Politicians, by their nature, tend to be headstrong. The acts of running for office, convincing people to vote for you, and working on behalf of constituents require an uncommon level of egotism and hardnosed determination. Those are some of the traits that make politicians who they are; those are some of the traits that define leadership.
Therefore, it is no surprise that Clark County’s legislative delegation is marked by bullheaded individualism. As a recent article from Columbian reporter Lauren Dake detailed, lawmakers in recent years have been unable to find common ground, present a united front, or pull in the same direction for the issues on which they agree. “There are personality conflicts that come and go, and I can never keep track of who’s talking to whom,” Sen. Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver, said. The reason? “Politics being put before relationships,” Cleveland said.
Because of that, the delegation has poorly served constituents. Local lawmakers were blindsided near the end of this year’s session when the final budget removed money from Clark County mental health services. They also under-delivered in 2015, when a $16 billion statewide transportation package provided scant funding for projects in this region. In addition, the festering boil that is the Interstate 5 Bridge has continued to serve as an example of the ineffectiveness of the Southwest Washington delegation.
Clark County encompasses three legislative districts — the 17th, 18th, and 49th, accounting for three state senators and six state representatives. Currently, the 49th is represented by Democrats, while the other two districts are represented by Republicans. But partisan divides are a poor excuse for an inability to fight for issues on which agreement can be found. Former Democratic lawmaker Craig Pridemore said that a decade ago, “when it came to protecting the district, the county, the community, we didn’t care what party it was. . . . And it was typical across the state. The strong delegations do that.”