UnBolted LIVE with Suzanne Schmidt, WA's 4th Leg District Representative

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign. [00:00:23] Speaker B: Well, welcome everybody, to another edition of unbolted. I'm M.J. bolt, your host. And with us today, we have Representative Susan Suzanne Schmidt. Suzanne, thank you so much for being with us today. [00:00:34] Speaker A: Oh, and thank you, MJ for inviting me. I really appreciate the opportunity. [00:00:38] Speaker B: Yeah. Well, I'm very excited to have Suzanne on here. Representative Schmidt she's right here in the 4th district, legislative district, which is right where I live. And, and some of you may know this, but many of you may not. Suzanne and I actually ran against each other a couple years ago when Suzanne was first elected. And you know, it was a good competition and now we're good friends, which is pretty cool. So I'm really excited to have you on here and to talk about, you know, what's been going on with you and the legislative sessions and everything in Olympia. But first of all, Suzanne, I'd like to give everybody an opportunity to find out how did you get here? Like, tell us about, you know, what you did before and what led you to run because it's not a little thing to run for office and to sacrifice so much. So tell everybody a little bit about yourself and how you got to here. [00:01:33] Speaker A: Okay, so I, well, first thing I say, I was raised in Montana. I moved to Spokane Valley 28 years ago and I've lived in the same house since. So I have all, all three of my children, all boys grand graduated from U High and now my grandchildren are on track to graduate from U High as well. So pretty embedded in this community. How I really got involved in why I ran for office in the first place is I worked for Associated Builders and Contractors. I was originally hired to manage their workers comp program. So I, and I did manage that program for a long time, but I worked with the members and in, in managing their workers claims and then that really moved into, you know, working with them on unemployment claims, on overtime issues. So really just kind of a broad HR employment law representative and working with the members in those areas. So I've been doing that, been in that arena for 25 years plus. And then what really I'd say projected me into running was in. First of all, I was appointed to President CEO in 2016. And in that role, part of my job was to be a advocate for small businesses and to work with our state and local government to advocate for less regulation, less taxes and make Washington state in our cities more business friendly. So in that position, I worked with our lobbyist and I spent time in Olympia and I had, you know, part of, you know, spending time In Olympia and talking with our representatives that, that were there, especially when I was talking about employment issues, that was something that, you know, not all of them brought that skill into, into the office. So everybody that runs for office brings a different skill. I know, like, when you ran for office, you had the education and you were on the state education board. So we all have different strengths that we bring into office. So I noticed, as, you know, as part of, you know, communicating with our representatives, that I had quite a bit of experience in employment law and labor issues that was really helpful to those, you know, those representatives. So I, I knew that. And that kind of maybe stirred inside of me, like I might want to run for office because I think I have something here, you know, something that I can give, that I can bring to the office that would be really helpful for, excuse me, small businesses and for our economy and just to make our state a better place to live and work. So then Covid happened, and I know everybody had their different issues that they dealt with during COVID and I know, like, yours were more focused on education, mine was focused on. When Covid happened, the governor shut down residential and private commercial construction. He didn't shut down public works, so the union contractors were still working, public jobs were still going, but he shut down residential and, and private commercial construction. So I was on a council called IS Washington. It's the Washington Construction Industry Council. And we, we met once a week. And so we were talking, you know, like, how do we get our, our members back to work? How do we get, you know, the governor to let us bring these, these people back to work? We need them because they're, you know, they're all small businesses. They were all worried about, you know, if they were going to make it, you know, business wise. You know, I don't know if most people know this, but most small businesses, when they get started, they usually use a second mortgage on their house as a way to finance that new small business. So it's not just losing the business. You lose the house as well when the business doesn't succeed. And I had members, you know, calling me. I really probably 16 hours a day. And a lot of them were just to tell me how scared they were. I mean, really, you know, I think they just needed somebody to listen to them. So for three weeks, we did everything that we could to reach out to the governor's office. We had, you know, we reached out to his people. We, you know, sent emails, phone calls, letters, everything. And Governor Inslee chose not to respond to us. So those People were sitting out, not working. And he chose not to respond. Finally, three weeks into it, he responded by saying, well, we could, you know, I could possibly consider letting them go back to work if you can provide me with safe. So you can create this, this task force that's going to go in and create safety rules that are going to protect the workers and the job site. And you know, just very detailed. I think it was like 30 points that we had to hit every single one of them. So I worked on that with, you know, with the Construction Industry Council and, and we actually had some other industries in there as well. So, you know, helping us that we had the hospitality industry, I think the food industry because they actually are directly they related to the commercial construction because that's what commercial construction builds. It's like restaurants, banks, things like that. So if we can't build their new restaurant, they can't open it. And so it's, you know, we support each other in those, in those ways of trying to get, you know, the economy moving forward. So we worked on that for several weeks. We did finally came up with a safety plan that the governor signed off on or he, I guess he, he approved and then that was, and then as he accepted that plan, he then designated L and I to police, to enforce and to police. So we had, you know, lots of safety inspections going out people and he actually, the governor called for on public TV to ask