OLYMPIA — As the legislative session began Monday, ongoing controversies over the disputed governor’s race and the abandoned graving yard project are dominating local lawmakers’ attention.
“I’m still not fully recovered, and almost everything I’ve worked on has been the governor’s race and graving dock,” said Rep. Jim Buck, R-Joyce, who had shoulder surgery after the November election.
Buck, Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, and Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, represent the 24th District in the state Legislature, which includes Clallam and Jefferson counties and part of Grays Harbor County.
Republican Dino Rossi’s legal challenge of the election of Democrat Christine Gregoire is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Friday in Chelan County Superior Court. Whoever loses will inevitably appeal to the state’s highest court.
“If Gregoire is declared governor, then the Republicans will be the loyal opposition to temper her decisions,” Buck said.
“Even the 1998-2002 tie in the House was better than this. I’ve not faced a situation even remotely resembling this one.”
Graving yard probe asked
Buck, Kessler and Hargrove have called for a legislative investigation of the state Department of Transportation’s abandonment of the Port Angeles graving yard project following expenditures of more than $58 million.
Buck said he again is a member of the House Transportation Committee and added: “Regardless of where the graving yard goes, we still have a bridge to replace.”
Legislation that Buck also will seek includes tax breaks for builders of tsunami-resistant shelters and critical areas ordinance exemptions for siting such shelters.
“We have a shoreline that is 135 miles from a fault that historically has produced 9.0 earthquakes,” he said.
Kessler, the House majority leader, said she is trying to maintain integrity and calm in the institution amid partisan bickering over the disputed governor’s race.
Lawmakers should accept the election results as certified by the state’s county auditors and Secretary of State Sam Reed, start moving forward and let the courts decide election challenges, Kessler said.
“We must deal with the business at hand, which is the humongous budget problem. The graving dock is a nightmare,” said Kessler.
“I’m talking to DOT Secretary Doug MacDonald, Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, and U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks about it,” Kessler said.