Ninth District representatives visit Colfax

Ninth District Senator Mark Schoesler and Representatives Joe Schmick and Mary Dye were all in Colfax Monday and discussed, among other things, the legislative session, concerns at Western State Hospital, education, roads, their views of Governor Jay Inslee and the presidential election.

Schoesler, Schmick and Dye, all Republicans, are all up for re-election this year.

Schoesler of Ritzville has served in the state senate since 2005 and comes up for re-election every four years, meaning if re-elected, he would be serving his fourth term.

Schmick of Colfax first entered office in 2007 and comes up for re-election every two years.

If elected, he will enter his sixth term.

Dye of Pomeroy was appointed in May 2015 to fill the seat vacated by Susan Fagan of Pullman, and was then elected to a special one-year term in November.

She will be on the ballot for a full two-year term this November.

As of now, no announcements have been made by anyone seeking to oppose any of the Ninth District representatives on the ballot.

LEGISLATIVE SESSION

Of the 2016 legislative session, Schoesler, who led the GOP majority in the senate, said a major accomplishment in the budget cycle was the cooperation among leaders in Olympia.

“Probably the biggest change was that we had the most bipartisan budget in history,” he said.

However, Schoesler added, the governor “really mucked up some things” in regard to the budget. Schoesler reported that Gov. Inslee took out approximately $200 million that had been allocated for the 2017-19 biennium, which will impact that budget down the road.

“The four-year balanced budget is one of the single most important tools if we can just live with it,” Schoesler said.

Dye compared this to a bank account.

“It’s like going to the bank and opening up an account and not putting any money in it,” she said.

WESTERN STATE

The representatives, after discussing the budget, shifted their attention to concerns at Western State Hospital where two patients recently escaped. A bill passed through the legislature and the senate called for more oversight at the hospital and would have added psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioners (ARNPs) to the staff.

“It was a cost-effective option to deliver more services,” Schoesler said.

Gov. Inslee, however, vetoed the bill when it reached his desk. Schmick said Inslee wants to throw more money at the hospital.

“We don’t want to give them a pile of money,” he said. “We want to put milestones in place to hire the appropriate staff at the appropriate time.”

Schmick also reported that patients at Western State Hospital have a typical stay twice the length of those at Eastern State Hospital. He also reported a shortage of staff there.

“We have a real shortage of psychiatric nurses, and if you’re short, that means you tend to overwork those you have,” he said.

Schoesler said recruitment for the hospital is difficult because of administration issues.

“The senior staff told the administration when they were going to work,” he said, noting this left round-the-clock care and undesirable shifts open. “It made recruitment absolutely horrible.”

Schoesler said he does not agree with Gov. Inslee’s plan for the hospital.

“The Governor just said we’ll pour money into Western State,” he said. “No, we need to make some reforms there.”

Schmick is serving on a committee that is seeking reforms at the hospital, he said.

EDUCATION

After the hospital discussion, education was the next topic. Dye told the Gazette that charter schools were a big part of the session.

“It was one of the most dramatic and exciting parts of the session,” she said.

Dye noted “really good” bipartisan support in favor of charter schools helped to secure more funding for the schools and keep them open. She said funding for charter schools across the state will now be pulled from opportunities pathways funding, which is money generated from lottery sales, as opposed to pulling from the general budget.

The bill that passed in favor of charter schools passed but was not signed by Gov. Inslee. Even without his signature, though, it became law. Dye said she was disappointed that the governor chose not to sign the bill.

“To have the governor allow that bill to go through without signing it, which was the first time since the ‘80s, shows such a profound lack of leadership and lack of cooperation,” she commented.

Schoesler praised the bipartisan effort in favor of charter schools.

“We’re probably not likely to see charter schools in the Ninth District for some time,” he said. “However, it’s important to them, and we’re going to need them on education issues in our district later.”

ROADS

The representatives also discussed road concerns for Highway 195 and State Route 26. Discussions for improvements on the roads have increased in recent months following two fatal collisions involving WSU students during the Thanksgiving holiday. Schoesler, earlier this year, spoke out against Gov. Inslee prioritizing funding for salmon culverts when the roads are in need of repair and passing lanes. Schoesler said he is happy to see the progress being made for passing lanes on 195, slated for construction next year.

“I wish 26 was happening sooner,” he said. Plans to construct passing lanes on SR 26 are not scheduled until 2025.

The representatives did, however, say that passing lanes alone won’t solve the issues seen on 195 and 26.

“Inattentive driving, I think that’s a big deal,” Schmick said. “It’s a sign of the times. You’ve got to pay attention out there.”

“Young people are less experienced and more inclined to be playing with their technology,” Dye added.

Schmick also said the number one cause of accidents on 26 is deer, especially between LaCrosse and Washtucna.

The representatives also discussed recent requests to increase the speed limit to 75 miles per hour on a 100-mile stretch of Interstate 90 from George and then east to the western border of the Spokane County line.

“I think it’s okay,” Schoesler said. “Other states are doing it without problems.”

“It’s in limited areas where it already makes sense,” Schmick said, noting the low amount of deer accidents in that area.

“People are already going about 73 there anyway,” Dye added.

NOVEMBER ELECTION

With the November general election fast approaching, the representatives endorsed GOP candidate Bill Bryant for governor, who previously served two terms as a commissioner for the Port of Seattle.

“I think he shows a good vision for a lot of things we need to tackle,” Schmick said.

Dye praised Bryant’s work with the Port of Seattle.

“He showed a lot of leadership with how he worked on the Port,” she said.

Schoesler said it is time for a change of leadership in Olympia.

“The current governor is the most inattentive to details of what’s going on to any of his predecessors,” he said. “He doesn’t do his homework. He doesn’t take the time to understand the rules.”

Dye agreed.

“A lot of pieces of his administration are falling around him,” she said.

Bryant, a Republican, is going against Gov. Inslee and seeking to unseat an incumbent governor. The last time an incumbent governor was unseated in Washington state was when Booth Gardner ran a successful bid against John Spellman in 1984. Spellman, elected in 1980, was also the last Republican governor in the state.

Shifting to the presidential election, Schmick said he is looking forward to seeing the outcome.

“I think that a contested convention is going to be fascinating,” he said of the potential in the Republican party. “It’s going to be great to let them battle it out and fight it out.”

He said he is pretty sure there will be a contested convention once all the primary voting is concluded. He said the potential for this is creating a great opportunity for Washington voters.

“For once when you take that vote in the primary, it’s going to mean something,” he said.

Dye added that there is potential for a presidential candidate to appear at the Republican convention May 18-21.

Schoesler, Schmick and Dye did not say who they were supporting as a presidential candidate.

“I think it will be interesting,” Schmick said.

Another big election feature for the legislators will be the results of the state races. Schmick noted a swing of two seats to the Republican side would change the majority in the house to the GOP.

Dye noted a lot of legislative topics and that this session “ping-ponged” between the House, where the Democrats held the edge, and the Senate, where the Republicans held the majority with Schoesler as the leader.

At the end of Monday’s visit, Schoesler reported on one footnote from the presidential primary race: he said only one of the GOP candidate organizations have contacted him while his counterparts in other states around the country have told him they have received a lot of attention from the GOP contenders.