Voters in the 37th Legislative District should re-elect Sharon Tomiko Santos to House Position 1.
SHARON Tomiko Santos is the only credible candidate for House Position 1 in the 37th Legislative District. She should be re-elected.
Her opponent, John Dickinson, would like to go to Olympia because he says the state’s education system is abysmal compared to other states and countries. He thinks the state can pay for a significant increase in the state budget for education by doing things like switching to LED light bulbs in public-school buildings. He doesn’t know what he is talking about.
The Times recommends:
Sharon Tomiko Santos
37th District, Position 1
Strengths: Focus on K-12 education funding; supports a capital-gains tax
Santos knows the Legislature’s major job next year is to finish reforming the way the state pays for K-12 basic education — to satisfy the Washington State Supreme Court’s McCleary decision. ..."
Santos, who is running for her 10th term and is chair of the House Education Committee, does.
The Democrat knows the Legislature’s major job next year is to finish reforming the way the state pays for K-12 basic education — to satisfy the Washington State Supreme Court’s McCleary decision. She advocates for increased taxes for education, but is not a fan of the proposals on the table to reform the way local tax levies are handled. Most lawmakers agree rightly that some kind of transfer of locally collected levies to the state will be required.
She wants a state income tax, but is looking at a capital-gains tax as a good near-term solution to add more money to the education budget. Santos also says she wants to look carefully at how that money is spent. She made some progress last year in gaining approval for her proposal to close the educational opportunity gap in Washington state.
Santos is the only credible choice in this race.