"Thurston County is blessed with beautiful vistas, abundant fishing and hunting opportunities, recreational opportunities on Puget Sound and our many lakes and rivers, as well as hiking and camping opportunities for families.

Sprawl development is endangering the very things that make us unique.

Sprawl development is characterized by low-density development that separates residential uses from other land uses, and that relies entirely or almost entirely on automobile transportation to connect the separate uses.

We are just beginning to link auto-dependent development with the energy debate. According to a Wall Street Journal article (Feb.4, 2008), driving has continued to increase in the US – from 1977-2001 it increased by 151%. The WSJ argues that fuel efficient cars won’t have a large impact if Americans are driving those cars twice as far.

This is the pattern we have been encouraging for Thurston Co. It is the same pattern that many other desirable places to live have followed. Just look to California and see what rapid development did to the natural landscape and livability of one of the best climates in the world.

Therefore, I will work to bring sanity to our land-use practices. "

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"Keeping our families safe is not to be compromised.  Being able to have prompt response times for crime intervention and for emergency medical care must be placed at the top.

Public health includes disease prevention and response, healthy walkable communities, safe drinking water and clean air."

Puget Sound

"The land-use decisions we make today directly influence the health of Puget Sound in the future. We have a great opportunity to save Puget Sound by following the recommendations of the Puget Sound Partnership when they come out sometime in September of this year. Their challenge is herculean because most of the problems with Puget Sound aren’t visible to the casual observer. But many species are on the brink of extinction, including the Chinook salmon and the orca. "

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Fiscal Responsibility

"Fiscal responsibility is also something I will bring to the County Commission. I was always rated as the lowest spender of tax payer's money when I was in the Legislature. I am a firm believer that by being thrifty and watching the pennies, you can make your dollar stretch."

Open and Responsive Government

"I have a record of trying to open up accountability in the closed meetings of government bodies. This is not just lip service; I passed the first legislation to open up executive sessions to have written minutes."

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"I am most passionate about Thurston County remaining identifiable as Thurston County and not everywhere else USA."

-- Sandra Romero