Just Say NO to the BIAW!

Dear Skagit County Resident:

Earlier in the week you may have received a flier in the mail from a Political Action Committee (PAC) called “It's Time for a Change”. This flier listed several less than truthful attacks against Governor Gregoire's economic record. You, as a concerned citizen and voter may be interested in some related facts about this PAC that is attacking Governor Gregoire:

1. “It's Time for a Change” spent $1.4 million dollars on mailers, radio ads, and tv ads.

2. It is funded entirely by another political action committee, “ChangePAC”.

3. “ChangePAC” received $1.4 million in donations from the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW).

4. In case you weren't already convinced, all three of the above organizations have the same address and treasurer.

“It's Time for a Change” in turn hired a Republican political consulting company from California called Dresner, Wickers and Associates for $1.4 million. Dresner Wickers is responsible for many of the anti-Governor Gregoire tv and radio ads you may have seen or heard recently as well as the aforementioned mailers. We have discovered that “It's Time for a Change” paid around $150,00 for the printing and postage for those mailers. Our estimates are that they sent about 75,000 of these flyers out – targeting voters like you.

As you might imagine, every one of the attack points in the mailer is taken out of context and is a gross distortion of the truth at best. We are backing that statement up with detailed comments below. We hope that this will help you just say NO to the BIAW!

Attack: “Gregoire has passed the largest gas tax increase in state history, yet has no plan to reduce congestion or fund transportation projects
Source “What Governor Gregoire said — and did” by Ralph Thomas community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20050501&slug=gregoire01m
Truth:

• 54% of Washingtonians voted to keep the gas tax in 2005. Initiative 219 was made to repeal the taxes. Washington voters voted it down.
  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_State_2005_Initiative_Measure_No._912

• The increase was 3 cents a gallon in 2005 & 2006, 2 cents in 2007, and 1.5 in 2008. Thus the new taxes have been going down every year since gas has gone up. In 2004 the average price of gas was under $2 a gallon, now it's up over $4. At most Governor Gregoire is responsible for 9.5 cents out of a $2 a gallon price increase (less than 5%).
  Source: www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/initiatives/people.aspx?y=2005
  Historical Gas Prices: www.washingtongasprices.com/retail_price_chart.aspx
  Detailed Gas Prices: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/mg_rt_waw.htm

• The taxes went to fix roads. Having well paved roads increases fuel efficiency. Technically Gregoire saved gas and maintenance by fixing roads like the Alaska Way Viaduct, Interstate 405, and Route 520 Bridge.
  Source: Same Times article community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20050501&slug=gregoire01m

• Governor Gregoire has completed over 130 transportation projects to make our highways safer and to reduce congestion
  Source: www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/completed.html

Attack: “Gregoire supports a state income tax”
Source: “Our View – Income Tax Merits” Editorial www.spokesmanreview.com/opinion/story.asp?ID=186224
Truth:

• Governor Gregoire is in support of using an income tax to make the taxes in Washington less recessive. However, this is not the right time to push it since the public has not been educated on the merits of an income tax. Governor Gregoire wouldn't do anything without popular support.

  Source: Above Spokesman Review article.

Attack: “Gregoire re-instated the Death Tax”
Source “What Governor Gregoire said — and did” by Ralph Thomas community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20050501&slug=gregoire01m
Truth:

• The above article doesn't actually mention the words “Death Tax”. The Republicans have dubbed any estate taxes as “Death Taxes”. However most Washingtonians will never be remotely effected by any estate taxes. The so called “Death Tax” only effects the richest of the rich. There were literally only 440 estates of over $1.5 million across the entire country that were required to pay estate taxes in 2004. Rossi wants to make statewide economic policies for the few families in Washington that this “Death Tax” actually effects. Finally, voters rejected an initiative (I-920) to repeal the estate tax in 2006 with a decisive majority of 66%.
  Source: Above Times article: General Background on Estate Taxes: “Estate Tax Malarkey” www.factcheck.org/article328.html
  Election Returns for I-920: www.metrokc.gov/elections/200611/resPage1.htm

Attack: “Gregoire turned a $2 billion surplus into a $2.7 billion deficit”
Source: “How state spending rose $8 billion under Gregoire” by Andrew Garber http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008061912_spending20m0.html

Truths:

• For starters, the $2.7 billion is a projected deficit, not an actually deficit.

