Crowds stream onto WA Capitol Campus for rallies about schools, rent caps and immigrant justice
Washingtonians far and wide — and from varying backgrounds — flocked to the Capitol Campus in Olympia to make their voices heard on Thursday.
Topics ranged from public education to democracy, from immigrant justice to housing. But a through-line was present: members of the public coming together to push lawmakers for change.
Here are the rally cries heard Jan. 30 at the Capitol.
Billion Dollar Bake Sale
The message of the “Billion Dollar Bake Sale” event was clear: “We need more dough for schools. And no, we won’t accept crumbs.”
Despite the dreary, cold weather, students, parents and education advocates — plus a marching band — headed to the Tivoli Fountain at the Capitol Thursday morning. Attendees highlighted that funding for K-12 education is facing a multi-billion-dollar hole, one that bake sales won’t come close to filling.
State Superintendent Chris Reykdal urged the crowd to tell lawmakers that public education in Washington needs about $4 billion.
“Tell them that education is the paramount duty, and tell them there is no salvation coming from this federal government right now,” Reykdal said. “That D.C. thinks educators and public ed is the problem. We know they’re the solution.”
Bake-sale campaign advocates also want to see smaller class sizes and social-emotional learning. They don’t want teacher pay to take a hit. Special-education services, mental health support for students, reliable transportation and nutritious food were all included in their demands, as was curriculum that includes art, music, STEM and language learning.
Parent Melissa Cunningham noted at the rally that some people who don’t have kids in public schools might ask themselves how a lack of education funding would affect them.
“I think public education is necessary for civic discourse and a functioning society,” she told McClatchy. “So I think it’s everyone’s problem and everyone’s duty.”
Volunteer Megan Fisher helped to lead and organize the bake-sale campaign. She said Seattle and other communities have grappled with closing schools, even though Washington’s Constitution states that education is the state’s “paramount duty.”
Fisher estimated that roughly 300 to 400 people were present at the start of the rally. She told McClatchy that Washington state is in a unique position to protect education as a basic human right — as a “foundation for democracy, as this is our constitutional duty.”
“We have to remind our legislators that this is their No. 1 priority,” Fisher said. “They have to take this seriously, and students deserve a bigger piece of the pie.”
Republican Rally for Democracy
The Pierce County Republican Party led a “Rally for Democracy” at the Legislative Building starting Thursday at noon. The rally comes in response to a controversial rules change by House Democrats last Friday that lowered the vote margin needed to end a filibuster from a two-thirds vote to a simple majority.
Jennifer Healy is the Republican committee chair for the 28th Legislative District. She described the rules change as frustrating and said Republicans feel like their voices are being suppressed.
Democrats control the governor’s office and both chambers of the state Legislature, Healy pointed out. She said it doesn’t feel equitable or democratic to “have us silenced even more than we already are.”
“When we’re not able to hear dissenting voices, that’s when tyranny absolutely can take over,” Healy said. “And I’m just very concerned. I’m very concerned about that.”
The Seattle Times reports that Democratic House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon noted that although the update has caused some partisan tension, the same rule already applies in the Senate without sparking similar scorn.
House Speaker Laurie Jinkins told McClatchy during a media availability Wednesday that her caucus wants to see robust debates happen on the floor. This rules change is meant to address “debates that go way past a robust debate into filibustering.” The majority, she said, should be able to close filibusters down.
“My hope is that it will actually help us have even better robust debate, where people are focused on the points they want to make — not being repetitive or redundant — but making their good policy arguments about why they love a policy or really think it’s a bad one,” Jinkins said.
Washington State Republican Party Chairman Jim Walsh was present at Thursday’s gathering. He told McClatchy that the House Democrats’ move was “shady” and runs afoul of the spirit of open discussion. Free, detailed and lengthy debate is crucial for transparency and education, he said.
Walsh said he’ll sometimes get approached by people in public who reference part of a debate that they saw. You never know which portion of an hours-long debate will resonate, he said.
“We need to draw attention to this restricting debate. It’s really, really bad,” Walsh said. “You know, it’s ironic that the Democrat caucus is doing this because I believe this is anti-democratic.”
Immigrant Justice Rally
The annual advocacy day for the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network was scheduled for Thursday. A march to the Capitol began at 1:30 p.m. with a rally to follow at 2 p.m.
Officials including state Sen. Rebecca Saldaña, state Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self and Olympia Mayor Pro Tem Yến Huỳnh were slated to headline. Other immigrant-justice leaders and advocates will share what it’s like without access to unemployment insurance and health care.
Brenda Rodríguez López, executive director of the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, told attendees that the new federal administration has “declared a war on immigrant communities,” ramping up of mass deportations.
“Asylum seekers, people fleeing unimaginable violence, are being turned away at our borders, left to suffer in dangerous conditions,” she said. “And policies like Project 2025 aim to militarize our borders, expand detention centers and strip immigrants of our basic human rights.”
State Sen. Rebecca Saldaña told the crowd that no matter one’s legal status, Washington residents deserve to be able to have wage replacement when they lose their jobs through no fault of their own. The Seattle Democrat noted that a bill she’s sponsoring, Senate Bill 5626, would help fix that for Washington workers excluded from unemployment insurance.
State Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, a Mukilteo Democrat, said the state’s Latino legislators are “taking a stand.” What is happening in the other Washington will not happen here, she said.
As a school counselor, Ortiz-Self said she’s worked with Latino families and students and seen what happens every day when it comes to accessing health care, housing and education.
Immigrants and refugees contribute much to the state, she said: They’re doctors, educators, and food and child-care providers.
“They pay taxes, they pay money, they contribute — and they deserve every single basic right that we have,” Ortiz-Self said, attracting applause. “We are not talking about status. We are talking about humanity.”
Washington Realtor Group Photo
Another event, titled “REALTOR Group Photo at the Capitol,” drew a crowd of real estate agents to the steps of the Temple of Justice at 2 p.m.
John Blom, 2025 president for Washington REALTORS, underscored the need for more housing options.
Blom told McClatchy that Washington is “at the very bottom of the country in terms of housing availability.” His organization wants to see bills passed that would boost the state’s housing supply, including some focused on lot splitting, condominium reform and detached accessory dwelling units in rural areas.
In addition, Blom said that the Washington REALTORS are opposed to the rent-control bill. Washington needs more housing, and the bill as written would make it the least desirable state on the West Coast to create and own housing, he said.
“Investors have options with where they’re going to build housing,” Blom said. “And if we are the least friendly state, we’re going to continue to struggle with not having enough supply.”
Blom’s organization understands the challenge of housing affordability.
“We just think it’s the right problem but the wrong solution,” Blom said. “So we’re glad [lawmakers are] focusing on it, but we have ideas that we think will be better for it.”
This story was originally published January 30, 2025 at 12:22 PM.
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