This year’s committee assignments for local legislators do not reflect an abundance of leadership positions. This is due largely to the fact that Democrats are the majority party (with the appointment clout) whereas five of the nine lawmakers who serve mainly Clark County are Republican.
Still, there are reasons for local residents to feel encouraged by what will happen in committee meetings this year. (The 2011 session convenes today. Tentative committee assignments described below are as of Friday afternoon.)
For example, consider what has transpired on the education front. One of the most effective voices from this part of the state — at least in education — eventually could be state Rep. Tim Probst. The second-term Democrat was dealt a rare trifecta of education committee assignments. He’ll serve on the House Education Committee, the Education Appropriations & Oversight Committee and the Higher Education Committee. On that third committee Clark County has double representation with state Rep. Jim Jacks, a Democrat. This bodes well for Washington State University Vancouver.
Probst is an ardent proponent of the levy equalization process that balances state funding of schools in both wealthy and relatively low-income communities. That concept also is endorsed by rookie state Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver. It will be interesting to see if the needs of Clark County, with plenty of relatively low-income school districts, can be protected in the Legislature this year.
Beyond the issue of education, Clark County has double representation in several other committees. Democrat Jim Moeller and Harris are on Health Care & Wellness. Republican Ed Orcutt of Kalama and Harris are on Environment. Moeller and newcomer Ann Rivers, R-La Center, are on Transportation and Moeller and Probst are on the Rules Committee.
Keep an eye on Rivers’ participation on Transportation. Yes, she’s only a rookie, which requires a certain amount of political dues paying. But with the retirement of Democrat Deb Wallace, the local delegation lost a strong and consistent voice on transportation issues. It’s good to see Rivers on that committee, even if that seat has changed from the majority Democrat party to Republican.
Many of the most important decisions in the Legislature occur in the Senate. There, Clark County — with only Craig Pridemore a senator from the majority party — still boasts potential for accomplishment. Pridemore chairs the Government Operations, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee. He’s also serving on the Senate’s Ways & Means Committee, where the local delegation also has Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield. Despite belonging to opposing parties, Pridemore and Zarelli have worked reasonably well together. And this year, they are bound — despite party differences — by a certain shared destitution. The state is deep in debt. The bailing of boats requires the work of all its occupants.
Also in the Senate, Don Benton, R-Vancouver, is ranking Republican on the Financial Institutions, Housing & Insurance Committee. And Benton gives Clark County a dual presence on Economic Development, Trade & Innovation, where Zarelli also serves.
Three factors work against Clark County when it comes to legislative clout. We’re far beyond the Puget Sound, the state’s center of political power. Legislatively speaking, we are majority Republican, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but still diminishes the county’s strength in Olympia. And compared with other parts of the state, we have no longtime legislative warhorses, none of the shrewd veterans who use decades of experience to get what they want.
Nevertheless, with effective use of collaborative skills, Clark County’s legislators can make this session reasonably tolerable for this corner of the state, at least in the face of massive budget constraints.
