State Rep. Barbara Bailey met with constituents in a handful of informal meetings across Whidbey Island Thursday.
Held at coffee shops in Oak Harbor, Coupeville and Freeland, the meetings were geared toward the Nov. 28 special session in which lawmakers from across the state will convene in Olympia to cut $2 billion from the 2011-2013 biennium budget.
“This is at the heart of everything going on at the state level,” said Bailey, R-Oak Harbor.
The first of the three meetings was held on Bailey’s home turf at Angelo’s Caffe on SE Pioneer Way. About 12 people, ranging from retirees and veterans to construction contractors and city department heads, attended the meeting.
City Councilman and Mayor-elect Scott Dudley, along with City Councilman Jim Campbell, were also in attendance.
Bailey said she called the meetings mainly because she wanted to hear how constituents felt about the state’s budget crunch, which she emphasized was “not as dire as some would say.”
Based on a September forecast by state economist Dr. Arun Raha, state revenue is epxected to deline by $1.4 billion. However, Gov. Chris Gregoire is calling for $2 billion in cuts to ensure the state has adequate reserves.
Another forecast, released the same day as Bailey’s meetings, predicted a drop of another $122 million.
Bailey said she isn’t surprised by the state’s continuing financial struggle, saying she saw the writing on the wall months ago. She didn’t vote for the budget earlier this year largely because she said it was “unsustainable” and lacked any real spending reform.
“I hate to be one to say I told you so, but I did,” she said.
The real problem in Olympia, she said, is a voracious appetite to spend. Referencing a blown-up chart depicting general fund revenue versus expenditures that went back to 2004, Bailey told the crowd that state spending has outpaced revenues since 2008.
This biennium will see a revenue increase of 7 percent, which she claimed is evidence of a slowly improving economy, yet spending is such that Gregoire is calling a special session to cut more than $2 billion.
“We could be there, by law, through Christmas,” Bailey said. “I don’t think you’ll find people excited about that and you might see some resistance.”
She advocated the common Republican platform of less government, reduced regulation, and the need to set spending priorities. The concepts are key to a successful free market in which businesses will thrive, she said.
Many that came to the meeting seemed happy with what they heard, agreeing with most of Bailey’s conservative positions concerning the revenue shortfall. Oak Harbor resident Jeff Trumbore said he particularly liked Bailey’s views on establishing spending priorities.
“The budget that’s been proposed by the governor is sort of a lazy approach. Someone needs to take a hard look and look at some vertical cuts,” he said.
Coupeville resident Gary Wray, a contractor who has raised a conservative voice of his own on several occasions in recent years, said he also liked what he heard but wasn’t surprised that was the case.
“I’m in Bailey’s camp,” Wray said.
He also addressed Gregoire’s proposed budget, saying it contained several “gimmicks” that concerned education.
Although Bailey is in the minority, Wray said he was glad she is in Olympia fighting on behalf of his beliefs.
