Lincoln Day event to feature Pam Lewison and political candidates

DAYTON–With the 2024 General Election right around the corner, the Columbia County Republican Central Committee will be holding its annual Lincoln Day Dinner here on Saturday, October 5, 2024, at the Fairgrounds Pavilion. In addition to a number of candidates for office, the featured speaker for the event will be Pam Lewison of the Washington Policy Center, a free-market based think tank based in Washington state.

Lewison is the co-owner of JP Ranch, the owner of Paradigm Ag, and the Research Director for WPC's Center for Agriculture. Lewison is a fourth-generation farmer raising hay and other row crops with her husband and her parents near Moses Lake.

Her research pieces have been featured in Capital Press, The Seattle Times, The LA Times, and other publications, and Lewison is often invited to testify in Olympia on numerous occasions and has had the good fortune to work with many legislators and lobbyists.

Lewison holds a bachelor's degree in Creative Writing from Washington State University and a master's degree in Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communications from Texas A&M University-College Station. Before working for WPC, she was the coordination clerk for the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program at the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District and the communications coordinator for the Washington Cattlemen's Association.

In addition to various national, state and regional candidates, there are three initiatives to the legislature and one to the people: I-2109 I-2117, I-2124 and I-2066, which will be presented.

-I-2109, if approved, would repeal the state capital gains tax, which is imposed annually on the sale or exchange of long-term Washington capital assets when an individual has an adjusted annual Washington capital gain in excess of $250,000.

-I-2117, if approved, would Prohibits state agencies from implementing any carbon tax credit trading and would repeal chapter 70A.65 RCW, which contains the majority of the provisions of the Climate Commitment Act.

-I-2124, if approved, would provide that employees and self-employed persons must elect to keep coverage in the Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Program (Trust Program), and it would allow employees and self-employed persons who have elected coverage under the Trust Program to opt out of coverage at any time and repeals the exemption for employees who purchased long-term care insurance before November 1, 2021.

-I-2066, if approved, would indicate that the existing requirement that gas utilities provide natural gas when requested applies even if other energy services or energy sources may be available; it would repeal portions of the Washington Decarbonization Act for Large Combination Utilities; prohibit approval of utility plans that would result in the termination of, or cost-prohibitive access to, natural gas service; remove certain planning requirements for a large combination utility; and prohibit certain state and local entities from prohibiting or discouraging the use of natural gas.

The event is a fundraiser for the local Republican committee and includes a catered prime-rib dinner and a silent auction. For information, contact Charlotte Baker, CCRCC secretary, at 509-863-7444.