Q&A with Susan Dreyfus, head of DSHS: Dealing with more Washingtonians in...
Susan Dreyfus, who was hired to lead the Department of Social and Health Services — the largest state agency — earlier this year, has a lot on her plate. From reducing her budget to dealing with high...
View ArticleQ&A with Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark
This week’s Q&A is with Department of Natural Resources head Peter Goldmark. His agency manages all the state lands, timber harvest and aquatics. It is, as he said, “an enormous responsibility.”...
View ArticleQ&A with Secretary of State Sam Reed: Referendum 71, the Heritage Center and...
This week’s Q&A is with Secretary of State Sam Reed. I interviewed Reed in his office this morning, and have included the entire interview below. Q. What are the challenges facing your office now?...
View ArticleQ&A with Paula Hammond: Is the Viaduct replacement a done deal? Early tolling...
Today’s Q&A is with head of the Washington Department of Transportation, Paula Hammond. She talked with us about whether the tunnel replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct is a done deal, federal...
View ArticleThursday Q&A: Reps. Ross Hunter and Ed Orcutt
For this week’s Q&A, I sat down separately with Rep. Ross Hunter (D) and Rep. Ed Orcutt (R) to talk to them about this morning’s revenue forecast, in which it was revealed that the Legislature will...
View ArticleThursday Q&A: Reps. Hunter and Orcutt on 960, taxes and the budget
On the news that the Senate and House Democrats were introducing bills to amend and suspend Initiative 960 and raise revenue, respectively, I scheduled this week’s Q&A with Rep. Ross Hunter —...
View ArticleUpdated: This week’s Q&A: Reps. Richard DeBolt and Lynn Kessler
This week, the Thursday Q&A is posted on Friday. Why? The Legislature hasn’t seen much action this week, meaning many lawmakers are back to their jobs — and not in town, ready to be interviewed....
View ArticleQ&A: Secretary of State Sam Reed on this year’s near-record number of...
This week’s Q&A is with Secretary of State Sam Reed. The deadline for filing initiatives for the November ballot is tomorrow — and it’s looking to be a banner year. I talked to Reed today about the...
View ArticleThis week’s Q&A: Supreme Court candidates
Sorry for the delay, but this week’s Q&A is very special: I went to Seattle earlier this week to co-moderate debates between Supreme Court Justice Jim Johnson and challenger Stan Rumbaugh and...
View ArticleQ&A video edition: Initiative 1082
Here’s a special video Q&A on Initiative 1082 — with Amy Brackenberry, who is in favor of the initiative, and Rep. Brendan Williams, who is against it. This is the first of many such video Q&As...
View ArticleTuesday Q&A: Part 2 on the budget with Sen. Derek Kilmer
This weeks’ Q&A is with Sen. Derek Kilmer, the vice chairman of the Senate budget writing committee. (For last week’s interview with Rep. Gary Alexander, go here.) Q: The Senate last week passed a...
View ArticleQ&A with Bruce Beckett: Proponent of privatizing liquor sales via Initiative...
This week’s Q&A is with Bruce Beckett, Government Affairs Director of the Washington Restaurant Association and a spokesman for the Yes on Initiative 1183 campaign. I wanted to talk to him about...
View ArticleThis week’s Q&A: Julie Ferguson on the drawbacks of Initiative 1163
Last week, I spoke with Nora Gibson about the pros of Initiative 1163, which would require more training for home care workers. This week, I spoke to Julie Ferguson, who is an opponent. Ferguson is a...
View ArticleThis week’s Q&A: Tim Eyman on Initiative 1125
This week, I spoke with Tim Eyman on Initiative 1125. Eyman says it provides straightforward protections for toll revenues. Opponents say it blows a hole in transportation funding and is just bad...
View ArticleThis week’s Q&A: Doug MacDonald on the problems with Initiative 1125
Last week, I spoke to Tim Eyman about his latest initiative and how it would affect tolling across the state. This week, I spoke with Doug MacDonald, former secretary of transportation. He retired in...
View ArticleThis week’s Q&A: Sen. Joe Zarelli on the Rainy Day Fund expansion
This week’s Q&A is with Sen. Joe Zarelli. I spoke with him about SJR 8206, a Constitutional Amendment that will bolster the Rainy Day Fund by requiring the state to put “extraordinary revenue...
View ArticleSen. Mike Carrell on voting, the state Constitution and next week’s big...
This week’s Q&A is with Sen. Mike Carrell, who I spoke with mostly about SJR 8205, which will remove a provision in the state’s Constitution that has never been enforced — and has been ruled...
View ArticleThis week’s Q&A: Sen. Joe Zarelli on the budget, taxes and more
Last Q&A, I spoke with Sen. Ed Murray, Democrat and head of the budget writing committee, about the budget and his support for taxes. This week, I spoke with Sen. Joe Zarelli, the Republican who...
View ArticleThis week’s Q&A: What the new liquor privatization initiative means for the...
Earlier this week, voters passed Initiative 1183, which would privatize the state’s liquor system. For this week’s Q&A, I spoke with Brian Smith, Communications Director for the Washington State...
View ArticleThis week’s Q&A: Sen. Dan Swecker on an effort to require initiatives to be...
This week, I spoke with Sen. Dan Swecker about a Constitutional amendment he’s sponsoring for the regular session that would put an end to unfunded initiatives. What do Republicans and Democrats think?...
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