Take 57 Seconds to learn more about how Washington is supporting survivors of sexual assault. A big thanks to my colleague, Sen. Joe Fain for producing this concise and informative video!
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Tag Archives: Clark County
The task force on education funding met in Olympia today. Work continues through the legislative interim as we prepare to for the 2017 session. Documents from meeting can be found here.
Some great things have happened since my colleagues and I reached a no-new-taxes bipartisan budget update and adjourned for 2016. My fourth-grade friends from Captain Strong Elementary School in Battle Ground visited our state Capitol and my bill that makes our communities and law enforcement officers safer was signed by the governor.
Read more here!
It was 2011, and Clark County detective Jason Granneman was fed up. As a law-enforcement officer he came into daily contact with individuals who were serving the remainder of their sentences in the community, instead of behind bars, sometimes for months or even years. Officially they are in “community corrections” status; however, because they are under the sole supervision of the state Department of Corrections, Granneman and his law-enforcement colleagues refer to them as “DOC active.”
Granneman was fed up because state law prohibited him from detaining, searching or arresting DOC-active persons. It didn’t matter if they violated the signed agreement setting the terms of their community release, which could mean staying away from certain places or certain people or avoiding alcohol or other conditions, depending on the case. Even alerting DOC that someone under its supervision wasn’t upholding his or her signed accountability agreement resulted in limited action.
Spurred by the memory of the four Lakewood police officers who were murdered in November 2009 by an individual under community-corrections supervision, Granneman came to a realization: if someone was going to make a change, it would have to be him.
Taking his idea to the Capitol, Granneman immediately met unexpectedly fierce resistance from DOC, as well as many legislators. Looking back, he admits the first draft of the policy change he proposed was too broad.
The idea was shelved until, in 2015, Granneman met with his neighbor Sen. Ann Rivers and explained how the hands-off approach to DOC-active persons was creating not only a public-safety hazard, but also putting law-enforcement officers at greater risk. They began to work together on a more focused solution and a strategy for securing legislative approval.
“The state had put the public’s first line of defense directly in harm’s way. Jason and other officers were encountering DOC-active folks every day but lacked the tools to appropriately deal with those who had gotten out of line. This is the kind of public-safety issue that makes my job in Olympia truly meaningful, so I got on board immediately with what he wanted to achieve,” said Rivers, R-La Center. “It seemed like a no-brainer to simply allow law enforcement officers to partner with their DOC counterparts and make sure people follow the rules while serving out their sentences.”
Despite the new collaboration between senator and sheriff’s deputy, the updated policy proposal was once again greeted with contention from DOC.
Unwilling to back down, Rivers got Granneman, key lawmakers and representatives of DOC and the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs together in a room and began hammering out a solution acceptable to all sides.
Granneman describes the end result as “a game changer” – Senate Bill 6459, which was filed by Rivers and won overwhelming legislative approval in early March. Signed April 1 by Gov. Jay Inslee, the new law allows a law-enforcement officer to notify DOC when persons under community-corrections supervision violate the terms of their release. Additionally, law enforcement is now permitted to detain, search and make arrests on new crimes when committed by a DOC-active individual.
“It was a challenge to reach an agreement that brought everyone on board, but the final product will be a force-multiplier for the entire state of Washington,” Granneman said. “Now law enforcement has shared authority with DOC and the benefit is going to be huge. This will mean more safety for communities and for the officers who run across people who are serving community corrections, because it holds those offenders accountable.
“My peers and I appreciate Senator Rivers’ willingness to take on this issue,” Granneman added. “Without her tenacity it would have remained just an idea.”
PHOTO CAPTION: Jason Granneman (on Gov. Inslee’s left) and members of Clark County’s law enforcement community join Sen. Rivers at a ceremonial bill signing Monday.
By Sen. Ann Rivers
Sometimes, despite a person’s demeanor and education, she or he just isn’t the right fit for a job.
Our state Senate majority recently decided against confirming Lynn Peterson as state transportation secretary. There was overwhelming evidence to support our vote, which ended her tenure at the Washington State Department of Transportation.
