The newly formed Majority Coalition Caucus in the State Senate received cautiously optimistic reviews from newspaper editorial boards around the state.
At separate editorial board meetings with the Seattle Times this week, Senate leaders on both sides discussed their ongoing negotiations on a governance plan.
According to tweets from the meeting, Sens. Rodney Tom (D-Medina), Mark Schoesler (R-Ritzville), and Joe Fain (R-Auburn) were optimistic about reaching a power-sharing agreement.
In terms of policy, Sen. Tom told the Times’ editorial board that the coalition was “committed to enhancing funding for education,” while Sen. Schoesler said Higher Education had sacrificed enough.
In the Democrats’ meeting with the Times’ board, Sens. Ed Murray (D-Seattle) and David Frockt (D-Seattle) both expressed concerns with what they called a “take-it-or-leave-it” proposal from the Coalition, but left the door open to further negotiation:
#Murray: Perhaps there's room for negotiation on #WaysMeans, #Transportation, #Education cmtes. #WALeg #WASenate
— SeattleTimes Opinion (@SeaTimesOpinion) December 11, 2012
Both sides are expected to continue negotiations on governance proposals heading into the weekend.
In other Olympia-related news:
An update released from the ERFC shows state revenue collections ticked up last month, and unemployment dropped.
Gov. Gregoire announced she is preparing a new package to address the state’s transportation infrastructure needs.