Candidates Critical Of State Growth Act

It’s not that Republican state Rep. Larry Crouse and Democratic challenger Frank Galizia don’t have common ground. They’re just inclined to take different routes to get there.

The candidates for the 4th District Position 1 House seat are critical of the state’s Growth Management Act, saying it does not give county government enough of a voice.

Crouse says repealing the 1990 act is the only way to return control to local governments.

Galizia, who will face Crouse in the Nov. 5 general election, says the solution is to amend the law to include greater flexibility and adaptability.

Both support Mirabeau Point, a plan to build a 70-acre multi-purpose community center in the heart of the Spokane Valley.

Crouse says he does not plan to seek state money to fund the proposed complex, but will look for tax breaks to help organizers stretch project dollars. Galizia plans to look for state funding assistance.

Both are concerned about increasing juvenile crime, although Crouse says bigger prisons are the way to curb the trend, while Galizia talks about using education.

However, other differences are not so subtle.

Crouse supports the charter school and voucher system initiatives. Galizia opposes them.

Crouse’s campaign is headquartered in a building at University City Shopping Center he shares with two other Republican candidates for the state Legislature. Galizia operates out of an office in the basement of his home, and has spent nine months campaigning door-to-door.

Crouse, 51, says the major difference is he believes government is “too big, too expensive and too intrusive.”

To change that, Crouse supports a performance-audit bill that would base spending levels on the performance of individual programs. Priorities must be adjusted to make them run more efficiently, he said.

“We can go right down the line,” Crouse said. “We can take a look at all of them.”

He wants to return the motor vehicle excise tax to transportation coffers and address a growing juvenile crime problem.

Following a tax-cutting theme, Crouse also supports a property tax reduction, and said his top priority remains rolling back the business and occupation tax that he calls “an unconstitutional income tax on business.”

Like Crouse, Galizia also called for a cut in the business and occupations tax.

Reducing the tax will free up money and allow businesses to push up wages, said Galizia, a 36-year-old Valley optometrist. That in turn will stimulate the economy and reduce the number of people on welfare, he said.

“If that dollar is left in the economy you have a multiplier effect,” he said. “You have to look at your revenue stream. If you don’t have people working in well-paying jobs you don’t have a strong tax base.”

Other taxes, such as the motor vehicle excise tax, are well intended but misused, Galizia said. The vehicle tax - originally collected to fund transportation issues - has been used to subsidize other programs and bolster the general fund, he said.

Returning the excise tax money to transportation funds will allow the Legislature to fix aging roadways and build new ones, while winning back public trust, Galizia said.

The New Castle, Pa., native also called for tougher penalties for juvenile offenders and increased spending on education. However, he is critical for plans that propose building larger adult detention facilities.

“Rather than back-loading our system with larger prisons, I’d rather front-load our system with education.”

Harsh penalties must be tempered with education, Galizia said. Finding a steady, controllable funding stream for public schools will eventually diminish the need for stiffer sentences, he added.

To that end, Galizia has announced a plan to put half of his legislative earnings into a special grant fund. The money would be available to teachers in the 4th District to use to develop programs that enhance parental involvement in student home reading programs.

“It’s our best investment,” Galizia said. “I don’t think anybody could argue that.”

, DataTimes MEMO: See individual profiles under name of candidate