Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The summer has come and gone and just like that we are on the doorstep of the 2024 legislative session. Over the summer I have been busy meeting with community members, attending legislative events, and keeping up with my other job. However, my personal life has also been busy. This June, I proposed to my girlfriend Ashley. We were married last week! Unfortunately, due to House rules I cannot share a photo of the ceremony with you here but wanted to share this huge life update with my constituents.
Please read on to learn more about what I have been up to this summer as your legislator.
South End Budget Wins Celebration at the Tubman Center for Health and Freedom
In June, I joined community leaders and elected officials at the Tubman Center for Health and Freedom to celebrate the South End’s wins in the state budgets. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of so many community members and close coordination with my seatmates, Sen. Rebecca Saldana and Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, we were able to bring over $69.4 million home to the 37th district for projects that will have a huge impact on our community.
Some of the projects we celebrated were a new early learning and affordable housing development in Skyway run by Childhaven; Arte Noir, a Black arts and culture space in the Central District; and Tubman Center for Health & Freedom’s new flagship healthcare clinic.
We were also joined by County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay and City Councilmember Tammy Morales. When the South End works together, we can bring big investments into our community. I am excited about the projects that we were able to get funded this year.
Environment & Energy Committee Tour to the Tri-Cities
This year the Environment & Energy Committee traveled to the Tri-Cities to learn about non-carbon-based sources of energy. The Tri-Cities is home to Washington’s lone nuclear plant, the Columbia Generating Station, and has seen a huge increase in renewable energy production with many wind and solar farms nearby. We met with the Yakama Tribe about energy storage and clean energy citing, toured the Hanford Nuclear Site cleanup, and visited the Columbia Generating Station.
The tour started with a visit to Yakama Power to discuss clean energy siting, energy storage, and innovative new sources for green energy. Afterwards we traveled to Richland to learn about battery technology, the smart grid, and clean energy at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. We ended the day with a work session on the Hanford Site cleanup, which gave us context for the tour of the site the next morning. The Hanford Site is the home of a decommissioned nuclear production complex, and the location where the plutonium for the first atomic bomb was produced. Today it is the site of a large cleanup to ensure nuclear material does not permanently contaminate the region. On the second day of the tour, we traveled to Hanford to tour the cleanup operation as well as the Columbia Generating Station.
The trip was a great opportunity to learn about options for decarbonizing our energy grid. While each energy source has its pros and cons, the Hanford clean-up site was a stark illustration of the long-term costs and dangers of nuclear technologies.
Finance Committee Trip to Vancouver
The Finance Committee took a trip to Vancouver this interim to learn about local tax financing tools that help encourage growth. Specifically, we learned more about tax increment financing and heard how communities from Southwest Washington are using these tools to improve their communities.
Tax increment financing allows communities to finance projects and improvements with the projected increase in tax revenue from the area benefiting from that project. For example, if a city wants to renovate their main street, they can use tax increment financing to fund the project. First, the city will get a bond to complete the project. Then as the improvements raise property values, the increased property tax revenue from that specific area would be used to pay off the bond. In this way, our communities can make improvements while the people who benefit most from the project end up paying the most for its completion.
In Vancouver, we heard about the Port of Vancouver’s incredible redevelopment which is being funded by a tax increment area. We also learned about the dangers this method of financing poses to junior taxing districts (eg. fire and rescue services). I look forward to providing our state’s local jurisdictions with tools for community development, while limiting the unintended negative side effects tax increment financing can have.
Association for Washington Business 2023 Policy Summit
In late September, I was invited to join a panel on taxation at the Association of Washington Business’ 2023 Policy Summit in Spokane. Unsurprisingly, I was the lone voice making the case for progressive taxation. When we make wealthy people and organizations pay their fair share of taxes, the entire state benefits. Not only are we able to adequately fund basic education, but we can provide opportunities for post-secondary education that improve the competitiveness of Washington workers. A highly educated and skilled labor pool is one of Washington’s greatest assets. Asking those who benefit most from our economic environment to pay a little more is more than fair. It was great to be able to make the case to many of Washington’s business leaders!
Thank you for reading my e-newsletter. Hearing from you helps me represent you better. I hope you will share your thoughts, ideas, and opinions with me.
Sincerely,
Chipalo Street
State Representative
37th District