By Ralph Schwartz
Two days ago, state Senate Republicans and two Democrats announced a new majority in which the two Dems switched sides, if only in philosophy. This has shaken up the power dynamics in the Senate, as Republicans share committee chairmanships equally with Democrats, even as Dems nominally maintain a majority.
Later that same day, I attached a statement from Sen. Doug Ericksen (R-Ferndale), to my original post on the story. Today, I pass along the response of Sen. Kevin Ranker (D-Orcas Island), the other senator who has Whatcom County residents in his constituency.
Here’s the statement in full:
Olympia – Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, issued the following statement today regarding the Republican takeover of the Washington State Senate:
“This morning two Democrats crossed over to give the Republicans control of the Washington State Senate. While this was not unexpected, I am disappointed as I felt that the proposal we Democrats put forward earlier this month was a strong bipartisan offering that still respected the fact that the voters of Washington State elected a Democratic majority in the Washington State Senate. Many of you have heard me discuss this possibility over the past months due to the extremely tight Democratic majority in the Senate and the fact that these two Democrats had crossed over for a limited time last session.
“The Republicans have proposed a power sharing structure that, among other things, places one of the two crossover Democrats as Leader of the Senate and offers me a potential chairmanship or co-chairmanship of some of those issues I have led on regarding the environment and energy.
“Regarding my chairmanship, as you are all aware, I care deeply about the environment and energy matters here in Washington State. I also, however, care deeply about women’s reproductive rights, family planning, education and protecting the social safety net. Last session, when this same coalition took control of the Senate, their first proposal eliminated funding for family planning and proposed an additional nearly $100 million cut to K-12 and higher education. More important than my chairmanship is knowing that strong Democratic values that I believe represent a majority of the citizens of Washington State such as the protection of women’s rights and equality will be a top priority for the Washington State Senate.
“Our job is to govern this great state. I will thoughtfully review the Republican proposal and work where I can with my Republican colleagues. Regardless of the power structure, my Democratic values and priorities remain the same. I will fight to ensure that we live in a state that continues to create opportunities for new jobs and the middle class, prioritizes education, and protects and advances women’s reproductive rights, equality and the environment.”
With the 2013 legislative session about one month away, allow me to ask you a question: Would you prefer more coverage than you’ve seen from us in the past year or two of the Legislature, with a focus on lawmakers who represent Whatcom County? Or should we continue to prioritize local city councils and the Whatcom County Council?
Please cover the Legislature, the City Council and Whatcom County. I would also like more national coverage on vital issues that concerns us. I read the Nation Magazine and Tikkun Magazine and find subjects of vital concern that is not covered in your paper. My question presumes a zero-sum game: More attention in one area necessitates less effort in another area. Our staff is smaller than it was even one year ago, to say nothing of six or seven years ago, and all of us are operating at full bore as it is. As for the second part of your comment, none of us covers national news directly. We rely on wire services such as AP and McClatchy. -RS
Whether or not he remains Chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I hope Senator Ranker continues to pursue energy and maritime issues vigorously. The impacts of shipping and burning coal on the marine environment and shellfish industry are of paramount importance to all of us here in the Salish Sea area.
Considering the staff reductions that you have to live with you are doing a good job. An either / or proposition is not going to make anyone happy though. Keep doing your best.
Thank you for your detailed local political coverage – city and county – that I read daily. I consider your coverage an invaluable public service and priority for city/county citizenry. I’ll also appreciate more state legislative coverage as you’ve described, e.g. a focus on Whatcom County state legislators. – ks
Thank you for your response. It is regrettable that you cannot cover more. Perhaps there is a solution.
Could a space be devoted to world news sent in by your readers that could announce important events not covered by you but known to many in the community? This could be a column of news items like the Bradley Manning trial and other issues that we get on our emails from around the world but is not adequately covered or reported on by the AP.
I agree with both Wade and Karen above. As a local paper I believe you should focus on local issues since this is one of the very limited sources for that type of important information. More detailed information, other than wire feed, at the state level can be garnered from other sources. Still keep us informed as best possible about what our local state representatives are up to though if you can.
Thanks
Ralph- I would prefer to see expanded coverage of the legislature while it is in session. There are a lot of important issues that will impact us all in various ways, so things should be interesting. We also seem to have a broad spectrum of views and abilities among our senators and reps- I for one cannot wait for Overstreet’s next 17th Century solution to the issues of the day- my money is on indentured servitude to solve unemployment and workforce training.
I would welcome more coverage of state politics. That is, in fact, local. Issues that are debated and decided in Olympia often have immediate and significant impact on Bellingham and Whatcom County. I realize that your resources are limited, but I hope you’ll cover as much as possible of what is happening in our state. Thanks.
Since the Olympia press corps has shrunk to nearly nothing, it would be great to see the Herald pay more attention to the Legislature.
Figured bellinghaowl would be out on a limb with that request.
I would definitely urge you to cover our state legislators. With all three of the 42nd members up for reelection in 2014, it would be nice for people to be more familiar with how extreme their records are. For example, Jason Overstreet just voted against funding for the Ferndale Library. Deeply disappointing.
I think local media covering local and state politics is an excellent idea. Just make sure that things make print and not just the blogs!
Thank you so much for asking the question. I remind you that state legislative news IS local news, as they decisions made in Olympia affect our communities as much as they impact us as individuals. A Bellingham perspective on the legislature is so important. Please do increase your legislative coverage!