people to report on their neighbors. So if you had some neighbor remodeling their house and there was a construction worker at their house or a company to report them to L and I so that LNI could investigate and make sure that they're following the safety rules. And so that was just, I, I couldn't believe it. I, I, you know, I just couldn't, I couldn't believe that the governor had that much control and that we were, you know, that, that people's businesses were, you know, were, were just put on hold and it just didn't, you know, I, it was, it was incredible. It just incredulous. I, you know, I don't know, incredible is a good word because that almost sounds good. But it was just, I unbelievable that he did this. So we did work through that. We got, you know, people, the construction industry back to work. We did, you know, had those 30 foot plans or point plans, excuse me. We had training classes, we updated safety programs. We were doing this all when, you know, when our office was still shut down. And I actually had, it was myself and one employee. So we were doing all of this work, you know, getting these programs together, getting them out to our people, getting them trained so that they could then get their, their construction companies back to work. So by, I'm going to say June, July, the construction industry was somewhat stabilizing. They were back, they understood the safety programs. And then it was summer and so there was less cases of COVID And then we went into the fall and there was more cases. And so then we, we had more problems. We had to go back and readdress some of the safety issues, that kind of thing. But by the end of 2020, everybody was on a pretty, you know, pretty good path. They were, they were okay. We had the PPP or the PPE loans that came from, you know, Congress that, that businesses were able to get through Small Business association that, you know, that kept them afloat. So that was all happening, working out pretty pretty well. And then we came into 2021. In 2021, we had the, the state government received a lot of COVID funds and we had businesses that were still, you know, trying to figure out how they were going to move forward. And the state of Washington decided, and I wasn't in the legislature then, I just hearing about it through the committees in the, in the groups and our lobbyists. But the legislature decided to take that as an opportunity to put in more regulations and more taxes and make it less business friendly in the state of Washington. I, I don't know. I don't know their, their thought process. I can't. But my guess is they thought, oh, oh, they survived this. They can take more. We can put more on them. [00:11:02] Speaker B: And Suzanne, you're, you're the association, is it association of Business Builders and Contractors? [00:11:08] Speaker A: It's Associated Building Associated. [00:11:11] Speaker B: So how many, how many organizations does that serve? How many businesses? [00:11:16] Speaker A: There's, I think, yeah, so when I left it was right around 2:30. I think they have about 270 now. So they have, they've. They've actually grown in membership. So that's, you know, so 230 businesses and that would be contractors, subcontractors and then of course like insurance companies and banks and you know, affiliated businesses with. [00:11:35] Speaker B: Them and pretty much all non union. Is that right? [00:11:38] Speaker A: Correct. Yes. So they're, you know, not interested. [00:11:42] Speaker B: Yeah, they're a bunch of interest there. [00:11:45] Speaker A: Yes. Yes. So, yeah, that was, yeah, it was small businesses that were, you know, on their own, not, not union. And, and not to say, because I was. I just want to say that that ABC or Associated Builders and Contractors is not ant. But we are pro. What we Call Pro Open Shop. So we believe in fair and open competition. We believe that all contractors should be able to compete, compete for work, no matter what their union affiliation is. So that's, you know, that's really the, the backbone or the foundation of Associated Builders and Contractors. But at any rate, that's what in the beginning of 2021, that was. I was just unbelievably frustrated and just taken aback. I just, I mean, again, I, I just couldn't believe this and I didn't feel like, you know, people were speaking up. But then I don't know that they had a lot of the information either, you know, because the, the media was, you know, they had the Inslee press conference every week and that was pretty much they just repeated whatever he said. So, you know, people just didn't have the information. At any rate, that was the time that I, I went to my board early 2021 and I told them that I, I felt that, you know, I really felt it was a calling. I really do. I believe it was a calling that something that I needed to do and I. That I was going to resign at the end of. Or retire at. Retire sounds better than resign that I was going to retire at the end of 2021 and kick off my campaign in 2022 to run for office. So they, they were supportive. We kept that, you know, we kept it quiet for, you know, several months just because it's. It, you know, it causes. When somebody knows that the CEO is going to leave, it usually causes some unsure feelings within the association. So we kept it quiet up until the time that I filed and. But that's, you know, that's how I got in here. That's that it was, it was really. It was a heart and a passion for small business also knowing that I had skills and abilities and knowledge based on my profess career that helped me to navigate some of the things that go on in Washington in the legislature and then also once that legislation is passed and it goes to the agencies because I had quite a bit of experience working with the agencies with L and I with ESD Employment Security Department, so DoR the Department of Revenue. So that's why I ran. I felt like I had those skills and abilities and I wanted to, I wanted to try to write the ship. [00:14:30] Speaker B: Yeah, well. And, and you heard directly from probably so many that were impacted. I mean, I would imagine that you did have customers of, of the association, you know, your association that probably didn't make it through all of that. And to come to find out that legislation was passed in 2019 that actually gave Inslee this, this extreme power to be able to do all of this during an emergency. Right. And it was stunning. I kind of went through a similar process. Not exactly the same, but it just was horrific. And you saw that, this playing out on businesses and contractors and builders left and right. I'm sure you were horrified. [00:15:11] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah. Like I said, it's hard to believe. It's like this is unbelievable really. We truly did this to, we truly allowed this and now we have a governor that's, you know, completely taking advantage of it. [00:15:24] Speaker