Meet the new member: Rep. Monica Stonier

Continuing with our "Meet the new member" series, we sat down with Rep. Monica Stonier this week. Monica was elected to the House of Representatives Pos. 1 seat last November, which was vacated by former representative Tim Probst.

Monica is a wife of 11 years, mother of two young children, and an educator at Pacific Middle School in Vancouver.

Borrowing from a great bit by James Lipton, we asked Monica ten questions that she'll likely never be asked again in a political setting.

What is your favorite word/phrase? Resonate

What is your least favorite word/phrase? "No offense, but…"

If you could spend 30 minutes with any famous person from history, who would that be? Billie Holiday

If we looked at your iPod, which song would have the most plays? The Ghost of Johnny Cash by Shawn Mullins

What song is your guilty pleasure? Bust A Move by Young MC

Who is your favorite TV character and why? Frasier Crane because he's quirky and internally conflicted

What job would you be doing if you weren't in politics or education? Probably running a community youth center

Which world leader do you admire most? Abraham Lincoln because he was a moderate in a swing state who put doing what was right before politics

In five words or less, how do you want to be remembered? Someone who makes hours count

After a few weeks as a lawmaker, name one part of this job that was completely unexpected? The incredibly high caliber of staff

Read this story in Spanish.

Meet the new member: Jake Fey

Rep. Jake Fey

They hail from all over the Evergreen State, these newly-sworn-in Democratic members of the state House. Today, The Advance continues its "Meet the New Member” series with a freshman representative from the Tacoma area.

Representative Jake Fey serves the 27th Legislative District, which is comprised of Ruston and a big portion of urban Tacoma (specifically, the city's North and West Ends, the Eastside, and the Northeast Tacoma and Pierce County neighborhoods). Jake is the Director of the Washington State University Energy Program. He has served on the boards of Sound Transit and Pierce Transit, and as vice chair of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. He also served on the Tacoma City Council for seven years, including a stint as deputy mayor. Jake has two children and two grandchildren.

The Advance: What inspired you to run for the Legislature?

Jake Fey: My experience in the YMCA Youth Legislature really piqued my interest in politics as a high-school student. I also had a wonderful mentor -- Dr. Werner Quast -- who was a PDC Commissioner, county party chair, and city councilmember.

TA: Is there a moment, or an image, that you'll remember from your first week here as a legislator?

Jake Fey: I would have to say the swearing-in ceremony on the first day of session was very emotional for me. Being on the House floor and soaking up all the institutional history from territorial days onward was very inspiring. I was struck by how lucky I was to serve in Olympia.

TA: Recognizing that this place, and state government in general, has its own sort of separate language, what words or phrases baffled you until somebody explained them?

Jake Fey: For me, with my experience in public service, a lot of the language was familiar. But then, the whole state-legislative process of bill development, prime sponsorship, and blue sheets -- that was not something I expected.

TA: If you could pass any piece of legislation, what would it be? In other words: What’s the most pressing problem, the question or quandary that you'd really like to crack?

Jake Fey: Actually, I have a couple of priorities, which involve two major public "systems": I want our state to fully fund a high-quality education system -- from early learning and K-12 and then on through higher education. And I want us to upgrade our transportation system -- at the state, regional and local levels.

 

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Meet the new member: Marcus Riccelli

Rep. Riccelli (r) with his seatmate, Rep. Timm Ormsby.

We're featuring posts about the nine new members who joined the HDC this year, and next up is Rep. Marcus Riccelli of the 3rd Legislative District.
Rep. Riccelli was born and raised in Spokane, so he considers it a great honor to now be representing that very city in our state capitol. He's a graduate of Mead High School and Gonzaga University, but eventually ventured over to the western part of the state to get his Master of Public Administration at the University of Washington.
For the past two regular and five special legislative sessions, Rep. Riccelli worked as the Senior Policy Advisor to former Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown. Having been a legislative staff person prior to his election, he has a great deal of appreciation for the long hours required of staff, particularly during the legislative session.
We caught up with him at the end of his first week as a state representative to ask him a few questions:
Q: Is there a moment, or an image, you’ll remember most from your first day as a lawmaker?
A: When my mother came on the floor of the House and looked at my desk and nameplate with immense pride in her son. My parents were always there for me and sacrificed a lot so I could follow my dreams. The other moment was when my two-and-a-half-year-old son noticed me on the floor of the House the first time from the public galleries and waved and yelled, "Dadda!"
Q: What inspired you to run for office?
A: The Jesuit education at Gonzaga really changed my way of thinking and inspired me to answer the call to service. I was very much inspired by working for two of Washington’s great leaders: U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell and former state Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, who is also from Spokane. Finally, my son Brayden deeply inspired me. As newer parents, my wife and I want him and his generation not just to have the same opportunities we have had, we want him to have even more opportunities…and right in Spokane if he chooses.
Q: If you could be any West Wing character, who would it be?
A: A lot of people have actually told me I remind them of Josh Lyman. I had the opportunity to meet the actor, Bradley Whitford, in 2002, which was a very fun experience. I surprised him by not asking about his role in the West Wing but in Revenge of the Nerds 2, which made him crack up.

