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A PubliColaTV Interview: Gregg Bennett, Republican Hopeful in Seattle 'Burbs
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-dJwdBlkao[/youtube]
State Senator Rodney Tom (D-48, Medina) is facing a stiff challenge from Republican candidate Gregg Bennett. This week, PubliColaTV sat down with Bennett at the Bellevue Hyatt Plaza to talk about his platform.
The 48th legislative district is the Eastside Seattle suburban swing turf battlefield that includes Bellevue, Medina, Redmond—essentially, a techie refuge of largely Independent voters. Tom is a moderate-to-conservative Democrat, and Bennett is a moderate Republican.
In the vid, Bennett, an investor and start-up consultant, focused on improving the business climate in Washington State. Bennett takes issue with the B&O tax (a flat tax on revenue, rather than profits, for businesses across the state), and with the fact that our unemployment taxes and worker’s compensation taxes are among the highest in the country. And he also flags the minimum wage [$8.55 an hour], the highest in the country.
Washington State Democrats’ communications director Anne Martens fired back, saying, “The minimum wage is Washington State voter-approved.” And she pointed out that Forbes disagrees with Bennett. "Forbes has ranked us in the top 5 [states in the country] for businesses for the last four years in a row."
Bennett also criticized the Democratic caucus over the budget, saying “the day of reckoning is here.” It's worth noting, though, that his opponent, Tom, who switched over to the Democratic party in 2006, actually opposed the budget to the point that Democratic Sen.Majority Leader Lisa Brown kicked Tom out of budget negotiations this year.
But most of Bennett’s focus has been on education reform (which will be a huge issue in the eastside races this year). Bennett has released a “Blueprint for Education Reform” on his website. Still, the League of Education Voters and Stand for Children (two education reform advocacy groups) both endorsed Tom. But Bennett has the money. He’s raised $269,000 in his campaign for the state senate compared to Tom’s $81,000. Bennett's warchest includes financing from the State Republican Senatorial Committee, demonstrating the state GOP's priority—taking back the Eastside, which was once a Red stronghold.
We also talked to Bennett about social issues—an area where, he says, he parts ways with the GOP. We'll have more on that in follow up post and video clip.
Senator Tom has not returned a call for comments.
State Senator Rodney Tom (D-48, Medina) is facing a stiff challenge from Republican candidate Gregg Bennett. This week, PubliColaTV sat down with Bennett at the Bellevue Hyatt Plaza to talk about his platform.
The 48th legislative district is the Eastside Seattle suburban swing turf battlefield that includes Bellevue, Medina, Redmond—essentially, a techie refuge of largely Independent voters. Tom is a moderate-to-conservative Democrat, and Bennett is a moderate Republican.
In the vid, Bennett, an investor and start-up consultant, focused on improving the business climate in Washington State. Bennett takes issue with the B&O tax (a flat tax on revenue, rather than profits, for businesses across the state), and with the fact that our unemployment taxes and worker’s compensation taxes are among the highest in the country. And he also flags the minimum wage [$8.55 an hour], the highest in the country.
Washington State Democrats’ communications director Anne Martens fired back, saying, “The minimum wage is Washington State voter-approved.” And she pointed out that Forbes disagrees with Bennett. "Forbes has ranked us in the top 5 [states in the country] for businesses for the last four years in a row."
Bennett also criticized the Democratic caucus over the budget, saying “the day of reckoning is here.” It's worth noting, though, that his opponent, Tom, who switched over to the Democratic party in 2006, actually opposed the budget to the point that Democratic Sen.Majority Leader Lisa Brown kicked Tom out of budget negotiations this year.
But most of Bennett’s focus has been on education reform (which will be a huge issue in the eastside races this year). Bennett has released a “Blueprint for Education Reform” on his website. Still, the League of Education Voters and Stand for Children (two education reform advocacy groups) both endorsed Tom. But Bennett has the money. He’s raised $269,000 in his campaign for the state senate compared to Tom’s $81,000. Bennett's warchest includes financing from the State Republican Senatorial Committee, demonstrating the state GOP's priority—taking back the Eastside, which was once a Red stronghold.
We also talked to Bennett about social issues—an area where, he says, he parts ways with the GOP. We'll have more on that in follow up post and video clip.
Senator Tom has not returned a call for comments.