B: So. Yeah, it's very sad. Well, and, and as I mentioned before, you ran for office in 2022. So did I. I ran for the same position you, you know, were elected you and congratulations on that. And we didn't know each other very well then, but we've gotten to know each other very well. And I know for me, and I'm, I don't want to speak for you, but I, you and I have talked enough that God works all things together for our good. Truly believe it was, you know, the way it was supposed to be. And it led me to other things. And you are doing a great job as our representative and so I totally trust in, in both of our paths. Right. And all of that. So you are now in your second term. You were elected in 2022. And so then you went to Olympia, the very first part of 2023. [00:16:14] Speaker A: Right? [00:16:15] Speaker B: Yes. [00:16:16] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:16:16] Speaker B: So talk to us a little bit about what it's been like. So now you're in that seat. So tell everybody about what your experience has been like. [00:16:24] Speaker A: Yeah, well, one thing I, you know, we, when we are in session and so that first session when I was elected in 2023 and go to Olympia, that's a four month session. And honestly I know I knew it, but I didn't know it, you know, how like you know something but it just doesn't cross quite register until it's real. And then all of a sudden I'm like, oh, I have to move to Olympia and I have to find a place to live and I'm going to be there for four months. So that was, that was quite an adjustment in itself. Just, you know, getting, getting that down and finding a house and, and moving. And I was, you know, and like you said, and I agree with you 100 MJ, I think that we're both on the path that we were supposed to be on. I think that, you know, God brought us together and that's why, you know, we've been able to work things out more and I, I feel that way too. We're such great friends. And then also when I was elected, I really feel like God just gave me favor because I was able to find a house rather easily and found in la, which is a legislative assistant that he's still with me and he's awesome. I love working with him. So all of those things fell into place. But I will say that, you know, like being elected and then going, oh, six weeks from now, I need to be in Olympia. I have to find somebody to work for me and find a place to live. So that was kind of crazy. But it all worked out. Like I said, God showed me favor and it all, it all worked out well. So, yes, going into Olympia, we are there for, you know, that time period. And we, we do live there. We do, you know, we, when we're not on the floor, we have weekends off. So I try, I, you know, try to come home every other weekend just because it's a six hour trip. It's hard. And I need to, you know, when I stay there, I do grocery shopping and, and wash clothes and all those things. But once we get on the end of the, the end of the session, when we're on floor, you know, when we're on floor activity, when we're voting on legislation, then we don't get usually days off in between or maybe one, but we don't get two in a row. So, you know, like this session from April 6 to April 29, I, I didn't come home at all. I, you know, left Olympia, I think on April 30, and, and that's when I got home. But so it is, it is a lot of work and it's a lot of hours and it's the hours. Sometimes I'd say that when we're on the floor, especially there's a lot of time that we're, you know, that we're sitting around, but we are not allowed to leave. So what they call, we're at ease. We're not adjourned. So we're at ease, which means that the speaker could come out at any minute and, you know, call us back and we all have to be back on the floor to vote or whatever, you know, whatever business she wants to do. So we, we can't leave. And so that, that's really hard. That's difficult, you know, because I think that all of us, I would say in our caucus and we have an absolutely amazing caucus, amazing people, just lots of knowledge, lots of Skills. Very gifted speakers. Very gifted speakers. So we all kind of have, you know, personalities that we want to, you know, we want to get things done, we want to get going. So it's hard for us to hurry up and wait. But that's kind of one of the stories I actually wanted to tell is that when we are on the floor and we have. When. When we have a bill and. And when we have amendments, that's one of the ways our, you know, a strategy that we, you know, that we kill time or kill the bill, we load it. So many amendments, and I'll tell you what those are in a minute. But we loaded up with so many amendments that the other side is like, we don't want to deal with this. We're just going to kill the bill. We'll see if we can bring it back later. But we don't want to deal with all these. But what the amendments are, is they're changes to the original bill. And those can be. We can add new sections, we can add a new sentence, we can add a new word, we can take out a word. But it all has to make sense. It can't be just, you know, random. Random. Yeah, it has to make sense. So that, again, is a testament to how smart our caucus is, because on some of those big bills, like the parental rights, we had like 60. We had 60amendments on that. What happened is with that, like with the parental rights, and that's what we locked up as a caucus, that we are going to fight this and we're going to do whatever it takes if we're here all night. [00:20:49] Speaker B: And you were. [00:20:50] Speaker A: Yes, and we were. And we were. But, you know, we were all, like, very dedicated to, we are going to fight this as hard as we can fight this. And how we do that, again, is, you know, with the amendments. So we had, like, I think, 60amendments. But what happens then is. So when we turn the, you know, when we let them know, like, that we have our amendments and they call it amendments on the bar. So once we do that, then now they get them and they have. We have to give them time to go through all those amendments and write speeches because none of them talk from the hip like we do. So they, like. So nobody stands up when. When we have an amendment and we say, this is why we want this amendment, and so we're doing that, we just stand up and say it because we know the bill and we know what we're talking about, and that's what we want to do. They don't. So they Actually have a speech writer that writes their. Their response to us. And so we sometimes sit there, you know, for six hours waiting for their amendment, for them to first of all decide who's going to speak to the amendment. And then. And then the, you know, and then their speech. I'm not kidding. And like, like with the Parents Bill of Rights, we had, you know, 60amendments on it. So we waited a long time before we got to the floor. And then we were on the floor. We ended up, you know, we were there for seven and a half hours. And we did pull like, some of our amendments in negotiations, you know, we pulled some and. And then they conceded to a few things, which didn't really amount to much, but at any rate. But that's how we fight. And unfortunately, you know, we weren't able to stop. [00:22:25] Speaker B: Was other shenanigans. I mean, I'm going to say shenanigans. I guess they were legit, you know, because they changed the rules. Right. I mean, they pulled a big one on you guys. Yeah. [00:22:35] Speaker A: So that was part of the reason why we had to do all of these amendments with every single. Because what they did is the beginning, in the beginning of session, they went in and changed the rules. The speaker and has, you know, through our Constitution, she has right to do this, that she changed the rules or can review the rules. So we used. So prior to this, 132 years. 