Haistings runs as fiscal conservative
October 7, 2008
By J.B. Wogan
Republican Kevin Haistings’ umbrella issue for his election campaign is fiscal responsibility. As a challenger for one of two house seats in the 45th district, Haistings, 47, has cast himself as someone who will cut unnecessary spending in Olympia.
“Really, it gets down to allowing tax payers to have enough money to live in this area,” Haistings said.
Haistings
He has several problems with the status quo, especially in transportation. He would prefer a 520-bridge plan that added two general-purpose traffic lanes to accommodate traffic increases — rather than the state’s plan to maintain its four general-purpose and add two carpool lanes.
Haistings would prefer no tolling on the bridge until after construction is completed and no tolling ever on Interstate 90 for construction on 520.
Haistings said the state needs to fund roads projects that would add lane capacity and remove choke points. While he supports efforts to make mass transit more appealing to citizens, he said it should also be a priority to relieve constant backup in areas where motorists enter and exit 520 and Interstate 90.
“Am I an expert on how we fix those? No, not necessarily. I’m not a traffic engineer,” he said.
He also does not support Sound Transit’s Proposition 1, a $22.8 billion proposal on the Nov. 4 ballot that would use a sales tax increase to provide light rail and increased bus service to the region.
Haistings is a Seattle Police Sergeant who does emergency response and search and rescue diving for the harbor patrol. He grew up in Seattle. He started college, but never earned his degree. Haistings, currently a Carnation resident, has lived in the 45th district for 21 years.
He has served as the vice president and president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, an Eastside Fire & Rescue reserve firefighter, as well as a police officer.
In the Aug. 19 primary, Haistings finished behind incumbent Larry Springer, Kirkland (D-45) by a 56-42 margin.
While he has never held an elected office — which would have entailed dealing with city, county or state budgets — Haistings has been responsible for the police guild’s $1 million budget, according to Rich O’Neill, the guild’s current president.
“It’s hard to compare a labor union to a state budget,” O’Neill said. “But he’s had the experience of dealing with many complex, heated issues.”
O’Neill said his organization supported Haistings because the candidate was both a police officer and major advocate of improving public safety.
“Having more people in Olympia who understand citizen safety should be paramount,” O’Neil said.
Haistings said the state legislature needs to reexamine its spending and ask whether the state budget reflects its mandated priorities: education, public safety and transportation. He could not list specific ways he would alter the current budget to prevent next year’s projected $3.2 billion deficit.
“I don’t know what’s sitting in that projected deficit,” he said. “It would be hard as a challenger in the race to know what it is exactly you’d cut.”
Still, he said his platform revolves around the notion that a fresh perspective and a more conservative philosophy about spending are necessary to tackle budget problems next year.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.
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