Posted on 08/12/2004 9:26:16 AM PDT by truth49
The Evergreen Freedom Foundation released the list of the state's gubernatorial and legislative candidates who signed (or not) the Performance Audit Pledge (calling for all state agencies to have their performance audited by the state's elected auditor). The list of candidates and their position on the Performance Audit Pledge is here.
Commend those candidates who signed the pledge. Reject those candidates who refused (unless they also state a compelling reason for refusing to sign). Ask tough questions of the candidates who declined to take a stand.
Of the three major gubernatorial candidates, Republican Dino Rossi is the only one who signed the pledge.
Democrat Ron Sims, who has publicly rejected the entire concept of government accountability, didn't bother to respond. Democrat Christine Gregoire, who has badly mismanaged the Attorney General's office, refused to sign the pledge but didn't cite any substantive reasons. She only launched a dishonest ad hominem attack on an organization that isn't mentioned anywhere in the pledge:
I wholeheartedly support the use of audits. In fact, as Attorney General, I have used AGMAP—Attorney General Management Accountability Project—to track dollars and manage the priorities of the Attorney General’s office in all its activities. As governor, I want to expand this exciting technology throughout the entire state government.
However, I respectfully decline to sign this pledge from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Among the positions ALEC has advocated are efforts to roll back civil rights, eliminate state minimum wage laws and oppose environmental protections. I do not believe that this is the right direction for Washington. Since I do not support ALEC’s goals and philosophies, I cannot sign my name in support of ALEC. Nevertheless, I thank you for this opportunity to reiterate my support of audits and the AGMAP technology.
The Performance Audit Pledge has nothing to do with minimum wage laws or "rolling back civil rights". A number Democrats in the state legislature, including House Speaker Frank Chopp, signed the pledge. The Democratic Leadership Council has made performance audits a high priority.
Gregoire's rejection of independent performance audits is yet another indication that she is only interested in managing state government for the convenience of its employees, and not for the benefit of the people.
Government exists to help people. If ignoring accountability saves one child's life, it's worth it. < / sarcasm>
ping
Imagine living in a state where the State Auditor is paid a salary but NOT allowed to conduct audits as he wishes... /s
I know Dino Rossi. He's a good man. Solid conservative credentials. The rest of the state is conservative -- and votes that way -- but not King County. Liberal politicians such as Sims and Gregoire tailor their message to a single county in Washington state, without regard to the other counties, because they know that King County will make the difference between grabbing the governor's mansion and going home. It's pretty pathetic that urban politics has that much control over an entire state.
We need to have independent audits. Can you imagine what they would find in DSHS alone? I bet there are millions upon millions of dollars being misused in this state. I can't believe they won't let the state auditor do his job.
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