130 this year. Yes, before this year, 132 years, we were able. The minority party was able to debate, to speak about a bill. So it wasn't just the amendments. It was actually to speak on a bill. We could speak on a bill as long as we had people jumping up and speaking and they weren't duplicative. I have a hard time with that word. Just. It's hard. But as long, you know, as long as, again, it made sense. Right. We could do that as. And. And the only way that the majority party could stop us, as if they called for a vote and they had 60% of their caucus in agreement to stop us or, and. Or that they have to actually have that many people on the floor when they called for the boat, because a lot of times they're over in the wings or, you know, they're doing other things. They're not on the floor. So they changed that rule. And so that they could do that, they could change it with a simple majority vote. So as long as they had the majority of their caucus there on the floor and they voted to shut us down, they could shut us down and they actually did do that on the, on the parental rights. They did, yeah. Actually it was right in the middle of Jeremy Defoe was speaking and they, they called it. And so we had to go to. Yeah, we, we went to a vote and we were done talking. We couldn't talk about it anymore. [00:24:21] Speaker B: And on the amendment or on the whole bill. [00:24:24] Speaker A: It was the whole bill because. Yeah. So that's why we were running all those amendments. Because once we started speaking to the bill, they could stop us whenever they wanted. But they could. They couldn't stop us on the amendments as long as we kept going and we were making sense. But they could. Yes. So it was on the whole bill. So when we got to the whole bill, they shut us down after seven and a half, I think it was almost eight hours, three o' clock in the morning. And. Yeah. [00:24:52] Speaker B: Nope. Yeah. Didn't let the transparency process work. And isn't that they're just. There's a term for that. Right. It starts with an. Oh, I'm just absolutely drawing a blank. Isn't it? Anyway. [00:25:04] Speaker A: Well. [00:25:06] Speaker B: Yeah. That's crazy. [00:25:09] Speaker A: Yeah. So, yeah, it's just those are experiences that we, that we have. But before we get to the floor, we also have our committee. You know, we work on the committee. So that's what. And I'm ranking on the now labor and workplace standards. So as a ranking member, what that means. So the majority party has, you know, they have the ability or they have the right to appoint all of the committee chairs and then they also get to decide how the committee is set up. So like the labor committee, we have six Democrats and three Republicans. And you know, and, and like the Community Safety Committee has the same setup. They have six Democrats and three Republicans. And what that does is that really varies. I mean, unless we would have to get two to three of their members to vote with us in order to stop something in the committee, and that's to stop it because they get to choose what we hear. [00:26:18] Speaker B: Right. So you can have a great bill. And that's part of the problem is, you know, a lot of people don't understand. You guys have made some great bills, some much needed legislation, but to even get a hearing in your committee is oftentimes pretty difficult in this situation. [00:26:36] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah. I mean, I think I had, you know, a few bills heard this year and I think, you know, I think it was more just out of, you know, out of respect for me as the ranking member. But they didn't go anywhere because they have six votes. So it's like, oh, well, Suzanne will let your bill or Rep. Schmidt. Well, you know, we'll, we'll hear your bill, but we're not going to, you know, we're not going to move it out of committee and you don't have the votes to move it out of committee, so we'll hear it. I know that Jenny Graham has had a couple, you know, of bills that she's, that she's put forward in the, and she's the ranking member on the Community Safety Committee. I know she's put a couple of bills forward with, as far as like, fentanyl and controlling fentanyl or having more strenuous penalties for dealing fentanyl or using fentanyl. And, and the chair of that committee, which is Roger Goodman, has, you know, said, we're not hearing them. We're not going to hear any fentanyl bills. We're not going to listen. We don't want them this year. [00:27:37] Speaker B: Wow, that is just insane. You were telling me this a little bit off camera beforehand and I had not heard that. So, you know, I want you to repeat this again because fentanyl, we know, is such a huge crisis in our state right now. Awful things are happening to people. You know, people are dying and nobody. You could not get a bill heard, a fentanyl bill heard in Olympia because the Democrats were controlling. [00:28:04] Speaker A: They were controlling it. And they did not want one coming forward. They did not. And like I said, I mean, that, yeah, that's, they did not want one coming forward. So we were not able to bring anything to a committee hearing. So we couldn't even get, you know, at least witnesses to come in and, and testify about situations. [00:28:24] Speaker B: So what, I mean, did they. So they never had to answer to why. I mean, that just to me looks terrible. I know you're not going to even have a hearing on a fentanyl bill. So there was no hearings on it on any fentanyl bills at all. And what was their answer to that? I mean. [00:28:44] Speaker A: It'S hard to explain, but there really isn't an answer because nobody other than us, we call them accountable. And so we put that on our, you know, on our caucus website and we put it on our Facebooks. But we don't get, you know, the media doesn't go after them and, you know, call them on these things, so they really aren't ever called accountable. [00:29:05] Speaker B: That's another important point is you have the media that is not