Shame on Senate Democrats

The collegial environment enjoyed in the state Senate appeared to have evaporated last week in Olympia. It's because Democrats, led by minority Floor Leader David Frockt, D-Seattle, tried to advance a bill after a fellow senator left the floor to nurse her son, according to an article by Erik Smith, a reporter with the Washington State Wire.

The new mom is Sen. Janéa Holmquist-Newbury, R-Moses Lake. When she took a break to nurse, it meant the Democrats had the majority and could pass a bill because the Republicans only hold majority by one vote. In those cases, the lieutenant governor, a Democrat, can cast the tie-breaking vote.

What's incredulous is that it's known among senators that Holmquist-Newbry takes breaks to nurse her son (although Frockt is claiming he didn't know), according to Smith's article.

She returned in time to cast her vote on Democrat-sponsored Senate Bill 5592 that seeks to curb spending of toll revenues from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Bill backers were trying to restrict management costs to 2 percent, according to a bill summary. The bill failed by one vote.

At the time, one of the bill's sponsors, freshman Sen. Nathan Schlicher, D-Gig Harbor, hasn't been able to successfully have any of his legislation passed, according to Smith's article. This shows the politics that were behind this underhanded maneuver

In his article, Smith reminds readers what happened in 1993 when Democratic Sen. Lisa Brown brought her 1-year-old son Lucas to work. Brown, a single mother from Spokane, wasn't able to find a baby-sitter that night in Olympia. She was told by the house chief clerk to remove her son from the floor because of a complaint from another legislator. The media picked up on the story and it gained widespread attention.

We don't hear any Democrats publicly commenting or really seeming to care about Holmquist-Newbry's situation. There doesn't seem to be much of a fire storm in the media either.

The Democrats' move was low, cowardly and opportunistic. Common courtesy and decency must return to the Senate and quite frankly, to all levels of politics.

We support Holmquist-Newbry's return to work during the demanding Legislative session, especially with having a 4-month-old baby. She joins the ranks of working moms who continued their careers after childbirth, despite the many challenges. We wish her and baby Makaio the best.

- Editorial Board