Friends, neighbors—

Thanks again to everyone who participated in one of our town hall meetings in Bremerton, Gig Harbor, and Vaughn, or in our telephone town hall meeting this past Wednesday. We had a great discussions about critical issues like the budget, health care, transportation and education, as well as the work I’ve been doing in Olympia for our community.

For anyone who couldn’t make it, you can check out the questions that I’ve answered on my Facebook page, or listen to the highlights of the telephone town hall meeting here.

Thank you all for being so invested in our community and government!

Fighting for your health care and infrastructure in our budget

This week, we passed the operating budget and transportation budget off the Senate floor, and we moved the capital budget through the Senate Ways & Means Committee. During the floor debate on the operating budget, I spoke about what it does to expand access to health care for those who are being left behind in our state. You can see my floor speech here.

I also wanted to share with you some of the infrastructure highlights for our district. You can also see full lists of projects in our district, as well as around the state, at http://fiscal.wa.gov/.

These budgets are not yet final—they still have to go through negotiations with the House. That means there is still work to do to make sure that the final versions includes our priority projects, and I’ll be following the negotiations carefully and fighting on our behalf.

The transportation budget includes $43 million of funding in and around our district over the next two years, including $7.9 million for upkeep of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and $2.5 million for the Bremerton and Southworth ferry terminals. The projects funded in the capital budget include:

  • $1 million for the Mustard Seed Project, which promotes independent living for seniors on the Key Peninsula
  • $800,000 for McCormick Woods Sewer Lift #2 Improvements in Port Orchard
  • $1.7 million for Peninsula Community Health Services Behavioral Expansion
  • $340,000 for Peninsula Community Health Services’ Mobile Dental Clinic 
  • $51,000 from the Building for the Arts Grant Program for the Roxy Bremerton Foundation
  • $250,000 for the YMCA of Greater Seattle Camp Colman
  • $100,000 from the Washington State Historical Society Heritage Grants Program for the Harbor History Museum
  • $4 million for construction work at the Washington Veterans Home
  • $3.5 million for West Sound Technical Skill Center Modernization
  • $200,000 for environmental cleanup at the Bremerton Naval Complex
  • $2.3 million Minter Hatchery Intakes
  • From the Washington Wildlife & Recreation Program –
    • $150,000 for Kaukiki Farmland Preservation
    • $500,000 for renovations at Warren Ave. Neighborhood Park
    • $497,800  for Gateway Park
    • $1,236,000  for Kopachuck Beach Area Improvements      
    • $204,500 for Taylor Bay Acquisition Phase 2             

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 legislative calendar each week 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 360-786-7650 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,