OLYMPIA, Wash., May 9, 2014—Without exception every elected official claims to be a friend of Main Street, but today’s release of the Guardian of Small Business Award winners is the only accurate barometer measuring true friends.
Every biennium, after the completion of each two-year session of the Washington State Legislature, the National Federation of Independent Business, America’s Voice of Small Business, recognizes legislators who voted with small business on issues vital to their survival with a Guardian award.
“Talk is the cheapest and easiest commodity in politics, and you don’t have to be well-funded to be full of it,” said Patrick Connor, NFIB’s Washington state director, “what counts – and what we count – are the votes when it matters. It delights me to report that 15 senators and 31 representatives had perfect, 100-percent, pro-small-business voting records on the 19 key issues we measured them on.”
Another 23 state lawmakers had between 80 percent and 90 percent voting records, reported Connor, who added, “That only 69 out of 147 state legislators could bother to be of help to the state’s small-business owners, who generate almost every new job and employ half of working Washingtonians, is perhaps the most damning commentary that our state still remains not very entrepreneurially friendly.”
The issues and each legislator’s vote on them can be found at the first link below. A quick look-up at this year’s Guardian winners can be found below.
Related Information:
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For more than 70 years, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America’s economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. NFIB’s educational mission is to remind policymakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses; they have very different challenges and priorities.
National Federation of Independent Business/Washington
711 Capitol Way South, Suite 505
Olympia, WA 98501
Twitter: @NFIB_WA
Senators With 100 Percent Small Business Scores
- Jan Angel (Port Orchard)
- Barbara Bailey (Oak Harbor)
- Michael Baumgartner (Spokane)
- Don Benton (Vancouver)
- John Braun (Centralia)
- Sharon Brown (Kennewick)
- Brian Dansel (Republic)
- Mike Hewitt (Walla Walla)
- Janéa Holmquist Newbry (Moses Lake)
- Jim Honeyford (Sunnyside)
- Curtis King (Yakima)
- Linda Parlette (Wenatchee)
- Ann Rivers (La Center)
- Pam Roach (Auburn)
- Tim Sheldon (Potlatch)
Senators With 90 Percent Small Business Scores
- Randi Becker (Eatonville)
- Bruce Dammeier (Puyallup)
- Doug Ericksen (Ferndale)
- Joe Fain (Auburn)
- Andy Hill (Redmond)
- Steve Litzow (Mercer Island)
- Kirk Pearson (Monroe)
- Mark Schoesler (Ritzville)
- Rodney Tom (Bellevue)
Senators With 80 Percent Small Business Scores
- Steve O’Ban (Pierce County) 88 percent
- Mike Padden (Spokane Valley) 80 percent
Representatives With 100 Percent Small Business Scores
- Vincent Buys (Lynden)
- Bruce Chandler (Granger)
- Leonard Christian (Spokane Valley)
- Cary Condotta (East Wenatchee)
- Richard DeBolt (Chehalis)
- Susan Fagan (Pullman)
- Larry Haler (Richland)
- Mark Hargrove (Covington)
- Paul Harris (Vancouver)
- Brad Hawkins (East Wenatchee)
- Graham Hunt (Orting)
- Norm Johnson (Yakima)
- Brad Klippert (Kennewick)
- Joel Kretz (Wauconda)
- Dan Kristiansen (Snohomish)
- Drew MacEwen (Union)
- Dick Muri (Steilacoom)
- Terry Nealey (Dayton)
- Ed Orcutt (Kalama)
- Jason Overstreet (Lynden)
- Kevin Parker (Spokane)
- Liz Pike (Camas)
- Charles Ross (Naches)
- Joe Schmick (Colfax)
- Elizabeth Scott (Monroe)
- Matt Shea (Spokane Valley)
- Shelly Short (Addy)
- David Taylor (Moxee)
- Brandon Vick (Felida)
- J.T. Wilcox (Yelm)
- Jesse Young (Gig Harbor)
Representatives With 90 Percent Small Business Scores
- David Hayes (Camano Island)
- Jeff Holy (Cheney)
- Linda Kochmar (Federal Way)
- Chad Magendanz (Issaquah)
- Matt Manweller (Ellensburg)
- Norma Smith (Clinton)
- Maureen Walsh (Walla Walla)
- Judy Warnick (Moses Lake)
- Hans Zeiger (Puyallup)
Representatives With 80 Percent Small Business Scores
- Cathy Dahlquist (Enumclaw) 89 percent
- Jay Rodne (Snoqualmie) 89 percent
- Mike Hope (Lake Stevens) 88 percent
