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Not all area Republicans like the car-tab measure
Not all area Republicans like the car-tab measure
By Dan Wheat, World staff writer
WENATCHEE -- Some local moderate Republicans are upset with state party chairman
Dale Foreman for endorsing Initiative 695, which they fear will be bad for the
region's economy.
The initiative would cut the annual cost of relicensing a vehicle to $30 and
trim $1.1 billion to $1.6 billion in state and local government revenue over
two years. Moderates say that would mean cuts in local criminal justice, roads
and be bad for tourism.
Some think Foreman, of Wenatchee, backed the initiative to keep majority conservatives
in the state party happy. The state party, the Chelan County GOP and the Douglas
County GOP all endorsed the initiative.
"I think Foreman's made a major mistake for the state," said Jim Knapp, Port
of Chelan commissioner. Knapp said he's probably less of a Republican and won't
vote for some Republicans again.
"I think the Republican Party shot themselves in the foot, both of them, and
probably in the knees, too," Knapp said.
But Foreman says doomsday scenarios are overwrought, that the state does not
have to cut local criminal justice, roads and state transportation. He says
the real issue is setting priorities.
"Government is too big, taxes are too high and if the Republican party stands
for anything it's for the reduction of taxes," Foreman said.
Knapp said the state can get along with less money by prioritizing but that
any transportation cuts will hurt trade."They went out a year ago for Referendum
49 and said this was the way to build roads, and then they come back this year
and take the funding away. I think it's a mistake."
Referendum 49 authorized $2 billion worth of highway projects through bond
sales backed by motor vehicle excise taxes.
"It will have an impact on growers here," he said. "It takes as long to drive
a truckload of apples from here to Issaquah as from Issaquah to Pier 90 (in
Seattle). That's not going to get better without some work."
More than lost revenue, Knapp said he's worried about part of the initiative
requiring public votes on all tax and fee increases. He said that will hurt
tourism if it means a vote every time the Chelan Airport raises the price of
fuel.
Sharon Martin, owner of Inland Transportation Inc., an East Wenatchee trucking
company, said she was disappointed Foreman endorsed I-695 without consulting
more people.
"He's making it sound like all Republicans are in favor of it and I am not,"
she said.
Inland's 20-truck fleet hauls lumber throughout the Pacific Northwest. Martin
said she's not sure of the actual effects of the initiative but considers any
loss of revenue a threat to moving freight.
When I-695 was placed on the ballot, the state Department of Transportation
stopped committing to any new projects like Sunset Highway improvements in East
Wenatchee and new snowsheds on Interstate 90 on Snoqualmie Pass.
"It's critical that we be able to get our fruit to ports," she said. "We need
a four-lane, limited-access highway around here somewhere. We have a lot of
stuff to move around here in the valley and it's not user-friendly to trucks."
She said taxes are too high and that a more reasonable reduction in license
fees might have been more palatable.
Ken Martin, president of Cashmere Valley Bank, said he's uncomfortable with
Foreman and the party backing I-695 because a better law can be passed by the
Legislature.
Martin, who is not related to Sharon Martin, said license tabs cost too much
but shouldn't have been cut so far. He said he's concerned the license tax might
be replaced with something worse like a state income tax or increases in sales
and business and occupation taxes. He fears a logjam of elections on proposed
tax and fee increases. He said it may be unconstitutional because it takes the
authority for taxation away from the Legislature and gives it to the people.
Such elections, he said, have the potential to limit the availability of municipal
bonds.
The Douglas County GOP endorsed I-695 on Sept. 6. The Chelan County GOP executive
committee endorsed it a few days later and the full party endorsed it on Sept.
28.
A party resolution said losses in funding for local criminal justice and roads
should be made up by cuts in state spending not by increasing other taxes.
"The total state budget for the next two years is $45.2 billion, an increase
of $4.6 billion or 11 percent," said Del Vanderhoff, Chelan County GOP chairman
and Foreman's brother-in-law.
"Opponents are saying they are worried about the effects of Initiative 695
passing, which would reduce revenue by $1.1 billion or 2 percent," Vanderhoff
said. "Let's see, an increase of $4.6 billion reduced by $1.1 billion is still
an increase of $3.5 billion. Who is kidding whom?"But State Sen. George Sellar,
R-East Wenatchee, said Vanderhoff is looking at the entire state budget, which
includes a lot of federal money that is earmarked for specific uses.
"The state budget without federal dollars is $20 billion and that's what we
have control of," he said.
He said the cut is closer to 4 percent, which makes it harder to balance the
budget. He said it still amounts to cutting an increase.
Sellar said he will vote against I-695 but doesn't think it's as bad as opponents
say or as good as proponents say.
He said if the initiative passes, the Legislature likely will make up some,
but not all, of the revenue loss by using some of the state's $1 billion surplus.
However, he said, using the surplus isn't as easy as people think because it
takes a two-thirds vote of the Legislature and is a one-time fix.
"Republicans were strong about needing a reserve fund. Now the same people
are saying we ought to spend it. That's a little bit of a dichotomy," he said.
Beside using some of the surplus, the Legislature is likely to cut transportation,
ferries and mass transit, Sellar said. He said transit systems claiming they
would lose 50 percent of their routes is overkill.
"People on both sides exaggerate a little bit," he said.
Sellar said reducing the vehicle tax will be a top legislative agenda if I-695
fails. He said an income tax won't be part of the solution.
Foreman said he's received no complaints from moderates but lots of letters
and calls thanking him for standing for lower taxes. He said state GOP contributions
jumped after the party endorsed I-695.
"This is consistent with our long-term approach to shrink the size of government
and give tax money back to the people who earned it." Foreman said.
"Remember back to (spending limits Initiative) 601, those who love government
spending said it would destroy education. It didn't. It created a surplus and
the sky has not fallen. This (I-695) will pass and we'll look back and say,
'What do you know, government really will continue to exist.' If you had to
cut your personal spending 2.2 percent a year, it wouldn't be the end of the
world."
Foreman said Sellar's numbers are off and that the reduction is closer to 3
than 4 percent. But, he said, the real question is if it's manageable. He said
it is whether it's 2, 3 or 4 percent.
"The governor's people have gone out terrifying local officials saying it means
huge cuts in their income," Foreman said. "Talk of cutting 1,000 police officers
is poppycock. It's just a scare tactic. They won't fire that many. It doesn't
need to take away a single police officer because there's plenty of money to
fully fund the current program."
He said the reduction can be handled for one year by using $500 million, half
the state's $1 billion surplus and leaving the other half in reserve. He said
Republicans believe in maintaining a reserve.
He said future budgets could be balanced without tax hikes and with few spending
cuts because state sales tax revenues will increase from money people spend
from what they saved on license fees.
"If people get an average of $350 back and they go out and spend that, the
sales tax is over 8 percent," he said. "Eight percent of $500 million is $40
million and economists say there's a multiplier effect, that the same money
gets spent four times. So that's $160 million of the $500 million that could
come right back."
Foreman said the state Republican party voted not to endorse I-695 in the spring
because of concern it could hurt transportation funding through Referendum 49.
"Then it got a half-million voter signatures, the second highest of any initiative
in the state," he said. "The argument was this is the next step."
He said it won't cut Snoqualmie Pass snowsheds or other transportation if Gov.
Gary Locke and the Legislature set the right priorities.
