Our state teachers’ union, the Washington Education Association, has long-opposed using student test results to evaluate the performance of teachers in any way, shape, or form. Our own Oak Harbor Education Association president, Peter Szalai, is on record opposing merit pay for teachers based on student performance, and now he further insists that “Supposed bad teachers and their bad unions have little if nothing to do with the root causes of why Johnny can’t read or write or do math.” NOTHING? (Okay, then – seriously – vote “NO” in the proposed February 2013 levy that would double your local property taxes and increase teacher TRI-Pay to $2 million anually).
This is a very special week in DEM history and a reminder to all my DEM friends how fast time flies by!
Happy Birthday Monica… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K0qOb3JO6A
Jill Johnson files for Commissioner 2 position on May 16, 2012
Johnson Files for Commissioner as Campaign Momentum Builds.
“Island County’s faith in local government will be restored when we elect leaders who have faith in us, not leaders who look for every opportunity to restrict and over-regulate.”
Those were the first words spoken by Jill Johnson as she filed for Island County Commissioner District 2 on Wednesday morning, May 16, 2012.
Johnson, who is currently Executive Director of the Greater Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce filed as a Republican against incumbent Angie Homola.
“Since I entered the campaign nearly three months ago, I have been amazed by the number of people who have expressed concerns about the direction of Island County. They are looking for common-sense, approachable leadership and they feel unheard, and unrepresented,” Johnson said. “Their feelings of frustration are very real.”
Just a few weeks ago Homola was handing out political fliers that included bogus quotes about Commissioner Emerson, saying Emerson wants to “Obstruct and destroy…bring government to its knees”.
Homola recently started distributing a new brochure.
She obviously knows law prohibits attacking another candidate per RCW 42.17A.335, which states, in part “…communication that contains a false statement of material fact about a candidate for public office.”
This law was specifically designed and enacted to prevent such malicious and defamatory claims coming from candidates about their political opponents during campaigns.
Homola was doing exactly that, via a surrogate; Commissioner Emerson.
Phil Collier notified us that he registered Monday, May 14th, with Island County to run as an Independent Candidate for County Commissioner District 2 to replace Commissioner Homola.
He included the following picture with no explanation, but we suspect it’s a group of his supporters either giving him a big send off for the trip to Coupeville to register or celebrating his return to Oak Harbor, where he lives.
Whatever it was, it reminded us of General Douglas MacArthur, who said in March, 1942 when he left the Philippines to the Japanese Army forces: “I Shall Return”…and he did return.
Phil was probably thinking “I, too , shall return”… frequently, to Coupeville, after I replace Homola.”
When Jim Campbell is asked why he’s running for County Commissioner, District 2, he is quick to answer. “I believe there is room for improvement in the way things are being handled and the people who live here deserve better than they are getting.” Campbell wants the opportunity to put his extensive experience and common sense values to work for all the citizens of Island County.
Like so many others in our community, Jim proudly served his country in the U.S. Navy. He retired after 20 years as a Chief Petty Officer. From there he began a second career, working for Lockheed Martin where he ultimately worked his way up to Senior Manager. He developed specifications for multi-million dollar contracts, negotiated and managed budgets. Jim used his leadership experience, strong people-to-people and communication skills, and honed his ability to work through complex problems.
Phil, a local boy who graduated from Oak Harbor High School class of 1975. The same month after graduating, Phil opened his own business Hilltop Auto Service and Express Lube. Phil turned the $5,200 investment into a multi-million dollar business employing 12 skilled workers to date.
Candidate Phil Collier is the only candidate who has been self employed at the age of 18. Today, after 37 years of business, Phil will use his skills and training, his common business sense to lead Island County to a prosperous brighter future if elected County Commissioner. He will unite the left wing and right wing in unison under his leadership as an Independent.
By now, you should have received a new Voter Identification Card in the mail sent by the Island County Auditor showing:
- Your Voter ID No.,
- The date you first registered to vote in Island County, and
- Your new Precinct Name and No.
The reason for the changes are recent redistricting of our state that took place in 2011, after the Census in 2010. Our 2nd Congressional District was redrawn and we lost a lot of area and population. Most of Whatcom, Skagit and Snohomish Counties, which had been in the 2nd Congressional District , are now in the 1st Congressional District.
When Jim Campbell is asked why he’s running for County Commissioner, District 2, he is quick to answer. “I believe there is room for improvement in the way things are being handled and the people who live here deserve better than they are getting.” Campbell wants the opportunity to put his extensive experience and common sense values to work for all the citizens of Island County.
