Response to Brad Toft's: "Priorities of Government Budget"

BRAD TOFT, Republican Senate candidate for Washington’s 5^th Legislative District, in a recent blog post praised the Priorities of Government Budget (POG) model as an effective way of solving our State’s budget problems. 

According to Washington’s Office of Financial Management, POG is a scheme for prioritizing activities that “is used to guide the Governor's budget proposal to the Legislature, and to communicate that budget to the public.” (More information can be read here: http://www.ofm.wa.gov/budget/pog/.) 

Toft is supportive of the POG model and acknowledges that it is our State’s adopted means of strategic investment.  But according to Toft, there is “little evidence of its practice.”  For this Toft blames Olympia’s democrats.

Toft’s blog post fails, however, to clearly explain in what manner the POG approach is failing.  Toft also omits the fact that it was the Republican Party that abandoned the State Budget they forced through our State’s Senate shortly before the regular legislative session ended in March 2012.  What good will any tailored approach to spending priorities make if the Republican Party holds budget negotiations hostage by simply refusing to participate?

It seems Toft’s blog post is not actually an attempt to educate voters on his plans for remedying what he believes is a failing form of budgetary priority setting.  Instead, Toft seems merely poised to continue his pot-shots taken at a phantom opponent: Toft has consistently urged voters to buy his portrayal of Mark Mullet as being a person of “misleading statements and negativity.” 

In reality, it is Toft’s truthful character that is in question: Toft lied under oath to a King County Superior Court about his own personal identity.  More can be read here: http://www.king5.com/news/politics/Wash-Senate-hopeful-Brad-Toft-sought-to-seal-court-files-162909556.html

Trent Latta is an attorney and frequent Patch Local Voices contributor.  He can be contacted at TrentLatta@gmail.com.