Sending legislators to session

On Monday, Union resident Drew MacEwen arrived at the 105-day legislative session in Olympia as a state senator, while Allyn resident Travis Couture took a seat as his replacement as a state representative representing District 35, Position 2.

Along with fellow 35th District Rep. Dan Griffey of Allyn (Position 1), the trio of Republicans are members of the minority party in both the state House and Senate.

"This delegation is not going to be able to make policy changes in the makeup of this Legislature, that's not reality," MacEwen said Jan. 5 at a legislative sendoff breakfast at the Shelton Yacht Club. "But the reality is we can work behind the scenes to continue to get funding for infrastructure in this community."

He added, "That has a major impact for all of us, it sets us up for development ... We're opening the door for this community to grow."

The trio of legislators "will fight for rural communities that sometimes get kicked down these lists on projects and some of these things we need," said Couture, who defeated Democrat Sandy Kaiser in the November general election. "We all have the same problems as the urban communities, but sometimes not the resources that tackle those problems, so that's something I'm really going to focus on."

Illness kept Griffey away from the sendoff event, hosted by the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce, the North Mason Chamber of Commerce, the City of Shelton and the Economic Development Council of Mason County. This was the 11th such event for MacEwen after a decade as a state representative.

"It's weird standing here without Tim (Sheldon)," he said. "We worked well together for the last 10 years, and he gave me a lot of advice over the years, up to a week ago. It's an honor to fill those shoes, and I look forward to it, and I want to be an open door to all of you."

Couture said he's spent his time since the election hearing the concerns and comments of constituents.

"The naive me thought that after the campaign, things might slow down a bit, but it's tripled," he said.

Couture's office is next to Griffey's. He will be on the Capital Budget Committee, Environment and Energy, and Children, Youth and Families, now called Human Services, Youth and Early Learning.

"It feels like some shoes to fill, I always have Dan and Drew to lean on, and that's a blessing, because some other districts have two, three freshmen, so I feel pretty lucky there," he said.

MacEwen is the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee. His other committee assignments are Business and Financial Services, Labor and Commerce, and Transportation.

The legislators were first asked about last year's short session.

"We went into it with a tremendous surplus of $15 billion," MacEwen said. "To put that into context, when I was elected, the same year as the governor in 2012, our state budget was $32 billion. Ten years later we had a surplus of $15 billion, on a $65-billion budget."

Consumers have suffered from high energy prices, and supply-chain issues, but now the economy is starting to strengthen, MacEwen said. "Instead of supplying tax relief or paying down some of our liabilities, spending was increased by $15 billion," he said. "I thought that was the wrong direction to go. We find ourselves in a similar situation now as we enter the new biennium, have a new budget to do, though I don't think 2022 did a good job setting us up for success, going into this year, from a budget standpoint."

Couture said he can envision the Legislature some day with a proposed $100-billion budget.

Couture and MacEwen were asked what bills to watch, and how local businesses can help them.

The Legislature has to fund the Climate Commitment Act initiative, MacEwen said, while "we need to recognize the free market is doing that and hold to the 30-year commitment of controlling carbon neutral in this state in the manner that doesn't destroy our economy, that allows for new technologies to be absorbed."

MacEwen also noted police bills passed the past two years designed to establish clear expectations for officer behavior, set a baseline for the acceptance of use of force, and to put systems of accountability and transparency in place.

"The other big issue that continues to float around out there continues to be addressing some of the major steps that were taken, in my view wrong steps, when it came to law enforcement, and I think you're starting to see bipartisan coalitions coming together to recognize these laws that were passed are not the right answer," he said. "I don't think they'll be a magical solution that happens this session, but sometimes these things take time, and I think there's movement in the right direction in reforming these issues. We've seen a dramatic increase in property crimes, right in this county, myself included. That's a concern that affect business. We've also got to hold the line on the tax and regulatory side."

Couture pointed out that the capital budget has dropped from about $6 billion to $4 billion, "but I still think we can do a lot of great things."

"We need more infrastructure so we can have more housing," he said. "Housing is going to be a big thing this session, mental health is probably going to be a big thing."

The two legislators were asked what local projects might receive funding.

MacEwen said he's disappointed that the state Route 3 Freight Corridor project has been postponed by two years.

"That's a waste of previous resources and a failed recognition of how vital it is to the region," he said. "It's an issue for Kitsap (County), it's an issue for Mason, and our mobility."

School districts trying to replace buildings in poor condition need a "super majority" of 60% to pass building bonds, while inflation makes them harder to pass, Couture said. At some schools in the 35th District, "kids are still in portables for years and years," he said. Perhaps a different funding method could help "construct better and more modern school facilities for our students," he said.