State Sen. Ron Muzzall meets in Mount Vernon

On his fifty-first day in office, District 10 State Senator Ron Muzzall (R-Oak Harbor) spoke to a group of some 30 people at Mt Vernon High School Sunday, part of four town hall meetings he held last weekend.

Muzzall, an Oak Harbor area farmer, has deep roots on Whidbey Island. His family has had their farm since 1910. He co-owns 3 Sisters Family Farm and 3 Sisters Cattle Co. with family.

He highlighted those values in introducing himself, stressing his agricultural roots, his involvement on farm coop boards, including Skagit Farm Supply, and his church’s socially conscious view. “It’s about helping those who are less fortunate,” Muzzall said. He has also been a fire district commissioner.

Before starting a 45 minute question and answer session the 56 year old said he was doing this because he has two young granddaughters. “I am not happy with the state of the state. It has gone downhill the last five years,” the Republican said.

“The state has fallen down on people helping people help each other,” he said, a subtle criticism of Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee and government programs. Muzzall doesn’t believe legislation or spending tax monies always solves a problem. Later, he criticized the Department of Social and Health Services, saying the staff “were not bad actors but it is a bad system.” He believes agencies throughout state government can be better managed.

For that reason he supports the reduction in car tab fees passed as I-976. People are frustrated with Sound Transit’s management and non-elected board, he said. He believes there is enough money for transportation. State tax collections are $3 billion above projections for 2019.

He is not against mass transit, he said in response to a climate change question and wants fewer vehicles on the road. “We are not going to have petroleum forever,” he said and is not against legislating fuel standards.

He said he was not a climate change denier but questioned the severity of the climate warming and large state spending to mitigate it. “We need to agree to disagree, he told his questioner.

In response to a comment that the climate crisis is now, he brought up the need for more spending on elder care.

Muzzall said addressing social concerns way just as important. His three priorities are substance abuse, mental health and homelessness. He called for a comprehensive approach.

On schools, he said state spending mandated by the McCleary supreme court decision “doesn’t help in Mount Vernon,” that districts with smaller tax bases need more funding from the legislature.

He could support banning grocery store plastic bags, he told Carol Sullivan, saying they are a problem in his fields and fence lines. He needs to see the specific legislation before endorsing it.

He repeatedly offered local government, closer to their citizens, as the place to solve problems such as affordable housing, homelessness and mental health. State government reacts slowly, he said. “My personal view is collect the money and funnel it back to the local level,” he said, nodding to Skagit County Commissioner Ron Wesen, who attended.

Countries need to fund mental health facilities and affordable housing, he said, and he promoted higher density housing zoning and using the growth Management Act.

Early on he said he was a poor liar. Closing, he said “we have to agree on our core common values. I have an ‘R’ behind my name. I am a conservative, you have to be in agriculture. We have to agree to have a different understanding. The only people who are marginalized are those who marginalize themselves by screaming and yelling.”

He told the group he had “a real problem with being politically correct and too honest. That’s what happens when you have a farmer in Olympia.”

He also said as a farmer he was a big believer in cooperation.

He encouraged people to contact his staff and reach out to him.

Following Sen. Barbara Bailey’s September retirement, Muzzall was appointed by a unanimous vote of the three countries commissioners after being the top vote getter of the counties precinct committee officers. Legislative District 10 comprises southwest Skagit County, northwestern Snohomish County and Island County.

Sen. Muzzall’s Olympia phone number is (360) 786-7618.