State Representative, District -- 44, Position -- 2

Party: Republican

Date of birth: December 2, 1958

Residence: 8111 80th Dr NE, Marysville, WA 98270

Education: B.S. Mechanical Engineering, BYU 1991

Political offices held: Republican party delegate two times. Or none depending on how you look at it.

Public service and volunteer experience: Home Owners Association President and Treasurer, Boy Scout Master and Scout Committee member, various church service positions, 8 years in the Air National Guard, booster for Boeing Employees Community Fund several times, helped with Cub Scout Day camps.

Endorsements: Jeff Vaughan - Marysville City Council
Terry Peterson - Attorney
Mike Hope - 44th District Candidate - R

Campaign theme: Bringing Sensible Leadership Back to Washington State.

Questions for candidates

What are the biggest differences between you and your opponent(s)? I am pro-family and pro-life. I would not have a rating of 100% from Planned Parenthood. The growth management act needs some common sense. I want to keep the existing ball fields. I consider tax increases a last resort. I support tort reform. I am much more pro-business. And I support the Republican platform.

What are your highest priorities for state government? If you had to close the projected $1 billion gap between state government revenues and expenses, how would you do it? Sure, ask a hard question. High priorities: Education, Transportation, Business Climate First - Go through the budget looking for mismanagement, waste and where we can improve efficiency. We need to get agencies to understand that they must live within their budget. Second - Prioritize what we can currently pay for. Like any person, the State needs to separate wants from needs. This will require careful discussions. Third - Look at our taxing situation to determine what changes should be made.

Do you support the initiative to raise the sales tax 1 penny to raise money for schools and higher education? No. Our sales tax rate is already too high. Our schools need our support. We need to work on creative ways to properly fund our schools.

Are you happy with Washington's new primary? Are you supporting the initiative that would give Washington a "top 2" primary system that the parties oppose? I accept Washington's new primary system. I am opposed to the "top 2" primary system. If each party had about 50% of the people and one party had 2 people in the primary while the other party had 3 people in the primary, the party with only 2 people would have a good chance of both of their candidates winning. This sounds fair until you realize that 51% of the people may have preferred the party that had 3 candidates. However 51/3 is less than 49/2. The top two may not include the preferred one.

What do you think of the initiative to expand the use of slot machines to reduce taxes? I am opposed to it. There is no such thing as free money.

Contact

8111 80TH DR NE
MARYSVILLE, WA 98270
(360) 653-6517
stephenwest2004@msn.com

Campaign Web site:
www.voteforwest.com