Guest editorial: Time for nonpartisan treasurer

    By Michael J. Murphy
    Washington State Treasurer

   Senate Bill 5556 has been introduced this session to change the method of election of the State Treasurer to nonpartisan. I urge your support and encourage you to contact your senator and ask that they too support the bill.
   In two years, at the end of my current term, I will be retiring from my role as your State Treasurer. As of today, I have more than 34 years in treasury and public finance -- including 10 years as state treasurer and 10 years as county treasurer -- and I can honestly say that truly partisan issues have not come across my desk. The management of the public treasury is not and should not be a partisan function.
   As your Treasurer fulfilling the Constitutional duties inherent in managing the state treasury I am guided only by the law, my duty to the public, my personal principles and my best professional judgment. Party politics should not, and does not, play a role.
   It is true that as a statewide elected official I'm aware of the views of all constituents -- particularly those with opinions, interests and desires to influence public policy. That is politics -- but it isn't partisan politics. As your treasurer my decisions are, in many cases, determined by law -- state or federal. Although there are often decisions to be made which might be classified as "judgment calls," those judgment calls are not -- and cannot be -- made with a concern for allegiance to any particular party.
   So, if the job is not a partisan job, why should the election be partisan? In a nonpartisan election the better chance of being elected comes to the person best suited for the job - regardless of party affiliation. And that person, once elected, can then manage the office without being beholden to any party -- or the influences that come from party affiliation.
   In fact there is no reason, other than history and tradition that most statewide elected officials are elected as partisan -- they don't serve as partisan officials. With the exception of the governor and lieutenant governor, I think the rest of the statewide offices should be nonpartisan in the same way the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction is now. All of these offices, including mine, will always be influenced by politics. But statewide elected people, like me, do their work based on the law and basic principles of public service.
   The negative effects of partisan politics should be an issue with my fellow Washingtonians. I believe the public is growing weary of partisanship, particularly as we've seen it on the national level. Again, I encourage you to contact your senator encouraging them to support Senate Bill 5556.
   It is a good idea whose time has come.

   Comments can be sent to the Office of the State Treasurer, P.O. Box 40200, Olympia, WA 98504-0200 or e-mailed to watreas@tre.wa.gov. Murphy will appear at next weeks's Legislative Day briefing and welcomes your questions.  

 

'Don't make me' column: Judy Halone

   (Note: Judy Halone is a Washington-based writer now producing a weekly column titled "Don't Make Me Turn This Car Around." Her column appears in the Enumclaw and Bonney Lake papers. She is offering the column free temporarily to WNPA members.)

Childhood bullying, part 2
    
    By Judy Halone
 
    Dear readers: My usual focus on childhood antics takes a serious look at another childhood antic: bullying. This is part two of a two-part series.

   Bullying happens. It's a part of life - whether we're children or adults.
   But I believe bullying offers us two options: harboring bitterness, or choosing forgiveness.
   I was bullied, and it hurt. But I also joined classmates in grade school and picked on kids who looked, acted, or dressed differently. And that hurt, too. Because deep down, I knew my parents had taught me how wrong it was to demean others.
   But one day, the bullying stopped. Like the song by Twisted Sister, a boy we'd bullied simply said, "I'm not gonna' take it anymore."
   No violence. No bitterness. Just a 10 year-old determined to choose forgiveness over bitterness - because it's hard to have control over someone when they won't let you have it.
   I spoke with a friend who regrets bullying a girl in third grade.
   "Her name was Minerva, and she couldn't speak much English, so other kids and I picked on her. She was a little different from us. Now that I think about it she was probably an illegal alien," my friend said.
   Nearly four decades later, those childhood actions haunt her. She seeks forgiveness. "It has never left me that I bullied her. I wonder what she's doing now. I hope my actions and words didn't carry into her adult life."
   Mike Majack found out about bullying at his 35th high school class reunion.
   "I saw a former classmate, and she said, 'I have never forgotten that you embarrassed me over a new pair of shoes I wore in school,'" Majack recalled.
   "And the amazing part was, I liked her - she was one of the nice girls! It wasn't like I was trying to hurt her."
   He quickly - and humbly - sought forgiveness.
   "I told her, 'I'm sorry!'"
   Majack summed up his thoughts about bullying and the damage hurtful remarks can cause.
   "Forgiveness is a choice; it's not an emotion. As long as we harbor unforgiveness we're still being bullied. Those who bully still have that control.
   "And the thing is - that bully probably doesn't even know it; doesn't even remember it! The kids who did it have moved on - but they're still in control of our emotion. As long as we harbor unforgiveness, we're still being bullied," Majack explained.
   Bullying happens. It's a part of life that offers two options.
   I know which one I'll choose.

Bonus Column: Love's message endures

by Judy Halone

    I spent yesterday morning with one of my favorite valentines. First, we kissed. Then we held hands.
   We even had our picture taken by a passerby. The photo displays show-stopping smiles, reflecting a love that endures through the seasons of life.
We laughed. We sang. We unhurriedly walked arm in arm, my valentine and I.
We savored hot coffee seasoned with sweet conversation, while I held my valentine's hand beneath the table.
   All too soon, the morning came to an end.
   "Don't go," my valentine gently pleaded. "Stay a little longer."
So I did. Because while I know our love endures through the seasons, I also realize my Valentine is in the winter of life.
   This valentine -- a love I've known for 46 years -- is my mom. She lives with Alzheimer's and the constant struggle of grasping the memory of loved ones' faces. But somehow she still manages to maintain her humor, and always comes when it's needed most; like yesterday, for example.
   "You know, Mom, Valentine's Day is coming up."
   "Yes. Would you like some chocolate?" she asked, with a big grin.
   I eyed her suspiciously.
   "You have chocolate?" -- I never know what I might find in her room. Besides, she knows chocolate is one of my favorite words.
   "No." She giggled.
   "Mom. That was not nice," I chided. "Don't ask if I want chocolate if you don't have any!"
   We laughed, my valentine and me. And in that moment, I treasured all the Valentine's Days we've celebrated through the seasons of life, with one in particular.
   It happened when I walked into my bedroom after another tough day of seventh grade. Atop my bed lay a beautiful, handmade heart-shaped pillow made out of pink satin. Embroidered words in white thread read "Be mine," surrounded by crafted designs of Cupid, kissing lovers, flowers, and birds.
   I looked at Mom, who eagerly yet silently waited at my door.
   She smiled.
   "Mom, it's beautiful."
   "Happy Valentine's Day. I love you," she said in her typical unassuming style.
   Today, that pillow sits among other decorator pillows atop my bed. It daily reminds me that while we grow older through the seasons of life, and while we may possibly one day forget our loved ones' names, the love we have for them will always remain.
   In the summer of my life, that's one Valentine's Day message worth remembering. And that beats chocolate any ol' day.

  Judy Halone is a member of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Send your comments to: judy@judyhalone.com.
  
   Copyright © 2007 by Judy Halone
  
Free editorial cartoon

Another strange chapter in the saga of Tacoma politics.  (S. Neiman)