Published December 17, 2012
UPDATE 2 - Gridlock? Senate Democrats resist GOP’s ‘coalition’ takeover
Brad ShannonA serious backup at the state Senate may await legislators returning to the Capitolin January. Senate Democrats are not yet willing to give in to the power claims of 23 Republicans and two defecting Democrats led by Sen. Rodney Tom of Medina. This means the Senate faces a very real chance of floor fights the first day of session, scheduled Jan. 14, over who is charge. Not to mention the other ongoing confusion beforehand - such as not having room assignments - until the leadership is sorted out. Rachel LaCorte of The Associated Press has the early story, as follows here:
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Democratic Sen. Ed Murray says he's not ceding his leadership position until members of a new Republican-majority caucus move to change the rules on the Senate floor to put someone else in charge.
In a letter sent Monday to Sen. Rodney Tom, Murray wrote that in order to redefine a majority caucus, the Senate's 23 Republicans and the two Democrats joining them, including Tom, must vote to change the permanent rules of the Senate and its governance structure when the legislative session begins next month.
Murray wrote that Lt. Gov. Brad Owen has said he will continue to recognize the Democratic caucus as the majority caucus of the Senate until that happens.
"Under the current and past Senate rules, and longstanding past interpretations of those rules, the majority caucus is defined as the party containing the most elected members, which currently remains the Democratic caucus," Murray wrote.
"As such, the majority leader is elected by the Democratic Caucus under the provisions of our own caucus rules."
Last month, Senate Democrats elected Murray as their majority leader. But last week, Tom, a Democrat from Medina, and fellow Democrat, Tim Sheldon of Potlatch, announced they would work with Republicans under a newly formed caucus called the "majority coalition" caucus and that Tom would be the new majority leader.
Democrats have a small majority in the Senate, controlling 26 of 49 seats.
With the moves by Tom and Sheldon, Republicans effectively hold a 25-24 advantage.
Under the proposed plan by the caucus to be led by Tom, Republicans will chair six committees, including the panel that controls the state budget, while Democrats will control another six committees. The parties will split control of three other panels, though Sheldon is on two of those committees.
Murray's letter was in response to a letter Tom sent him on Friday asking him to appoint senators to the committees the majority coalition caucus offered Democrats to lead. Tom also said he wanted the Facilities and Operations Committee to be reorganized soon. That committee, which oversees personnel issues, would need to be reorganized, Tom said, to determine office locations and other issues.
However, it also is the committee that imposed sanctions on Republican Sen. Pam Roach, who was kicked out of her caucus two years ago because of accusations of mistreating staff. She was allowed back in earlier this year when Republicans built a similar coalition to take over the budget process, but she is still currently barred from interacting with most Senate staff.
Tom has said that Roach, who has been named chairwoman of the Senate Government Operations, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee under the new plan, would have those sanctions against her lifted, even though they were recently reaffirmed under a legal settlement announced in September.
In a written response to Murray on Monday, Tom wrote the new coalition would take steps on the first day of session to establish themselves as the majority caucus.
"We believe it would be best for the institution and by extension, the people of Washington, if the current majority would accommodate our incoming majority in the various ways that will enable the Senate to be fully functioning on January 14," Tom wrote. "The alternative would be to risk the very chaos you have publicly warned might accompany a change in the Senate majority. Surely, no one wants that."
Democrats are meeting in SeaTac today and it's possible that the current-majority-that-soon-may-be-the-minority-caucus will sort out the next steps.
UPDATE on original 3:04 p.m. post: Senate Democrats are offering to jointly run the Senate in January with Republicans, including co-chairs of committees and co-leadership roles. Here is a statement put out by Sen. Murray, Democrats’ leader, after a meeting of the Senate Democratic Caucus in SeaTac this afternoon:
“Last week the Republicans announced their proposal for organizing the Senate based on the principles of bipartisanship and power-sharing. Today, Senate Democrats offer a counterproposal that we believe better upholds these important principles.
“It is clear to us that the Senate is in a virtual tie and that the organizational structure should reflect this. We propose a structure of co-leadership and co-chairs of all committees. We would support Republicans and they would support us in a true bipartisan arrangement with true sharing of power and responsibilities.
“Many of us on both sides of the aisle have worked together over the years. We’ve made deals and have reached compromises. I’m confident that we can work together again in ways that could stabilize the Senate, and eliminate the possibility of the 25th vote hijacking the process on any given issue.
“As we did when we released our initial proposed Senate structure last month, we again invite dialogue with the Republicans to work out the details together on terms that are negotiated rather than dictated. We look forward to reaching a mutual agreement and moving forward."
No word yet from Republicans, but it brings up shades of 1999-2001 when the House was split 49-49 between the parties and Co-Speakers Clyde Ballard (Wenatchee Republican) and Frank Chopp (Seattle Democrat) co-presided. Both parties had to agree to bring bills to the floor, and it was often a tense process - and awkwardly symbolized by a two-handed gavel someone made for the leadership.
UPDATE 2: Senate Republicans and their coalition leaders, Democratic Sen. Tom and Republican Sen. Mark Schoesler, say their statement on the Democrats’ response is here.
In a nutshell, they says their bloc of 23 Republicans and two dissident Democrats plans to run the Senate as a majority and that there is precedent for the outgoing majority to accommodate the incoming group.
Here is a key paragraph that helps set up the coming dispute between the two parties over who is to blame if things get chaotic on Jan. 14:
“This is the time to put the people of Washington first rather than focus on politics. While we recognize Senate Democrats are technically in charge until the legislative session opens Jan. 14, there is a long-standing tradition that has the outgoing majority accommodate the new majority so a transition can get under way in the weeks before a session begins. It is our hope that the current majority will cooperate with us to ensure a smooth handoff of leadership and allow the Senate to tackle the many pressing needs of our state from day one of the 2013 session.”