Jolt
Afternoon Jolt: Wiggins Gets Buoyant Reception In Olympia
Today's Winner: Supreme Court Justice Charlie Wiggins
Today's winner: Supreme Court Justice Charlie Wiggins.
The second day of the state legislative session included a slightly uncomfortable moment for newly elected Supreme Court Justice Charlie Wiggins. When Wiggins was introduced this afternoon, he received a burst of applause from legislators and onlookers that was louder---much louder---than the applause for his peers. Wiggins didn't immediately acknowledge the overwhelming exuberance from his colleagues, however, maintaining a reserved and stoic demeanor.
Wiggins, who narrowly defeated controversial former Justice Richard Sanders in November, was also the only justice to receive a kiss from Governor Gregoire when she arrived in chambers to deliver her State of the State speech.
During the election, former Justice Richard Sanders made controversial (and arguably racist) statements about African-Americans, saying they were overrepresented in the criminal justice system because they had a "crime problem."
The Seattle Times subsequently withdrew its endorsement of Sander, giving the outgoing justice space to respond to the controversy in an early December op/ed . The controversy was a key moment in the campaign and gave Wiggins the momentum to pull ahead.
Today's loser: State Rep. Ross Hunter (D-48).
At a standing-room-only hearing in Hunter's Ways and Means Committee, which is charged with cutting more than half a billion dollars from the last biennium's budget, dozens of groups signed up on the pink sign-in sheets to implore the committee not to cut their programs. They included: Harborview Foster Care Assessment, Food Lifeline, Children's Alliance, Autism Society of Washington, Foster Family Support Center, YouthCorps, Washington State Coalition for the Homeless, Children's Advocacy Center of Washington, and Readiness to Learn. Without the Readiness to Learn program, said Quincy teenager David Navarro, "our playground would be the gas station." Ouch.
And it wasn't all social-service groups. Seattle Police Department deputy chief Nick Metz, in uniform, was one of the first to testify, making the case that cutting social safety net would mean "more violence in the streets and more violence in the home."
Today's winner: Supreme Court Justice Charlie Wiggins.
The second day of the state legislative session included a slightly uncomfortable moment for newly elected Supreme Court Justice Charlie Wiggins. When Wiggins was introduced this afternoon, he received a burst of applause from legislators and onlookers that was louder---much louder---than the applause for his peers. Wiggins didn't immediately acknowledge the overwhelming exuberance from his colleagues, however, maintaining a reserved and stoic demeanor.
Wiggins, who narrowly defeated controversial former Justice Richard Sanders in November, was also the only justice to receive a kiss from Governor Gregoire when she arrived in chambers to deliver her State of the State speech.
During the election, former Justice Richard Sanders made controversial (and arguably racist) statements about African-Americans, saying they were overrepresented in the criminal justice system because they had a "crime problem."
The Seattle Times subsequently withdrew its endorsement of Sander, giving the outgoing justice space to respond to the controversy in an early December op/ed . The controversy was a key moment in the campaign and gave Wiggins the momentum to pull ahead.
Today's loser: State Rep. Ross Hunter (D-48).
At a standing-room-only hearing in Hunter's Ways and Means Committee, which is charged with cutting more than half a billion dollars from the last biennium's budget, dozens of groups signed up on the pink sign-in sheets to implore the committee not to cut their programs. They included: Harborview Foster Care Assessment, Food Lifeline, Children's Alliance, Autism Society of Washington, Foster Family Support Center, YouthCorps, Washington State Coalition for the Homeless, Children's Advocacy Center of Washington, and Readiness to Learn. Without the Readiness to Learn program, said Quincy teenager David Navarro, "our playground would be the gas station." Ouch.
And it wasn't all social-service groups. Seattle Police Department deputy chief Nick Metz, in uniform, was one of the first to testify, making the case that cutting social safety net would mean "more violence in the streets and more violence in the home."
