Town Call
February 19, 2010 
4 Comments
The first recorded gathering of voters in America took place in Dorchester, MA in 1633. The gist of this was that the townsmen agreed to meet at regular intervals to see to the “good and well ordering of the affairs of the Plantation.”
While Spokane is a ways away from the plantation model, the function remains in town hall meetings that provide citizens a way to speak with their representatives directly. Spokane has been notorious for rolling out the contentious carpet when its political talent comes home to listen. Town halls in the 509 have had a particularly bad case of the usual suspects showing up to ensure their pleas are heard. I think it’s high time for everyday Spokanites to pipe up and represent whatever it is that they may believe in!
6th District Senator, Chris Marr
Cartoon compliments of the Fuse 2008 Sizzle Awards.
(You can check out the 2009 Sizzles here.)
Feeling inspired? You have not one, but two opportunities to speak with Senator Chris Marr this Saturday, February 20th. According to Chris, “This will be a critical time as the Legislature will be just three weeks from its scheduled adjournment. Lawmakers will be on the cusp of making many critical decisions. We need to hear from you before we do so.”
First Town Hall, 10am-12pm
Northwood Middle School, 13120 N. Pittsburg St.
Second Town Hall, 2pm-4pm
Hamblen Elementary School, 2121 E. Thurston Ave.
Got somethin’ to say? Marr is layin’ the law of the land, and you can help! Tops on the agenda are whether or not to seek alternative revenue sources to lessen the impact of deep cuts to state and social services, and what this might look like. One idea among many is to rescind the state sales tax exemption for out of state shoppers to the tune of $33 million in new revenue a year. What are your preferred ideas for grappling with the state’s budget deficit?
About the Author
I received this email notice from Rep Kevin Parker:
Just a reminder that I’m hosting two town hall meetings this Saturday, Feb. 20 in Spokane. The first will be from 9-10 a.m. at Ridgeview Elementary School (5610 North Maple Street), where I would like to discuss education issues. The second will be from 11 .m. – noon at the Museum of Arts and Culture auditorium (2316 W. First Ave) to discuss jobs and the economy.
Now if I could be in two places at once.
Nice! I agree that we should all finally come to realize that politics is something for everyone to be interested and involved in. Since when do we feel that letting others make all the decisions about us is a great system. Plus, we may stay home and play x-box, but meanwhile the wealthy and corporations are speaking with our legislators each day. Now does American politics make a little more sense?
Chris Marr would better serve the people of the 6th district as a private citizen.
a) Marr successfully blocked the passage of HB 1180, which would have removed BPA — a toxic hormone-disrupting chemical that is harmful to children and adults.
b) Marr was a SPONSOR of SB 5599 (now the law of the land). This approved the entry of Washington State into the agreement among the states to elect the president by national popular vote. Great for high population states like California, New York, Texas, Illinois etc. Really, really bad for smaller population states like Washington. If Marr and his ilk are successful, presidential candidates will ignore Washington State and its citizens just like statewide candidates ignore Eastern Washington. Thanks Chris; you have betrayed EVERY CITIZEN IN WASHINGTON STATE!
c) Marr is also a sponsor of SB 5204. This would adopt the interstate agreement for the election of the president of the United States by national popular vote. (not yet approved.) This is the follow-up to the previously law.
d) In 2009, the Envision Spokane legislation (Prop 4) arguably the worst legislation ever to grace a Spokane ballot was to be decided. Chris Marr as completely AWOL. He is a citizen of the City of Spokane and a public leader with insight into legislative matters. With all this knowledge and experience, MARR WAS SILENT. Pro or con his leadership was null and void when it mattered.
e) As the Senate Majority Whip, Marr could have used his position to stop the run-away spending by the Senate. Yet here we are again with a multi billion-dollar budget deficit.
f) There’s a great deal more but time is a short…
Not only is Marr not part of the solution to leadership in the 6th district he is causing more problems. I’m looking forward to voting Marr our and sending this political pustule back to life as a private citizen. I’m sick and tired of our 6th district senator being the party doll of single-issue lobbyist. (According to the Public Disclosure Commission, Marr already has over $140K in his 2010 campaign piggy bank. Most of the money is derived well outside of the very district he was elected to represent. Who do you think Marr listens to; the people who give him money or the voters in the 6th district? This explains his above-mentioned sub par performance…
Well the town hall this morning turned out to be totally civil and surprisingly informative.
Outside a 7th grader who asked about water quality issues, young people were *DESPERATELY ABSENT* from the audience. There was one GU student who was doing research for a class project, and one Eastern student who was concerned about tuition hikes. Other than that, nada. There were about 90 people in the audience all together.
Some suspected that the afternoon session would be more impassioned due to people joining in from Kevin Parker’s session getting out earlier in the day.
Local media (save Hank and his blog plus someone shooting video) were conspicuously absent.