Democracy for Vancouver

Image via WikipediaDavid Carrier is running to unseat Senator Don Benton in the 17th Legislative District. He has a PHD in economics from Notre Dame and is a professor at WSUV.

If you visit his campaign website, davidcarrier.org, he says:

People who are struggling and experiencing hardship represent lost talent and energy. Through my community service I’ve met so many people from all walks of life who work extremely hard but still struggle to find decent jobs, affordable housing, health care, and better education. None of them are helpless. They all deserve a chance and are willing to work for it. Like you and me, they try hard to achieve their dreams. But sometimes their dreams are just out of reach. They need opportunities and resources to make their dreams a reality.

For me, the job of State Senator is about community service. Government should not be run by people who use their influence to help themselves, their friends, and special interests. It should be run by people who care about other people. So I’ve decided not to accept contributions from special interests in the primary election. I hope to have enough contributions from individuals to maintain this commitment through the general election.

The above is in stark contrast to how our current Senator Benton thinks and conducts himself such as missing 17 meetings of a Early Learning, K-12 and Higher Education Committee on which he sits (from Sound Politics):

Missing the first 17 meetings of the committee constitutes keening arrogance and extreme negligence. You don’t suppose he’s distracted; uninterested in the hard work of coalition-building with the majority; and just doing some cheap grandstanding, do you?

Gee, dunno.

But Benton also has been declining per-diem payments, due to his frequent absences from his Senate duties, and missed a chance to help advance another bill he sponsored, SB 5276, at a February meeting of the Senate Government Operations and Elections Committee. The measure, which would have prevented local sewer and water districts from collecting more than 12 months of unpaid bills from customers, was opposed by a local sewer district in Benton’s Senate district, and by a statewide association. Benton wasn’t there to say why it was a good idea. The last reported action on the bill before committee passage deadline was the hearing he missed.

Benton gives the GOP a huge black eye in Olympia. I hope his e-clipping service hustle is such a wild success he retires to the private sector for good.

My message to the people of the 17th Legislative District: Choose someone in our district who is concerned for people and practices ethical behavior. Help elect David Carrier to be our Senator in the Washington State Legislature.