Strengthening Schools, Infrastructure, and Indigenous Voices This Fall

Happy Fantastic Friday!

A Story of Resilience: Alfredo “Lelo” Juarez Zeferino 

Lelo says he missed a 2017 immigration hearing because he never received proper notice due to address changes. He also believes that his organizing with farmworkers — including his founding role in Familias Unidas por la Justicia — made him a target. Ultimately, after months in unbearable conditions and little hope, Lelo asked for “voluntary departure,” which was granted July 14, 2025. He returned to Mexico, though he expresses hope to return to Washington one day.

His story echoes far too many: working families, people who provide food for us and fuel our economy, being terrorized by a system that treats them as disposable. We must not let their stories fade. We must demand humane treatment, due process, and structural reform — and we must fight for laws that protect undocumented people and workers from fear, violence, and erasure.

As your representative, I stand with immigrants, with farmworkers, with those whose voices are silenced. I will keep pushing for accountability, oversight of private detention centers, expanded legal support, and immigration reform that respects dignity and humanity. We owe no one less.

Watch Lelo’s video advice and read more here.

Click here for support for immigrants in Washington state.

Gas Tax Pushback — How We Must Be Strategic

Washington state’s gas tax is currently 55.4 cents per gallon, as a part of a broader transportation and infrastructure funding package. Many of you have reached out, rightly worried about how rising fuel costs hit working families, rural communities, ferry users, small businesses, and those already struggling to make ends meet.

I often hear a version of the question: “Why is gas cheaper in Texas, Tennessee, Florida—even Idaho?”

 The answer isn’t as simple as pointing to taxes:

Texas: Refineries are in their own backyard, so fuel doesn’t have to travel far and transportation costs stay low. Tennessee: They rely heavily on federal highway dollars and haven’t invested in the kind of transit systems Washington families depend on. Florida: A tourism-based economy lets them structure taxes differently to keep pump prices lower. Idaho: With far fewer ferries, bridges, and large-scale infrastructure projects, their maintenance costs are dramatically lower than ours.

Here in Washington, we face a different reality. Our ferry system, roads, and bridges—some more than 50 years old—are the backbone of our economy and our daily lives, but they need constant care and modernization. And as more drivers make the switch to electric vehicles, the traditional gas tax can no longer keep pace with the cost of maintaining the infrastructure we all rely on.

So what do we do?

• We cannot simply say “no” to the gas tax, because our roads, bridges, ferries, and public transit are crumbling and underfunded. We need revenue to maintain and restore vital infrastructure.
• We must protect those least able to bear the burden—with rebates, exemptions, or targeted credits for low-income households, rural residents, and those who rely on ferries or essential travel.
• We must push for equity, ensuring that users of roads, ferries, electric vehicles, and freight all contribute their fair share. That includes exploring vehicle registration fees, freight tolls, or alternative user fees to help shift burdens more fairly.
• We must build political will and public understanding, not by hiding the need but by engaging communities. This isn’t about taxes for taxes’ sake; it’s about protecting safety, mobility, jobs, commerce, and connectivity.
• And we must continuously review and overturn policies that are unfair, regressive, or inefficient.

In short, the political fight ahead is whether we allow infrastructure to decline—or whether we invest wisely and equitably. I intend to be in that fight, and I will work for a fair, sustainable funding model that keeps our ferries running, our bridges strong, and our roads safe without overburdening working families.

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month

From September 15 to October 15, we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month — a time to honor the histories, cultures, contributions, and resilience of Hispanic and Latinx communities across our state and nation.

I’ll be attending and supporting events, especially those centered in our district, including in Whatcom and Skagit counties. I will also uplift stories of local leaders, elders, youth, farmers, artists, and workers. The story of Lelo is one of many: it reveals the faith, the struggle, the voices that demand to be heard.

To our Spanish-speaking and Latinx neighbors: your language, traditions, art, food, stories, and memories enrich every corner of our communities. Let us continue to build bridges: bilingual programming, educational support, civic engagement, and pathways to power and representation.

If you have an event, gathering, or story you’d like me to attend or share, please let me know — I’d love to participate.

Budget Reality: Facing Challenges, Protecting Our Priorities

Friends, I want to speak plainly with you: this year’s state budget was one of the most challenging I’ve seen in my time in the Legislature. As we entered the 2025–27 cycle, Washington faced a projected $16 billion shortfall over four years—a gap too large to close without both tough choices and new approaches.

In the end, we passed balanced budgets that combined about $7 billion in careful reductions with roughly $8.7 billion in new revenue—from capital gains, technology and business taxes, and updated fees. This wasn’t about raising money for money’s sake; it was about keeping the lights on for the services Washington families depend on.

Here’s the challenge: only about 20 percent of our state budget is truly flexible. The rest—basic education, Medicaid, and other constitutional and federal obligations—must be funded. That means every dollar we can adjust is precious, and every decision about where to invest or trim carries real consequences.

Together, my colleagues and I focused on protecting what matters most:

• strong public schools
• social services
• affordable housing
• behavioral health care
• infrastructure that connects our communities

Some programs were delayed or pared back, and that is never easy. But we made those choices to preserve the core supports that keep our communities healthy and resilient.

When I say, “we have no money,” what I really mean is this: we have to be wise stewards of the resources we do have. We must prioritize what keeps families safe and communities thriving, while continuing to push for long-term reforms—a fairer tax system, modernized revenue tools, and investments that reflect our shared values of equity and opportunity.

