Capitol Ideas: The Washington State House Democratic Caucus Podcast

10th-district state Rep. Dave Paul showed up in Olympia with a long list of goals, and it's likely he'll accomplish a lot of them. In this brief conversation he touches on higher education, naturally, but also veterans' issues, tourism, the economy, the environment, electric cars and ferries, and more.

Rep. My-Linh Thai is a lot of things: a pharmacist, a successful businesswoman, a former member of the Bellevue school board . . . and, incidentally, a refugee who fled Vietnam with her family at age 15 and found a home in the U.S. She's the first refugee to be elected to the Washington state Legislature since statehood -- in other words, ever -- and she's got a story to tell.

In this installment of "Capitol Ideas" we meet Rep. Lauren Davis, midway through her second week as a state representative. With a resume that begins with Head Start teacher and goes on to include international development work in West Africa, advanced studies in Ghana as a Fulbright fellow, several non-profit startups and a stint with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, it's hard to accept that she is one of the youngest members of the Washington state Legislature. For all that, her most personal and crucial work has involved helping people recover from alcoholism and drug addiction, and that's mostly what we talk about today. This is one you don't want to miss.

Today's "Capitol Ideas" is a relatively brief but powerful introduction to Rep. Debra Lekanoff, who became the Washington's first Native American state representative after 40th-district constituents tapped her for the job last fall. The new lawmaker from Bow, a tiny community in Skagit County, is part of the most diverse Democratic majority in state history, and her story is a good one.

As a school and mental health counselor, Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self knows more about the dark side of childhood than most of us, but on that job and as a state lawmaker, she's in a unique position to understand problems, and to solve them. That's what today's "Capitol Ideas" is all about.

Few lawmakers can match Representative Tana Senn's passion and effectiveness as a voice for children and families in the Legislature. Today we're talking about how and why she came by that distinction, and we'll get a glimpse of her goals for the 2019 session as the new chair of the House Human Services and Early Learning Committee.

Rep. Mike Chapman represents one of Washington's most rural districts, and he's leading an effort to create good jobs and increase access to higher education in his and other districts from Seattle, Tacoma, and the other cities along the I-5 corridor who have prospered as the state recovers from the Great Recession. He talks about that effort today on "Capitol Ideas."

This is Rep. Shelley Kloba's second visit to "Capitol Ideas." She's that good. Today she'll talk about easing Washington's transportation crisis, improving special education in our K-12 schools, fine-tuning the rules surrounding recreational cannabis, and perhaps most interesting of all, how and why she got into public service.

Outside the Legislature, Rep. Nicole Macri has devoted her career to, in her words, "ensuring that people have the opportunity to live in safe, healthy homes that they can afford." It's not surprising that she brought that focus to Olympia when she was elected in 2016. Nicole is back for a new session, and today she talks about how she'll be approaching the issue, and others, in 2019.

State Rep. Gerry Pollet isn't shy about the need to upgrade special education in Washington's K-12 schools. In this fast-paced conversation he outlines the key problems and offers a set of legislative solutions.

We got to visit today with Rep. John Lovick, the 44th-district Democrat who serves as Speaker Pro Tem in the state House of Representatives. He was a state patrol office for more than 30 years, a state representative for nine, a county sheriff, a county executive, and then a state representative again. We talk about that and more in today's Capitol Ideas.

DNA evidence gathered from victims of sexual assault can be law enforcement's most effective tool in identifying rapists, solving cold cases, and preventing future attacks. But when Washington state rep. Tina Orwall toured a police evidence locker several years ago, she saw untested kits gathering dust and stacked high on shelves. Her subsequent research led to a disturbing discovery: Washington alone had more than 6000 untested kits, and nationwide nearly half a million kits had never been tested. In today's Capitol Ideas podcast, she'll talk about her successful efforts to have those kits tested and the results used to ID rapists, and to prevent the situation from repeating itself.

The last time she was featured on Capitol Ideas, today's lawmaker was Representative Monica Stonier of the 17th legislative district. That was almost three years ago. Since then Monica lost her reelection bid, moved into the 49th, and resumed her public-education career as a middle-school instructional coach. Two years go by. A seat unexpectedly opens up for a 49th-district rep, Monica goes for it . . . and here we are, about to review her second time around as a freshman lawmaker.

This story started a long time ago, and it's looking like the end might possibly be coming into sight. The I-5 bridge spanning the Columbia River between Vancouver and Portland turned 100 years old this past Valentine's Day. Efforts to agree on and pay for a replacement have been going on for years, but as Washington state Representative Sharon Wylie explains, it's complicated. In this edition of "Capitol Ideas," she traces the past and points toward a promising future.

Today we look at a pair of bills sponsored by Rep. Noel Frame (D-Seattle). One would shortcut the currently cumbersome route college students with disabilities have to take when transferring between schools. The other looks at a high-tech alternative to college textbooks that can cost hundreds of dollars for a single course. Rep. Frame is joined by Washington Student Association members Anna Nepomuceno (UW-Tacoma) and Maresa Miranda (WSU-Vancouver).

Washington state pumps about 95 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. That's more than twice the targeted volume for the year 2050, and we're behind schedule to meet that goal. Burien Democrat Joe Fitzgibbon chairs the House Environment Committee in Olympia, and he's introduced a bill to speed up the process by taxing carbon polluters at a rate of $15 a ton. We'll talk about his bill, and why it matters, in this edition of "Capitol Ideas."

Violence against Muslims, Jews and people of color continues to increase, and one conversation about it doesn't seem to be enough. This week Rep. Derek Stanford and Aneelah Afzali, director of the American Muslim Empowerment Network, pick up where the last "Capitol Ideas" left off.

Overt acts of anti-Semitism are increasingly common around the U.S. and here in Washington state. Mosques are burned and vandalized. People who look vaguely Middle Eastern are targeted by violent xenophobes, and racist bullies do what racist bullies do. Is hate the new black? We hear today from a lawmaker and a rabbi to get their take on increasing threats to America's sustaining values, and what they're doing about it.

House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan (D-Covington) might be the most dedicated advocate for public schools in Olympia, and he's a leader on the state’s education-funding task force. But like every lawmaker, he’s also answerable to the constituents in his home district. In this case, that’s the 47th, and in today’s brief conversation he touches on both of these roles.

Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland).