What does a good legislator look like?

Ok, I'm asking myself this early morning: What is an effective and good politician? What do I think they look like and how I can mold that into a post here? 

Would love people to write their own version and exchange those definitions with other people locally... :)

(And remember folks, your definition is not going to be like mine or someone elses. So please create your own verson!)

Just a small note. (thanksgiving?)

For those who got loaded on a diet that gave you a turkey coma, I bet it allowed you to relax in the bounty of plenty!

Always remember folks, give thanks to the pleasures of life that you were given and remind yourself that there will always be a positive positive ability!

So pat yourself on the back and I wish you all a happy thanksgiving!

Those steamin' HOT coffees!

One of our consumate bloggers from Clark County is just steaming over the third congressional district federal legislator whom feels that to get the real scoop on what is happening locally, she needs to hold more intimate settings via coffee shop groups of less than one hundred and some times as few as thirty in various locations in her district. 

She cotinues to say through her publicist and former campaign workers, that she does not want to deal with the influential stereotypes and special interests from within and from outside her district that want time, attention and possibly legislation out of her. 

One of the examples she has used was a Clark County Washington event where several people got angry and screamed at her. (Though that could have been an event with the 49th legislative district? event where Sharon Wylie was new?) she's wanting more intimate events.

I can tell her that an effective way to get to know her constituents is to go out and meet them face-to-face through invitations throughout her district. And bring reporters along, that way they two can experience what is up with their congresswoman? Don't make these coffee times sound like their special interest shebangs for special interests? Casey (Bowman) This message is for you. 

Get Jaime out in the four or five regional areas of her district and stop hiding BEHIND pathetic excuses? Or Jaime's next election is going to 1,000 times harder to win because you are making her look like a fool.... 

 

Cowlitz County Example: ( http://tdn.com/news/local/rep-herrera-beutler-holds-community-coffee-gathering-in-longview/article_be0e7d2c-1578-11e1-8f25-001cc4c002e0.html )

Does anyone understand that THEY don't understand?

While listening to the radio today, I heard announcement that the super-committee made of two persons per legislative side per political party could not come down to an agreement in principle to help this nation cut down the fourteen trillion dollar deficit. It galls me to no end that either side is playing political games and possible finger pointing in this game, instead of getting down to brass tacks and getting done what needs to happen. 

How could two sides of the political coin and houses of our federal legislative branch fail so miserably to help our nation come to grips with what must be done. We have nearly enough debt to hang us with a rope we do not change expectations throughout our nation and pay it off. 

There has been thirty to forty years of this game of IOUs at various levels of government from your local city - county, regional, state and federal governments along with a lot of people that its easy enough to simply just stick their hands out, scream like a child and expect the the three branches of our government to come along side and stick in the money pacifier to shut us up when things don't go right. 

Maybe its time that at every level, that we start as a nation having a conversation? A conversation that is not headed by media types on any political aisle that will just continue to hit every single person with a verbal and visual hammer for their own person gain. 

Its time. I would love to see a local group of people get together and lets start having that conversation of what WE really need here in Clark County instead of a lot of the fluffy tomfoolery that has gone.... 

A wonderful, heartfelt story...

I wanted to give my own personal shout-out and heartfelt thanks to the yearly Chronis restaurant Thanksgiving dinner that they put on every year and donates so much of their time and effort into it, all without expectation of payment. Its been done for many, many years. I personally have witnessed many great feats of daring care in Clark County, even though there are the rotten crumudgeons around! :)

And yes, this is usually the heartfelt story printed in our local snoozemedia outlet. But hey, it takes a heck of a lot of work to put on. And I really wanted to thank the cooks, servers and this restaraunt owner in Downtown Vancouver whom has been around for some time and hopefully more future time to come!

src: http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/nov/19/tradition-of-turkey-and-fixins-lives-on/

Transportation is one of the keys to this region that MUST be addressed.

Some have said one thing, some have said other things, some have said we need to prioitize, some say we need to cut and some say we need to fix this or that problem. 

