Opinion
Glimmers of Hope: Local Response
2011 started with news of a devastating $5 billion state budget shortfall and a legislative session in Olympia that went into overtime through the end of May leading to $4.5 billion in cuts.
Six months later, as the recession continues to hit the economy, state legislators—facing another $1.5 billion shortfall—have been called back to Olympia to end the year right where they started it with another round of overtime: A special legislative session to make more cuts. Governor Chris Gregoire is now recommending $2 billion in additional cuts.[pullquote]Looking to find something to be happy about in a year that offered little more than grim political choices, Cola readers point to developments from 2011 that give them hope. [/pullquote]
It’s scary out there—and as legislators look at cutting health programs, public safety officers, environmental programs, and education— there doesn’t seem to be much to be thankful for politically. Making a Sophie’s Choice between ending assistance for low-income pregnant women and assistance for at-risk youth doesn’t fall into the politics-of-hope category.
Looking to find something to be happy about in a year that seemed to offer little more than a repeating loop of grim political choices, we asked Cola readers to point us to political developments from the past year that give them hope.
State Rep. Marko Liias (D-21, Edmonds) is Vice Chair of the State House Transportation Committee. Here's his response to our Thanksgiving assignment.
In a year with record heat waves, records numbers of tornadoes and extreme weather, and a hurricane that turned Vermont into Hawaii, it is clear that our climate is changing. I am thankful that despite a stunning lack of leadership at the national level, Washington State continues to take action to confront this global challenge.
This year, the Legislature made three critical decisions that keep us moving forward in the right direction for our planet.
First, we took action to close our last coal-fired power plant and make Washington the first coal-free state in the nation. The TransAlta plant near Centralia is the state’s single largest source of climate pollution, and the plan we adopted will close half of the facility in 2020 and the rest in 2025.
Next, we took action to address emissions in our largest sector: transportation. After the governor proposed cutting funding for transit grants statewide, House and Senate leaders came together to find the funding and preserve one program that is creating better transit choices for people across the state. We also came together to give King County Metro a temporary revenue tool that helped protect transit service in our most dense urban areas.
Finally, we protected important progress that is being made to address our state’s second largest source of emissions: the built environment. I was proud when we enacted the toughest energy code in the nation a few years ago, ensuring that homeowners will have lower energy costs and our state will waste less energy moving forward. This year, a coalition of interests pushed to delay this smart new approach, and thanks to strong leadership, we were able to stay the course and ensure that our new code will remain in effect.
In these tough times, we have a lot of things to be depressed about, from budget cuts to ongoing job losses. But, our state’s continued action on climate change is creating jobs and ensuring that we are leading the way.
To read more from our Thanksgiving series, start here.
Six months later, as the recession continues to hit the economy, state legislators—facing another $1.5 billion shortfall—have been called back to Olympia to end the year right where they started it with another round of overtime: A special legislative session to make more cuts. Governor Chris Gregoire is now recommending $2 billion in additional cuts.[pullquote]Looking to find something to be happy about in a year that offered little more than grim political choices, Cola readers point to developments from 2011 that give them hope. [/pullquote]
It’s scary out there—and as legislators look at cutting health programs, public safety officers, environmental programs, and education— there doesn’t seem to be much to be thankful for politically. Making a Sophie’s Choice between ending assistance for low-income pregnant women and assistance for at-risk youth doesn’t fall into the politics-of-hope category.
Looking to find something to be happy about in a year that seemed to offer little more than a repeating loop of grim political choices, we asked Cola readers to point us to political developments from the past year that give them hope.
State Rep. Marko Liias (D-21, Edmonds) is Vice Chair of the State House Transportation Committee. Here's his response to our Thanksgiving assignment.
In a year with record heat waves, records numbers of tornadoes and extreme weather, and a hurricane that turned Vermont into Hawaii, it is clear that our climate is changing. I am thankful that despite a stunning lack of leadership at the national level, Washington State continues to take action to confront this global challenge.
This year, the Legislature made three critical decisions that keep us moving forward in the right direction for our planet.
First, we took action to close our last coal-fired power plant and make Washington the first coal-free state in the nation. The TransAlta plant near Centralia is the state’s single largest source of climate pollution, and the plan we adopted will close half of the facility in 2020 and the rest in 2025.
Next, we took action to address emissions in our largest sector: transportation. After the governor proposed cutting funding for transit grants statewide, House and Senate leaders came together to find the funding and preserve one program that is creating better transit choices for people across the state. We also came together to give King County Metro a temporary revenue tool that helped protect transit service in our most dense urban areas.
Finally, we protected important progress that is being made to address our state’s second largest source of emissions: the built environment. I was proud when we enacted the toughest energy code in the nation a few years ago, ensuring that homeowners will have lower energy costs and our state will waste less energy moving forward. This year, a coalition of interests pushed to delay this smart new approach, and thanks to strong leadership, we were able to stay the course and ensure that our new code will remain in effect.
In these tough times, we have a lot of things to be depressed about, from budget cuts to ongoing job losses. But, our state’s continued action on climate change is creating jobs and ensuring that we are leading the way.
To read more from our Thanksgiving series, start here.
