish I didn't have to write about this sort of thing: after all, one of the reasons we have a political party organization is for THEM to hold people like Rivers accountable for their actions and votes and to further the tenets of Republicanism as an alternative to the more expensive, bigger, more heavily taxed, less focused on freedom message of the democrats.

Sadly, the local GOP does not hold our candidates or elected accountable for what they do.

They have no apparent difficulty at all with a sitting state senator, claiming to be a Republican, working for a large democrat campaign organization here locally... for a substantial check... while that same senator is simultaneously "negotiating" with the democrats the addition of $5.5 billion to our budget to give a massive pay raise, without any additional accountability or achievement measures, to the teacher's union... a union so grateful, they felt compelled to congratulate this same senator for her betrayal of her district and the people of this state... all to cause our property taxes tom explode.

So, the question for me is clear:

Do I just let all of this sort of thing go?

Do I use my platform, such as it is, to remind those politically active enough to read my meager effort here?

Do I use it to irritate the powers that be?

Clearly, many of those in "power" dislike BEING irritated.  But from MY perspective, if they were doing their job, I wouldn't have to do any of this, would I?

I wouldn't be threatened by them... I wouldn't be vilified by them... I wouldn't even be noticed by them.

When I am alarmed by what I see, I ring the bell and bang the garbage can lid.  When I see dishonesty, I intend to speak to it.  I bring it up to remind those of understandably short attention span

The main difference between myself and most anyone else reading this is that while many may think or speak to what I write about here... I actually put it in writing for all to read.

And, of course, for those who are opposed to what I have to say, they can feel free to either ignore my tiny effort... or respond to it in ways that make a case.

That's up to the reader.  But I'm not going anywhere.

That's the filter.  That's how it works.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cross posted on Clark County RINO List.

A defining moment for the Trump Administration: the extortion by illegal aliens

As the so-called "illegal alien caravan" arrives at the border, we've reached a defining moment in the Trump Administration: what, exactly, does he intend to do about it?

This is one of those times when he finds himself in a box of his own making.  Like most Americans, his position is one of stronger borders and opposition to the law breakers leaching off our economy, the gang members terrorizing our communities, stressing our tax-paid social services, our education systems, our low-income housing systems, our welfare systems and so on.

Most reading this are well acquainted with the issues.  What it boils down to is this: what is Mr. Trump going to do about it?

With the leftist deep state foaming at the mouth to injure both the president and this country, they will do all they can to see Mr. Trump fail in his efforts to keep these law-breaking tools out of our country as opposed to the catch and release or whatever they've called this wink-and-a-nod border violating policy that's been so in vogue for so long.

Mr. Trump has drawn a line in the sand with this situation.  I believe if he fails here... and anything besides keeping these people out will BE a failure... it may be the beginning of the unraveling of his Administration.

The first rule of leadership, you see, is never promise nuthin' you can't... or won't... deliver.

If these people cross this line... our border... there will be no end to it.

The whole world's watching, Mr. President.  You have to find a way to put a stop to this.  You can't cave again like you did on the budget.  You can't compromise since there is no compromise that would result in the expulsion of these illegals.

This is literally the biggest challenge you've faced.  You have to find a way to get it done.

Yes, Mr. President, the whole world's watching.

And so are we.

 

Battle Ground Bond fails again... thanks to Rivers, among others.

So, once again, the Battle Ground Bond failed.

As I analyze the loss, there are 3 primary reasons as I see it:

1.  Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.

The school district was sent a message with the failure of a few short weeks ago.  They refused to receive the message and resubmitted the same ask as the one that failed... a mind-boggling number of $224 million.

The district had several other options they COULD have used, of course... but it was all or nothing for them.  And in this case?

It was nothing.

What part of "no" did they not get?

2.  The supporter-side were acting like Nazi's.

It's problematic when they walk all over the other side's concerns as if they're meaningless, attacking them as individuals and painting them as uncaring morons who, effectively, want children dead in the streets.

The main problem is that those objecting to this unconscionable ask had valid points of concern which made absolutely no difference to these people in their single-minded focus to crush the opposition and get more shopping malls built.

In short, the district wanted Cadillacs when the voters were willing to pay for Fords.

