Editor,

Critics of Senator Barbara Bailey have tried to paint a picture of her being beholden to big business. A review of Senator Bailey’s work debunks that accusation. A report on Legislative activity shows that in the past two years she has been an original sponsor of 51 bills. A review of the titles demonstrate they are all family related issues rather than corporate interests. Bills supporting veterans, in-state tuition rates for military, and improvements in care information for individuals coming home from the hospital which AARP gave her an award for. Locally she has supported funding for road improvements, the tri-county bus service restoration, K-12 education funding, park and port studies, and a new ferry which local folks feel should be placed on the Clinton run.

The focus of most school districts is to prepare as many students as possible for higher education. A national tragedy now is student college debt of $1.3 trillion. Senator Bailey has come up with a remarkable approach to this problem. Having seen years of double-digit tuition increases she pushed for stopping tuition increases. Then as chairwoman of the Senate Higher Education Committee she was the driving force behind actually reducing college tuition by up to 30 percent in state colleges (SB 5954) and came up with additional revenue to remove impact for the reduction. This was accomplished in a bi-partisan effort. The governor’s budget had called for a 10 percent increase. This difficult feat has not occurred in any other state. She now is working on finding a way to reduce a four-year degree in three years to save students more.

A 20-year career as chief of fire/emergency medical services, and 10 years on the school board offered me many opportunities to interact with Washington state officials. Senator Bailey is one of the most effective legislators I have met. Stories in a recent South Whidbey Record disclose the county, Freeland sewer district, newspaper, and Clinton citizens are asking for more state funding for a sewer system and improved ferry service. Bailey is in the Senate majority which makes getting state support much more likely. Let’s keep this very effective Legislator working for us!

JIM ADSLEY

Langley