reporting on this, right? This is, this is a very hot topic. This is a huge issue. We have people dying every day in our communities. Yeah. And yet the media isn't picking out on this. [00:29:21] Speaker A: Right. And in fact, that's what. So I've came back to the community and I am working with Katara Johnson on the Gabriel's Challenge. And we are, we actually have a Summit scheduled for September 18th and it's not, it's not open just to the public. We are having, it's by invite because we want to get people that are really, you know, like in the justice system, in, in the court system and people in, in rehabilitation clinics, billing, you know, insurance billing and things like that to get together so that we can hopefully come up with some solid solutions that we can run some legislation that I want to say they can't say no to because it just makes sense because we just have to do something to stop this. [00:30:08] Speaker B: So. Well, this is my open invite, Suzanne. Anytime that that happens again and it's like mind blowing and you're not. No media is picking it up. I know I'm small beans, but come on here and let's share that story because that is so ridiculous that they have no accountability from our media. And that's why, you know, I'm doing, what I'm doing is to help try to give platform to some things that we know our media, our mainstream media is not going to talk about. And that's horrific. [00:30:37] Speaker A: Yeah, well, that's what we saw, you know, yesterday and I don't know if, you know, you saw, but the governor's press conference and about, you know, the letter from Attorney General Bondi and how he was going to fight it and we're going to move forward with the work Washington or keep Washington working. And Brandy Cruz asked him two very direct questions about the trooper that was, you know, that was killed in the line of duty by a illegal alien that had our state cooperated with ice, he would have been out of the country because he'd had several, you know, felony convictions or criminal convictions. I'm not sure if they were felony. I know they were criminal convictions. So. But at any rate, and she asked him directly, you know, about that and he said, you know, like, oh, we have, you know, we're going to treat everybody this same whether they're, you know, undocumented or they're a citizen and we're going to keep them accountable. But we don't. And, and then she had a follow up and I don't remember what her follow up was, but he said, yeah, re. Answer the question. I'm not answering it. And there were seven other Reporters in that room, six other reporters other than her in that room, and not one of them picked up or tried to follow up on what she said. And then he closed the conference. [00:31:56] Speaker B: That's pathetic. [00:31:57] Speaker A: And that, I mean. Yeah, so that was, you know, yeah, seven or six reporters throughout the state of Washington that were in that room from, you know, media outlets in the Seattle area. And, and after she asked that question, because I think we need an answer to that question. But he, he didn't answer it. And then, yeah, close the meeting. Close the conference. [00:32:20] Speaker B: So, yes, it's got to be a frustrating experience. A bunch. So what, what has surprised you the most? What's something that, you know, going in, maybe, or, you know, something else about, like, how things work? I mean, I'm sure it's been frustrating for you since we, we, you know, have a minority, right. Republicans have the minority in both chambers. But what has been something that's maybe surprised you, that is not expected when you went in? [00:32:51] Speaker A: You know, I, I, I think that what, you know, I, I think that's with what surprised me probably was working with, like, capital budget, like, requests. So those are things that we can bring back to our communities for, you know, for economic development or because they need them. Like, I was able to get $225,000 for Trent elementary because Trent elementary doesn't have any playground equipment, and they're, the kids that go there really need to have some playground equipment. So that, I think was the thing that surprised me the most is I didn't realize, I didn't understand how the capital, like, capital budget was different than the operating budget or the transportation budget. So the capital budget is, is money that the state has actually earned by selling bonds. And so that's money that we have. And then everybody gets to kind of, everybody goes in and says, I want the, you know, I want this, I want that. And we do have a lot of people in the community that have requests, and they'll come up, you know, they'll start meeting early, saying, hey, I need this much for this and that much, you know, so that was, I didn't, wasn't very familiar with that process, but that's something that I actually really appreciate and am happy to participate in that process and to make sure that I'm bringing things back for the 4th district. I know my seatmate, Representative Chase, he and I worked really closely on all of the requests that we made. We, we sat down together and created a priority list. And, you know, so we were very, like, he took one, I took one you know, we kind of went back and forth and. And were able to come up with a list that we could present to the Capital Budget Committee so that we could bring money back to the fourth District. So. And. And I felt really good about that partnership and him. You know, we worked together on that. And like I said, we did bring some good, you know, good things back. The money for Trent elementary, we brought back money for the partners in the Northwest, which is the food bank, formerly Valley Partners, so the food bank Belfort park, over, you know, across from City hall, so that they could expand that and really make that into, you know, community center, because the Spokane Valley doesn't necessarily have it. It doesn't have a downtown, so maybe we can create some kind of community center in that area. So there were some really good things that we were able to bring back to our community. And that was. So that's. I would say my biggest surprise was that that money was available and how we go through that process and then bringing it back. And it was very. It's very fulfilling and rewarding to be able to do that, right? [00:35:35] Speaker B: Oh, I bet that's awesome. [00:35:36] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:35:37] Speaker B: The money's going to get spent, so we might as well get some of that here for our community. And as you represent the citizens from the 4th legislative district here, I think that's very important. So what are some of your priorities? You know, talk about going in, you know, obviously, a few years ago, this is your. You're halfway through your second term now, and so what are some of your main priorities? And tell us a little bit about what you've