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Saturday, Nov 21, 2009
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Sen. Ed Murray to hold Town Hall meeting March 29
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| Sen. Ed Murray to hold Town Hall meeting March 29 | ||
| by Mike Andrew -
SGN Staff Writer Sen. Ed Murray (D-43) will meet with constituents in a Town Hall meeting at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 29. The event will be held at Hamilton International Middle School Auditorium, 4400 Interlake Avenue N. In an exclusive interview with SGN, Murray previewed his presentation. "The main things I'm going to be bringing are the economic crisis and the state's budget deficit," he said, "but we'll open it up for people to comment on whatever they're concerned, or happy, or angry about." Murray's 43rd District colleagues, House Speaker Frank Chopp (D) and Rep. Jamie Pedersen (D), held a similar event this past Saturday. However Murray decided not to participate. "It was the day of our St Patrick's Day parade," he explained. "I'm very involved in the Irish American community and it was our day. I have to say I was disappointed, though, to see there was no Gay contingent, as there has been in the past." "The other reason, to tell you the truth," Murray continued, "was that I wanted to delay it till the latest numbers on the budget cuts were out there. I thought that would be important, and interesting for people to hear about." Murray predicted that constituents would be taken aback by the scope of the state's budget problems and the size of anticipated cuts. "People will gasp," he said. "If there are any surprises at all coming out of this session it will be the cuts we will have to do," Murray told SGN. "Even if we were able to raise taxes, those of us who want to raise taxes, people will be surprised by how much we need to cut." "Just to give you an idea, once we see the latest numbers, the total budget shortfall may be as much as $9 billion. That's 25% of the state budget," he explained. Murray declined to speculate about what state programs might be at risk. "There's always an attempt at fairness," he said, "but we face very hard policy choices about what goes and what stays. The size of the problem is so big it will take awhile to figure that out." Murray was prime sponsor of the "everything but marriage" domestic partnership bill on the Senate side of the legislature, where it passed by a lopsided vote of 30-18. It is also expected to pass the state House of Representatives, where 57 members have signed on as co-sponsors. Gov. Gregoire, who has been a vocal supporter of the LGBT community, has promised to sign the bill into law. Right wing forces have hinted they will introduce a ballot measure to overturn the legislation. "I can't say too much about that in a state building on a state phone, but yes, you can't ignore the possibility of a referendum," Murray told SGN. "I know members of the community are actively planning and organizing to deal with that possibility." "I'm optimistic," Murray says. "Polling shows good support for domestic partnerships. I think we can win an initiative battle if we run the right campaign. I mean a positive campaign that focuses on our relationships, and not something that attacks the other side." Murray also offered some insight on the legislature's controversial decision not to grant the City of Seattle federal stimulus money for its Mercer Street project. It was the expectation of receiving federal money that persuaded the Seattle City Council to accept Mayor Greg Nickels' Mercer Street plan. "There were conditions on the use of the money," Murray told SGN. "First, that the projects are ready to go. Then, the Mercer project, which is where Seattle wanted the money to go, is a local road, not a state road. The state wants to put money into state roads." "But there's an even more important reason," Murray continued. "The state has already committed $2.4 billion to the viaduct project. And that's when we don't have full funding for 520 and other roads. Seattle should be appreciative of what they've gotten from the state." |
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