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| Richard D. Zwicker, Republican |
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| Candidate: State Representative, |
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| Richard D. Zwicker |
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District 11, Position 2 |
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| Age: 36 |
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| Residence: Renton |
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| Occupation: |
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Paralegal |
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| Education: |
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C.C., legal assistant, Renton Technical College |
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| Political history: No response |
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| Endorsements: None |
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| Campaign Web site: http://www.RichardZwicker.com |
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| Campaign theme: No response. |
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| 1. |
What is your position on the initiatives proposed on this year's November ballot? |
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I-713 - Animal trapping |
no response |
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I-722 - Property taxes |
yes |
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I-728 - School district financing |
no |
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I-729 - Charter schools |
yes |
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I-732 - Teacher raises |
no |
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I-745 - Transportation funding |
yes |
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| 2. |
Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has declared blanket primary elections like Washington's violate political parties' constitutional rights, what form of new primary election system would you propose adopting? |
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I would propose a primary system that allows equal access for
every political party to present its
view. We must preserve the right
of any party to be heard. |
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| 3. |
Would you continue the trend of recent years and support tax cuts for businesses? Which ones specifically? If not, why? |
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If a department of government
has excess money generated by
taxes, obviously the tax rate should
be cut. Labor and Industries is an
example of a department with a
high tax rate and a surplus (it gives
refunds - what a rarity in government). |
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| 4. |
Would you support a Constitutional amendment that would allow tax breaks for homeowners but not for business or commercial property? Why or why not? |
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I am very reluctant to amend our
Constitution for any reason. However, I do believe that government
should be able to differentiate between an individual and a business.
I feel reasonably certain that any
individual or business would appreciate a tax break. |
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| 5. |
What privacy legislation would you support? Would you exempt financial institutions? Why or why not? |
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I support every form of privacy
rights. We need to protect personal
information. We need to protect
financial, governmental and medical records. We need to stop identity theft. We need to ensure safety
on the Internet. I would not exempt
financial institutions because they
do not warrant an exemption. |
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| 6. |
A commission studying transportation funding says a new financing mechanism is needed to keep Washington transportation projects on track. How would you propose financing future transportation projects? |
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I am not familiar with the findings
of the "commission" that we need a
new "financing mechanism." If a
financing mechanism is a tax, then
we are paying enough. The taxes
should be spent properly. We
should fund transportation from the
taxes we have already collected for
transportation. |
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| 7. |
With some states reconsidering the death penalty, what is your position and what changes, if any, do you think are needed in Washington's law? Under what circumstances would you support a moratorium? |
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I strongly support the death
penalty as a crime deterrent. However, convicts' endless appeals
waste our time and tax money. If
the government cannot bring swift
closure to victims' families, courts
should impose "life imprisonment
without parole" and allow everyone
to carry on - no matter how
painful it is. |
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| 8. |
A judge struck down Initiative 695's provision that would have required a public vote for all tax and fee increases. Would you support a Constitutional amendment that would require the public vote? Why or why not? |
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As of Aug. 4, the Supreme Court
has not ruled I-695 unconstitutional. Regardless, our government
must regain the faith of its constituents. Public votes are not necessary if government is trustworthy.
Without that confidence, the public
must be heard in every forum. |
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