To the Editor:
A bill was introduced to the legislature to be known as the "Dan Thompson memorial developmental disabilities community trust account". Its stated purpose was “to provide family support and/or employment/day services to eligible persons with developmental disabilities.”
Maralyn Chase stood up and gave a speech to oppose this bill. When all the votes were tallied in the House and Senate, Maralyn Chase was the only legislator who voted no. When the bill came up again for renewal, Maralyn Chase voted no again.
Maralyn Chase has another lone distinction, which was bestowed by her Democratic co-workers in the Legislature. With the Democrats in control of the House, the Speaker chooses the committee assignments including the Chair of each committee. All of the Democrats were appointed to Chair a committee, except Maralyn Chase. The Speaker instead appointed a Republican and relegated Maralyn Chase to Vice-Chair. I don’t ever recall a party in the majority ever choosing a minority party member to Chair a committee. Her Democratic co-workers in the Legislature were telling us all what they thought of Maralyn Chase.
We desperately need a change in the Senate representing the 32nd District.
Michael Pollowitz
Shoreline
Sorry, but on the matter of chairmanship the argument is fatally flawed.
ReplyDeleteAnyone paying attention in 2017 would recall that effective control of the *Senate* was in the hands of the GOP:
"Because Senator Tim Sheldon (D) caucused with the GOP, Republicans maintained effective control of the chamber" (https://ballotpedia.org/Washington_state_legislative_special_elections,_2017)
Following Manka Dhingra's victory, Democrats gained control. Starting with the 2018 session, Sen. Chase was assigned Chair of the Economic and Trade Committee by her peers and caucus leadership.
The author's claims that House control has any standing on Senate assignments exposes a lack of understanding of our legislative process. I would not regard this opinion as informed.
Here are pieces of what the Stranger wrote about their interview with Maralyn Chase when she was looking for the paper’s endorsement:
ReplyDelete“When we asked the two-term Democratic incumbent why she supported a bill that removed the legislature from the Public Records Act, she said it was because we "weren't going to find anything" in her e-mails… Then we brought up what she's best known for: nothing. Doing nothing. Nothing except for proposing big bills "to raise awareness," and then looking aghast when they fail because she didn't line up supporters. She most recently pulled this shit with a single-payer bill. Instead of joining on with Senator David Frockt's better single-payer bill, Chase copied California's failed version of the bill and then went straight to the Seattle Times with the news that she wanted to bring single-payer to Washington State. And when we called her out for doing that, Chase called us "rude" and said we were presenting "counterfactual" information. We begged her to correct us, but then she proceeded to tell us she didn't work to organize a coalition behind the bill, and that, in fact, the only reason she proposed the single-payer bill was to "get it in the headlines" so she can start "changing hearts and minds." That's an okay strategy when you're new and your party doesn't have a majority. But Chase has seniority, her party has a majority, and she's done nothing with either… Chase chairs the Economic Development & International Trade Committee, and this year, she's only really introduced two separate bills that would essentially establish two separate task forces to study job losses in the manufacturing sector. LOL. Wanna know why the Democrats aren't getting as much done as they could be getting done? Chase is (one of) the reasons.
Chase…, she has got to go. Vote Salomon.”
I thought my statement was pretty clear when I used the word House and Speaker in the same sentence. I was referring to when Maralyn Chase was in the House.
ReplyDeleteI know both of the candidates personally. I do not live in this district anymore. I cannot vote in this race. Maralyn Chase cares about her constituents Jesse Salomon cares about himself. You choose...
ReplyDeleteI am writing in response to the first “anonymous” poster in this strand and I’d like to correct the record.
ReplyDeleteOn the issue of the Public Records Act, Maralyn Chase has a record as a long-time supporter of public disclosure. The Stranger is known for its brash devil-may-care attitude, but they should have, like, done some research before going full-bore on almost all Washington State legislators, who voted to pass the legislation in response to a judicial ruling. The consequences of delay would have been unmanageable and would have resulted in the release of information that would violate constitutents’ privacy. Here is her excellent Op-Ed on public disclosure:
https://www.shorelineareanews.com/2018/08/op-ed-lets-talk-about-public-disclosure.html
Concerning Chase’s support of single-payer insurance, the Stranger is, once again, misinformed. Chase was actually a co-sponsor of Senator Frockt’s bill:
http://apps2.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5701&Year=2017&BillNumber=5701&Year=2017
and in addition introduced her own bill:
http://apps2.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5957&Year=2017&BillNumber=5957&Year=2017
If Chase is such an obstructionist on the issue of insurance for all, why did Senator Frockt endorse her? Beside Frockt’s support, Chase enjoys the endorsement of progressive leaders like Rep. Pollett, Sen. Hasegawa and Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
The Stranger also calls Chase out with their comment, "Democrats aren't getting as much done as they could be getting done,” but instead they should credit her with what the Northwest Progressive Institute noted as a “productive” 2018 session, where legislators considered a total of 4,452 bills and passed 713 of them.
I am also happy with Senator Chase’s vote and leadership against increasing the property tax. Please vote to reelect Senator Maralyn Chase.
Thank you.
Peter Henry
Edmonds, WA