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It’s been a short, but busy 60-day session. Legislators have debated hundreds of bills, refining them as they move through the legislative process. With budget negotiations on track to be finalized, this short session should come to an end tomorrow. In even-numbered years, such as this one, the Legislature adjusts the two-year state budget passed in odd-numbered years. Investments made in these supplemental budget years are generally more modest but are important to ensure the most critical needs across our state are addressed. Although by t...
Leave it better than you found it. That’s how I approach my work in the Legislature, especially on environmental issues and our state’s natural resources. We are blessed to live on the Salish Sea and it’s important that we make protecting it and the life within it a priority. Salmon have long played an important role in the ecology, economy and culture of the Pacific Northwest and of the state of Washington. They are significant to the traditions and practices of tribal nations in our state, many of which have treaty-protected fishing right...
During the summer of 2018 the world watched as a mother orca swam 1,000 miles with her dead calf draped across her back. For 17 long days we waited – helpless to stop her pain and worried about how long she could sustain her journey. People worldwide began to wonder if it was possible to die from a broken heart. It is eight months later, and I still cannot erase the images of Tahlequah’s “tour of grief” from my memory. This is not the reason our state should garner the international spotlight. In 1989, I lived through the Alaskan Exxon Va...
Just a few weeks ago, I was sworn in as a representative from the 40th Legislative District in the Washington State House of Representatives. I’m proud to be the first Native American woman in state history elected to this position and am looking forward to tackling some of the key issues facing our community. As a graduate of Central Washington University, and after spending a majority of my 20 years of governmental services in the Skagit, I am honored to serve in this new position and to know my work will help create a better Washington a...