Given a zero sum game, I would prefer the the emphasis to be on the city and county. After all, you are the Bellingham Herald and not the Washington State Herald. Also insofar as our 40th and 42nd District Representatives are concerned, they are fairly predictable.
We need more reporting on issues such as the County Jail/Cherry Point/local political trials and the like
I would like to see more coverage of state legislative actions in the Herald. We’ve elected our representatives and it is important to follow their work. Other big papers don’t provide that coverage adequately. Thanks for asking.
Yes, Nick and Nora you are correct. People may read what they wish. This is not up to a vote. I am pleased that I can read many state and national papers on line and not depend on this one. I do wish that there was another local paper to cover local news but this is it. It is better than zero and free on line.
I’m very pleased to receive all of your ideas, and for the most part I hear a ringing endorsement for more coverage of the Legislature, especially our local reps and senators, and especially during the legislative session. While I cast the question under the very first comment as a “zero-sum game,” there’s no reason why I can’t attempt to violate that law — it’s not a law of physics, after all — with more state coverage to go along with consistent city and county reporting. I’ll try for something like more efficient use of my time, or maybe letting go of the smaller city/county stories to make time for more important stuff out of Olympia.
Those of you who said state government *is* local were correct. I’ll do my homework, decide what I need to keep my eyes on as the session progresses, and report state news with a local twist as regularly as I can. You may be familiar with specific issues in the Legislature more than I am — don’t hesitate to contact me with topics you think I should cover. Best way to do that is email, ralph.schwartz (at) bellinghamherald (dot) com.
Again, thank you.
Nick & Nora Charles – Can you provide more information about what funding Rep. Overstreet funded “no” on? I was not aware there was a request for funding at the state level for the Ferndale Public Library project.
Sam Taylor
Ferndale City Clerk & Community Information Officer
Also, I should mention, I was under the impression that the Legislature is not in session yet, so no recent votes had been taken. I thought they had recently only selected committee chairpersons.
Sam Taylor
Ferndale City Clerk & Community Information Officer
Ralph,
I know you’re under the same “shock doctrine” as the rest of the country – the economic disaster visited upon us by the Wall St. shucksters, and forcing us to prioritize the crumbs left behind. But I would ask that you cover as much state news as possible; this sellout by the “moderate Democrats” is another cover to privatize our commons, deliver our public sector to their corporate friends; we need to watch them like a hawk. I was disappointed not to see a “Herald” reporter at the huge border action on 12/1 against the new free trade act – the TPP, another corporate takeover. Dozens of Fair Trade and union organizations were there to publicize the secret negotiations, but unfortunately they remain mostly secret. I apologize if I was wrong, and you were there.
Fortunately, your “zero sum” comment does not imply all of one kind of reporting, just that what one kind loses in a priority shift, the other gains. True, there are major local issues and continual developments, but (as noted in earlier comments) events at the state level also affect us significantly. I hope that your day-to-day ratio of local vs state reporting will be able to shift back and forth as events develop in the two venues.
I appreciate any and all efforts to “follow the money” in both venues, as well as to discuss ALEC, its purposes, methods, and effect on our state and local political affairs.
Thank you for asking.
The Olympia Newspaper has some good material on hapenings in their special legislative section. It may be called “Under The Dome.” I check almost every week day the Legislature is in session. They are your sister newspaper so content cost must be reasonable.
Outlining a legislative proposal and asking all 6 of our state represenatives to respond would be an added improvement. Yes, we do need more local coverage, and yes, I know, you have to pay the interest on the foolish merger first.
Too bad. Strong local newspapers are a necessary part of democracy.
I hear we want it all. We know we won’t get it, Ralph, because you’re only one person with only so much time, and no matter what you cover, we’ll criticize you for what you don’t. Know that most of us understand your contraints and limitations, and will complain nonetheless.
@ Sam Taylor – Ferndale City Clerk; RE ‘Nick and Nora Charles’ statement about Overstreet voting against funding.
I suspect they are referring to funding for the Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) that the $500k grant for Ferndale’s new library is coming from.
CERB received its appropriations for this biennium (July 1, 2011 thru June 30, 2013) thru three bills. The Capital Budget bill is ESHB 1497 and our operating budget is part of the Department of Commerce’s overall state general fund funding provided by ESHB 1175. We also received a supplemental appropriation for competitive grant awards thru ESB 6074.
On those three bills, Jason Overstreet was excused for the vote on ESHB 1497 (Capital 2011-2013 & sup 2011) and voted NO on both ESHB 1175 (Trans budget 2009-11/2011-13) & ESB 6074 (Capital sup budget 2011-13).
Ralph, thanks for asking and for even considering covering the upcoming session in Olympia. After the local bureau down there ceased we seemed to get short sensational headline articles about bills dropped that were extreme and hadn’t a snows chance of passage. In contrast, when I visit our electeds in Olympia, they give me good ideas on what to expect at the end and what is gaining traction as opposed to just wasting electeds time. This session, with the current party defection, should be of particular interest. Thanks to you and John for the work that you both do our behalf. As one that John in particular reports on, I appreciate the balanced reporting that he provides week in and week out. He doesn’t sit home and watch BTV-10, he comes to the meetings, takes notes the old fashioned way and comes up to us with clarifying questions, then writes his articles. Thanks to you both. Happy Holiday’s.