Hello,
This is a quick note to let you know this will be my final e-newsletter until after the November general election is certified. That’s because legislators who are up for re-election — which includes me — are subject to certain limits on official communications, and those limits are now right around the corner.
In case you didn’t receive our report on the 2020 session (and the state’s COVID-19 response) click here!
I’ve mentioned before how I am your senator all the time, not just when the Legislature is in session, and for that reason my two-way communications with constituents are exempt from the election-year restrictions. If you have a question or concern, please email, write or phone just like you normally would!
Be counted in the U.S. Census! The response by 18th District residents to the 2020 U.S. Census is better than much of our state — but at last report it was about 65%, and that’s still two-thirds. We can do better! You can still respond online (at census.gov). If you hadn’t responded online yet, the Census Bureau should have mailed you a questionnaire. Starting later this month, through mid-August, census takers will visit households that haven’t responded either online or through the mail.
The census is one of our nation’s oldest traditions — it’s been conducted every 10 years since 1790, and I see our participation in it as a civic duty. The federal government makes many decisions (about funding allocations, for example) based on census data, and in our state, the latest census data is essential to the redrawing of Washington’s legislative (and congressional) districts. That process is called “redistricting,” and it’s about making each of Washington’s 49 legislative districts approximately equal in population (the same goes for our state’s 10 congressional districts). A bipartisan commission will be appointed to take the 2020 data and work through most of 2021 to create a new map.
I encourage you to go online or fill out the paper form or answer the census taker’s knock at the door – whatever it takes to be counted.
Stay safe!
Sincerely,
