Tight security but few incidents surround opening of 2021 Legislature
Washington state’s elected legislators met masked in a fortified Capitol building in Olympia on Monday to kick off the 2021 legislative session.
The environment reflected the convergence of challenges they’ll face while crafting laws this year.
“In these hard times, hope is on the horizon,” said Rep. Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, in a speech after her official re-election as Speaker of the House.
“Hope because of vaccines, hope because public health workers never rest, hope because people are wearing masks, social distancing, and applying innovation to every single thing they do. Hope because our representative democracy was put to the test of sedition last week and resisted it, showing our weakness but, more importantly, our strength.”
Less than a week after dozens of pro-President Trump protesters breached the gates to the Governor’s Mansion nearby, hundreds of National Guard members, Washington State Patrol troopers, and other law enforcement officers ushered lawmakers in vehicles and on foot through secured gates in fencing that surrounded much of the Capitol Campus Monday.
Those allowed inside the Legislative Building went through temperature and symptom screening for COVID-19. Black KN95 masks distributed at the screening tables appeared on the faces of most legislators, staff, and a limited number of news media.
Much of the standard pomp and circumstance during opening ceremonies was absent. To maintain proper distance, some members sat in areas away from the chamber floors, including the wings off the floor and galleries usually open to the public.
“While it’ll be a struggle getting through today and the rest of session, we’re gonna do it,” said House Majority Leader Rep. Pat Sullivan that morning. “People are counting on us to pass budgets and laws that help them in their daily life as they’re struggling, too.”
Legislators voted in waves to allow for adequate distancing in the House. Members of the Senate walked to a microphone at the back of the chamber to cast their votes, maintaining social distancing.
Many lamented the need for the type of security surrounding the session’s start.
“It’s a sad day for our country, isn’t it, where you have to have that kind of security around the people who were elected to represent you,” Democratic Sen. Patty Kuderer said. “Unfortunately, we live in troubling times and I do believe we’re going to get through it, but it’s going to take a lot of time and a lot of effort.”
Legislators met in-person in part to pass temporary rules that will allow them to conduct the rest of the 105-day session remotely. Sullivan emphasized the safety of members, staff, and their families Monday while introducing the rules. He said remote testimony will allow for the public to engage.
Some Republican lawmakers, in chambers where Democrats hold strong majorities, raised issues about the plan, standing in opposition and commenting on issues with access, fairness and transparency.
“I think we’re plenty safe,” Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, said in a brief interview Monday morning. “I have concerns about the transparency and access. I’m a little disappointed we can’t find a way to allow the public into the Capitol building. That seems appropriate, seems like we ought to be able to do it safely.”
Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, spoke about his own battle with COVID-19. He said he went from being in good shape to being in an ambulance to the hospital within two days. He understands the virus, he said, but he also voiced concern that not everyone would have adequate Internet access to keep tabs on the Legislature.
Rep. J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm, who was re-elected House Minority Leader, talked about some of his party’s priorities while delivering his remarks, speaking on a need for immediate action to relieve the burden placed on people by COVID-19 and restrictions in place because of it.
“It’s not just about the policies here, it’s about figuring out how to rebuild trust,” Wilcox said. “How to be better than we’ve been. How to reject name-calling, shaming, all of the empty things that have been tried and tried and tried for the last several years.
“It’s time to recognize that there’s one thing that each one of us have control over. And that’s the example that we project to people clear across the state. And there could be no more important time to do that.”
Outside the building, at least two people were arrested Monday. The Washington State Patrol said one was a woman who used a recreational vehicle to block a roadway and refused to comply with orders to move.
Later, about 20 people gathered outside security fencing near the Capitol, including a man who tried to walk past authorities as lawmakers were to begin their session. He was taken into custody after shouting “I have every right to witness this.”
The State Patrol, which oversees security of the Capitol Campus, said there would be a robust police presence to ensure the safety of lawmakers, staff and journalists. Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, activated 750 National Guard members last week to help maintain order.
A small group of protesters gathered in the morning, shouting that they should be let into the Capitol to observe lawmakers’ work. Some of the protesters were armed.
Among them was Katie Bauer, of Vancouver, wielding an American flag umbrella against the rain. She said she was tired and frustrated with the lockdown and wanted to get back to her job in the travel industry.
“I want the legislators to come stand with us, I want them to hear us, I want them to know they work for us,” she said.
Bauer said it was wrong to keep the public out as the Legislature met and that the proceedings being streamed online brought her little comfort.
“I’ve been in that building many times. I want to keep going in that building. It’s my building.”
Associated Press reporters Rachel La Corte and Gene Johnson and The Olympian’s Rolf Boone contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 11, 2021 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Tight security but few incidents surround opening of 2021 Legislature."
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