been able to. I know it's a tough situation in Olympia, but what have you been able to kind of get through despite the circumstances? [00:36:12] Speaker A: Okay, so I have. I have been able to. This last session, I think I got to my first session, but that this last session I was able to pass five. Five bills. And actually all of those bills were to do with agency processes and make things more. Let's see, make them a more seamless process. So we're cutting red tape, because that was something that I went to Olympia saying, I want to cut red tape. I want to make it easier for businesses to do business in Washington. So the legislation that I passed are things that will. Will help in those areas. So. And that was, you know, I would. I did. I felt really good about those because again, as we were, you know, saying you don't necessarily get it. You know, you don't get a hearing unless the other side wants you to have the hearing. So I think I, because of the knowledge that I brought forward with working with the agencies, I was able to explain those bills in a way that it's, oh, yeah, this makes sense. Yes, we should, we should pass this. So those were some of, you know, like I would say, my wins being able to get those, you know, those through and getting those, that legislation passed moving into this next session, which is only, you know, this is the next session is 60 days. So we're there for two months. And it goes really fast as. So let me preface this by saying that we passed a big, huge tax bill last year. I shouldn't say we the, the Democratic Party passed a. Because no Republicans voted for the appropriations bill, the operating budget. But it was passed and it was a huge bill. And it's very complicated and it's going to impact businesses, you know, devastatingly. It's really going to, it's going to be hard. And I know before, you know, we got on air, I was telling you that I've actually talked with our staff about that bill because when part of that is going to go to into effect October 1st of this year, October 1st of 2025, and it's going to affect over 90,000 businesses in the state of Washington. And it's going to affect how they charge, you know, sales tax and what they have to pay for the Department of Revenue. And I've already had several businesses reaching out to me saying, do we fall into this? Is this going to be us? Are we going to have to put sales tax on this? Do we have to charge, you know, our customers this? And, you know, I know when I saw the bill, I thought it was pretty ambiguous. And so I went to the finance staff and, and then they went to DoR and Department of Revenue. And the Department of Revenue is saying that because the bill was passed so quickly and it's so big, they didn't have time to go through the regular rulemaking process. So they're going to be making judgment calls. [00:39:11] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. So let's explain that to people because I know for me, being on the state Board of Education, we were an agency. And so in order to impact law to be, you know, imparted. Right. It usually goes through an agency and there's a rulemaking parse process that's open to the public. So the agency is in charge of how this is implicated. You know, how this is, is going to play out to the public. [00:39:40] Speaker A: Right. [00:39:40] Speaker B: You take the law that the bills that were passed. So you're saying that the Department of Revenue because it was passed so quickly and it's being implemented. It's got to be implemented by October 1st for the majority of it. They are not able to do this rulemaking transparent process where the public has time to weigh in. So they're going to make judgment calls on how this plays out, which means. [00:40:06] Speaker A: That there's no consistency to how they, you know, so how this plays out, there's not going to be any consistency because it's going to be based on the particular, because there's different, you know, I don't know what they're called actually from the Department of Revenue auditors and tax people, but there's different people. And so if they interpret it differently, then your business, you know, maybe in Eastern Washington isn't going to be, you know, under fault, you know, isn't going to be taxed in the same way as somebody on the west side. So it creates a lot of inconsistency. So they do have, you know, a question and answer link on their website that, so you can start sending them questions and hopefully you can get those answered before it goes into effect. But yes, that is the information that I received yesterday because I've asked for a couple of different things and they've gotten back and said they don't have, they didn't have time to go through that process. They do have the question and answer on their website and they're just unfortunately going to have to make judgment calls as we move forward into implementing this, this big tax bill. [00:41:10] Speaker B: Suzanne, how are they able to do that? Because I, I mean, I just can't imagine an agency being able to sidestep the public process because we, we don't have time or whatever the reason. I mean, to me that's, that's got to be embedded. [00:41:23] Speaker A: No, and, and I, you know, I honestly don't, don't know the answer to that. And I will look into it, but my guess is, and I will look into that to find out why. How could they do that? How can they sidestep? So my guess is they must have been given some sort of carve out or something from the attorney General's office because the attorney general basically provides law and rule to the agencies. So when those agencies, when they go to, you know, write the rules or have those, you know, rulemaking process. So that would be my guess, but I don't know the answer to that. So I will look into that because that's a really good question. How are they able to sidestep? [00:42:00] Speaker B: Yeah, because I would think that would leave them Open, you know, to some kind of litigation because it didn't go through this process that I would, I would imagine is at least an administrative code or something. I mean, there's a reason why all these agencies have to go through this process. So. Wow, this is so, so now you have the impact. And I apologize for calling you Suzanne. I have a great relationship with you. [00:42:24] Speaker A: Representative Schmidt, but I feel weird. [00:42:28] Speaker B: Well, I have to catch myself. But so, so you have this huge tax, you know, legislation that was passed, and we knew it was bad and we knew it was going to be impactful, but it's, it's, it's looking, you know, as, as this has played out. You've been able to get more information, and you said the impact is 90,000 businesses. I mean, I just. What, what can be done? Are you and your colleagues, you know, other Republicans talking about what can we do? Is there any mitigation of this? [00:43:00] Speaker A: Well, so, yes, we