Dear friends and neighbors,
Our office has heard from many of you about concerns with the redrawing of the Texas congressional map and what we can do here in Washington to respond.
Let me say I am also very troubled by this. People have the right to choose who represents them. Gerrymandering allows politicians to pick who they represent.
The president of the United States directing a state to redraw its congressional map years before it would normally be updated to improve his chances of keeping Congress under his party’s control is as undemocratic as it is unprecedented.
Several other states are weighing the options they have to redraw their maps, including in California, where voters will decide the issue. Here in Washington, our redistricting system is much different. It is truly bipartisan, and its rules are guided by our state’s constitution, not the Legislature as is the case in many other states.
In 1983, voters approved Senate Joint Resolution 103, amending the state constitution to establish an independent redistricting commission. The amendment removed the Legislature from directly overseeing the redrawing of legislative and congressional districts and instead authorized legislators to appoint members of the independent commission. The five-member commission — two Democrats, two Republicans, and one non-voting member — is appointed every 10 years and dissolved when the redistricting process is finished.
A commission can be reconvened, but that requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate. This means Republican support, and legislative Republicans have already stated they will not back a reconvening of the commission. Even if reconvened, bipartisan support within the commission would still be needed to pass a new plan.
I strongly support efforts here in Washington and elsewhere to push back against federal overreach. You can find more information here about our work in the Legislature to protect freedom of choice, access to the ballot box, our environment, education funding and much more.
More access to health care
It was my honor to join the recent ribbon cutting for the new wing at the Jefferson Healthcare building in Port Townsend.
There’s been so much in the news about access to health care, particularly for those of us living in rural areas, which is why facilities like this one are so important for our community.
I’m proud of the small part I played in securing funding in the 2023 state capital budget to help build this new wing. This expansion ensures people in and around east Jefferson County will not only receive health care close to home but gain access to more services, such as radiation oncology, neurology, pulmonology and more.
You can read more about the expansion here in the Peninsula Daily News.
Washington needs to build more homes
I’ve talked often about the need to build more homes in Washington, and as someone who works on our state’s capital construction budget, I can tell you we’ve made real progress in recent years to increase home construction statewide. But there’s still much more to do.
Most estimates say we need to build 1 million homes over the next 20 years to meet the housing needs of our growing population. That’s a lot of homes in a short period of time so we are always looking for innovative ways to build more homes more quickly.
I was recently invited to tour the Composite Recycling and Technology Center in Port Angeles. They make a variety of products, many of which recycle old materials to create new ones. One of the innovations is thermally modified cross-laminated timber panels (CLT) that are produced in their Building Innovation Center. They’ve already entered into an agreement with the Makah Tribe to use coastal western hemlock to create thermally modified CLT panels. They hope to ultimately expand the use of thermally modified CLT into housing throughout our region and eventually the whole state.
Building more housing is one of those issues with wide, bipartisan agreement. There are different ideas for how we reach our shared goal, but it’s safe to say that building homes using materials from our state with businesses, builders and innovators who also call Washington home, is the best way forward.
Stay in touch
Our office is always ready to help you. Please don’t hesitate to contact us and share your thoughts or concerns. This work can’t — and shouldn’t — happen without you.
Thank you for being such an essential part of our community and for your continued trust. It is an honor to serve you in Olympia.
Sincerely,
Mike Chapman
