Friends, neighbors—

This has been a big week in the Senate! As the session goes on, we’re bringing more and more important bills up for votes on the floor and passing legislation that is making a better Washington for all of us. In the past few days, we have passed bills to lead us to a 100-percent clean energy future; to address the bullying of transgender students; to increase the supply of affordable housing; and to provide comprehensive, fact-based sex education – that includes important conversations about consent – to students across the state. Next up: bills we’ve been working on to expand access to college and health care, and to pave the way to a better, more efficient transportation system.  

Spotlight: investing in infrastructure

From Gig Harbor to Gorst, our transportation needs in and around the 26th District have been neglected for too long. That’s why I’m excited that so many of the projects I have been fighting for were included in the Forward Washington transportation infrastructure package that Senator Hobbs has put forward. In total, the land-based projects would represent a $361 million investment in improved mobility for our district, and the ferry improvements another $1.67 billion. The projects include:

  • $35 million for improving the intersection of SR3 and SR 16
  • $300 million for widening SR3 in Gorst (read about these two projects here)
  • $1.9 million for improving congestion on SR 16 in the Gig Harbor area
  • $6 million for roundabouts near Port Orchard at the intersection of SR 16 and SR 160
  • $18 million for widening Wollochet Drive NW
  • $1.5 billion for ferry vessels and terminal construction and preservation
  • $170 million for ferry vessel electrification

In addition, I’m the prime sponsor of a bill that would freeze tolls on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and provide more state funding for the bridge payments. This state support would make up for lost time. When the bridge was built, we didn’t get a good deal on the financing. The original plan called for a much higher percentage of the cost of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge to be paid from tolls than for many other similar projects in other areas of the state, including the SR 520 bridge between Seattle and Bellevue. My bill would start to make up for that neglect. You can read more about it here.

Introducing our staff

Though you may not interact with them when you call the office, come to a town hall, or visit us in Olympia, there’s a dedicated staff behind the scenes making the Legislature hum along. The policy team brings an unmatched depth of knowledge in order to distill the perspectives of constituents, experts, stakeholders, and advocates into the bills that are the core of our work here. One of the policy staff who always has a smile and an encouraging word to go along with her keen intellect (and her A+ color-coordination!) is Noha Mahgoub.

Noha, who staffs the Local Government Committee, the Capital Budget, and the Members of Color Caucus, has led a life full of adventures. From spending several formative childhood years living in Egypt, to briefly guest-playing for the Egyptian women’s national soccer team, to becoming the first in her family to go to college, Noha hasn’t let anything hold her back.

Noha is an intellectual adventurer as well. She has a Masters of Social Work in Administration and Policy from UW. That background and her extensive experience as a social worker for the YMCA’s Young Adult Services, working with youth in foster care, as well as stints at the Washington Department of Social and Human Services and Child Protective Services, informs her work helping craft policy on a wide variety of issues.

The issues that the Local Government Committee deals with, for example, can be extremely technical, but things like zoning, emergency preparedness, and contracting rules make a big difference in people’s everyday lives. Noha is also fascinated by the capital budget, which funds construction and repair of buildings and infrastructure. “It touches every facet of what we work on here,” she says. “K-12 schools, college construction, flood preparations, you name it.” Before joining the policy staff, she spent two years working as an LA, and one of her most memorable experiences was seeing Big Bertha when touring the Seattle tunnel.

But, Noha says, “the Members of Color Caucus is where my heart and soul is—working on bills to reduce disparities and create the world we want to live in.” This is where Noha and I have worked together, on legislation like the Reproductive Health Access for All Act, and my first-year bill, which will ease school enrollment for the children of relocating military families. We’re making exciting progress, but there is still a lot of work to do—and I’m glad to be doing it with Noha’s help.

My week in Olympia

I believe in transparency, and I want to keep you all informed about what I’m doing on behalf of the 26th District in Olympia. That’s why I’m making a practice of posting my calendar each week on Facebook. You can always see the last week’s calendar on my Facebook page.

Keep in touch

We are all eager to hear from you about your priorities. I hope you’ll follow me on Facebook so you can see what we’re up to. And please feel free to reach out anytime at 360-786-7560 or Emily.Randall@leg.wa.gov. The more we hear from you, the better our work in Olympia can reflect our shared values and goals.

All my best,