Whatcom County Exec. Pete Kremen is headed to D.C. to see if he can grab some bucks for Whatcom County, and the number being tossed about is $71.3 million. Yowza! The money is to be used ostensibly for public safety projects and a new emergency operations center. Executive Kremem is hoping to tie in the 2010 Olympics in B.C. as an impetus for the Feds to cough up the dough.

Now as a fiscal conservative, this puts a good sized arch in my eyebrow. There are two ways we can look at this. One way is to see it as a money-grab where "everybody is doing it" and it is time we got ours. That argument can be made with a fair amount of convincing strength. Another way to look at it is to take the position against "earmarking" which is the position I generally take. It is my belief that we have "earmarked" this country into a taxation nightmare.

So, where do I come down on this trip Executive Kremen is making? Well, I suppose it depends on how the money is spent, assuming he is successful. There are legitimate uses for federal funds, and one of those is to provide for the common defense. One could argue pretty strongly that the things Pete says the money is for, tie directly into that common defense.

The Herald is strongly behind this move, and I get nervous when the Herald and I are on the same page. But, my support is qualified. It depends on how the money is spent.

Your thoughts?

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Scott Ayers posted in his blog about 30 minutes ago that in his conversation with Senator Murray, this is a total pipe-dream. Murray says Pete may get three or four million, but that's a far cry from 71.3 million. Ayers is suggesting that Pete may be asking for the higher figure in order to maximize what bacon he does come home with.

We'll see how it goes.

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