Warning, Washington State Election information to follow. If you can't or won't be voting in the election, this probably will be a very boring post and you might want to give it a pass.
Some people don't get interested or excited about elections unless there is a president, governor, or at least a senator involved. None of those positions are up for election this time, but it turns out to still be a fairly interesting ballot. We have an array of interesting initiatives and referendums on the list, and we also have a number of local positions to fill. I've read the voters' pamphlet and done a modest bit of research on my own, but I do not claim to be an in-depth expert on any of these issues. Feel free to comment if you have any constructive input on any of these issues. Without further ado, here are my Washington State elections picks for 2007:
1. Initiative 960 (aka the 2/3 majority requirement for tax increases)---> NO
The logic here? If Eyman is for it, than it must be bad. Sure enough, upon further inspection, this initiative would make it very difficult for the state government to authorize even the most important increases. As a teacher I feel that simple majority is the way to go.
2. Referendum 67 (aka the insurance fair conduct bill) ---> Yes
The short version, as I read it anyway, is that insurance companies are currently able to deny reasonable claims in the hopes that the patient will just accept the denial and go away. In other states, this practice is illegal, and any patient who finds there reasonable claim denied may sue the insurer. I've had this one happen to me (denial of a reasonable claim) and it sucks. Let's nail them to the proverbial wall.
3. Resolution 8206 (aka the rainy day fund) ---> Yes
My logic for this one is very short. Oregon has a rainy day fund, and it has proven to be a major asset when economics take a downturn or natural disasters hit. Washington needs one of these too.
4. Resolution 8212 (aka The Prison Work Program) ---> Yes
I admit that this one was very tough to work out. It changes the way prison labor is allocated, and it has a provision preventing certain types of competition with outside business. In the end, I narrowly decided for support because some of my research indicated that there would be better employment for inmates under the changes. Like I said though, this is one of the ones I feel least confident about.
5. Resolution 4204 (aka eliminates the supermajority requirement for increases in educational funding) ---> Yes
This one is a no-brainer. For the same reasons that I can't approve #1, I am in support of this one. The idea of requiring supermajorities for this kind of thing seems antithetical to democratic principles.
6. Resolution 4215 (aka Investment of higher education funds) ---> Yes
This one was also quite tricky for me to decide on at first, but then my union stepped in. It seems that this proposal gives greater flexibility in investing certain types of education funding.
7. King County Initiative 25 (aka county director of elections) ---> No
After some research, I am convinced that this office is unnecessary. There are already a number of good checks and balances on our elections, so I really don't think this is required. It seems to me like a potshot by Republicans who are still smarting over Gregoire. I also do not want to politicize this type of position.
8. King County Proposition 1 (aka EMT renewal of services) ---> Yes
I like the idea that someone will come REALLY QUICKLY to my house if I need them. I am willing to pay for this service.
9. Regional Transportation Investment District Proposition 1 (aka transit tax) --> Yes
This one was also tough. I would like to see more traffic relief for roads. However, I think I would probably vote for this thing even if it included NO traffic relief. We are in desperate need of mass transit in this area, and the longer we delay, the worse things will get. At no point will any of these proposals get any cheaper either. Given the current price of gas, this proposal seems all the more timely.
Sorry, I've run out of time for now. If I have more to spare tomorrow, I might delve into people. Do feel free to comment if you have additional information.
2 comments:
Shoot, I meant to talk to you about this stuff yesterday but forgot! I think I'm going to vote more or less the same way on most of these (including the "Tim Eyman initiative == vote NO!" and the "trains will never get cheaper, and we should have some" logic) except for the insurance one...from what I read you have the right today to sue the insurance companies if they deny you coverage, this just raises the amount of damages that you can get, thereby encouraging more suing. I might have misunderstood though...
I understood it the same way after talking it out with my husband. And if insurance companies are going to risk getting sued more often (and thus paying out more) they would be encouraged to raise their rates even higher...
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