The founders of Washington state wanted part-time lawmakers instead of full-time politicians, so they set up the House and Senate to only meet during the winter, and to have citizen-lawmakers who’d get their work done and go back home to work as farmers and firefighters, teachers and nurses.
More than 100 years later, our state still has citizen-lawmakers like Rep. Tami Green (D-Lakewood), who works as a registered nurse when she’s not in Olympia serving as the Majority Floor Leader.
Here’s Rep. Green on the first day of session:
And here she is on her last day of work a nurse, before coming down to Olympia:
