For the past six years, AWC has recognized individuals who go above and beyond for cities during the legislative session. This year we are celebrating four legislators as City Champions and five city officials as Advocacy All-Stars.

Without the commitment and dedication shown by these city supporters, some of our most important accomplishments wouldn’t have materialized.

City Champion Award winners supported affordable housing, local funding and local decision-making

As the new Chair of the House Local Government Committee, Representative Gerry Pollet (D–Seattle) quickly took on a leadership role for city issues in the House. Representative Pollet spearheaded an effort among House members to support the principles of local decision-making, options, and flexibility. He was a critical voice in recognizing the efforts cities have already taken to address housing issues, and the need for tools and incentives instead of micromanagement.

Representative Keith Goehner (R–Dryden), a new member of the House, quickly stepped up to serve as his caucus’ point person for the Local Government Caucus, a bi-partisan group of House members who support city issues. With a background as a county commissioner, Rep. Goehner was an important voice for the needs of local government and a strong advocate for local decision-making authority and local funding.

Senator David Frockt (D–Seattle) was a key leader on several proposals that were critical to the success cities had in the 2019 session. He played a key role in building Senate support for new funding for affordable housing and was a prime sponsor of legislation providing dedicated stormwater funding to local governments. Sen. Frockt was also a key supporter of funding for local culvert corrections and infrastructure.

City Champion Senator Hans Zeiger (R–Puyallup) was perhaps the most vocal proponent of local decision-making this session. He advocated strongly for local flexibility and incentives for housing issues. AWC appreciates his willingness to expand his traditional areas of interest, including supporting new fee revenue for cities to address affordability and new protections for tenants.

Advocacy All-Star Award winners lead the way in affordable housing, homelessness, and public safety

Mayor Mike Cooney of Chelan came across the mountains several times to advocate for funding and tools to address affordable housing challenges. His common-sense delivery made the Legislature sit up and listen. His advocacy extended to testifying on multiple bills, including proposals to create new tools for smaller cities to incentivize affordable housing construction.

With short notice, Mayor Cheryl Selby of Olympia stepped up to present to the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee on the difficult subject of protecting the civil rights of homeless individuals while addressing the impacts of homelessness on the community. Her willingness to step into the crosshairs on this emotional issue helped provide balance and context where some had tried to paint cities as bad actors.

Jay Arnold, Deputy Mayor of Kirkland was a fixture in Olympia in the 2019 session, helping legislators understand how new resources and tools could be used by cities to be positive partners in addressing housing and homelessness. He led Kirkland’s efforts to provide enhanced flexibility and authority for cities to use existing tax resources to address contemporary problems.

Police Chief Mike Zaro of Lakewood responded swiftly to AWC’s need for help in providing testimony on the use of automated traffic cameras. Chief Zaro provided measured and insightful testimony, ensuring that legislators heard directly about the cameras’ tangible public safety benefits.

The Association of Washington City Planning Directors receives an Advocacy All-Star Award for its members’ consistent work reviewing and commenting on dozens of drafts of complicated bills that attempted to micromanage local land use decisions around affordable housing. With concrete examples on what would and would not work for cities, the planning directors helped avoid unfunded mandates and local preemption, while supporting the creation of voluntary and incentive-based approaches to addressing housing supply.

AWC congratulates all our award winners and thanks them for their hard work supporting cities during the 2019 legislative session!

Kicking-off 2020 with year-round advocacy

AWC’s Annual Conference will mark the kick-off of cities’ agenda-setting process for 2020, when the Legislative Priorities Committee will begin its work with a meeting during the conference. We will be looking at items that didn’t get to the finish line in 2019 as well as soliciting new issues to consider. If you have a suggestion or proposal for the Committee to consider, please share it with us by emailing it Candice Bock.

AWC’s Annual Conference will also mark the kick-off of our focus on Year-Round Advocacy. Join us for a pre-conference Advocacy Academy session Wednesday morning and the Advocacy – A year-round job session on Friday morning. Can’t make it to the Annual Conference? Revisit AWC’s Pocket Guide for some tips and inspiration.

Legislative advocacy isn’t just about the legislative session. Advocacy is a year-round effort. The next few months are the best time for your city to build stronger relationships with your local legislators. This is the best time to share your city’s story, talk about your city’s challenges and identify your legislative asks.

Building relationships now and talking with your local legislators during the interim will make for better results in the 2020 session.