Helen Sommers: An Oral History

pg. 296 The Press
welfare - and by seldom giving ground.
“She’s smart, she’s honest and she’s no one’s
fool,” said one lobbyist. “That’s why she scares
some people.”
Copyright (c) 1994 Seattle Times Company, All
Rights Reserved.
Capitol Asks: Where Are Leaders?
By Mark Matassa, Jim Simon
Sunday, June 30, 1991
OLYMPIA - In the Legislature’s first vote this
year, Sen. Marcus Gaspard supported a plan to
roll back property-tax assessments, even though
he didn’t like the bill, because he was afraid not to.
In his mind, he was already reading the campaign
brochures proclaiming, “Gaspard opposes
tax relief.”
Nearly six months later, with the Legislature
closing what nearly everyone describes as an
underwhelming session, the Sumner Democrat’s
skittish opening vote seems an apt metaphor for
what ails Olympia.
Fear has displaced leadership as the Capitol’s
prime motivator.
While some lawmakers are proud of the session’s
achievements, which include a growth-management
bill and landmark environmental legislation to
clean up oil spills and the air, this Legislature is
more likely to be remembered for few ideas, missed
opportunities and the sour taste it left behind.
Education is a good example.
A little more than two months ago, with 20,000
teachers on strike, the state’s attention was focused
on something called the “crisis in education.” But
neither the politicians nor teachers themselves
conjured any plan to solve the crisis - instead, they
squabbled over who would control the session’s
school agenda.
The winner, Gov. Booth Gardner, ordered a
six-week “cooling-off period” and gave a new panel
18 months to ponder the emergency.
Tick off many of the issues important to the
state’s residents - education, crime, gridlock, drug
abuse, poverty, taxation - and the question arises,
“Where are all the leaders?”
If you ask that question at the Capitol, the answer
is likely to be the same from business lobbyists,
welfare advocates, campaign professionals and
legislators: “There aren’t many,” they answer, often
after a quick look around and a plea for anonymity.
“There’s a lot of talent in Olympia,” said King
County Councilman Ron Sims, a former legislative
staffer who notes that the problems at the Capitol
are mirrored at every level of politics. “But I’d love
to know where the train is going. No one is really
articulating where we should be going. No one
wants to offend anyone.”
That isn’t to say there aren’t powerful lawmakers
or that nothing gets done.
The top budget writers, Sen. Dan McDonald,
R-Yarrow Point, and Rep. Gary Locke, D-Seattle,
have as much say as anybody about the direction
of state government. They use their technocrats’
intimacy with the budget to fight, often successfully,
for programs favored by themselves or their
colleagues.
But there’s a difference between political victories
and leadership.
“My biggest frustration here has been that
nobody has a vision,” said Sen. Patty Murray, a
Shoreline Democrat elected in 1988. “There’s a
strong sense here that the goal is just to keep things
from changing.”
There are exceptions, some observers say.
House Speaker Joe King has more ideas on
more issues than any other politician in Olympia,
say his admirers. If it weren’t for his proposal and
his political tenacity, for example, it’s unlikely the
Legislature would have written laws this year and
last to manage growth. But the speaker also has
endured spells, especially this year, when he is unable
to inspire even his own caucus to action.