Capitol Ideas: The Washington State House Democratic Caucus Podcast

Before he was sent to be their voice in Olympia by the good people of the 47th district, Rep. Chris Stearns already had a full resume. He's an accomplished attorney working with tribes throughout the nation. He's done a stint with the federal Energy Department. He was a Democratic committee counsel in the U.S. House of Representatives. Now we've got him, and you'll meet him today.

This is a good one. We say that every time, but seriously, you want to hear what Rep. Debra Entenman has to say about higher ed, civil rights, equity, school lunches, being a legislator, and lots more. Stick around.

Hit the PLAY button on Capitol Ideas today to hear an exclusive conversation with Washington state Speaker Laurie Jinkins. After five years at the helm of a growing Democratic majority, she shares her view of the just-concluded session and the 23-24 biennium, talks about some key legislative victories for the people of Washington, and surveys the work still to be done. All that, in just 30 minutes.

As co-chair of the House Committee on Controlled Substances and Gaming, Rep. Sharon Wylie is instrumental in shaping Washington's policies on one of the 21st century's most controversial issues. And that's just for starters. Open up today's episode of Capitol Ideas and meet a unique lawmaker.

My-Linh Thai contains multitudes. She's a state representative. An education leader. A pharmacist. Deputy Majority Leader of the Washington State House of Representatives. A parent. A refugee, the first ever elected to the state House. Most of all, she's someone who cares about others, and that becomes clear when you look at the the legislation she's authored during her six years in Olympia, and when you hear her speak. You'll get the chance to do both in today's Capitol Ideas.

Today we'll spend a half hour with Lakewood state Rep. Dan Bronoske. If you tune in to TVW when the House is in session, there's a good chance you'll see him handling the gavel and presiding over the debate as deputy speaker pro tem. When he's not on the dais, he's working on bills to make life better for workers, people in crisis, students, retirees, veterans, families . . . in other words, all of us. You don't want to miss today's conversation.

It's a tough job, and she loves it. Mukilteo state Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self chairs the House Democratic Caucus in Olympia, represents 160,000 of her friends and neighbors in the 21st legislative district, and has spent most of her professional career trying to make life better for children and their families. She also sponsors a whole lot of very good bills, and we'll talk about most all these roles in today's Capitol Ideas.

It's Day 39 of the 60-day 2024 legislative session in Olympia, and schedules are tight. We were lucky to grab 20 minutes with Rep. Tana Senn, and the luck is yours, as well. Her bills on emission-free school buses, adult family homes, firearm safety, and getting special-needs kids off on the right foot are moving toward the governor's desk, and we'll talk about all these and more in today's Capitol Ideas.

Rep. Melanie Morgan champions equity in most everything she does, and she does a lot. Join us today for a conversation with Rep. Morgan, who in six short years in the Legislature has become a force to be reckoned with. Today's Capitol Ideas covers everything from agriculture to Black History Month -- and Black history -- to renewable energy and Washington's growing housing shortage.

Now in the midst of his sixth year in the House, Rep. Bill Ramos makes a return visit to Capitol Ideas today. Bill chairs the House Committee on State Government and Tribal Relations, and has seats on the Transportation Committee and the Community Safety, Justice, and Reentry panel as well. That makes for a busy session, but today he stopped moving long enough to bring us up to speed on his priorities for the session and how his key bills are faring in this short, jam-packed legislative session.

Speaker emeritus Frank Chopp, who voluntarily switched his role to Rep. Frank Chopp at the end of the 2019 session, is the special guest on this episode of Capitol Ideas. The good things he's done for the Evergreen State are too numerous to list here, but if you listen to today's conversation, you'll notice a promise to include some items in the show notes. Here, in no particular order, are some of the things that he played a pivotal role in: the state Housing Trust fund; the best minimum wage in the U.S.; paid family and medical leave; free college and university tuition for those who need it most; the Marriage Equality Act; the Dream Act; the Voting Rights Act; the Longterm Care Trust Act; the Education Legacy Fund; The College Bound Scholarship program; Apple Health for All Kids; Apple Health and Homes; and 20 years of state budgets that put people first.

Rep. Tina Orwall is one of the busiest people in Olympia. If she doesn't hold the record for the legislator with the greatest number of bills that became laws, she's in the running. And as the longtime Speaker Pro Tem of the state House of Representatives, she wields a firm gavel to run most House floor sessions. She's back today for another new episode of Capitol Ideas.

Meet Rep. Greg Nance. He's a native Kitsapian, if that's a word, lives on Bainbridge Island, is a non-profit leader with deep experience in youth-mentoring, education, and mental health care. He's a conservationist, an athlete, and now . . . a state lawmaker.

Ah, Sweet 16. If Capitol Ideas were a person and not a podcast, it would be ready for a driver's license. This experiment kicked off in 2009 and it's been here ever since. Today's conversation features House Majority Floor Leader Monica Stonier, who's been a guest more than once over the years. Today she'll talk about her leadership position, working across the party aisle, and sponsoring groundbreaking legislation to make Washington a better place to live, work, and raise a family..

Rep. Laurie Jinkins was chair of the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee when her colleagues changed her title to Speaker of the House of Representatives at the beginning of the 2020 legislative session. Since then she’s led the House through a pair of unprecedented remote sessions necessitated by the pandemic, overseen the creation of an impressive number of landmark laws, sat at the head of the most diverse Democratic caucus in the history of the state, and backpacked all but 40 miles of the Washington section of the fabled Pacific Crest Trail. She’ll talk about all this and more in today’s special edition of Capitol Ideas.

Say hello to Rep. Julia Reed, a little over 100 days into her legislative career and already an accomplished lawmaker. Julia is vice chair of the Post-secondary Education and Workforce Committee, and sits on the Capital Budget and Housing committees as well. That last one, Housing, is going to be a big topic in today's Capitol Ideas, but she'll touch on a lot more in this, her first appearance on Capitol Ideas . . . but definitely not her last.

If the Washington state operating budget were part of the Marvel universe, today’s episode of Capitol Ideas might be the origin story. We’re about to hear from Representative Steve Bergquist, vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee, in a conversation recorded just a few days before the House and Senate both voted to approve that nearly-seventy-billion dollar two-year spending plan.

What's the state of public education in Washington three years after we first encountered the word coronavirus? We'll hear about that and more from Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, veteran chair of the House Education Committee on today's Capitol Ideas.

Rep. April Berg has done a lot. In today's Capitol Ideas we'll get to know the lawmaker who chairs one of the Legislature's key standing committees, and we'll find out what she's learned during her three years in the House.

Today's Capitol Ideas touches on Washington's housing crisis, abortion rights in a post-Dobbs world, equity for foster youth, and plenty more. The guest is Rep. Emily Alvarado, and that means this is a high-energy, solidly informative, and very entertaining conversation.