Washington’s 49th Legislative District is fairly well known as a stronghold for liberal Democrats on par with the Puget Sound. Democrats in the 49th continue to be elected time and again, in spite of it also having some of the highest taxes, highest unemployment rate and lags behind the rest of the state.
With the announcement from State Senator Craig Pridemore that he was not going to seek reelection, Democrats have enlisted and promote Annette Cleveland to run for that open seat. But, who is Annette Cleveland? What does she have to offer us? What political experience does she bring to the campaign?
In answer to the last two questions, very little other than her claims of assisting the Vancouver Chamber, C-TRAN and supporting far left Democrat Patty Murray at WSU.
With a résumé that thin, we have very little to go on other than what we hear her say in her campaign speeches, such as her description of what formed her “Foundational Beliefs” from her 2012 Clark County Democrat convention speech
Yes, she credits the Longshoreman’s Union, the ILWU as the Foundation of all of her beliefs.
Do you remember the Longshoreman’s Union in Longview, Washington just last year and their violent tantrum because a company used a different union for a grain terminal? Allow me to refresh your memory.
Hostages, vandalism, sabotage, near riots and even trying to take down a Sherriff because he had the audacity to uphold the law.
Have we forgotten the ILWU’s tantrum at the Port of Portland just a couple of months ago where they caused many ships to divert elsewhere instead of off-loading here over a dispute of who gets to plug in a Refrigerated container?
And Annette Cleveland proudly boasts that that is the “Foundation of her Beliefs?”
Can we expect that sort of tantrum when things don’t go her way should she be elected State Senator? With the ILWU being her “Foundational Belief,” what else could we expect, in spite of the sweet, calm demeanor when she speaks?
We can do better in the 49th. We do not have to settle for union rage and political inexperience this election.
The Republicans have enlisted an experienced legislator living in the 49th who has a strong record of representing the people, all of the people, not just the “Foundational Beliefs” of the violent unions.
Eileen Qutub brings her 6 years of legislative experience of standing up for the people, supporting small business owners and employees and holding out of control government in check.
Having owned her own small business before, she knows firsthand what it is like to sign paychecks, pay taxes and balance the needs of employees, customers and an ever repressive government.
She does not rely on union rage, she knows how to compromise where needed for the betterment of all.
Eileen Qutub brings real world experience with her political experience and does not need to embellish her résumé to appear what she is not or hide what she really is.
We’ve seen the actions and conduct of the ILWU locally as nobody matters except them. If that is the “Foundational Belief” of Annette Cleveland, as she herself says it is, the 49th will just continue to languish with high unemployment, high taxes and businesses packing it in and moving out, taking their jobs with them.
We can do better. We must do better.
Let’s elect Eileen Qutub and begin climbing out of this mess we have been stuck in for so long.