Questions about Peterson began when Gov. Jay Inslee plucked her from Oregon, where she was ex-Gov. John Kitzhaber’s “sustainable communities and transportation” adviser. Was she ready to lead WSDOT as her first agency-management job?
Folks who have experienced WSDOT failures firsthand cheered the Senate’s Feb. 5 decision. I’ve repeatedly read the comment “About time!”
After Peterson’s ouster, however, her history at WSDOT was shamelessly rewritten by others. Yes, she inherited a number of challenges, like the Seattle tunnel, but what about how she single-handedly poisoned that project’s already tense atmosphere by fumbling an issue involving minority-owned contractors? So badly that a Seattle minority leader demanded her firing?
Or the sex offender employed by the state ferry system despite multiple complaints from passengers?
Or the eyebrow-raising $500,000 she authorized to settle a sexual harassment suit against the agency?
It would take this entire column to list every project failure and management misstep from Peterson’s time in charge (many are collected on my legislative Web page.)
The vocal criticism from Inslee and Democrat legislators amounts to a vigorous defense of Peterson’s mediocre management. Their claim that our decision was unexpected is weak, given that the Senate Transportation Committee chair wrote nearly a dozen letters since 2013 detailing his concerns.
The Columbian has been critical too, and unfortunately, I helped make that possible. From all the comments I made in a lengthy interview, the one chosen for print was an off-target quip about Peterson’s demeanor and profile. I should have simply said: “Sometimes, despite a person’s demeanor and education, she or he just isn’t the right fit for a job.”
Although I quickly posted a clarification of that remark, it keeps appearing. Such is life for an elected official: Sometimes I have to take my medicine whether I like it or not. That means “owning” my words, just like owning the decision the Senate made.
The Columbian has echoed Inslee’s angry accusation that election-year politics prompted the Peterson vote. I was in the room when our caucus decided against confirming Peterson and can tell Clark County residents that not every vote in Olympia is political. Some votes simply acknowledge things aren’t working, and things really weren’t working at WSDOT. The Columbian seems bent on defending someone whose state-agency experience amounted to five years as a level-1 engineer in Wisconsin 20 years before Inslee came knocking — and wouldn’t even become a Washington resident!
WSDOT did quickly replace the Skagit River Bridge in 2013 and responded admirably to 2014’s Oso landslide tragedy. I’d say the agency’s regional offices and road-shop employees warrant more credit than Peterson, though. Either way, if those are all Peterson’s supporters can point to, it’s underwhelming.
People are tired of politics, but they are also tired of feeling like there are no consequences when nothing changes. I have to own my off-target quote about Peterson and defend my voting record. Rather than repeat Seattle’s political-conspiracy theories, The Columbian ought to ask whether Peterson had a record worth defending, and if she didn’t own WSDOT’s management failures, who does?
Champions of “good enough” government can continue beating their drum. If I have to sometimes take my medicine, I will. We’ll probably be waiting a long time for our critics to do the same.
Original article, published Feb. 21, 2016, can be found at https://www.columbian.com/news/2016/feb/21/rivers-plenty-of-evidence-to-back-refusal-to-confirm-peterson/
Leadership at Battle Ground’s longtime emergency-food provider, the North County Community Food Bank, voted during their September board meeting to have Sen. Ann Rivers join their board of directors.
“The food bank is truly an example of neighbors helping neighbors. I have worked with NCCFB for years and it will be an honor to partner with them in this new role,” said Rivers, R-La Center.
When the food bank opened in the early 1980s it served 48 families per month. That number has grown to over 700 local families – more than 9,000 individuals – each month. The majority of those assisted are children; seniors living in poverty make up another 20 percent of the population the food bank serves.
“The entire board is excited to have Ann join us in our mission of helping those in need throughout North Clark County,” said executive director for the food bank, Elizabeth Cerveny.
