Democratic Sweep in the Legislature
Overall, it appears that Democrats will move to a 31 to 18 majority in the State Senate
(from the present 26 to 25) and perhaps to a 63 to 35 majority in the House (presently 56
to 43). In the Senate, there has not been such a large Democratic majority since the
mid-20th Century. According to our 34th District Legislators, Sen. Erik Poulsen, Rep. Eileen Cody
and Rep. Joe McDermott, the change is due to satisfaction by Washington State voters with
the present direction Democrats have taken the legislature and the State, as much or more than
to external issues such as dissatisfaction with the Bush administration. Speaker Frank
Chopp also gets much of the credit for recruiting good candidates for office.
This change in the legislature will have many positive effects. We might be able to
undo the supermajority requirement for school levies, and make some real progress on the
issue of equality im marriage, plus make progress on healthcare improvements and reform.
A Sea Change for the Suburbs
The shift in power to the Democratic Party is very apparent in the suburban
areas of King County. The 45th District (Woodinville-Kirkland-Redmond), which has
had a Republican senator and one Republican representative is now "all blue"
with wins by Eric Oemig in the Senate and Roger Goodman and Larry Springer (an incumbent)
in the House. The 47th District (Covington-Kent-Black Diamond) is also "all
blue" as Claudia Kaufman wins the Senate seat, joining incumbents Geoff Simpson
and Pat Sullivan who won re-election to the House. And the 48th District
(Bellevue-Redmond-Kirkland-Medina) now also has a completely Democratic delegation,
with new Democrat Rodney Tom (he switched parties this year) winning the Senate seate
from Luke Esser, with Deb Eddy winning a House seat and Ross Hunter winning re-election.
In Snohomish County's 44th District, Steve Hobbs, an Iraqi war veteran, Japanese-
American and Democrat, took the State senate seat from the Republicans.
Republican Strongholds Statewide Fall
But the sweep extends far beyond these Eastside suburbs. Spokane's 6th District,
had all Republicans, but now will have Democrats Chris Marr (a Japanese-American) in the
Senate and Don Barlow in the House. The Senate seat in the 6th has been Republican since before World War II. In the 17th District (Vancouver), Pat Cambell leads the
incumbent and very conservative Jim Dunn by 3%. In the 24th (Olympic Peninsula), Kevin Van
De Wege beat incumbent Republican Jim Buck 55% to 45%, making the 24th "all blue"
too. Buck was a six-term State Representative.
Other races are quite close. In the 10th Democrat Tim Knue, a past teacher-of-the year,
trails Rep. Barbara Bailey by just 28 votes. Bailey has consistently blocked efforts to
reform and improve healthcare in Washington State.
Congress - Washington State will have More Clout
The shift in power in both the U. S. House and Senate will bring more clout to the
Washington State delegation. The 34th District's own Rep. Jim McDermott probably will
chair a subcommittee (perhaps dealing with health) of the powerful Ways and Means
Committee of the House. Rep. Norm Dicks is likely to lead the House Appropriations
subcommittee on Interior and the Environment, which sets policy on salmon and Hanford
cleanup. Senator Maria Cantwell is in line to chair the Commerce subcommittee on
Fisheries and Coast Guard, an important post given not only our State's interest in
the fishing industry, but also that this subcommittee oversees the Coast Guard budget.
Senator Patty Murray will probably chair the Transportation subcommittee of the
Appropriations Committee, which controls billions of dollars of federal funding for
highways and mass transit.
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