For the last two years our lawmakers have been unable to balance our state’s multibillion-dollar deficit due to a lack of innovative ideas and a reliance on old policies that have repeatedly failed.

It’s time to hold our legislators accountable. We must elect representatives who will bring new creative ideas to the table and who won’t sit back and use the age-old strategy of dramatically increasing taxes as the only way to balance the budget. It’s time to elect someone who will critically analyze the numbers and find a new and better solution that doesn’t suck millions of dollars out of an already struggling economy.

Legislators must find a way to put money back into the hands of businesses, rather than taking it away from them by raising taxes.

This year we must elect someone who is prepared to fight for fiscal responsibility. If we elect Peter Dunbar and Steve Litzow, they will work to find new responsible ways to balance the budget and grow our state’s economy. If our Legislature doesn’t start trying to find a new approach to solving our budget crisis, our economy will continue to struggle and fall behind.

Paul Singh, Renton