By Evan Smith
State Sen. Maralyn Chase will replace retired Democratic State Sen. Paull Shin on the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Trade Policy, a committee on which she served for seven years as a representative in the House.
Lt. Gov. Brad Owen announced the appointment May 9.
“Trade is important to all states, but nowhere is it more important than Washington state,” Chase said last week. “The work of this committee is crucial to the success of our economy and I look forward to resuming my efforts to make sure we do everything we can to help our economy thrive.”
The committee was created in 2003 to monitor the impact of trade agreements on Washington state laws and to provide a mechanism for legislators and citizens to voice opinions and concerns about the potential impacts of these agreements to state and federal officials.
Among other things, the committee maintains active communication with the state trade representative's office, the U.S. trade representative's office, Washington's congressional delegation, the National Conference of State Legislatures and any other bodies the committee deems appropriate regarding ongoing developments in international trade agreements and policy.
It conducts an annual assessment of the impacts of international trade agreements on Washington law and is authorized to examine any aspects of international trade, international economic integration and trade agreements that members deem appropriate.
Chase represents the 32nd Legislative District, including Shoreline, part of northwest Seattle, Lynnwood, Woodway and nearby unincorporated areas of southwest Snohomish County, and parts of Edmonds and Mountlake Terrace.
Shin represented the 21st Legislative District, including most of Edmonds, unincorporated areas north of Edmonds and Lynnwood and northeast of Lynnwood, all of Mukilteo and part of south Everett.
Chase first joined the State House of Representatives by appointment at the beginning of the 2002 legislative session before winning election to four two-year House terms and one to the Senate. She serves as ranking minority member of the Senate’s committee on trade and economic development and is a member of the Rules Committee and the committee on energy, environment and telecommunications.
Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.
Gee. Lucky us.
ReplyDeleteSenator Chase does a great job representing all of 32nd LD (which includes parts of Seattle, Mountlake Terrace, Edmonds, and Lynnwood as well as Shoreline). This appointment reflects her hard work on behalf of all of her constituents.
ReplyDeleteIs it just coincidental that the senator is facing an in-party challenger to her re-election that she’s serving on such a committee, or have I missed her being appointed to similar committees in her other years in the Senate? I know, one would never admit to that, but – deep down – that’s what this probably is, pure and smart politics, for her challenger can't match something like this, and voters tend to look more at “what have you done for me lately” than one’s entire record.
ReplyDelete@9:25 pm - it's just you, you don't pay attention to other years in the Senate. To begin with, did you know that former Senator Paull Shin resigned a mere few days before the Legislature began (probably not) and as such they had to make an appointment to fill his seat on short-notice? That is why they are making appointments to fill committees that he formerly sat in on. That is what it is, but you are probably not paying attention to what goes on in Lynnwood and Olympia either.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could make yourself and informed voter and actually find out what other committees Senator Chase is a member of instead of posting uninformed snarky comments. I'll make it easy for you this time, however, they are: rules, trade policy, and energy, environment & telecommunications. Here is a big clue for you on committee assignments while you glory in your snarkdom: Senator Chase as a Democrat is in the minority because of the bipartisan Majority Caucus, meaning the Majority Caucus makes the primary selections for committee membership after the Democrats have submitted their lists.