New House Majority Report answers the eternal question: “Whip?”

It’s time for a new edition of House Majority Report, the weekly podcast that offers a bite-sized conversation with members of the House Democratic Caucus leadership team.  This week’s guest is House Majority Whip Kevin Van De Wege. 

The Sequim Democrat, a firefighter and paramedic when he’s not in Olympia, has been Majority Whip for three years now.  In this newly recorded interview, available on iTunes and, even more conveniently, right here, Kevin explains what a whip is, how he goes about being one, and why he calls it “a fun job.” But don’t forget, Kevin also walks into burning buildings on purpose.

To listen to earlier House Majority Reports, click here.  Once you’re there, you can subscribe to future editions of the weekly podcast as well.

"We're all in this together...."

The House Democratic Caucus elected the remaining members of their leadership this morning, finalizing a team that represents urban, suburban, and rural Washington. 

"After all," said Speaker Frank Chopp, "we're all in this together.  We want a team that reflects that."

Elected today were:
• Jim Moeller (Vancouver): Speaker pro tem-designate
• Tina Orwall (Des Moines): Deputy Speaker pro tem-designate
• Marcie Maxwell (Renton): Deputy Majority Leader for Education and Opportunity
• Larry Springer (Kirkland): Deputy Majority Leader for Jobs and Economic Development
• Joe Fitzgibbon (Burien): Deputy Majority Whip
• Kris Lytton (Anacortes): Deputy Majority Floor Leader

They join the core group of leaders elected a couple weeks ago.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

Democrats choose key leaders

There were no surprises today when the House Democrats gathered to begin selecting their leadership team for the next two years. 

House Speaker Frank Chopp

Re-elected without opposition were:
• Frank Chopp (Seattle): House Speaker-designate
• Pat Sullivan (Covington): Majority Leader 
• Eric Pettigrew (Seattle): Majority Caucus Chair
• Kevin Van De Wege (Sequim): Majority Whip
• Tami Green (Lakewood): Majority Floor Leader

The remaining members of the HDC Leadership team, including the Speaker pro tem-designate, will be elected at a future date. 

The Speaker-designate and Speaker pro tem-designate must be elected by the entire House on the first day of the 2013 session.

To read this story in Spanish, please click here.

Watchdog group gives Washington B- for corruption risk

You can find examples of corruption in nearly every aspect of our society - private sector, nonprofits, and college sports. Scandals like the ones involving former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and lobbyist Jack Abramoff show that governments are also susceptible to corruption.

These stories of corruption are the exceptions. The vast majority of businesses, nonprofits, sports organizations, and governments operate on the up and up serving their customers and constituencies. Many of them avoid exposure to corruption by instituting practices that deter corrupt activities before they have a chance to spread.
According to the Center for Public Integrity, Washington ranks third among all states for having laws, rules, and practices in place for an open, transparent, and less corruptible government.

The CPI released the State Integrity Investigation yesterday judging states on issues such public access to information, political financing, and ethics enforcement. Washington received an overall grade of B- ranking third behind New Jersey (B+) and Connecticut (B).

According to the report, our state received high marks for our redistricting process, lobbyist disclosure requirements, and internal auditing.

Among some of the many elements Washington has in place to contribute to an open and transparent government are:

• TVW
• Public Disclosure Commission
• Bipartisan, open redistricting process
• Executive, legislative, and judicial ethics boards
• Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials
• Rules in the House and Senate requiring a five-day notice for public hearings

While the report is critical of all states for none of them receiving an overall “A” grade, it recognizes Washington for having a progressive model that could be used by other states. You can read more about the project and Washington’s rankings here.

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

House Democrats applaud news of Renton landing the 737 MAX, contract deal

No one knows airplanes better, and no region of the world builds them better, than Washington State. That’s the message House Democrats in Olympia conveyed as news broke of a tentative deal between Boeing and its machinists’ union, leading to the announcement that Renton will be the home of the new 737 MAX.

Democratic caucus leader on the Pegasus Project, Larry Springer points to the decade of work between the HDC and the aerospace community to land the 737 Dreamliner and the tanker as the reason why the MAX will be built here. “We’ve championed new investments, funding, and reforms in recent years, fostering growth and jobs in the industry.” They include:

• Workforce development scholarships and grants worth millions to train aerospace workers 
• New educational state facilities providing new resources to manufacturers and workers 
• Aerospace training programs through state community and technical colleges 
• Streamlined permitting processes for Boeing and its aerospace manufacturing partners 
• Reforms at L&I and ESD, which reduced premium rates for workers’ comp and unemployment insurance 

Co-leader on the Pegasus Project, Marcie Maxwell, recounted some personal memories. “I’ve watched the maiden voyage of every 737 for many years from my Renton home. Many of my neighbors are proud of their work designing and building generations of Boeing planes. This is great news for Boeing, for Renton, and for the hundreds of suppliers across 29 counties in our state.

“The bottom line is, we’re building more airplanes faster and better than ever before,” said House Democratic Caucus Chair Eric Pettigrew. “And winning the new 737 MAX in Renton is a sign that we’ll be doing so for a long, long time.”

Read the full press release here.


Check out this link highlighting some recent posts that contributed to today's good news.

To read this blog post in Spanish, click here.

Pettigrew, Moeller and Green join caucus leadership team

At a meeting of the House Democratic Caucus today, Representative Eric Pettigrew was chosen as caucus chair. He has been the Chair of the Health and Human Services Appropriations Committee for the past two years.

Also elected were:

• Rep. Jim Moeller as Speaker Pro-Tem designate. He will be approved by the entire House on the opening day of the 2011 session.
• Rep. Tami Green as Majority Floor Leader. She has served as Deputy Majority Floor Leader for the past two years.
  

They join Speaker-designate Frank Chopp, Majority Leader Pat Sullivan, and Majority Whip Kevin Van De Wege, who were elected last month.

Additional leadership positions will be filled at a later date.

House Speaker Chopp unanimously "re-selected" by HDC members

Speakers of the House are officially elected by the entire body on the first day of each new Legislature - the second Monday of every odd-numbered January. But that election is usually pretty anti-climatic because the majority party selects their "Speaker-designate" far in advance of the beginning of session.

That's what happened today in Olympia - Democrats unanimously picked Speaker Frank Chopp as Speaker-designate for 2011-13.

Also elected this afternoon were:
Rep. Pat Sullivan (Covington) as Majority Leader. Sullivan, who served as vice-chair of the House Ways and Means Committee the last two years, replaces the retiring Lynn Kessler.

Rep. Dawn Morrell (Puyallup) as Caucus Chair.

Rep. Kevin Van De Wege (Sequim) as Majority Whip.

The rest of the leadership team will be elected December 8th when members return to town for Committee Assembly Days.