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Most legislators take their responsibilities to heart

By John Burbank

We are all a bit gaga watching the presidential primaries unfold, and wondering about McCain and Huckabee, and Obama and Clinton.

First, Iowa, then New Hampshire. Next week it will be Michigan, and then Nevada, South Carolina and Florida. This presidential jockeying tends to suck up all the pundits' opinions and thinking about politics and democracy. But Washington, D.C., does not have a monopoly on decision-making. Much of the real action in politics and democracy starts in the states. That's why we should honor our state representatives and senators who are set to convene next week for three months of legislative work and lawmaking.

The other day I had the privilege to sit down with a couple of state legislators. They felt deeply about their work as elected representatives, and took to heart their responsibility for creating the framework of laws and regulations that enable a good quality of life and the promise and reality of hope and opportunity for citizens in our state. They also respected their colleagues on both sides of the aisle, who, with the occasional exception, are equally committed to the social well-being of citizens.

The underlying ethos is the good of the state and its citizens. Not that they all agree with each other. Policy differences within party caucuses and between the parties can be profound and hard-fought. This is as it should be. A general consensus would be counter to the give-and-take of democracy. And that is what the Legislature is all about -- street-level democracy in action.

Who are these politicians? They are the people we elect and trust to make tough decisions to steer our society forward. They are also our neighbors. State legislators earn $41,000 a year. That pales in comparison to their legislative responsibilities of representing 90,000 constituents and insuring the well-being of the more than 6 million people who live in our state.

When the Legislature is in session, these workhorses are in the traces at least 12 hours a day. You can participate as well. Go to http://www.leg.wa.gov/legislature to find out who your legislators are, the schedule of activities, and how you can set up a meeting with your district delegation.

You can also watch the Legislature in action without leaving your home by tuning your television to TVW, the state government channel. Your cable provider can tell you what channel it's on; in most of Snohomish County, it's channel 23.

So what do these folks do as legislators? They determine how best to invest the state's two-year, $56.8 billion operating budget, $7.6 billion transportation budget, and $6.6 billion capital budget. They have to figure out how to best meet the state's paramount duty, the education of all children. They have to make sure that our transportation system doesn't completely clog up, especially with population growth and the defeat of last fall's transportation initiative. They have to insure that the waters of Puget Sound are protected from oil spills, tanker disasters, and industrial and agricultural run-off. They have to figure out how to expand access to higher education and keep it affordable at the same time. They are faced with the daunting task of balancing the state's budget, because, unlike the federal government, they can only spend as much revenue as the state has.

It is easy to take pot shots at the Legislature, something that Mukilteo resident Tim Eyman seems intent on. Consider his latest initiative -- to divert about $130 million to "traffic congestion reduction." It is a laughable amount, when you consider that the I-5 196th Street Ramp project is costing $54 million by itself and the project to widen I-405 between Bellevue and Lynnwood will cost $337 million! Makes you realize the damage that Eyman himself has done to our state's transportation infrastructure with his initiative in 1999 that has resulted in an annual loss of a billion dollars that would have gone to road upgrades.

That's the difference between a phrase-monger with a narrow self-interest and those who must balance all the needs of the public. The latter is the Legislature's work. Our legislators are public servants who have put their careers on hold to represent and work for us. They create democracy in action. That's something to celebrate, especially when you consider the alternative!



John Burbank, executive director of the Economic Opportunity Institute (www.eoionline.org ), writes every other Wednesday. Write to him in care of the institute at 1900 Northlake Way, Suite 237, Seattle, WA 98103. His e-mail address is john@eoionline.org.