Lawmakers laud House Speaker Chopp's leadership, resolve

PATRICK CONDON , AND BRAD SHANNON, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Sunday, March 17, 2002

OLYMPIA -- Minutes after the Legislature finished its work in the first minutes of Friday morning, House Democrats crowded into their caucus room for a round of backslapping and congratulations.

As their leader walked into the room, a chant went up.

"Chopp! Chopp! Chopp! Chopp!"

Rank-and-file members -- giddy with their success at plugging the holes in the state's leaky budget and taking the first step toward easing transportation woes, all in the 60 days allotted for the 2002 session -- were effusive in praise of Speaker Frank Chopp of Seattle. He had pledged that the Legislature would accomplish those two goals, on time, without a general tax increase.

That was seen as a do-or-die proposition for the Democrats, who after three years of gridlock under the Capitol Dome finally were thrust into a razor-thin majority after two special-election victories in November. With fellow Democrat Gary Locke as governor, the party had no choice but to prove it could govern.

Many lawmakers credited the strength of Chopp's resolve as the driving force behind the resolution in the face of a daunting $1.6 billion budget shortfall and the vexing transportation standoff. Even Senate Republican Leader Jim West, while mostly unhappy with the Democratic solutions, had praise for Chopp's leadership.

"Frank Chopp is a better leader than Gary Locke is," West said. "He has determination. He articulates what he wants, and he knows how to get it."

House Democrats presented Chopp, a lifelong gridiron fan, with a football signed by his fellow 49 members -- presenting the MVP with the game ball, as it were.

Chopp and other Democratic leaders will need to keep their eyes on the ball as they head toward the November elections, where they'll now be campaigning not only for their own re-elections, but for a 9-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax increase to pay for the transportation fix. Republicans, meanwhile, will be fighting tooth and nail to topple the narrow Democratic majorities and regain control of the Legislature.

Before the session ended early Friday morning, Republican lawmakers were already blasting the Democrats' budget fix as a boondoggle held together by too many shaky assumptions and an over-reliance on borrowing money to pay for ongoing costs.

Even Senate Democratic staff members say the budget agreement will put the state back in the hole by $1 billion at the start of fiscal year 2004. Of course, that's after the November elections -- leaving Democrats almost eight solid months to enunciate their achievements and downplay their oversights.

Democrats were already making what sounded like campaign speeches on the floor of the Senate in the session's last days.

"I take great pride in this budget," said Sen. Erik Poulsen, D-Seattle. "The Senate and House, working together, did what was said couldn't be done. We passed a budget with no general tax increase. All session long, we heard -- 'Oh, they're going to raise taxes -- business taxes, sales taxes.' "

Instead, Poulsen said, "We're continuing the essential services of government without a tax increase. We should all be proud of that."

Not so fast, said Chris Vance, chairman of the state Republican Party. On Friday he faxed out a press release blaring, "Yes Virginia, there is a tax increase." The budget does cut about $30 million in tax exemptions, which Vance said amounts to a tax increase on the businesses that benefited from the exemptions.

Vance also argued that the budget solution was merely a stopgap measure to carry the Democrats past the November election.

"I guarantee you, if the people return the Democrats to the majority, they will really finish the job and really raise taxes," said Vance, who once remarked that raising taxes amounts to a biological compulsion for Democrats.

Some Republican senators predicted that the Democratic budget repairs wouldn't even last until November. Several joked about starting a pool to predict when Locke will have to call a special session in response to what could be a continually worsening financial situation for the state. West predicted August or September.

"You can only keep kicking the can a few feet ahead of you for so long," West said. "They didn't take care of the problem."

Of course, just as much as Republicans would like to grab the majority, Democrats would like to build on their 25-24 advantage in the Senate and their 50-48 advantage in the House, which continued to make it difficult to push through legislation.

Near the end of the session, one lobbyist sympathetic to the Democrats remarked that, for all intents and purposes, the party still didn't have a true majority this year.

On the Web:

- Complete text of Senate Operating Budget Bill

- Washington State Legislature

- Gov. Gary Locke

Click here!

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