(NOTE: Supporters?  Trying to build the "yes" side on the bodies of those slaughtered in Parkland?  Not a good idea.)

3.  Because of the betrayal of her district, Rivers' humongous property tax increase of many hundreds of dollars, frequently exceeding a thousand dollars, in one year... all for her fringe-left buddies in the WEA could not have come at a worse time.

There was no reason for any state education portion of property taxes to explode, save for the increases caused by Sen. Ann "Gas Tax" Rivers.

These huge, unconscionable increases by a fake Republican senator who then doubled down by blaming the county assessor for HER actions, killed any hope of a "yes" vote succeeding for the next several years.  And much of the blame for that begins and ends with the concentric circle with Rivers standing in the middle.

This outcome was obvious the moment the property tax shock hit.  But BGSD did nothing to factor that in as if the property taxes we're paying this year had not blasted off to the stratosphere over last year.

A more responsive, intelligent approach would have been to provide a menu of improvements based on urgency... and then trust in the voter to make the right decision.

But this effort clearly showed a lack of trust on the part of the school district and now?

Everyone suffers.

Something else to think about when it comes to local politics: when your GOP Chair tries to play idiotic bully by SUING a PCO.

I've never been able to wrap my head around the idea that ANYONE could get so butthurt that someone believes being referred to as an "embezzler" in a PRIVATE email means they have to sue someone.

It's particularly moronic when that someone is SUPPOSED to be an adult and a leader and someone who has the mission of furthering Republican political success against democrats... instead of conservatives.

Folks tend to dislike it when a bully tries to beat people up, literally or figuratively.

Well, the local Emperor of the GOP thought that picking one out of the herd and trying to crush him would shut everyone else up that was opposed to the insanity he represents.

Well, The Lord Himself could not shut me up about the rot and corruption Theft 3 represents.

That said, many have rallied around the victim of Davey's brainless stupidity.

Theft 3 has been known to attack, belittle, denigrate and lie about others publicly and often.  He can certainly dish it out, but he has had a difficult time taking it.

In this instance, a group of those who support the opposition to Theft have banded together to provide as much financial support as they can to help him bear this crushing financial burden that the scumbag Chair of the local GOP has imposed upon him as punishment for opposing his Nazi-style takeover of the local GOP at the behest of the RINOs who own him like the 13th Amendment was never passed.

The latest fundraising effort brought in $5000 to support the victim of the lowlife Chair trying to ruin his life and that of his family. The money that might otherwise go to RINOs will instead be going to Richard.

Theft's victim in all this will never be abandoned.  Richard... and we... will never give up.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing.”

Sir Edmund Burke

I will never stop.  And neither will the rest of us who support him.

Proudly funded by

K.J. Hinton

gogetfunding.com/gop-chair-sues-precinct-officer-richard-colwell-

Colin Kaeperpick asks the idiotic question:

“How can you stand for the national anthem of a nation that preaches and propagates, ‘freedom and justice for all,’ that is so unjust to so many of the people living there?”

Colin wants to know.  So, I thought I'd help him out:

This is Sergeant Noah Galloway.  Seems he lost his left arm and left leg over there somewhere.  Maybe this punk Kaeperpick might help him find them.

This is US Senator Tammy Duckworth, a leftist of some renown.  She lost both of her legs and partial use of her right arm as a consequence of being shot down while flying her chopper in Iraq.  While I despise her politics generally, there's little doubt that she has sacrificed a great deal for this country.

 I don't know who any of these troops are.  But I think that any one of them could answer Pick's question.

As it turns out, he's having a tough time finding a job playing a game.  Many of these people and thousands of others have a tougher time walking to their front door.

But my guess is that every one of them... except maybe Duckworth, but she's a leftist and that's to be expected from one of them.

But she has paid for her right to act any particular way she wants.

What have you paid, Pick?

To run or not to run against Hoff in the 18th... that is the question.

I hold no illusions about winning... besides, like Groucho once said: "I wouldn't be a member of any club who would have me."

But with the departure of Ley, that only leaves that pathetic political coward of a creature Larry Hoff, "Gas Tax" Rivers' sockpuppet, behind... unless someone else steps up.

If I were to run, it would be as a Republican.  I'd use the platform of a candidate to expose the pathetic, back-stabbing, behind the scenes corruption of party leadership, and I'd be going to a great many debates to level Hoff on the issues... of which, he is completely ignorant and of which, he will merely do what Rivers tells him to do... and, as we know, Rivers has been little more than an abysmal waste of skin for the past 3 years.

Among other things, I'd do what Hoff refuses to do:

I'd respond to the questions of those I'd represent... even when I disagree with them.  I wouldn't block them merely because they ask how he would have voted differently than Rivers on the gas tax, on tab fees and on this horrific property tax explosion she caused.

The answer, of course, is that he'd be in lockstep with her: Hoff would have voted for all of those AND he would have voted to protect their communications with the special interests who own them in the legislature.

I'd vote my district.

I'd tell Rivers to change parties and stop lying about her political affiliations.  After all, Strategies 360, a democrat campaign firm, bought her once before while she was "negotiating" the budget... she might as well go whole hog and just tattoo a "D" after her name... like her leftist voting record tells us she actually is.

Unlike Hoff, I would oppose all tax and fee increases.  And unlike Rivers, I would keep my word.... "how business is done" notwithstanding.

Wouldn't that be fun?

I'd blow off the democratian's editorial boards and guess what?

THEY WOULDN'T ENDORSE ME!  Wouldn't that be sad?

No... I couldn't win.  I'd become the new Madore in the media; the rag would beat on me like a drum.  They'd make my family suffer in their rabid desire to destroy me, because I stand as the loudest voice calling for their destruction and replacement with... not a conservative publication, but a fair, even handed effort that would tell you what actually happened the way it actually happened, and let you figure it out for yourself.

You know, without any "help" from them?

It's something I think about as I occasionally observe the fake campaign of Hoff, where he tries to confuse the voters into thinking he's a conservative, and that he's actually doing something besides name dropping.

"Kim Wyman this... Ridgefield Barbie that..." providing an ever-growing list of reasons to vote against him if a baboon was his only opponent.

All that Credit Union money... because THEY know what side there bread is buttered on, and if Rivers allows it, he'll be their legislator-lobbyist if he can.

"But... but... that might keep him from getting elected.  MAYBE, even get a democrat elected!"

Since he's going to vote like a democrat anyway, so what?

Yeah... I think about it.  A lot.

Who knows?

Stranger things have happened.

Kenny Vance's take on Sen. Ann Rivers... and what she's morphed into.

Sen. Ann Rivers’ voting record and actions are worth our scrutiny

Posted by Ken Vance, Editor

Date: Thursday, April 19, 2018

in: Editorials, Latest, Opinion

AddThis Sharing Buttons

Share to FacebookShare to TwitterShare to EmailShare to PrintFriendlyShare to More

Republican lawmaker’s performance doesn’t seem to match that of a self-proclaimed fiscal conservative

I learned a long time ago that if you have a job in journalism that provides you an opportunity to share your opinion and commentary on a wide range of topics and issues on a weekly basis over a span of a few decades, you are sure to have a column or two that serves as a skeleton in your closet.

It’s kind of like being a slugger in Major League Baseball. You can’t hit a lot of home runs unless you’re willing to strike out once in while.

I don’t know if I would term it a complete whiff, but one past column that I penned that has haunted me, perhaps, more than any other was one that I wrote nearly three years ago while editor of The Reflector Newspaper. In the interest of full disclosure, here’s a link to that column:

http://www.thereflector.com/opinion/article_e6b2d82c-2ff5-11e5-9769-77508e5e55a5.html

Lawmakers in the Washington State Legislature had just passed a $16.1 billion transportation package. It was the largest gas tax increase in our state’s history, bumping our gas tax by 11.9 cents per gallon. In the column, I report that among the elected officials representing the 17th and 18th districts in Southwest Washington, Sen. Ann Rivers was the only one to vote in favor of the transportation package and gas tax increase.

As you might imagine, Rivers was under fire for her vote, especially among Clark County conservatives. Because of that, Rivers was virtually forced to go on the offensive to defend her actions. She scheduled town hall meetings and took individual “coffees’’ with virtually anyone who wanted to bend her ear. She also made the rounds to area news organizations, offering to explain her reasoning for the controversial vote. Rivers visited me at my office at The Reflector Newspaper in Battle Ground. If I recall correctly, I think she spent almost two hours explaining her reasoning and answering my questions.

When she left, I was conflicted. As a fiscal conservative, I couldn’t and wouldn’t endorse her vote. But, I appreciated the fact that she stood by it so boldly and was willing to face all criticism head on. Her explanation that the transportation package was going to pass with or without her vote and the only way to secure funding for road projects in Clark County was to sign on made at least some sense to me, albeit while serving as a classic example of situational ethics.

I immediately took a lot of heat for giving her a pass. I will argue it was only a half pass. But, nonetheless, I’ve revisited the column many times in my own mind. The regrets I have about the thoughts I expressed in that column are not necessarily due to any of the information I had before me at that time. They’re centered more on Rivers’ actions in the years after her vote on that transportation package.

During my visit with Rivers three years ago, she proclaimed that she was a fiscal conservative who views raising taxes in the same vein as “swallowing cyanide and arsenic.’’ But, her actions, both including that vote and since, don’t support that claim.

It’s bad enough that her vote on that transportation package helped to give us what is now the second-highest gas tax rate in the nation (https://taxfoundation.org/state-gasoline-tax-rates-2017/), but Rivers has continued to turn her back on her conservative constituents who helped put her in her current position.

This recent photo from a pump at a gas station in Clark County shows the gas tax rate that Southwest Washington residents currently pay. Photo by Ken Vance

Another example of why I find it unbelievable that Rivers views raising taxes in the same vein as “swallowing cyanide and arsenic’’ is her vote in favor of the $43.7 billion 2017 state budget that provided an extra $7.3 billion to satisfy the state Supreme Court ruling (McCleary Decision) on funding basic education (https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/jun/30/lawmakers-race-to-pass-437-billion-state-budget/). She not only voted in favor of that budget increase, which played a significant part in the painful property tax increases Clark County residents are experiencing in 2018, but she was a central figure in the creation of that budget proposal and its passage.

There are other examples of how Rivers has changed since my meeting with her in the summer of 2015. However, I hold out the real possibility that she hasn’t changed at all, rather, that she has just revealed her true self in the days, months and years since her vote on that gas tax increase.

On Saturday, Rivers appeared with Rep. Brandon Vick at a series of three town halls around Clark County held by the two 18th District lawmakers. But, Rivers’ tone was much different than the one we heard three years ago. This time, instead of taking responsibility and being accountable for her role in raising taxes, she took the opportunity to blame Clark County Assessor Peter Van Nortwick.

‘Punched in the Stomach’: Democratic control among topics of Town Hall

Posted by Eric Schwartz

|Saturday, April 14, 2018

|in : Latest, News

18th District state Rep. Brandon Vick said Saturday at a Legislative Town Hall in Battle Ground that he felt like he had been punched in the stomach after Democrats ran w...

Read more

Rivers claimed that poor property assessment practices at the county level, and subsequent corrections increasing the value of Clark County properties, have played a role in the sticker shock some residents are experiencing when receiving their property tax statements. Rivers said the assessor’s office undervalued property in Clark County for a long period of time and that the correction to those numbers came at an unfortunate juncture.

“The correction has happened but unfortunately it came at a time when other bills were coming due,” Rivers said at the meeting.

I talked to Van Nortwick this week. He denied any such problems with the county’s property assessment practices or any correction as a result.

“There has been no correction,’’ Van Nortwick told me. “I have a staff of about 25 appraisers that do things according IAAO (International Association of Assessing Officers) standards. We also do it under the direction of the Department of Revenue. We have a good ratio when it comes to the valuation of homes. Our ratio is above the state average or median.’’

I’ve told you in this space before, I don’t endorse politicians. Therefore, I try not to condemn them either. It’s my job to just offer some context and perspective on their actions, and in this case, I find those of Rivers to be worth your scrutiny.

I’m willing to allow my past performance to be reassessed in order to provide you with that insight.

We'd love to hear your comments!