Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Pellicciotti, Schoesler tout their ideas
DAVENPORT—Lincoln County is evidently the new hub for politicians to discuss ideas and attempt to get their message out to the public. Okay, maybe not, but two figures involved at the state level have visited here in the past month to meet with local media and stakeholders involved with their respective endeavors.
State treasurer Mike Pellicciotti was here Friday, Nov. 18 to meet with Lincoln County treasurer Jody Howard and The Record-Times.
Then, 9th Legislative District Senator Mark Schoesler visited The Record-Times and Wilbur Register for the first time since Lincoln County was redistricted into his legislative district Wednesday, Dec. 14.
Pellicciotti, D-Federal Way, had made Lincoln County his final stop on a tour of all 39 Washington counties. He said citizens should continue to communicate with their legislators to make sure their areas are adequately funded with available state bond monies.
“I think the state needs to be more responsive to that,” Pellicciotti said. “That’s a huge way to inject capital into rural communities.”
Pellicciotti has proposed the creation of a Washington Future Fund he’s said would close wage gaps in rural communities. Effectively “baby bonds,” a specific amount of money would be allocated for any child born eligible for Apple Health that the child could invest in college or a small business when they become an adult.
Lincoln County doesn’t have a large youth cohort compared to the rest of its main demographic, but Pellicciotti believes that could change.
“I believe in the future, more people will come into rural areas,” he said.
Schoesler, R-Ritzville, is preparing for the 2023 Legislative Session and said he expects to be the ranking Republican in the senate budget committee. As such, he hopes to pass four bills aimed at assisting school construction without asking taxpayers to fund construction and repairs through bonds or levies.
“I want to pass a school depreciation bill,” Schoesler said. “Schools could retain 2% in an account to help with school construction instead of asking the taxpayers to pay for it.”
Schoesler said he hopes to have a revolving fund for school construction administered by two Republicans and two Democrats, with Pellicciotti acting as a non-voting chair to “ensure bipartisanship.”
Schoesler also said he wants to revisit what he considers poor laws involving public safety and law enforcement.
“The pursuit ban was bad public policy, and the Blake decision was terrible,” he said.
Schoesler represents a Legislative District with a heavy farming influence. He said the biggest issues he hears about from farmers include fuel costs, agriculture overtime rules and input costs.
“Most say that their input costs are the most concerning,” he said.
The Legislature convenes Jan. 9, 2023.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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