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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

Wa Lege Day 30: A fight among grandmas

OLYMPIA - If this is an emergency, why is the state still spending money for art projects in the prisons, Sen. Mike Carrell, R, asked. Why spend $2 million on art for the Seattle tunnel

Sen. Rosa Franklin, D-Tacoma:"We have heard a lot this afternoon about the will of the people. The will of the people also has to have compassion in it...Grandma does not deal in metrics and the lingo of today. She doesn't deal in Twitter. The services she is receiving will be eliminated or cut drastically. She is scared...I promised grandma that my vote will be for her. I told the kids education is important and they should stay in school. I will not throw them under the bus, I will put them on the bus."

Sen. Pam Roach R-Auburn: "I'm a grandma, and I don't want to have my taxes raised. Taxes are going to be going up in a variey of ways. Grandmothers run those shops. ..Right now things aren't good and we will be further depressing the economy. More taxes will not help this economy...We need to do what the people are telling us to do, and that means restructuring...It means being creative, not doing things the way we've always done. I'm a grandma and I'm not voting for this bill."

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Wells, D-Seattle: "I'm a grandmother and I am voting for this bill. If we don't want to amend laws, why do we even have a Legislature? Many bills have amended initiatives. 67 percent of the voters approved an increase to the state minimum wage, three of them last year. 68 percent of voters approved medical marijuana, we've had bills to change that... Republicans and Democrats introduce bills ...to amend initatives brought forward by the vote of the people. All of these statements about going against the will of the people are spurious."



The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.