Dear friends and neighbors,

As we begin the 2020 legislative session, I want to remind people that my loyalty is with the 5th District and the people I represent in Olympia — not political parties or special-interest groups. It is my top priority that the people in our communities are represented and heard. Given the diversity of opinions in our district, I will always aim to support bipartisan legislation. Some of the top priorities I have this session include:

  • Secure Choice Retirement: Last session I sponsored a bill that would give more people access to simple and affordable options for retirement savings. Our state must do a better job of helping people save for retirement so we can ensure Washington seniors are financially secure without relying as heavily on state support. Although it didn’t pass in the House last year, this session I am working to move the bill forward quickly.
  • Highway 18 Construction Projects: The SR18/I-90 interchange project remains on schedule and an additional temporary westbound ramp is now open in Snoqualmie. Fortunately, this project was not impacted by funding losses from Initiative 976. However, several projects in the district are now in limbo pending the outcome of a court case challenging the legality of the initiative. Regardless of the outcome of that case, I plan to advocate for those projects and continue to keep pressure on my fellow lawmakers to fund the widening and completion of Highway 18 over Tiger Mountain. Fixing this deadly stretch of highway is my top transportation priority.
  • Free Dual Credit for High School Students: I am sponsoring legislation that will remove fees paid by high school students and their families for Running Start programs, College in the Classroom programs, and AP, IB and Cambridge tests. These amazing programs should be free for students to access. Removing financial barriers to academic excellence
    is a no-brainer. Many students in our district utilize these great programs and I hope I can save their families a few hundred dollars.

The most important work we do here in Olympia is writing legislation that works for everyone. In the coming weeks, I’ll be discussing construction projects in the 5th District, project budgets for the year, and many other important topics.

Best regards,