My legislative priorities will focus around watching the backs of students, families, Hanford workers, veterans, disabled and senior citizens.
I will improve school safety through legislation and funding that provides for more security for our schools, ongoing intruder training for school staff and additional counseling and social worker staffing for early interventions. School safety is a top priority.
I’m also determined to dramatically reduce tuition for public technical colleges, community colleges and universities. Tuition costs should not prevent students from attending college or force students or their parents to take on large student loan debt. Washington residents should get priority admission, over out of state applicants.
I’ll treat the state budget like my wife and I do our family budget; we carefully analyze all expenditures and get the most value for the buck. And I have experience helping to manage large scale budgets, having been a member of the Northshore School District’s Health Benefits Committee for 25 years, and committee tasks included overseeing the multi-million dollar self-insured medical program budget. I was a table team bargainer for teachers for 20 years, so I’ve got a history of negotiating complex agreements that will be helpful in negotiating the state’s budget.
-Chris