Q: Imagine being governor for a day, and able to pass any legislation. What problem would you fix?
A: Nobody should go hungry. Ever. My heart breaks especially for children and our seniors who go without.
In case you missed it, check out our featured posts on new Reps. Jessyn Farrell, Steve Bergquist, and Gael Tarleton.

Read this story in Spanish here.

Meet the new member: Jessyn Farrell

Rep. Jessyn Farrell on Opening Day

This year the HDC welcomed nine new members to the House of Representatives. In an effort to better acquaint our readers with the newest faces around town, last week we began rolling out a series of “Meet the New Member” posts.  New members Reps. Gael Tarleton and Steve Bergquist were featured last week.  Our next in the series is Representative Jessyn Farrell of the 46th legislative district.

Jessyn grew up in the Seattle’s Lake City neighborhood and Lake Forest Park, attending local public schools and the University of Washington. An attorney by trade with a focus on mediation, she worked on youth civic engagement with Seattle City Club before joining the HDC.

Jessyn is perhaps best known for her prior role as the executive director of Transportation Choices Coalition, where she brought together transit and road advocates in support of transportation initiatives that secured billions in transit funding. During her career she has worked for Pierce Transit, the Washington Public Interest Research Group, AmeriCorps, and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Taking a moment to answer a few questions, here is what Jessyn had to say after her first week as a legislator:  

Q: Is there a moment, or an image, you’ll remember most from your first day as a lawmaker?

A: It’s one week in and I don’t really remember the first day! But something that has really stuck with me about the first few days is hearing the former governor referred to as “Her Excellency” and recalling the huge debates that our founders had about how to refer to President Washington.Adams wanted some pomp and circumstance and others accused him of being a royalist.I felt a strong connection to those men who set up our commitment to self-government over 200 years ago and how cool it was to be a part of that inspiring tradition!  

Q:What inspired you to run for office?  

A: I really believe we need more moms at the table – we make major policy decisions that affect working families and it’s important to have the perspective of those who are on the front lines of trying to make a living, take care of kids, and give them the very best. Now I get to actually try to be a working mother in this very intense, demanding environment. That alone will be a great challenge.  

Q: Imagine being governor for a day, and able to pass any legislation. What problem would you fix?  

A: Climate change – it is settled science that we are in a 13 year window – give or take a few years – to cut our carbon emissions drastically to ensure that we don’t completely wreck our climate (the threshold being keeping the earth’s global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius). The climate has already warmed and we are already seeing the effects of that with extreme weather events. But if warming goes beyond 2 degrees Celsius it is predicted that we will experience extreme heat-waves, declining global food stocks, loss of ecosystems and biodiversity, and life-threatening sea level rises. This is very real to me as my kids won’t even be twenty by the time that window will have closed.

Q: If we peeked at your iPod, who would we see?  

A:The eensy weensy spider and other favorites of the 2-4 year old age group.

Read this story in Spanish here.

Meet the new member: Steve Bergquist

Rep. Steve Bergquist on Opening Day

This year, nine new House Democrats took the oath of office.

To introduce you to these new faces, we're doing a series of Meet the New Member posts.

You can read the first one here: Meet the new member: Gael Tarleton
 
Steve is a public school teacher, union member and small business owner from Renton.

He's a proud fourth-generation resident of the 11^th District who graduated from Hazen High School and got his bachelor's degree from UW and his master's degree from WWU. His wife, Avanti, is a doctor at UW and Seattle Children's Hospital.

Steve answered our questions during the first week of session.

Question: Is there a moment, or an image, you'll remember most from your first day as a lawmaker?
Answer: Signing my oath of office, at that moment, the reality truly hit that I now represent the 11^th district and all of the responsibilities and hard work ahead of me.

