Legislators in the 20th District have in recent decades been united by party and purpose, rarely voicing displeasure with the actions of their colleagues, who represent the same constituents in Lewis County and surrounding areas.
They’re all Republicans, after all, and there’s little to be gained by a fractured front.
That’s been the case as long as I’ve been involved in our coverage of the Legislature, and that remains the reality today.
Still, nothing holds the potential to dismantle unity in conservative strongholds like the issue of increased taxation.
The state Senate’s passage of a $15 billion transportation package — which includes a proposed 11.7-cent increase in the gasoline tax — seems to have done just that, though.
State Sen. John Braun was among the Republicans to reluctantly sign onto the plan, explaining that it includes needed reforms, nearly $80 million for flood projects and could protect against forced action by the governor.
If flood money and needed changes to the Washington State Department of Transportation is the carrot at the end of the stick, though, state Rep. Ed Orcutt doesn’t seem to be biting.
For about 15 minutes Thursday, Orcutt painstakingly outlined his opposition to the major elements of the package — which includes increases in other fees in addition to the gas tax spike — to a group of newspaper editors and publishers.
With Orcutt’s informal presentation complete, an Eastern Washington editor asked what changes the 20th District lawmaker would seek.
“No offense, but you just ignored everything I talked about,” Orcutt shot back, adding a three-second stare that further solidified his frustrated demeanor.
It was a rare moment of borderline righteous indignation from the legislator from Kalama, who, in addition to Braun and state Rep. Richard DeBolt, represents a broad swath of Washington that stretches from South Thurston County to Cowlitz County.
It was just hours before Orcutt, the ranking Republican on the House Transportation Committee, took part in a public hearing on the legislation passed three weeks ago by the Senate.
His frustration with the Senate’s transportation bill — made possible by the votes of his Republican colleagues — puts him in a difficult position, though he isn’t keen on stating that himself.
He seems unwilling to criticize those from his party who signed onto the bill, but he’s equally stalwart when it comes to verbally shredding the basis of the legislation.
Orcutt is quick to add, though, that the gas tax is just one cog in the machine of his discontent.
“When they figure out the rest of this, they will be even more up in arms,” he said of his constituents, later adding, “The only thing they get out of the tax package is the bill to pay for it.”
When reached by a Chronicle reporter a week ago, Orcutt was reluctant to criticize the package. He indicated he had not been provided enough time to analyze it, that he wasn’t sure about the chances of millions of dollars for flood protection.
On Thursday, though, he seems to have summoned more certainty.
As he walked to the Capitol to take part in the hearing, I asked him if there is any chance he would support the Senate’s legislation.
He took a moment to think, sighed and then responded.
“I don’t see how I could,” he said.
His opposition reflects frustration amid demands he’s voiced again and again over the past three years of heightened calls for a transportation package — bring something that does not increase taxes, that reforms a broken system and that allows for equal consideration or the rural communities he represents.
“People in Packwood are not too excited about paying for transit in Seattle,” he said.
Whether or not you support the transportation package, it’s refreshing to see our 20th District legislators acting independently on a controversial topic.
There’s still little to be gained from a fractured front, but honest discourse is a quality we should all seek from our legislators, whether or not they agree with one another.
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Eric Schwartz is the editor of The Chronicle.
