State Representative Tim Probst announced today he will campaign for the State Senate.
Ranked for two straight years as the Legislature’s most fiscally responsible lawmaker, Probst has consistently pursued a centrist agenda of low taxes and low debt, coupled with economic growth.
“I promised the voters I would be an independent centrist, not raise their taxes, and fix this economy through job skills, education, and a good old-fashioned work ethic–not through debt, spending, and speculation,” said Probst. “I’ve stood by that promise, and I want to do more, faster, to re-establish America as the strongest economy in the world, bar none. That’s why I’m asking the voters to send me to the Senate.”
Probst has been an outspoken promoter of respectful dialogue and positive campaigning. The first political ad of his career led off with the sentence, “I believe in an ethic of service to others, and I am opposed to the politics of divisiveness.” In 2010, when a 9-11 copycat crashed a small plane into a high-rise in Austin, Texas, Probst was quoted in the Columbian saying, “It is important to consider the role of civility and respect in our democracy. The keystone of any democracy is a fundamental concern for our fellow human beings…even those who disagree with you.”
“Some people will stoop to the lowest levels of dirty politics to win an election, no matter how untruthful or just plain wrong,” said Probst. “That’s what’s wrong with politics today–there is no sense of honor or honesty. I think that is an affront to the voters and insults their intelligence.”
A year before the 2007 economic crash, Probst authored editorials warning of “economic theories that seem to good to be true,” and predicting that the “debt-and-spend economy” couldn’t last.
In 2008, he was elected to the State House of Representatives on a platform of low taxes and economic reform, promoting the work ethic, education reform, and people’s job skills as key ingredients for economic recovery.
Since then, Probst has gained a reputation as an independent centrist, and racked up an impressive set of legislative reforms, most of which interweave economic growth with fiscal discipline.
Probst’s Record of Reform and Results
For example, Probst’s Opportunity Scholarships Act created a first-in-the-nation partnership between government and business, to provide college scholarships for students, with a focus on middle class families who make too much to qualify for financial aid and too little to fully afford the increasing cost of college. A $5 million investment by the state was matched by a $50 million investment from the private sector–a 10 to 1 return on investment in the first year. The first 3,000 scholarships will be awarded this year.
Probst’s other reforms have included three measures to reduce red tape for small businesses, two reforms that trained 9,000 people for new jobs during the depths of the recession, and nearly 1,000 business internships for high school students at high-growth companies such as nLight Photonics, SEH America, and Frito-Lay.
“You have to have a sense of urgency about our economy,” said Probst. “People are hurting, and America’s position of world leadership is on the line. We just can’t be complacent about this.”
Probst also authored the largest dropout prevention reform in over a decade, using business-led dropout prevention strategies that have already been proven to work. For every student prevented from dropping out of high school, the taxpayer saves over $10,000 per year in avoided costs such as jail, social services, and lost tax revenues.
Probst worked with local business leaders to win the engineering building for WSU Vancouver, when party leaders wanted the funding to go to Seattle. He also led the effort to protect levy equalization funding, which brings tens of millions of dollars to our local schools that would otherwise be shifted to districts with more property wealth in the Puget Sound region.
“I try to stay out of the partisan bickering and the Olympia gossip mills and just do my job,” said Probst. “In the Senate, I’ll be able to achieve more for my constituents to promote fiscal responsibility and common-sense economic strength.”
Probst will announce his economic reform platform for the State Senate, Building a Work Ethic Economy, in two weeks.
