Dear Group,
“County treasurers in Washington state don’t make policy decisions, but instead follow state law with respect to how public funds are handled, managed, and invested.”
County treasurer is a job best held by someone qualified to do the work, not a career politician. The Democratic candidate for Spokane County Treasurer (an open position this year) is David Green, a certified public accountant with a degree in law and years of experience in finance and management. It would be hard to imagine a more qualified candidate for the job. I encourage you to visit his website, not street-fighting credentials.
Opposing David Green for the position of Spokane County Treasurer is the soon-to-be former State Senator from 6th Legislative District, Michael Baumgartner. I have written of this man’s inappropriate candidacy in a longer article entitled “Expertise or Ideology?“
Lacking expertise, Mr. B is running on name recognition re-inforced by a bloom of recycled yard signs (from an attempt to unseat Senator Maria Cantwell), blue themed yard signs that avoid stating his party affiliation or the position for which he is running. He is relying on the electoral inattention of the voters. These signs cry out, “When you see this name ask no questions, just fill in the oval!”
Mr. B’s post-Primary email (8/8/18 at 1:17PM) to his supporters provided the title of this post [the bold is mine]:
Friends,
Thank you! I’m pleased to have earned 54% of the vote last night, but it’s very clear that this is going to be a very tough election cycle.
The primary is over. The general election is going to be a door-to-door knife fight. Your help is more critical than ever!
I do not know Mike Baumgartner personally, but having received his legislative and candidate emails for years I despise his attitude. His description of the campaign for Spokane County Treasurer as a “door-to-door knife fight” is far off key for a job that demands expertise, calm, and bi-partisan sensibilities, not gang credentials.
I encourage you to share this widely, meet David Green, plant a David Green yard sign (I have one), go canvass for him. Let’s send his inappropriately belligerent opponent to the partisan political dust bin where he belongs.
Keep to the high ground,
Jerry
P.S. For Mr. Baumgartner it seems that everything is a fight, Republicans vs. Democrats, eastern Washington versus western Washington. Life is never about collaboration. I thought this was particularly on display in a fundraising email from him on July 21, 2017:
...we triangulated a strategy to fund the state’s K-12 McCleary case through a “levy swap equalization” that will reduce overall property taxes on nearly 75% of households (largely in areas represented by Republicans) and increase property taxes largely in the Seattle area (represented by Democrats).
For Mr. B funding public education is a matter of sticking it to the homeowners who live in Legislative Districts represented by those evil Democrats.