This veteran legislator says Tri-Cities is the new political force in WA state. Here’s why | Opinion
Thanks to the tremendous showing by a new group of Tri-City area lawmakers this past legislative session, our region is starting to look like a political powerhouse.
At least that’s how one key Republican sees it.
Rep. J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, who has been leader of the Washington State House of Representatives for the past five years, told the Herald that the Tri-City delegation is now the strongest and most cohesive group of conservative lawmakers in the state.
That kind of distinction is exactly what the community needs.
The Tri-Cities has had strong representation by individual legislators in the past, but as a region we haven’t always had as much influence in Olympia as we’d like.
Of course it’s tougher to be effective when our entire Republican delegation is in the minority party. But our newly elected Tri-City lawmakers caught on so quickly and were so collaborative that they apparently have caught the attention of veteran politicians.
Wilcox said this year he could tell our Tri-City representatives were focused primarily on getting things accomplished for their constituents — not just giving speeches.
When it comes down to it, that’s exactly what our elected leaders should focus on.
At the beginning of the year, we weren’t sure how this session would turn out with so many Tri-City lawmakers new to the state Legislature. Many times freshman legislators sit back and watch how the game is played before making any big moves.
But that was not the case with our newly elected representatives.
Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, is the new senator for the 15th District, which covers Yakima, Othello, Mattawa, and parts of Pasco and Franklin County. Right out of the gate she was asked to be the Republican Deputy Floor Leader — a position she said allowed her a seat at the table.
She said she was surprised GOP leadership asked a freshman lawmaker to hold the post, but it helped her learn the ropes quickly, which in turn, helped the people in her district.
In the 8th District, which covers Kennewick, Richland and parts of Pasco, we have two new House members — Rep. April Connors, R-Kennewick and Rep. Stephanie Barnard, R-Pasco. In addition, Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick was a freshman this year in the Senate after leaving his House seat behind.
Getting a controversial bill passed is always tough, but especially so for a new legislator who has yet to figure out the system and build relationships.
So Connors received a great deal of attention when she managed to get a bill she sponsored to the governor’s desk. HB 1173, which requires that wind turbines in Washington state be equipped with Aircraft Detection Lighting Systems (ADLS), was her ground breaker.
Connors told the Herald that at first, the bill didn’t attract major opposition because it was launched by a freshman lawmaker and it wasn’t taken seriously.
But after it made it out of the House with only one no vote and then out of a Senate committee, “big energy” noticed, she said.
She fought hard, though, and now those red lights on wind turbines will only turn on when airplanes are nearby instead of blinking constantly at night. Connors told the Herald that the Wall Street Journal even contacted her this week about her accomplishment.
As for Barnard, one of her achievements was creating a nuclear energy caucus, which Wilcox said she launched through her own initiative. It’s a bipartisan group of senators and House members who will meet routinely to discuss clean energy goals.
This is a great idea and we hope it brings more state support for nuclear energy.
In addition, both Boehnke and Torres served on the powerful Senate Ways and Means Committee, which considers the state’s operating and capital budgets.
Wilcox said the new group of Tri-City delegates is conservative enough they will get support from fellow GOP members, but with their collaborative spirit and focus on economic issues, they also will be able to get support from Democrats.
He announced on Sunday that he is stepping down from caucus leadership, but his take on our region’s legislative team is encouraging.
None of them were afraid to dive in, build relationships and work across the aisle. In the end, that bodes well for all of us.