This afternoon, in its first meeting of 2016, the Metropolitan King County Council acted to fill two vacancies in the Washington State Legislature, both resulting from Jeanne Kohl-Welles’ move from the Senate to the King County Council.
By a vote of nine to zero, the Council first appointed State Representative Reuven Carlyle (D‑36th District: Ballard, Greenwood, Queen Anne) to take Kohl-Welles’ place in the Senate, and then unanimously appointed Noel Frame to take the place of Carlyle in the Washington State House of Representatives.
Reuven Carlyle taking oath of office
Carlyle and Frame were among three nominees put forward by the Democratic Party to fill each vacancy. Each was the respective top choice of the Democratic PCOs in the 36th, and they were expected to be chosen by the Council.
Carlyle and Frame were invited to give remarks and then sworn in to their new positions immediately following the votes. Each will need to report for work in Olympia within a hundred hours. As required by the Washington State Constitution, the 2016 legislative session is scheduled to begin this coming Monday, January 11th. It will be a short session, lasting up to sixty days in duration.
It is common for vacancies in the Senate to be filled by members of the House from the same district. It’s happened many, many times over the years.
Sharon Nelson, David Frockt, Cyrus Habib, Maralyn Chase, Bob Hasegawa, and Dean Takko are among the members of the Senate Democratic caucus who used to serve in the House, but moved to the Senate when a position came open. When such transitions occur, they open up positions in the House for aspiring new leaders.
Noel Frame after taking oath of office
We at NPI extend our congratulations to Reuven Carlyle and Noel Frame on their new roles (and to Noel, welcome to public service!) We’re confident they will do their best to facilitate a more robust discussion about the need for structural tax reform and full compliance with the Supreme Court’s McCleary orders.
2 Comments
Good post, sometimes, constituents don’t even notice when they move up. They just see the name they are familiar with and vote accordingly.
Best wishes, Noel! Do good things!