• Also Governor Gregoire actually started with a $1.8 billion dollar deficit of what she described as “past due bills”. See below for a discussion of what all this money has done for Washington.

Source: above Times article.

Attack: “Spending has increased by $8 billion since Gregoire was elected. The state budget has jumped 31% to $33.6 billion, sticking every Washington household with an extra $3,500 tax bill”

Source: “How state spending rose $8 billion under Gregoire” by Andrew Garber http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008061912_spending20m0.html

Truths:

• To begin with, there is nothing in source the article that talks about sticking Washingtonians with an extra $3,500 tax bill. One can only assume that the BIAW took the budget deficit and divided by the number of taxpayers in Washington. That is not at all the way distribution of taxes actually works and is thus incorrect.

• Governor Gregoire is far from the biggest spender in recent history. Spending rose 36% under Republican Governor John Spellman from 1981-1984.

• Furthermore, all of the spending under Governor Gregoire was directly in response to voter initiatives. A full half of the 8 billion was spent on Education. Three billion went to K-12 Schools and another one billion went to state colleges and universities. As well most of that money went to increase teacher salaries and benefits. Another portion of the spending went to children's health care. An additional portion of the spending was in state construction and transportation. Governor Gregoire increased spending by investing in Washington, which is exactly what Governors are supposed to do.

Source: above Times article.

Breakdown of the Washington Budget of the Past 10 Years: http://leap.leg.wa.gov/leap/Oversight/histotot.pdf

Attack: “Gregoire has increased the state payroll with thousands of new bureaucrats – 6,111 new state employees since taking office”

Source: “How state spending rose $8 billion under Gregoire” by Andrew Garbert http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008061912_spending20m0.html

Truths:

• Governor Gregoire is, again, not the biggest spender in recent history. Governor Locke added 8,400 state employees during his first term.

• Furthermore, most of the increase in the state payroll went to giving overdue pay raises to state employees like State Patrol, Corrections Officers, and Social Workers.

Source: same Times article

General background on where these attacks come from (the BIAW-PACs-Rossi Connection):

“BIAW accused of pooling $3.5 million in illegal secret fund to defeat Gregoire” by Ralph Thomas

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008073610_webbiaw25m.html

The Skagit Valley Democrats are defending Governor Gregoire because she has in fact done, and is doing a tremendous job of leadership in this very stressful time largely caused by “politics of divisiveness” at the federal level, which is the kind of politics that Dino Rossi seems to be specializing in.

Still not convinced?*

1. The nonpartisan Pew Research Center, who graded Washington the Third Best Managed State in the Nation!

2. Standard & Poor recently gave Washington an AA+ Bond Rating, making it amongst the highest in the Country!

3. In Forbes second annual Top States for Business they call Washington the biggest mover (tied with Tennessee), rising from 12th to fifth place, Washington is also the only state to finish in the top five in three main categories (labor, regulatory environment and growth). And Washington's numbers are up across the board when you look both backward and at projections into the future.

We realize that we as a Nation, and a State are facing unprecedented challenges, and we ask for your support of our very capable and candidates, especially Governor Gregoire.

Respectfully,
Your Skagit Valley Democrats

*Sources
PRC Study: www.pewcenteronthestates.org/uploadedFiles/Grading-the-States-2008.pdf
Bond Ratings: tre.wa.gov/BondDebt/bondrate.htm
Forbes Rating: www.forbes.com/2007/07/10/washington-virginia-utah-biz-cz_kb_0711bizstates.html