As-it-happened updates: State legislators’ Town Hall in West Seattle
From left, State Reps. Eileen Cody and Joe Fitzgibbon and State Sen. Sharon Nelson are leading a “Town Hall” meeting at High Point Community Center right now. Rep. Fitzgibbon opened by saying “The biggest challenge in Olympia right now is the budget,” and Rep. Cody warned, “Everyone’s going to feel the pain.” We’ll make notes here as this goes; you have time to get here if you’d like to be part of it – 34th just north of Myrtle, till 11:30 am. More than 100 people are here.
In-progress updates, topic by topic:
BUDGET OUTLOOK/JOBS: The next revenue forecast from the state is expected next Thursday, and the legislators say it’s expected to get uglier. As Sen. Nelson put it, the average recession since the Great Depression has lasted 18 months; this one is 36 months old, she said, and we’re “still scraping bottom.” She says that of the 195,000 jobs lost in our state so far, barely a tenth have been recovered. She also noted that our state’s unemployment-insurance fund is still healthy, unlike some states. And later, while answering a question, she talked about meeting with people who are directly feeling “the pain we are causing” by having to cut, and she declared, “This budget will be immoral, no matter how we look at it.” Moments later, asking a question from the audience, an attendee named Anastasia said, “This whole budget-cutting thing is insane.”
IF YOU ARE UPSET ABOUT THE BUDGET TOO … Rep. Cody remarked toward the end of the event that she’s hopeful they’ll see more “enough is enough” rallies in Olympia because so far, in her view, “people don’t seem to be all that upset about the cuts.” This Thursday, there’s a rally about tax loopholes, Rep. Fitzgibbon noted.
TRANSPORTATION: Rep. Fitzgibbon noted that legislators opposed the governor’s proposal to create a regional district to handle state ferries: “They’re part of the state highway system.” He said major challenges will include helping local transportation agencies like Metro Transit find ways to find additional funding to avoid deep service cuts as traditional revenue sources run short. (11 am note – Interestingly, we are an hour into this event and there has not been a question about transportation yet … 11:30 update: STILL no transportation questions.)
EDUCATION: Sen. Nelson is vice chair of an education committee in the Senate. She talked about decisions that have to be made regarding early-learning programs, and also about higher-education funding – fielding a question about South Seattle Community College, she said there will be some cuts to community colleges, even though “We know they are the ones right now helping folks get back to work” (because of retraining programs). Rep. Fitzgibbon said that further tuition increases are “a dangerous road to go down” and could price more people out of college. The legislators were asked toward meeting’s end about “common core standards” for education; Rep. Cody says she supports it – “If we don’t adopt them and join together (with other states), the textbooks we buy are determined by California and Texas.” She acknowledges there are questions because of the math standards that are being proposed.
ENVIRONMENT: Sen. Nelson recapped the recent vote to crack down on the state’s one coal-burning energy plant, in Centralia, and also noted with regret that she had not been able to get enough votes to pass her proposal to get toxins out of children’s toys. She said she will keep trying.
HEALTH CARE: Rep. Cody, a nurse by trade, has long had an emphasis in that. She said they are working on funding to keep 60,000 more people from losing basic insurance that currently is provided through the state.
WORKPLACE SAFETY: Rep. Fitzgibbon mentioned a bill to make sure dangerous conditions in workplaces are fixed faster. Sen. Nelson discussed the “compromise” regarding workers’ compensation insurance – which results in relatively speedy settlements to get people off insurance – saying that in her opinion, it creates “a two-tiered system … where the poor get poorer” if they cannot hire a lawyer to get a better settlement in case of serious injury. She also says that there are Democrats siding with Republicans on even more-major changes that she says the Washington Business Association is pushing for.
INCOME TAX? Asked by one attendee if a temporary income tax could be implemented to help with the budget, while saying, not really, Sen. Nelson pointed out that the 34th District is one of only five out of 39th that voted in favor of 1098, the income-tax measure.
LEGISLATORS’ SALARIES, AND HAVE THEY FACED CUTS? Answering that question, Rep. Fitzgibbon said their salaries are set at $42,000 and it’s been frozen for a few years. Rep. Cody added that they have dealt with cuts in everything from their travel to printing/postage to staff budgets.
11:37 AM UPDATE: Sen. Nelson reiterated that it will make a difference if people attend the aforementioned rally this coming week – and that it’s important for people to contact them with questions and issues. (Though replies may take a while – Rep. Cody answered a written question earlier in the event by noting that her legislative assistant already has answered 1,800 e-mails this year and “a few hundred more” come in every day – “We’ll get to you, it just might take a while.”
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