Tag: Eastern Washington

Washington may not be the biggest state in the country, but living in Seattle, it can be easy to forget that its politics are diverse. RELATED: Spokane program provides work for panhandling homeless “For those of us in Eastern Washington trying to keep track of what’s going on in the legislative process, it’s overwhelming,” Cargill told KTTH’s Saul Spady. “It takes so much time for those of us in Eastern Washington to be involved in the legislative session, when you consider the fact that we have to jump in the car and travel four, five, or six hours to Olympia if we want to go down and testify.” To that, Seattle’s own proximity to the state capital can often have those in the easternmost region of Washington feeling cut off from the conversation. “It’s just the constant kind of conveyor belt of ideas that get adopted in Seattle, and then, of course, make their way on down to Olympia, and try to get adopted statewide,” Cargill noted. The system as it exists now has anyone interested in testifying sign up for a session, go to a local college, and video conference straight in. It’s currently only available for the state Senate, though, with the state House of Representatives yet to adopt it. State issues through an Eastern Washington lens One particular issue that the two sides butt heads on is tearing down the Snake River dams to aid Puget Sound’s waning orca population. It’s really a matter of working in concert with the state’s transportation system, with our port system in Seattle. For Cargill, this sort of issue is about recognizing that what’s good for Seattle isn’t what works for our eastern neighbors. “There are many pockets of the state where you cannot adopt a Seattle policy — it just does not work economically.”

The political winners of 2018 include a first-time candidate for Congress who is the first Democrat to win her district, a leading Republican who was not caught napping, a party chair who got out of her chair and traveled the state... and a sports team. McMorris Rodgers relinquished her House GOP leadership position after the election, when faced with a challenge from Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney. -- Ex-tech executive, ex-Seattle City Council member Tina Podlodowski took over as chair of Washington State Democrats, after a 2016 election where the Dems won in King County but lost in a lot of other places across the state. The party's wafer-thin 50-48 House majority is up to 57-41. The party gained a seat in Congress. The have made women's professional sports matter, witness the parade through downtown Seattle and the sight of Mayor Durkan and Police Chief Best cheering at courtside. All three measures were put on the ballot after the Legislature did not act. One more win: Despite getting backing from billionaires, the Alliance for Gun Safety entrusted the campaign to young people, a 22-year-old campaign manager and a steering committee on which sat a high school student. -- The oil and beverage industries deployed big money, and bought election victories. Ericksen was co-chair of the 2016 Trump campaign in Washington.