Mom. Wife. Educator. PhD. Public Servant. Small Business Owner. State Rep. 28th. Avid Reader. Outdoor Enthusiast. This is a personal, non-official account.
Land grant institutions are incredible. I'm grateful to have attended one and have a daughter at one. They provide an excellent education that serve our communities well. #landgrants#gocougs@WSU_Cougar_Pres
Excellent discussions and panels today with a focus on federalism from an overview from the Constitution, to states' budget trends to state vs federal powers and much more. Experts joined us (we are bipartisan and represent all three branches from across the country) from various groups from PEW, to the national budget directors group, governors association and beyond. @CSGovts
It means I don't know what the solution will ultimately be as there will likely be a few swirling and brought forward. It's not sustainable as it is now and is borderline at best. I simply can't say yes or no as I don't know. Beyond that, I hope no taxes are raised to solve the problem and we may have to scale back to a place that it can work as originally intended. I'm not sure at this point and don't serve on that committee. But, learned quite a bit of how other states are handling the challenge that I hope we can glean from. The reality is many folks across our State are accessing it.
Looking forward to a day of learning as we focus on state paid and family medical leave policy. Grateful to join leg colleagues across the country. Always appreciate @ncsl for hosting these sessions. @ncsl
@mrandystevens I'm unclear what solutions are being discussed or will be brought forward by the current working group reviewing the challenge. It's a good and important question.
@TravisSCouture We needed to pass yours on the front end (hb1092) and mine on the back end (hb1159). Those two combined will make a transformative difference.
@fairweather15k Typos happen when your eyes are tired and can't make edits. Not my preference and generally not my practice. It can happen to all of us who aren't perfect.
Once again, we are in the season of signature gathering events as part of our democratic process. I've seen videos of folks screaming at the signature gatherers, using profanity, saying "burn in hell", etc.. and a sitting councilmember of a jurisdiction calling the police in one instance out to the spot and yelling at the guy. If you don't like the premise of the initiative, walk on by and #declinetosign. Yelling, harassing, interfering does nothing to change their effort and does do damage by perhaps drawing in folks to sign who otherwise might not, just because they feel sorry for the person being harassed. Fight the initiative the old fashioned way - fair and at the ballot box. Harassing people just doing their jobs - whether you agree or not - is not only undignified and juvenile but can be criminal. I've sponsored strong policy that strengthens protections for election workers and grateful my bill was passed to do so and now law. I also support policy protecting those who are gathering signatures for these reasons. Just Basta.
@larsenrick Funding BurnJAGS are critical to the success of fighting this. I fought for funding at the state level and will continute to. Great to have a federal partner. I know Cantwell supports those effective units as well.
Enjoyed giving an update to the DuPont City Council last week. Partnerships at all levels are critical to get things done on behalf of residents. Grateful for their invitation!
@LeeConger2 Rewrote it minutes later as I couldn't edit changes I wanted to make in my original paragraph and so reposted with clearer comments. Don't see how that's fraud when posting on my personal account and rewriting a paragraph.
Each of the electeds who spoke were poignant and appear focused on being unified in support their community. All three of the local legislators provided solace as did the other electeds from the Governor to federal reps. The Military Dept was there and their team are solid in state disaster response. And, it goes with out saying the first responders were responsive to questions and information. Hearts and prayers go out to those who lost a family member or are impacted. Such a tragic day for those communities.
Rep. Adam Smith Warns America Is “Choosing Violence Over Politics” After White House Shooting
“Two of the four people running against me have stood right outside my front door screaming at me...These are actual candidates running for office”