And even in a year of scarcity, we found room to grow where it counts. Special education—our most vulnerable students—received the only significant funding increase this session. That victory belongs to every family, teacher, and advocate who refused to let those students be left behind.

These are hard times to write a budget, but Washington has weathered challenges before. With clear priorities and a commitment to fairness, we will not only maintain the essentials—we will build the foundation for a stronger, more just future.

Honoring Coast Salish Heritage Through the Seattle Aquarium Collaboration

One of the most deeply meaningful projects this year has been our work with the Seattle Aquarium as it opened the new Ocean Pavilion on the waterfront. This isn’t just about adding another exhibit; it’s about anchoring history, culture, heritage, and Indigenous knowledge into a space that serves every person who walks in — including Coast Salish communities who have stewarded this place for millennia.

Real Stories, Real Voices

Dan Friday (Lummi) was chosen as the Aquarium’s signature artist (through an all-Indigenous selection panel led by Asia Tail) to help shape entryway art. His work around the “oculus” — that large circular window above the plaza — uses geometry inspired by formline art and references the spindle whorl, a Coast Salish weaving tool, to tell story.

• Read more here!
• Watch a video on the process & inspiration here!

Visiting halls and exhibits, you’ll see paddles made by Indigenous paddle carvers from the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, Samoa, and the Indo-Pacific. These are more than decorative — they carry meaning about our relationships to water, travel by canoe, and ways of being in relationship with the ocean.

There is a seasonal migration wheel of the Salish Sea by Paige Pettibon (Confederated Salish and Kootenai). It depicts marine animals, cycles of life, moon phases, plants and people — weaving together ecological and cultural movement.

Native plantings have been planted on the rooftop with guidance from Valerie Segrest (Muckleshoot), rooted in traditional ecological knowledge so that the landscapes above our heads echo what grows here naturally and what belongs here.

The Aquarium also formalized a partnership with the Muckleshoot Tribe. That agreement includes creating cultural displays along the hallway across from the “Crashing Waves” habitat, co-hosting Indigenous community events at the Aquarium, and signage that tells the stories of connection and responsibility, not simply history.

What This Means

It’s essential that when we build in public spaces — especially on waterfronts, on land that belongs to the Coast Salish peoples — we don’t just add art or insert a few markers. We design with respect. We listen to elders, artists, tribal youth. We make sure the stories are ours to tell.

Walking through the Ocean Pavilion, I felt the power of connection: seeing salmon glass artwork by Daniel Friday hanging overhead; pausing under the oculus to catch sight of an eagle ray gliding by — these aren’t extras, they are core. Walking on roofs planted with native flora, reading paddles, standing beside the migration wheel — all remind us that Indigenous presence is not past. It is vibrant, alive, ongoing.

Why This Work Matters

• It strengthens our collective memory — the ways we remember where we came from, the waters that raised us, the kinds of life we are meant to protect.
• It counters erasure — not by small gestures, but by building cultural infrastructure.
• It builds education — for our children, for visitors, for all of us — about what it means to live in relationship with water, land, salmon, shellfish, and all beings.
• It grounds conservation in values, cultural science, and reciprocal responsibility—not just science without soul.

If you have a favorite piece or story you want highlighted, I’d love to hear it!

Back-to-School Safety & Our Investments in Public Education

As September unfolds, many of you are familiar with the annual surge of school buses, parents dropping off children, walkers, bicyclists, and traffic. I want to highlight a key issue: school bus safety.

Drive Safe Heading Back to School

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) reminds us: Washington drivers illegally pass stopped school buses more than 200,000 times per year, based on survey data and statewide bus driver reports.

In 2024 alone, there were 271 collisions statewide involving school buses — and in the majority of those cases, the crash was caused by other motorists.

Here’s what drivers need to remember:

• On undivided roads with any number of lanes, all motorists must stop when a school bus has its red lights flashing and stop arm extended.
• On divided highways (with a median or barrier), only traffic in the same direction must stop.
• After the bus’s lights cease flashing and the stop arm retracts, drivers must still look for children along the side of the road before proceeding.
• Violating these laws can result in a $500 fine.
• If in doubt — stop. It’s not worth risking a child’s life.

We all must share responsibility for safety in our neighborhoods, near schools, and across routes. Please drive slower, anticipate buses, and educate others.

What We Were Able to Fund in 2025

Despite budget constraints, we made critical investments in public education, especially in special education:

• We committed nearly $775 million to special education across the state.
• We boosted local funding support to help school districts meet their obligations.
• We protected school meal programs so that kids continue to have access to nutritious meals — a basic but essential need.

It’s worth noting: special education was the only area we increased funding in this legislative session. Given the pressures elsewhere, that is not a small feat — but it also emphasizes how much more we must do.

Friends, we live in challenging times. Our state grapples with constrained finances, rising infrastructure needs, tensions over taxation, and heart-wrenching stories of injustice like Lelo’s. Yet these challenges also present opportunities — to show courage, to lift up overlooked voices, to push for fairness, to weave in Indigenous perspectives, to demand integrity in public service, and to build a better future for our children.

As your representative, I remain committed to listening, collaborating, resisting despair, and pushing for policies rooted in justice, equity, and sustainability. But I can’t do it alone — your voice, your presence, your stories, your advocacy matter. If you see something that needs attention, if there’s a gathering or event I should join, or if you want to weigh in on bills or priorities — please reach out to my office.

With gratitude for your trust, and hope for the work ahead,

Rep. Debra Lekanoff

P.S. I’d love to hear from you: what issues keep you up at night? What successes in your community do you want me to amplify? Please reply to this email or give me a call!