Following is a press release from Jordan M. Rash, Campaign Manager – Friends of Troy Kelley
Lakewood – Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag announced today that he has endorsed Troy Kelley in his race for state representative, position 1 in the 28th Legislative District. Kelley, owner of a document tracking company and seventeen-year Army Reserve officer, is running against Seattle trial lawyer, Steven O’Ban.
“Troy gets it! He is the most fiscally responsible candidate in this race,” Sonntag said. “He has not only led the way to reduce needless government waste, but has also been a staunch advocate against raising taxes and for open government. He has been an independent and effective leader for our community and I am honored to endorse him for state representative.”
Sonntag, who has been the State Auditor since 1992, has worked closely with Troy to identify fraud and eliminate wasteful government spending, while also working to identify the Priorities of Government, for the past four years. He went on to say “Washington needs people like Troy in the Legislature to be a leader for our community. He is the only candidate in Pierce County with the business background we need to help right the ship in these tough economic times.”
The race for state representative is heating up in the 28th Legislative District, with Kelley’s opponent attempting to tie him to spending in Olympia from 2004 – long before Kelley was first elected. Attack ads run both during the primary and general election season by his opponent claim that although Troy voted against taxes and the budget, he is responsible for “spending and job-killing taxes.” By that logic, Mr. O’Ban, who was first employed as partisan staff by the Republican Party Caucus in 1988, is responsible along with his party for taking a multi-billion dollar surplus in 2000 to a $1.2 trillion federal deficit by January 2009 (and for our nation’s current $13.2 trillion debt).
“I don’t want to blame anyone for where we are at today, including the last administration,” Kelley said. “That’s not going to get us anywhere. We are in this together. We are all Americans. I am focused on the future and how we can not only create jobs, but improve education, make communities safer and make government more efficient. I look forward to continuing to work to create bi-partisan legislation that benefits our community and our state.”