are. And so what I am doing, you know, but yes, we are. And thank you for asking that. So what we're, you know, what I am doing is I only have a couple of bills that I'm going to run this year. I have, you know, the referee bill. I'm going to run again, and I have another one with apprenticeship. But for the most part, what I'm doing is spending the interim visiting with businesses. I've met with the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. I've met with awb, so the association of Washington Businesses. So what I'm looking for is data and statistics and also working with the Washington Hospitality association, but looking for data and statistics that I can present at hearings. Because I think what we're going to have to do is run trailer bills to try to fix this or to clarify some of the, some of the language that is in the tax bill. And so that's what I have been doing is trying to prepare myself with getting that data. And then I will, I personally am going to go speak to my, you know, my colleagues across the aisle and explain the impact and what I've seen as far as impact. And then I'm also getting, creating a list of people that I can call for testimony and that I could also have come into Olympia and sit down with my colleagues across the aisle and, and, and tell their story about how, you know, this is, this is affecting their business. So that's really, you know, that's my whole focus really, for this next session is, like I said, I have a couple of bills that I'll, I'll run, but they're they're really kind of a rerun of things that I've already ran. So I don't have any new legislation. I really don't want to take any new legislation on because I'm really trying to focus on that. Not just the tax bills that I was talking about, but there were also, you know, like, we. There was a bill that was passed to expand the, you know, paid family medical leave. And so because of that, we're going to have some solvency issues and we're going to have to look at how we're going to change the way that that's billed and are the. The rates are charged. [00:45:14] Speaker B: So explain that a little bit. The solvency issues. So. [00:45:17] Speaker A: Okay. Okay. Yeah. So last year we had a bill to expand the paid family medical leave. So it expanded it so that you didn't have to have as many hours put in, so you didn't have to be employed by a particular employer for. And I don't remember the hours, honestly, but I think it was like 90 days. And then you would be eligible for paid family medical leave. So it had been like 800 and some hours. So it was a half a year. And we changed it to the bill, changed it to 90 days that you would have to work for an employer before you were eligible. It also ex. So that expanded how many people would be eligible. Right. So more people could file claims because it's easier to qualify. Then the other part of it is also during that time, then the employer would have to provide health insurance for that employee. So if they were providing health insurance, no longer could you, you know, while they're on paid family medical leave, have them roll over to cobra? You'd actually have to carry their insurance through that. [00:46:21] Speaker B: And is this funded at all by the state? So this was a, you know, an increase. [00:46:25] Speaker A: Well, the state funds it in a couple of different ways, but the state funds it because it's going to be more claims. So they have to pay it out. Then that. That the health insurance part of it would be if there are state employees. And that is the largest employer in our state. The largest employer in our state is the state. And so if they have people taking paid family medical leave and they were paying their benefits during that time and then rolling them over to cobra, now they're not. They're. They would have to continue that. So, but that's really that, you know, that the insolvency also issue is also because we expanded it for which I didn't have a problem when we expanded it for like domestic violence and people, you know, that had, had issue, you know, like that, or they had a restraining order or whatever, they had to basically be in hiding. And so they could take paid family medical leave. But because we expanded it, we have more, more claims happening. We expanded. So now, you know, like both the mother and father can take, I think it's up to 18 weeks of parental leave when they have a baby. So they can, one can take it then the other can take it. So, and also the claim rate, the, the amount that they get paid is more than you would on unemployment. I believe it's like $1,700 a week. So it's, it's, you know, it's, we're paying out a lot of money. So the insolvency because we keep expanding the paid family medical leave and make in and letting more people be eligible and they're eligible for longer periods of time and they're making more money. So it's based on how much money they're making. The program itself was set at a rated calculation rather than an actuarial rate setting. And the actuarial rate setting is a rate setting that is based on. This is how, you know, historically we had this many employees file this many claims and they cost us this much money. So in order to fund this program next year, we have to collect this much money. Well, we haven't had it on that. We've had just a regular calculation. So now we have to look at, you know, how are we going to fund this program and putting that rate which is going to impact employers and. [00:48:45] Speaker B: Employees and I've heard this impact some local employers as well, in that they also can take it, they don't have to take it in one lump sump. [00:48:55] Speaker A: Exactly. [00:48:56] Speaker B: Maybe that hasn't changed, but I know. [00:48:58] Speaker A: No, that's just, no, that was, that's, that was newer that they. Yeah. So they don't have to take it in one lump sum. So they could take this, you know, this 18 weeks. They could take it in a six month span of time or a year or whatever. [00:49:11] Speaker B: So. [00:49:11] Speaker A: Yeah. And which also causes a lot of problems for the smaller, you know, smaller employees for scheduling. [00:49:17] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:49:18] Speaker A: You know, so it's, it anyway because of that expansion and the way that we, that, that the calculation is being take, you know, being set for both the employee and the employer portion. Now we have to go back and look at that because it looks, you know, from projections, it looks like the program will be insolvent in 2027. Wow. [00:49:41] Speaker B: Wow. Oh my gosh. So you're Asking for, you know, real life experiences with the new, the, the new tax that's coming, how people are being impacted, how businesses are being impacted. And you want to get those stories from people so that you can help share those with your colleagues and try to see if you are able to mitigate