One thing that a lot of people around Vancouver can agree on is that some thing needs to be done with the Interstate Five bridge that is coming up on one hundred years in 2017 for one of its spans. There has been a process that went through various levels and I won't dispute or cause problems with that now. Too many others have said what I have wanted to say so much more succinctly. 

But the problems of congestion, moving freight efficiently through the interstate corridor that itself is nearing 60+ years old and mostly remains unchanged since its original basic structure within the region for the past thirty years, if not longer. I personally believe we need to start looking at other options PAST the columbia river crossing project that have been neglected for so long because one  reason, excuse or another keeps getting uttered and not enough people or interest is pushing forward ideas to grow our economic base outside same two interstate corridors. 

There has been some work done on the rail areas of Clark County at the county level to try to bring in more rail dependent jobs in the center of county and in the BNSF and Port of Vancouver areas. I also think I remember reading some where the the Port of Ridgefield and Woodland are talking about rail improvements themselves. 

But when you look at our community that is really the bedroom region to the north of Portland (the southern being Clackamas County)  to bring in enough workers to fuel their business expansion plans in Wilsonville, Hillsboro (think Nike, Intel, Addidas and others) and other counties of Oregon, some thing is serously wrong in my own personal opinion. 

We have a growing 20 percent jobless rating in Clark County. A lot of comments have been made and referenced to poor taxing and regulatory frameworks and slow application processes to get shovel ready projects in case someone wanted to come in and build here. There has also been comments on the lack of information on the basic taxing structure from the state for out-of-state and local taxing issues. 

"Live here, Land here" has been a business campaign being directed more at higher income, higher job proportionality jobs. Where is the campaigns to bring decent companies and innovators that might be small operations of one to fifty people? We have a small international airport in Portland that has some small international connections and a few, if not small airports to fly people who may have their own jets, yet there is no airport building because a lot of former small avation airports are being turned in high priced strip malls? Example Evergreen Airport, Clark County Aerdome and an abandon field up near Battle Ground called Cherry Grove field?

Now, how about our basic road infrastructure that we have talked about for some time needs repair. I'm directing my comments to the City of Vancouver at this point. But I do believe it is appropos for the county and other local, smaller cities. In the past because of MVET taxes, (cut down by a Tim Eyman initiative twice?) we did have the money to match federal and state grants until about two years ago when it finally was revealed that this year we would have enough for only 2011 to finish off some basic projects and then that would be it. 

There might be a little bit of funds to do some minor pothole recovery or filling in cracks with sealent. But there simply is not much more than that. So there was a new article by Andrea Damewood (src: http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/nov/19/vote-to-urge-fee-riles-local-activists-committee-r/  ) this week talking about setting up a new city benefit district through probably either sliced sectioned districts throughout the city or small sectioned area like the CRC Light Rail/BRT projects that are coming up or a whole city with I hope a vote on the matter or decent time framed discussion to allow people the ability to discuss it before it goes into effect. 

And finally, there has been suggestions at looking at creating a new bridge and interstate or highway from Battle Ground through the east side of Vancouver - Camas and go along eastern out edge of the more populace and growing areas of our community. The reason why I don't think that its an option right now, is there has been talk that the economy is slowing down and we have an excess inventory of housing, commercial and industrial areas open and ready to be used. If those were used up, then Portland has a bunch of areas that could use some filling up? 

And if you look just to the neighbor to our north, Seattle. It too has a commercial market that is overloaded with the same problem properties. Though they have an additional problem of higher income condominiums, strip malls and bankrupt lender commercial properties that you will find in Vancouver as much though they do have a serious impact on our economy because we have a number of builders who may still have debts owed on that work that was done and were never paid. 

All of this comes down to the economics of the situation: The City of Vancouver, Clark County, the State, the Feds and the region around us are still smarting from an economy that is still spiraling down. This effects us in how we will be able to finance bonds to pay for freeway miles, more road maintenance, bridges and highway contruction, right-of-way acquisition to built more highway corridors and on and on! 

So what does this basically say, some may ask. I might suggest to all who may read this. Contact your political leadership, invest some time in researching the issues and discuss with them either through emails, phone call to their offices or contacts, face-to-face contact or even a well written, supported letter?

Get involved. Find out what the issues are. We NEED you!