During his career in politics, Republican-turned-Democratic state Sen. Rodney Tom has left many observers scratching their heads. But the Bellevue lawmaker is sure his constituents in the 48th Legislative District will return him to Olympia — despite having the best-funded opponent in the state.

Republican challenger Gregg Bennett is just as sure that voters are tired of Tom and his fellow Democrats and want a change.

Both Democrats and Republicans want control of the 48th and other Eastside districts. Republicans are hoping to retake the seat in their bid to weaken the Democrats’ control of the state Legislature. Republicans are outnumbered in the Senate 31-18 and 61-37 in the House. The GOP feels it has to reassert itself in Seattle’s eastern suburbs, where it used to dominate.

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The goal of my ‘Get Washington Back to Work’ campaign is to stimulate ideas and discussions. Join the Conversation that will lead to jobs being created.

As a former CEO and business owner, I’ve created hundreds of jobs right here in our community. I understand that new jobs are an individual business decision, and hinge as much on affordability and timing, as they do access to a skilled workforce. But there is another element in play – public policy decisions that government makes spur, or slow, economic growth.

With that in mind, I want to hear from you. Let’s work together to get Washington working again. It’s time for bold ideas. It’s time for innovative thinking. It’s time for action.

I invite you to join the conversation. Enter your comments below…

State Senator Rodney Tom (D-48, Medina) is facing a stiff challenge from Republican candidate Gregg Bennett. This week, PubliColaTV sat down with Bennett at the Bellevue Hyatt Plaza to talk about his platform.

The 48th legislative district is the Eastside Seattle suburban swing turf battlefield that includes Bellevue, Medina, Redmond—essentially, a techie refuge of largely Independent voters. Tom is a moderate-to-conservative Democrat, and Bennett is a moderate Republican.

In the vid, Bennett, an investor and start-up consultant, focused on improving the business climate in Washington State. Bennett takes issue with the B&O tax (a flat tax on revenue, rather than profits, for businesses across the state), and with the fact that our unemployment taxes and worker’s compensation taxes are among the highest in the country. And he also flags  the minimum wage [$8.55 an hour], the highest in the country.

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As Republicans try to catch up to Democrats in political power in Olympia, they are catching up to the methods their opponents use to mold Washington’s future politicians.

The résumés of five Republicans making strong bids for the Legislature this year have at least one line in common: the Jennifer Dunn Leadership Institute, a program for conservative office-seekers modeled after similar Democratic initiatives.

The institute trains its second class this week. More than half of the 22 members are running for office, said board member and state Rep. Bill Hinkle. Others aspire to government or community leadership down the road.

“I think it’s a great tool to identify the next crop and generation of potential candidates,” said Brent Ludeman, director of the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, which stands to benefit from having a pool of conservatives or Republicans with leadership and campaign training under their belts.

All five candidates coming out of last year’s original 14-member class are running for the first time, but their inexperience hasn’t kept them from gathering support and money quickly.

Three, Gregg Bennett, Joe Fain and JT Wilcox, are among five GOP challengers who have so far raised the most money in challenges to incumbent lawmakers. Bennett, the CEO of a consulting business who is taking on Democratic budget writer Sen. Rodney Tom, has already spent $168,000 on his campaign, far more than any other legislative candidate.

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/06/22/1236195/its-summer-school-for-class-of.html

[Read FULL Published Article on Publicola]

The eastside Seattle burbs overwhelmingly voted for President Obama in 2008. And the eastside Seattle burbs are hot on education reform. Ironically, it’s a Republican candidate for the state Senate, investor and consultant Gregg Bennett,  who’s running on Democratic President Barack Obama’s education reform platform in the 48th Legislative District (Bellevue, Redmond) this year.

“He [Obama] and Race to the Top [Obama's education reform program] is right on, it’s moving us in the right direction,” Republican Bennett says.

Bennett is running against incumbent Sen. Rodney Tom (D-48) in the GOP’s effort to take back the hotly contested swing turf on the eastside. Tom (who used to be a Republican before switching to parties in 2006) also hypes education reform and was a lead player in passing both 2009’s and 2010’s educations reform bills. [...more]

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