Q: What inspired you to run for office?
A: When I was in high school, I had the opportunity to come down to Olympia as a senate page for Senator Margarita Prentice.

During this time I was inspired to get more involved in politics which led to my attendance at Evergreen Boys State, which is a mock government. I then attended the University of Washington and majored in Political Science and History then received my Masters in Teaching at Western.

As a teacher and small business owner in the 11^th district, I felt my experiences in those areas and as a fourth generation 11^th district resident would be an asset to the legislature and my community.

Q: What bills are you working on?
A: Quite a few. One in particular would give 16 & 17 year olds the opportunity to preregister to vote at the Department of Licensing.
I have already had the opportunity to lobby different high school classes that have come to Olympia to visit. Every student has embraced this bill and I hope they will now help me get it passed into law.

Q: What is the most difficult part about being a legislator?
Realizing that your schedule during session is completely filled from 8 a.m. 8 p.m. just about every weekday with committees, caucus meetings, floor sessions, receptions, and constituent relations -- and not being able to figure out how to squeeze in time to eat.

Q: If we peeked at your iPod, who would we see?
A: Don't have one.

Q: Imagine being governor for a day, and able to pass any legislation. What problem would you fix?
A: Fully funding basic education. We need to give every student in our state a chance to succeed.

Click here to visit Steve's website

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Read this story in Spanish here.

Meet the new member: Gael Tarleton

This year the HDC welcomed nine new members- and one familiar face- to the House of Representatives. The newly-minted lawmakers come to us from across the state and bring a wide variety of valuable experience to Olympia.

In an effort to better acquaint our readers with the newest faces around town, we’ll be rolling out a series of “Meet the New Member” posts in coming weeks. First to step up to the plate: Representative Gael Tarleton of the 36th legislative district.

Gael comes to the HDC from the Port of Seattle, where she served as a commissioner since 2007. Gael also works as a strategic advisor for the Institute for National Security Education and Research at the University of Washington.

She began her career as a senior defense intelligence analyst for the Pentagon, working on security issues affecting ports across the country and other critical facilities. After a decade working at the Pentagon, Gael ran two international subsidiaries of a Fortune 500 company in Russia.

Gael took some time this week to answer some of our most pressing of questions:

• HDC: Is there a moment, or an image, you’ll remember from your first day as a lawmaker?
• GT: Taking the oath of office and then immediately getting to work in our committees on behalf of the people.
• HDC: If you could be any West Wing character, who would it be?
• GT: Always sympathized with CJ – she knew how to deliver the bad news and to help families deal with bureaucrats.
• HDC: The House and Senate are interesting places with their own language. Which words and phrases baffled you until somebody explained them -- are you itching to drop a few bills in the Hopper, carpet bomb a senate bill with amendments on second reading and push the nuclear button by moving to the Eighth Order of Business?
• GT: Never heard a military reference I didn’t understand J - but the difference between “blue slips” and “pink slips” still not clear.
• HDC: What inspired you to run for office?
• GT: To help create a more sustainable, fair economy and livable neighborhoods

Another fun fact about Rep. Tarleton- She was the youngest person ever to receive in public the Director of Central Intelligence’s “National Intelligence Medal of Achievement” for recognition of her exceptional contributions to protecting vital national interests.

Welcome to the House, Rep. Tarleton! We look forward to your exceptional contributions here in Olympia.

Rep. Tarleton and Sen. Nick Harper check out the new voting system in the House ahead of Gov. Jay Inslee's inaugural address

Read this story in Spanish here.

New House Democrats starting early

Eight newly-elected Democratic House members arrived at the Capitol this morning to begin orientation. 

Although they don't officially start their new jobs until they are sworn in January 14, they are meeting with staff to talk about setting up their offices, hiring their legislative assistants, and other behind-the-scenes details.  Later today they will have a working lunch with Speaker Frank Chopp and Majority Leader Pat Sullivan before heading to their first caucus meeting.

Those attending are:

• Marcus Riccelli, District 3, Spokane
• Steve Bergquist, District 11, Renton
• Jake Fey, District 27, Tacoma
• David Sawyer, District 29, Tacoma
• Roger Freeman, District 30, Federal Way
• Gael Tarleton, District 36, Seattle
• Jessyn Farrell, District 46, Seattle
• Cyrus Habib, District 48, Bellevue

Dawn Morrell from Puyallup, newly-elected in the 25th District, was unable to attend. Monica Stonier is still leading in the 17th District, but those numbers are not yet final.

To read this story in Spanish, please click  here.