Democracy for Vancouver

Josh Feit at the Stranger’s blog, fills us in on legislation to provide homeowners’ protection against shoddy construction:

On March 8, Senator Brian Weinstein (D-41, Mercer Island, Bellevue) passed his homebuyers’ rights bill 30-19 out of the Senate. (The bill would give homebuyers a warranty against shoddy construction.)

Weinstein believed he had his ducks in row to also pass the bill in the House. Last summer, he says, he met with powerhouse House Speaker Rep. Frank Chopp (D-43, Seattle) at Chopp’s de facto office, the Tully’s on 45th in Wallingford. Chopp, Weinstein recalls, said the idea sounded good and handed Weinstein off to House legal staffer Barbara Baker to iron out the details. Weinstein reports that Baker was excited about the bill.

Weinstien also found a House member, Rep. Brendan Williams (D-22, Olympia), who was excited about the legislation. Rep. Williams told Weinstein that faulty housing construction was a big issue in his district. Rep. Williams went on to champion the legislation on the House side.

However, earlier this week, after the House Judiciary Committee passed the bill onto the Rules Committee, Speaker Chopp tabled the bill. As The Olympian reported yesterday, Rep. Williams is pissed and threatened to resign.

Williams is so thoroughly ticked off that the latest blog posting from Feit includes an email from Brendan Williams with this:

Because a caucus member gave to BIAW a previous internal memo of mine on this issue, I am sending this as an e-mail to make it easier to forward to Tom McCabe.

Long time party volunteers understand just how extensive the BIAW’s activities within the Republican Party are. Remember those kids waving signs on the freeway onramps for Dino Rossi? Paid for by Walking for Washington, a BIAW front group. Whether it be growth management or environmental protection, expect the BIAW to oppose sensible legislation that guarantees livability in our region.

Combine that with Tom McCabe’s jawboning the referees in the gubernatorial race for Rossi and working his connections to get US Attorney John McKay fired, one is dumbfounded to learn that any Democratic caucus member, let alone the caucus leader and Speaker of the House, would pick up the phone from the BIAW, much less go to dinner with them.

The issue is a slam dunk for Democrats (”we’re the party that protects homeowners”), but now is just one more opportunity lost with a caucus leader that appears to only respond to groups with full time lobbyists. Now the perception is that if you’re not a major labor union or industry trade group, you’ll never get a fair hearing with Speaker Chopp.

Working with Republican leaning industry trade groups is one thing, but working in consort with the ultra-repugnant BIAW strikes at the heart of how out of touch Speaker Chopp is.