Tag: politics

Carlyle reaching out before legislative session

Geeky Swedes 80 Comments

Representative Reuven Carlyle is entering his second year as a 36th District Representative to the state legislature. Before the session starts next week, Carlyle is reaching out to find out what’s important to you and give you an idea of what he’s planning for the session.

The following is written by Rep. Carlyle:

The bang of the gavel opens the 2010 session of the Legislature on January 11, and the depth of the challenges we face in the 60-day sprint reflect the seriousness that people are feeling in their daily lives.

Before I put my life as a husband, father and entrepreneur on hold to serve in Olympia as your citizen legislator, I wanted to reach out and connect about the pressing issues facing our state as we enter the legislative session.

What are the policy issues that inspire you to act, and what can state government do to be more responsive to your values and interests? Please make suggestions in the thread, spend some time on my active blog at www.reuvencarlyle36.com or email me anytime at carlyle.reuven@leg.wa.gov. Friend me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter where I’m working to keep you informed from inside your government. My goal is to be the first ‘paperless’ legislative office.

This year, given the difficult economic times in which we live, there is little besides the budget on the table. But how we handle the budget is a moral question not just a financial one. The state’s $32 billion two-year budget (driven by consumer-purchasing related taxes) is staggering under the weight of the economic downturn. This year’s projected $2.6 billion budget deficit–following a projected $9 billion gap last year that we balanced–has forced the most substantive reassessment of our public priorities in generations.

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Community members ask the candidates

Thea Chard 67 Comments

The Mayoral candidates and City Council candidates came together last night for a community forum, held in the Ballard High School auditorium. Put on by the Ballard and Magnolia/Queen Anne District Councils, community members were invited to ask the candidates questions about their policies and future plans. Moderated by Seattle Channel’s C.R. Douglas, the forum was comprised of questions submitted beforehand by the community, audience queries and a series of “lightening rounds,” where candidates held up one of three cards: “Yes,” “No,” and “Waffle” (Literally. The card showed a picture of waffles).

First up were the eight City Council candidates. Beginning promptly at 6:30 p.m., each candidate was given one minute to summarize why they wanted the position. Some topics of particular interest included the Viaduct construction, the proposed tunnel, and whether or not these projects should come before or after critical and much-needed maintenance of other citywide infrastructure, such as the Magnolia Bridge.

The candidates also discussed a recent statistic stating that violent crime in Seattle went up 22 percent in the first six months of the year, debating over how the city should expand it’s law enforcement programs – if and how the numbers should be increased, if the city should revamp the way it utilizing its officers, and whether money should be taken from other programs to fund an increase in law enforcement.

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