Leland's Values To Put America And Central Washington Voters Above Politics:
A Focus on Solutions
Guiding Principles:
Government should be by citizen representatives
Professional politicians are a significant part of the problem in today’s society. Should you entrust me with this position, I will not run for reelection more than 4 times. If Washington and Jefferson voluntarily stepped aside after 8 years of service, I can imagine no better example for service to my country and my district.
Government must be transparent
I will maintain a web site that will list the bills I will be voting on and the key issues and impact on Central Washington Voters. I will seek your input before formulating my position and at all times will seek to advance the issues that are best for all the residents of Central Washington. As long prior to the vote as possible, I will post my intended voting position on the bill and the reasons for my position. I will then seek your input regarding both the bill and my position on the bill.
Government must be made more responsive and responsible
I work in government and I get frustrated by the excessive levels of bureaucracy that cause it to be less productive than it can be and more costly than it should be. I will sponsor legislation to establish an "ombudsman" type position in each agency that must respond to queries and complaints and report to the inquirer in writing within 2 weeks as to what steps can and will be taken to resolve the matter. Had there been such a system in place, the damage of Bernie Madoff would have been far more limited than it was.
I am a real fiscal conservative. I will back a pay as you go system for all spending bills. Balanced Budgets.
We must bring an end to deficit spending within 5 years! Interest payments alone will soon (U S government budget experts estimate that within 20 years) become the largest single part of our national budget! No enterprise, be it families, small business, large business, or our Federal Government can long endure when INTEREST payments become the largest single expense! I am an independent because both of the major parties have had an active role in the financial mess we are in today. Under the Bush administration, the Republicans more than doubled the National Debt and now the Democrats are accelerating the indebtedness. This must stop! This is not only a critical matter for our economy it is vital to our National Defense. This separates me from both the Republicans and the Democrats in this election.
Government must respond faster and more professionally.
We must respond faster and more professionally to the needs of 21st century businesses to allow America to compete in the world market place.
Government can be made more efficient and more productive.
Each bureaucratic entity within Government should have a manager that is directly responsible to a body of elected representatives or senators. This manager would be held accountable by those the people elected for the efficient and business-like manner in which the agency performs its function. If the performance is sub-par, the manager would be fired and a new one sought. We must restore the link between the voters and control over the bureaucracies of Government.
Government must be modernized and the structures simplified.
We must create a modern governmental structure that gets things done and that is responsive to the needs of the citizens. There are unreasonable regulations, rules, and permit requirements that must be amenable to challenge and change in a realistic time frame (by that I mean weeks not months and years). One of the greatest hindrances to American business, both small and large, is the totally unwieldy permit process. Some rules must be amenable to a waiver process rather than forcing a one size fits all.
Today virtually at every level the voice of the citizen is drowned out by the voice of the bureaucracy. Laws, regulations, and rules must be flexible and reasonable and they must be amenable to changes that reflect the reality of our modern society.
Currently the bureaucracy answers to no one. Government waste, even when identified, cannot be changed because the auditors are more concerned about the "rules" then they are about efficiency. The bureaucrats care more about the method than the outcome. There is not one level of government that cares about results. Am I safer because the TSA agent at the airport takes away my empty flattened tube of toothpaste with just a few squeezes left, simply because the package says it once contained 6 ounces of toothpaste even though it clearly does not even contain a single ounce now?
No one is minding the "store." The politicians do not run the bureaucracy they answer to the bureaucrats. The bureaucrats do not manage the affairs of our government they worry about other bureaucrats.
It is the economic reality of government that every time we "move" money (by that I mean take money via taxes out of the local economy and send it either to the State or the Federal government) and then return it the local level by State or Federal "revenue sharing" it wastes money and it results in more ridiculous rules.
The level that is giving us the "run-around" and get something done (the manager, the complaint department). We actually need a CEO who is in charge and can be fired when the company is not operating properly.
It must become unacceptable in the America of the future for it to take (large or small businesses) weeks, months, and sometimes years to get necessary permits, or for us to wait for years for something to work its way through the courts before we can move forward with a project, a business plan, or the building of a new plant or facility.
