Woods makes bid for fourth term

Published 10:00 am Wednesday, July 26, 2006

KINGSTON — As State Rep. Bev Woods (R-Kingston) knocks on doors and listens to residents’ concerns, the issues are the same as they were in 1999 when she was first appointed to the 23rd District seat.

This November, Woods is facing former Bainbridge Island Councilwoman Christine Rolfes in the Nov. 7 general election.

“We still haven’t found a solution to health care, we haven’t gotten government spending under control,” Woods said. “Those are the things I want to fight and that’s why I want to go back and continue my quest.”

Even though, Republicans and Democrats may be polar opposites on many moral and social issues, some, such as transportation, education and health care extend beyond those differences, she said.

“Everybody uses our roads, and when it comes to the transportation budget and projects, we need to look at projects, not politics,” she said.

As the ranking minority member of the House’s transportation committee, Woods said the Legislature is looking at safety and structure, congestion and freight when it comes to prioritizing transportation projects.

“My other role is to hold (the Washington State Department of Transportation’s) feet to the fire and make sure they are accountable for every dollar they spend,” she said, noting that both the Hood Canal Bridge and State Route 305 widening projects were over budget.

With ferry terminals both in Kingston and Bainbridge Island, Woods is leading a ferry finance committee, which is looking at all the revenues and expenditures the ferry system currently has.

“We’re going to make it leaner not by cutting service, but by seeing where the fat is,” she said.

The state ferry system has plans for four new ferries and is also in the midst of making numerous ferry terminal improvements, which have been a focus of the committee, she said.

The committee spent two days touring the ferry terminals starting in Eagle Harbor and ending in Anacortes.

“When I talk to people they want a fast, clean, reliable ferry at a reasonable price,” she said.

When it comes to having a luxury terminal or a more modest terminal and a reliable ferry service, most people will choose the latter, she said.

Her recent efforts to secure the necessary funding for the SR 305 widening project have earned her accolades in Poulsbo, but Woods said she spends a lot of her time on Bainbridge Island as well, addressing the needs of constituents there.

During the past Legislative session Woods sponsored a bill that would have allowed Bainbridge Island to maintain its rural areas within the scope of the state’s Growth Management Act.

“I think counties and cities should have the right to say what they want their community to look like,” she said.

Another issue Woods said she plans to actively address in the upcoming legislative session is K-12 education.

“We need to look at how we use state funds for local schools,” she said.

The governor’s office has bought into the priorities of government set by former Gov. Gary Locke to prioritize educational funding, but the Legislature hasn’t, she said.

“How could we spend 17 percent more last year and make cuts in our developmentally disabled programs,” she asked. “That just isn’t right.”

The state also needs to work to make health care more affordable and bring insurance companies back to the state, so there will be more competition, she said.

“It affects young working families as well as older adults and there are a lot of things we can do at the state level,” she said.

The Legislature also needs to work to make the state more business-friendly to bring livable jobs for its younger generations, she said.

“If we want young people to stay in Kitsap, work in Kitsap, we have to have livable jobs,” Woods said.