Former 24th District representative Lynn Kessler was in office for 18 years and dealt with some difficult budget negotiations, but the upcoming 2017 legislative session will be unlike any she experienced, she told lawmakers gathered last Thursday for the annual Greater Grays Harbor Inc. legislative sendoff luncheon.
“These men are going into an unprecedented, difficult session,” she said as she took the podium to serve as moderator for the panel that included the six legislators from the 19th and 24th districts. “It’s time to get rid of all the rhetoric. What I want to see from all of you (she told the audience) is to be patient with your legislators, to really be helpful with them. It’s easy to throw pot shots. It’s hard to come up with real alternatives.”
Greater Grays Harbor CEO Dru Garson started the event by introducing area dignitaries in attendance, including most of the county’s mayors, many council members, and representatives from the PUD, Grays Harbor College and Port of Grays Harbor, to name a few. He then laid out a list of issues he believes deserves consideration in the 2017 state capital budget.
“The state should supply technical training and workplace internships as part of its McCleary court decision conditions,” he said. “The state should also help with the TimberWorks project (the flood relief plan in its final planning stages for Aberdeen and Hoquiam), the Gateway Center and the dredging of the Westport Marina.”
The McCleary court decision in which the state Supreme Court mandated that basic education be completely funded by the state has created this year’s unique situation. Kessler says she has seen numbers for the needed money in the $4.5 billion range, a full 10 percent of the state’s budget. To put it in perspective, she said, “If we shut down the Department of Corrections, all the jails, just let them all go, the money you saved by doing that wouldn’t even cover it.” Addressing the panel, she added, “You’re going to have to find real cuts, real revenue, in a bipartisan way.”
Sen. Dean Takko, D-Longview, was next to the podium, fresh off a trip to Antarctica, which Kessler said was the last continent on his list to visit. He too described the school funding mandate as the issue that will drive all others this session.
“We’ve got this McCleary decision sucking the wind out of everything,” he said. “It’s going to be about McCleary.” He said his goal for the session is protecting the interests of his constituents. He also urged his fellow legislators to focus not on whether the State Supreme Court has the authority to force the hand of the Legislature. “We need to address and fund education,” he said. “Don’t worry if the Court has the power to tell us what to do.”
He continued, “The governor has thrown a lot of proposals against the wall, trying to see what sticks. I’ve talked to a lot of groups here locally. I don’t know what the answer is. One thing that might work, I’m thinking build a wall around the 19th District and have Seattle pay for it!”
Rep. Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen, was up next, and agreed “The McCleary decision is sucking all the oxygen out of the room. At the time, we knew we couldn’t fund it entirely. We were hopeful, but it’s a difficult process to go through. It may take added revenue, but we don’t want to start there. We want to look for cuts, but there really isn’t a lot of fat in this budget. We have difficult work to do.”
Locally, he said the coastal erosion problem needs to be addressed, and the need to increase the state’s hatchery production. “The Humptulips hatchery is running at only 25 percent capacity,” he said.” By increasing hatchery production the area’s economy would improve with increased commercial and recreational fishing opportunities.
Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, the first Republican representing the 19th District in 70 years, said, “We’re trying to bring in a new attitude. Well, maybe it’s old attitudes with new ways to articulate them. We need to look for practical solutions to McCleary, and only look at raising revenue as a very very very last resort.”
He would like to see a change in the way property taxes are calculated. “They should be calculated in a way that doesn’t unfairly burden rural areas,” he said. Further, “we need to protect the rights of property owners to develop their own land.” To that end, “We need to make regulations rational, and have a permit system that allows for a reasonable completion time of projects.” He says his goal is to make the area’s economy reach its potential.
Sen. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim, won the 24th District seat left open when longtime senator Jim Hargrove, who was also in attendance, announced his retirement. “Job creation is something we will have to look at,” he said. “When people are working it resolves a lot of other problems,” such as crime and substance abuse. He is among the state leaders who believe cross laminated timber, a new building material that is fast emerging as an environmentally friendly and attractive alternative to concrete, steel and heavy timber. Van De Wege said “we need to create jobs here,” and a cross laminated timber production facility “would be perfect for here.” He added that while there is a perception that the incoming group in the federal government has “a philosophy of turning their backs on people” but, “I will make sure our people are taken care of.”
Rep. Steve Tharinger, D-Sequim, has been representing the 24th District since 2010 and was described by Kessler as a “policy wonk.” He spoke about the need to fund education whether the State Supreme Court mandates it or not. “It’s really all about education,” he said. “I think we can all agree we need to have a strong educational system.” He says currently our teachers are underpaid, class sizes are too large and classrooms are too small, and the disparity in the quality of education is too great across the state. He says funding for schools could come from B&O taxes if they were restructured to offer relief for small businesses, “real important drivers of the economy,” and focus more on attorneys and other professionals. He said adjustments to the bond process could also save millions. “We need to focus on early learning, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for other things,” he said. “We need to look at the capital budget as a way to create jobs and focus on mental health.”
Rep.-elect Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles, talked about the “legacy issues” left by his mentors in the 24th District. “We have a great Elwah River Bridge, a great juvenile facility, great roads and trials projects,” all that can be traced out to those who served before him. He also stressed the importance of local governments in the areas of community safety, service and development.
The floor was opened to questions. One attendee asked what the future of the Naselle Youth Camp might be. Takko said, “I support keeping it open. I understand the plan was to close it down and make it an adult work release facility. But everybody that’s looked at the current program says it’s a great program. What we need to do is use the existing program to its full potential.”
Commercial fishing was also brought up. Blake reiterated his position that hatcheries like the Humptulips should be pumping out as many fish as possible. “We need to push for increased production. We don’t manage for abundance in this state. We manage for a few native fish that might make it back to spawn. I’d rather have fish we can catch than fish we can just look at.”
