The Issues

Washington political handicappers are being tested in suburban West Pierce County, home to one of 2020’s tightest legislative races. Sen. Steve O’Ban, R-Tacoma, has met his match in T’wina Nobles, a Fircrest Democrat, to retain the 28th District Senate seat he’s held since 2013 and Republicans have locked down for decades.  Nobles edged O’Ban by … READ MORE

By Laurel Demkovich laureld@spokesman.com(509) 416-6260 When the COVID-19 pandemic forced everyone to stay at home in March, former state Rep. Kristine Reeves knew her campaign would change in ways many other candidates’ wouldn’t. Reeves, who has two young children, now had to balance campaigning for a seat in Congress and figuring out how to home school her … READ MORE

University Place – State Representative Mari Leavitt, D-University Place, will join the National Conference of State Legislators’s Task Force on Military and Veterans Affairs. The task force brings together a bipartisan coalition of state legislators from across the country to work on issues affecting military families, communities, and veterans.

A little over two years after a tragic Amtrak accident across I-5 that took three lives in DuPont, State Representatives Mari Leavitt and Christine Kilduff are partnering with US Representative Denny Heck to push for rail safety improvements on Amtrak trains at the state and federal level. US Representative Heck introduced HR 6066, the Passenger … READ MORE

At the very end of a long four days of floor debate, Rep. Mari Leavitt, D-University Place, passed her bill to fund cost of living adjustments for retired employees in the PERS 1/TRS 1 system. House Bill 1390 provides a one-time 3 percent increase to the retirement benefits of former teachers, corrections officers, social workers, … READ MORE