After Democrats approved the highest tax increase in state history, it is Republicans who say they are the ones hoping to “give relief to the people who need the relief the most”
Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com
A town hall featuring four Republican state representatives drew more than 50 people to Battle Ground on Saturday morning, and the question-and-answer period lasted the full two scheduled hours — and then some.
The event started at 10 a.m., officially ended at noon, but some guests spoke with the representatives for longer in face-to-face discussions.
Stephanie McClintock and John Ley of Washington Legislative District 18 and Ed Orcutt and Peter Abbarno of District 20 met with voters to discuss the 2025 Washington State Legislative Session, which adjourned April 27, and other topics.
Subjects included insurance rates, law enforcement, timber, education, taxes, elections, and transportation.
(For more information on transportation, see our story on the representatives’ opinions on the Interstate Bridge Replacement Project.)
There was a passionate exchange when a constituent suggested that Republicans should back a state income tax, with the goal to target the wealthy.
“If you don’t like billionaires in our state, your approach is a very good way of getting rid of them,” Orcutt said. “I think billionaires in our state are a good thing. They are the ones who invest. They are the ones who are creating jobs. It sounds good to ‘just go tax the rich.’ There are consequences to doing it.”
Orcutt said tax incentives for businesses encourage investment.
The topic led Abbarno to remind constituents that it is the Republicans who are fighting for the average worker in Washington today. The legislature, he said, just approved the largest tax increase in state history.
That would be the “Democrat-sponsored tax increases,” as McClintock pointed out.
“It was on the backs of not the wealthy. It was on the backs of working-class Washingtonians,” Abbarno said.
More than once, the four representatives noted that Democrats have a 59-39 advantage in the Statehouse.
In fact, the Democrats have had the governor’s office, control of the house, and control of the senate every year since 2018. The last time Republicans had control of the house, according to Ballotpedia, was 1998.
“For generations, the state of Washington has been run by one party,” Abbarno said. “The taxes we have today … created by one party.”
He noted that property taxes are on the rise. Fishing licenses. Hunting licenses. Marriage licenses. All going up this year. So, too, the cost of a Discover Pass. Then there is the rise of B&O taxes on small and big businesses.
He continued: More gas and diesel taxes. A tire tax. A new tax on drivers licences.
“Tax. Tax. Tax. This is not targeting the wealthy,” he said. “This is targeting every one of us.”
He said he and his Republican colleagues are fighting to “give relief to the people who need the relief the most.”
Education was brought up by more than one constituent.
McClintock said it is the duty of the state to support education. At the same time, the education system should also be held accountable. She was disappointed in recent test scores showing fewer than half of Washington students had met academic proficiency.
She said she offered a couple of bills that the chair would not even hear, bills that would increase accountability.
“We do dump a lot of money into K-12 funding, and we don’t have a lot to show for it right now,” McClintock said. “That’s part of my frustration. We do have plenty of money. It’s a difference with the other party’s priorities. Their priority is climate and other things. I’d like to think … kids come first.”
Abbarno said that school levies and bonds are not failing because so many people do not support schools. They are failing, he said, because “it’s death by a thousand cuts” and that “taxes are so high on other stuff that aren’t priorities that the priorities are falling behind.”
Another question was raised on the increased costs of insurance, auto and home specifically. McClintock noted that Clark County has the lowest per capita law enforcement in the state. High crime rates turn into high insurance rates.
Orcutt said lawmakers are making it easier for law enforcement to recruit new talent and retain experienced officers and deputies. He gave Governor Bob Ferguson credit for helping secure $100 million in the budget for local law enforcement.
For people frustrated with taxes or other subjects, the representatives said it is important for constituents to not only talk to their representatives, but reach out to legislators outside of one’s district, as well. Seattle-area politicians might not understand the issues of Hockinson or Battle Ground, for example.
A common theme throughout the town hall was the tax increase. And that 59-39 edge for Democrats.
When Ley was introducing himself to the town hall audience members, he reminded them that the state of Florida is working on a $5 billion tax cut. Other states, with Republican leadership, are also looking into ways of saving taxpayers’ money.
It could have been taken as a shot at Democrats in Washington state, but maybe it was an incentive for voters to seek change in the future after decades of Democrat rule.
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With the new Regime of Republicans in Washington DC letting DOGE cut funding for all our agencies with no rationality and intelligence. Our local takes will have to raise to make up for this loose of federal funding. Also our public schools were not having these funding etc problem before we moved some of their funding to Charter Schools. Republicans talk but do nothing for the middle class not to mention lack of human rights on and on.