Like so many others in our community, Jim proudly served his country in the U.S. Navy. He retired after 20 years as a Chief Petty Officer. From there he began a second career, working for Lockheed Martin where he ultimately worked his way up to Senior Manager. He developed specifications for multi-million dollar contracts, negotiated and managed budgets. Jim used his leadership experience, strong people-to-people and communication skills, and honed his ability to work through complex problems.
Read the rest of this entry »
It’s way past-time for zero-tolerance policies in our public schools that prohibit school staff and/or already-identified juvenile sexual offenders from being alone with children.
Across the nation, in WA State, and even in our own local school district, we’ve latched upon zero-tolerance policies in our K-12 public schools as a means by which to decrease the potential risk to students from things such as student bullying, weapons, drugs, and alcohol. In most cases, however, absent from school district campuses are zero-tolerance policies which prohibit private access to children from public school personnel. The paradigm of in loco parentis authority over children while they are school suggests that the potential abuse of that authority seriously increases the risk to children, including the risk of sexual abuse. About 400 known juvenile sexual offenders presently lurk in our K-12 classrooms in WA State. Read the rest of this entry »
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) itself does a pretty good job of explaining that it is run “by and for state legislators”, specifically by “more than 2,000 Republican and Democrat state legislators.” Wikipedia delineates that ALEC proudly claims “300 corporate, foundation, and other private-sector members”.
Apparently, ALEC’s precepts of “Limited Government · Free Markets · Federalism” scare the bejesus out of the lefties. ALEC recently issued a statement calling attention to coordinated media attacks upon them by Liberal Front Groups. Our very own Whidbey Environmental Action Network (WEAN) has gladly grabbed the local reigns in that effort. Read the rest of this entry »
Tip O’Neill’s most famous quote was “All politics is local”. My agreement with that premise was again bolstered in reading a recent article in Imprimis, a publication which Rush Limbaugh has described as “one of the best and most important publications that I read.”
The particular Impiris article which I like so much is titled “What Public Employee Unions are Doing to Our Country.” If the title itself does not convince you to take a look, maybe the author’s self-stated qualifications will:
“I am a taxpayer in the People’s Republic of New Jerseystan. That makes me an authority on how public sector unions—especially at the state and local level—are thwarting economic growth, strangling the middle class, and generally hijacking the democratic process to serve their own ends rather than the public.” Read the rest of this entry »
…I would do exactly what Island County Commissioners Angie Homola and Helen Price-Johnson did: support President Obama’s plan to triple and quadruple the rate at which the Federal Government raises the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) for passenger cars and light trucks.
Angie and Helen have clearly bitten hard into the global warming scam sandwich, but analysis of the new CAFE concludes it is a “pipe dream” with “no science involved”. The new CAFE demonstrates an environmental agenda infected by extremism – an economic suicide pact for America.
An informative rant from a Progressive Democratic Socialist and Environmental Whacko part IV
“Yes, Commissioner Price-Johnson floated the idea of reducing Conservation Futures in order to save people a small amount on their property taxes. And those same property tax paying citizens rose up and said “NO, do NOT do away with Conservation Futures. This is too important a program. The cost/benefit equation weighs in favor of keeping Conservation Futures.” Commissioner Price-Johnson did the right thing and listened to her constituents. She saw their point and changed her mind.
Two years later Commissioner Emerson took up the discarded proposal as if it were something new. Hard to know where she was the first time around but obviously she was not paying attention.
Obviously Angie Homola is not schooled in the new laws as they pertain to political advertising.
In Angie Homola’s latest campaign flyer she has included several statements made against another commissioner that are of questionable legality.
RCW 42.17A.335 states:
(1) It is a violation of this chapter for a person to sponsor with actual malice a statement constituting libel or defamation per se under the following circumstances:
(a) Political advertising or an electioneering communication that contains a false statement of material fact about a candidate for public office;
Mckenna for Governor
Voter registration
If
you, your family, friends or acquaintances are NOT registered to vote you have
until July 9th to register before the Primary election that will be held on
August 7th 2012. This election is going to be one of the most important
elections in our lifetime so it is important for you to ask family, friends and acquaintances
if they are registered and if not encourage them to do so. It is super easy to
register, you can go to the Washington State Secretary of State voter website
and register
online or download the Washington
State voter registration form here.
Do it now, do not wait. Your vote
really does count!