Alexander pleased with state budget

Republican priorities were incorporated in the current legislative session. That’s the opinion of State Representative Gary Alexander, the ranking Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee.

Alexander made those remarks at the Thursday meeting of the Lacey Rotary Club.

The Republican budget, released by the House contained the principals of the party, Alexander said. Those principals included funding education first, protecting vulnerable populations, improving public safety and balancing the budget in a two-year cycle. “Those were accomplished in our approved budget,” Alexander said.

“Early on we recognized that we had to change the way we budget and needed to work on reform,” the local legislator said. To that end, the legislature passed pension reform, balanced the budget over a four-year period and improved health care for classified educational staff. “We had strong bi-partisan support for all of those,” Alexander said.

He gave recognition to Governor Christine Gregoire for her involvement in the budget process. “It was an intense and long process,” he said. “The Governor is one of the best managers I’ve ever seen. She helped us get to a resolution.”

Alexander said the budget passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support. “For the first time in a decade I felt comfortable in pushing my green button,” he said.