Issues

People have asked me, "Matt, what really is different about you regarding the issues?"  I used to start out with:  A Clark County Commissioner is a principal steward of the peoples' quality of life. This means something different to everyone but we can all agree the critical issues we now face are:" and off I would go with some rote answer that you told me sounds like everyone else.  That was fine for the beginning of the campaign but now I've listened to you and honestly, we resonate really well with one another.  With that, here is what the real issues are and what I can briefly say on a web site.  But first I want to remind you that we the people are the government and here is what the Washington State Constitution says about that:

SECTION 1 POLITICAL POWER. All political power is inherent in the people, and governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, and are established to protect and maintain individual rights.

And your predominant issues are:

Personal Private Property Rights – Government in general has been assaulting our property rights on all fronts.  We have to deal with the Growth Management Act and now the New Stormwater Manual that is being forced upon us by the Department of ecology.  This plan will seriously affect your right use your property as you see fit.  The implementation will effectively stop any reasonable growth in Clark County and cost us a lot of money. Infill projects such as the Highway 99 redevelopment project will be severely impacted.  We need leadership with intestinal fortitude and the passion to stop this from happening. I know what my job is and that is to protect our citizens from government when government stops listening.  I have been and will continue to work on this fundamental issue of our rights to our private property.

Sensible Growth – Clark County's development community must have a new level of opportunity while we resolutely protect the natural environment that is our heritage.  I have a plan that will allow cities and county to work together and move beyond the historic squabbles that we have experienced over the years.  We must create partnerships with and among cities so everyone benefits from growth in terms of family jobs with a strong, environmentally conscious, economic base.  What makes me different from the other candidates is that I'm successfully accomplishing this in Ridgefield now.  The changes to building codes and other ordnances that I've introduced are and will benefit the citizens of Ridgefield and allow growth that is manageable and progressive. We must look ahead 50 years, with input from all Clark County cities and areas, to decide what we want Clark County to look like. Give me a call or email to discuss some of the very specific proposals that I'm making that will make it better for you the property owner and developer to get things done. 

The Infrastructure to Enable Sensible Growth – I'll cut to the chase here in that we need to get focused on all the components of infrastructure. Transportation, water/sewer, communications and parks need to be well thought out and executed through planning that will assure the most positive result.  We need to have the infrastructure that will attract the types of manufacturing and high-tech business that fit with our quality of life standards.  I want to see the 'wind mill power generating' companies to move the manufacturing processes here. I have specific ideas as to what we need to do to drive economic growth in Clark County.

Economic Growth Opportunity for our Citizens, our Businesses, and the Next Generation – First off, we need to stop penalizing small businesses with the egregious fees and licensing that is impacting entrepreneurs in our county.  My point is that when someone wants to do a paintball business on his personal property and gets hit with a $20,000.00 fee to have the business that is outrageous.  Small business is the core of our country and our county.  We need to develop and not inhibit.  I know about this personally since I was a small business owner for nine years. Clark County must offer opportunity to its citizens so families can prosper and stay.   We need to have companies come over from Oregon to Clark County.  We have 60,000 citizens having to go to Oregon to work, pay Oregon taxes, not benefit from those taxes and NOW, our Governor wants a toll on the I-5 Bridge that will further dig into our pocket books.  We must support our businesses so they can succeed and grow here, locally.  I will focus the economic development groups representing Clark County on effectively getting family wage jobs to locate here and maintain our quality of life.

In short, the reason I am running for Commissioner is to do the will of the people and keep government from taking away our rights, create a community in which our children and grand children can live, work, and enjoy the fruits of their labor.  Leaders need to be held accountable and I ask all of you to hold me accountable so that I may serve you with honor and integrity.

Thank you

Matt