Housing:<\/strong> 2023 has been \u201cthe year of housing\u201d \u2013 our housing affordability crisis is so big that no one solution will solve it, and we took it on from every angle. The capital budget I authored made a record-setting investment in directly constructing affordable housing, but we also passed major policy bills that will make it easier for the private market to build condos, duplexes, and single family homes.\u00a0 \u00a0We focused on expanding density near transit, streamlined permitting for construction, cut down on burdensome bureaucracy and red tape, and we did it all in a bipartisan way.<\/p>\n Health care:<\/strong> I had the opportunity to participate in an important series of negotiations around our nursing workforce and how we make sure we have enough nurses in our health care system so that patients get the care they need. We negotiated a historic agreement between nurses and hospitals that will help nurses with their working conditions and improve staffing ratios, while ensuring we have sufficient workforce for the hospitals to hire. People had been arguing about these issues for years without making a deal \u2013 this year, we brought people together and got a package of bills signed by Gov. Inslee that will help our patients, our nurses, and our hospitals.<\/p>\n Public safety:<\/strong> The good news for public safety is that we restored the ability for police to pursue violent criminals and we made important investments in training facilities for law enforcement and crime labs for processing evidence.<\/p>\n The issue also had our biggest disappointment of session \u2013 our failure to pass a bill addressing the drug addiction crisis in Washington state. Earlier in session, the Senate passed a bipartisan bill that I was happy with \u2013 it struck a balance by providing major investments in drug treatment to help folks who are in trouble, paired with meaningful criminal penalties for people who need a push in the right direction. In the final hours of session, efforts to pass a bill fell apart in the House. We\u2019re already continuing conversations about how we could pass a bill with the support of Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate, and I hope that in the coming weeks, we\u2019ll have Gov. Jay Inslee call us back in for a one-day special session to pass such a bill.<\/p>\n I\u2019m so honored to have the opportunity to represent you and our district\u2019s values in the Senate. In our communities, we know the importance of investing in education, transportation, and mental health services.\u00a0 We\u2019re socially liberal, but we\u2019d rather scrub the budget to find money to fund something rather than raise taxes. When I look at that list of what I worked on, the common themes I see are bipartisanship, finding compromise, and bringing people together, while still standing strong for the values and priorities we share. I hope I lived up to the trust you placed in me.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/senatedemocrats.wa.gov\/mulletarchive\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2023\/04\/20230411_140324aa-1024x683.jpg\")
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