Lawmakers say thanks but no thanks to raises this year

As reported by Jennifer Sullivan at the Seattle Times, Rep. Lynn Kessler and Senator Ed Murray are asking the citizen committee that determines lawmaker salaries to skip the pay raises this year.

Sullivan reports:

Kessler argued that raising their $42,000-per-year salary seemed unfair when people across the state are losing their jobs and struggling to make ends meet. The commission met at a downtown Olympia hotel to hear testimony from lawmakers on whether they should give officials in the executive, judicial and legislative branches of state government a raise.

"I sincerely believe we're all in this together," Kessler testified before the commission. "We're all tightening our belts."

The Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials will hold several additional public meetings before making its decision in June.