In addition to providing families and individuals with food, resources and referrals to other social services, NCCFB also offers healthy cooking classes, healthy pantry and recipe tasting and a variety of educational curriculum that can provide individuals living in poverty with means to shop and save on a budget, cook nutritious meals at home for themselves or their families. The NCCFB is located at 17 NE 3rd Ave. in Battle Ground.
“I challenge anyone who hasn’t volunteered at their local food bank, to do so. Not only will you be a blessing to those living in need in your community, I promise you will be blessed as well,” said Rivers.
Photo from 2012 when Clark County Sheriff K-9 Saver and Deputy Brian Ellithorpe testified in Olympia on my legislation.
A Vancouver police dog who was in the midst of helping police apprehend a suspect died this week after being stabbed multiple times.
The dog, Ike, was assisting police when suspect Jacky Chan Karuo allegedly stabbed the animal.
On Wednesday, Karuo was in Clark County Superior Court facing charges of first-degree criminal impersonation and harming a police dog. Harming a police dog is a class C felony with a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The court can also impose a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for killing a police dog.
There’s a reason a stiff penalty comes with killing a police dog – beyond simply punishing someone for a cruel act.
It’s expensive to train police dogs and its taxpayers foot the bill.
In 2012, Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, inspired by the stabbing death of a Clark County Sheriff’s tracking dog, championed a measure to create a $5,000 penalty for harming a police dog and a $10,000 for killing one.
“I was named legislator of the year on that,” Rivers said, calling police K-9s “amazing creatures.”
By the time the animals are trained, she said, the tab can be as much as $60,000 for a K-9.
“So when the animal is lost in the course of doing its duty, it’s not only devastating to the handler but to the taxpayers as well,” Rivers said.
The law also prevents a convicted criminal from suing if they are in injured by the dog while being apprehended.
It “moves police dogs from the vicious animals classification, preventing frivolous lawsuits from criminals, who have nothing but time in jail to figure out how to get money out of the state,” Rivers said on the House floor while advocating for the bill.
Many people will be unable to pay the fine, Rivers noted.
“They may never be able to pay the money back, but if they have the means to pay, they will have to pay,” she said.
Washougal Mayor Sean Guard is working to raise money to purchase a new police dog.
Donations should be made to “Vancouver Police Department K-9 Unit,” and Guard is asking that they be mailed to Metropolitan Productions, the company for which Guard serves as president and chief operating officer. The address is: 3644 S St., Washougal, WA 98671.
UPDATE: Kim Kapp, spokeswoman for Vancouver Police Department, said the department will be acquiring a new K-9 in the wake of Ike’s death. Any money donated will help support costs associated from having dogs on the police force.
Posted on September 4, 2015
To read the original article: https://blogs.columbian.com/political-beat/2015/09/04/kill-a-k-9-and-you-could-do-more-than-serve-time/
When the 2015 legislative session convenes in January, Sen. Ann Rivers’ list of Senate-committee assignments will climb to four: Early Learning and K-12 Education, Rules, Health Care and Transportation.
“I’m so honored that my colleagues have entrusted me with such important committee assignments,” said Rivers, R-La Center. “This will put me front and center on the biggest issues facing Washington residents and my neighbors.
“Southwest Washington’s transportation needs are even more significant now than they were when I served on the transportation committee in the House of Representatives. I asked to be appointed to the Senate Transportation Committee to make sure there is a constructive voice speaking for Clark County,” said Rivers.
Serving on the Senate Health Care Committee also will be a new experience for Rivers, although she is already accomplished at working on health-care issues as a lawmaker.
“Last session my grace-period bill, Senate Bill 6016, was seen as key legislation by physicians around Washington. The passage of the Affordable Care Act and development of the health-care exchange in our state has presented lawmakers with a unique set of challenges. I want to make sure that the real people who are affected by these sweeping reforms are taken care of. Being a member of this committee will put me in the perfect place to do just that,” said Rivers.
Rivers has been a member of the Early Leaning and K-12 Education and Rules Committees for two years, and will retain those assignments.
The upcoming legislative session will begin Jan. 12 and is scheduled to last 105 days.