Should Washington lawmakers get a raise?

Plus PDC vs. Let's Go Washington and some recommended listening.

Every election season, some beaming face on TV or on a glossy mailer declares they’re fighting for you in Olympia. Now state lawmakers are saying they need one simple favor in return: A raise.

That idea may be as popular as parallel parking or Smell-O-Vision with the average voter who cuts those checks. Nevertheless, state lawmakers past and present ran the prickly topic by the Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials on Wednesday.

The discussion drew sympathetic ears from the 17-member body,¹ whose mix of unpaid appointees and concerned citizens have set the pay rates for about 500 electeds since 1986 under a voter-led initiative. The non-partisan commission sets the salaries for the Supremes, the state attorney general, and the governor. It’s anything but a scientific process when gauging job performance in political office is, well, political.

Tacoma Democratic state Sen. Yasmin Trudeau was among the lawmakers who testified about the challenges of lawmaking on such low pay. (Photo by Tim Gruver.)