Author Archives: westc

As a state legislator and as a parent, I feel responsible to protect our environment for generations to come. The global climate crisis caused by runaway carbon emissions has caused our state to experience unprecedented heat waves, catastrophic wildfires, and ...

Dear friends and neighbors, Before this year’s legislative session concluded on March 10, the Legislature invested in the long-term success of all of Washington students, teachers, and families. As a father of four students and the husband of a special ...

Dear friends and neighbors, The 2022 legislative session ended on March 10 after a busy and productive 60 days in Olympia. We finished the session on time for the fifth year in a row. We made remarkable progress on many ...

Dear friends and neighbors, Less than a week remains in the 2022 legislative session, and we have been spending long days on the Senate floor passing legislation to improve lives in our state. I will report on our progress when ...

Dear friends and neighbors — The Legislature is approaching the halfway point of this year’s short 60-day session. The pace has been brisk and will only accelerate. Over the next week, we will be considering dozens of new policies before ...

Dear friends and neighbors, The passage of the Affordable Care Act and the Legislature’s quick action to expand Medicaid eligibility has allowed more than 650,000 Washingtonians to gain health care coverage over the last decade. As a result, our state’s ...

Dear friends and neighbors, Since Democrats regained the majority in the Washington State Senate in 2018, addressing systemic racial disparities in our criminal justice system and ending the era of mass incarceration have been high on our priority list. Over ...

Dear friends and neighbors, Happy Pride 2021! There is much to celebrate this Pride Month as we emerge from the pandemic and collectively reflect on progress the LGBTQ community has made in the fight for equality. Next week we will ...

Dear friends and neighbors: When the Legislature convened in January, we were prepared to act swiftly to support the thousands of workers and small businesses suffering due to the pandemic. For many of our neighbors, the last year has been ...

Dear friends and neighbors, Washington has led the nation with smart policy at the state level on many issues over the years, but tax fairness isn’t one of them. For decades, tax policy experts have reported that our state has ...