Dear neighbors,
Next month, I’ll be back in Olympia to represent you and the good people of the 1st Legislative District. It’s a short session—60 days—and there’s a lot to tackle.
This e-newsletter includes:
- floods and emergencies,
- a quick survey about your priorities for the next session, and
- how students can apply for the House page program.
We’re also having a 1st District coffee chat before session. I hope you can make it!
Flooding and emergencies
Many people across the state and here in the 1st District are dealing with damage from the recent rains and floods.
Here’s a great resource from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner: a blog about flood resources, what’s covered, and how to recover if your property is damaged.
One of my interim projects has been working on preparing for emergencies, meeting with local elected leaders and emergency response experts around the 1st District.
Here are some of the issues we’ve identified and are working on:
- Dealing with communities that become population islands, cut off by floods, bridge collapses, or earthquake damage.
- Identifying locations of clean water and food, and what we might need (ex: grocery stores will need generators to prevent food from spoiling if power is out for long)
- Hospitals have backup generators, but other medical facilities often do not
- Figuring out how to share resources and information
- What investments would be most useful, and which of those should be funded locally versus by the state
- Water infrastructure as a first priority for capital funding.
This is an issue I’ll continue working on, and am happy to say we made some progress last session. I secured state funding for the Northshore Senior Center to get battery backup power. This will work hand-in-glove with the solar panels they’re planning for the roof. With power, the facility can serve as a great shelter for seniors and the community during an emergency.
What are your priorities and ideas?
Please take a moment for a quick, two question survey about your priorities when it comes to affordability and the top problem you’d solve.
The legislative session starts Jan. 12, and I can share your thoughts and stories with fellow lawmakers to advocate for change.
Page applications are now open!
It’s a pleasure to sponsor local high school students each year to serve as legislative pages in the House of Representatives.
Pages serve for one week and learn about their democracy while helping deliver documents and do other tasks.
If you know a student aged 14 to 16, please share this link with them, which explains the program and how to apply:
https://leg.wa.gov/learn-and-participate/civic-education-programs/page-program/