this. [00:50:05] Speaker A: Yes, yes. Yeah. [00:50:08] Speaker B: So reach out to Suzanne, tell people how to get a hold of you. And we'll do that at the end too. [00:50:12] Speaker A: But yeah, so you can get a hold of me by my email address is Suzanne Schmidt at. Oh, is there a dot in between? [00:50:21] Speaker B: There's a dot in there. [00:50:23] Speaker A: Okay, so that. Suzanne Schmidt at ledge. So leg.wa.gov so that's my legislative email. And you know, please reach out to me there. My, both my, my la, my legislative assistant and myself are, you know, we're reading those every day. We, you know, hopefully we never miss any, but that's the plan anyway, that we don't miss any. So I would say email me is really the good, the best way to do that. And then that way either myself or my legislative assistant can reach out to you. We may reach out via email or we'll, you know, get back to you with a phone call or set up a teams meeting or something like that. But yeah, if you have those real life experiences that you want to share with me, please reach out because that is my plan. That's what I'm working on, really focusing on in this interim is collecting that data. Like I said, I've worked with the Seattle Chamber of Commerce, I also work with the Valley Chamber of Commerce. And looking at, you know, how businesses, you know, how they're doing. How many businesses have shuttered since 2024? How many businesses have shuttered in 2025? And trying to get those individual stories so that we can share those across the aisle and hopefully, you know, change some minds and change some votes. [00:51:46] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, for sure. And I just pulled up your page here. It's got your contact information and so you can just go to that. Suzanne schmidt.houserepublicans.wa.gov is the website I'm on. The other thing that I wanted to bring up was this affordability rankings that I saw on your page. I mean, this is horrific. And we were talking about gas prices earlier, you know, in this whole tax package that was just passed. The largest in history. [00:52:15] Speaker A: Correct. [00:52:16] Speaker B: So the largest tax crease in history. As we have people leaving in droves. As we have businesses leaving in droves. Here was this huge tax package that was passed and that Suzanne's been talking about, you know, the implementation of this starting October 1st. We have, we already have these, the third highest gas prices in the nation, the fourth highest grocery prices. So if you don't understand like this, this is, aside from these tax, I mean, this is stuff that was already happening. So gas prices affect everything. And what were you saying, Suzanne? [00:52:53] Speaker A: Yeah, I wanted to mention that because I think the media did, you know, do I think probably a decent job of, of getting the information out about the gas Increase as of July 1, the gas increase by 6 cents a gallon. But what hasn't been reported and I think the message that hasn't gotten out is that Diesel raised by 12 cents a gallon. There is nothing that is transported, no goods, no foods, no goods of any sort that's transported without diesel, whether it's barge, truck or train. And diesel went up in the state of Washington by 12 cents a gallon. And it has set, it is now set. Part of that increase of the gas tax is set for, for a inflationary increase every year. So I don't know what it's going to look like next year, but some of those things. So we have that highest gas price we have really, you know, the, I'm not sure if we have the highest diesel, but you know, we have 12 cents a gallon was the additional cost. And so when we look at groceries that were, you know, like the third highest for grocery prices and you know, those are going to go up because groceries are transported via truck, barge or train and they all run on diesel. [00:54:09] Speaker B: That's terrific. Yeah, it's very, very sad. So this is, this is, you know, I mean, most of us know it and most of us fill it, but it's it to see the numbers on this is mind boggling. And it's mind boggling to see that the Democrats are not willing to do anything about it. I mean, you know, and Suzanne, like we were talking about some of the people earlier, I've met a lot of these Democrats that are in Olympia and the legislature and you know, they're, they're decent people. So how is it that they have such a different frame of reference or mindset on this? I mean, these, these, these statistics are staggering. How are they not wanting to change. [00:54:50] Speaker A: This for, you know, I, I think that, you know, there, there are, you know, and they are decent, you know, it's decent people that have, you know, some common sense and good ideas. But I think in my, you know, that their leadership has a very progressive agenda and they're, you know, they, one thing that they are really good at is uniting. And the Democrats are really good about uniting behind a cause. And when they've decided that this is the best way to go, because I think, you know what, they've all, at least in my opinion, when we went into session, but they were all went in there saying, well, we're going to tax the rich and we're going to get all this money from the rich and that's how we're going to pay for all of these programs that help the, you know, middle to low income people. But in actuality they're not able to do that because like you said, those people are fleeing the state. So the taxes that they thought they were going to collect by these, you know, millionaires and billionaires, they're leaving because they can, because they have enough money that they can pick up and leave the state. So now all of the taxes that they put in place are going to hit the middle and low income people. And so that's, I, that's a good question and I'm not sure that I know the answer to it other than they have an agenda and they're very good at uniting behind a cause. And so they do believe, and I, and I believe that they believe that they're right in this, that it's going to make Washington a better place to live to. And you know, which there are, and I, I told you this before we got on air too, is that there are several people in that progressive, you know, group of people that I'd say are, are running, you know, the agenda are our social, social, our democratic socialists. They actually wear pins on their lapel. There's two members on the, on the labor and Workplace Standards Committee that wear the pins on their lapel every day. [00:56:57] Speaker B: Two legislator legislative members. [00:56:59] Speaker A: Yes, yes. In the, in the lapel can. It's a, it's a red flag. It's backwards. Red flag looks like a pendant because I actually had to Google it. I didn't know what it was, but then I found it. Yeah, so it is, yeah. So they are aligned with, with that Democratic Socialist Party which basically wants to, you know, their, their philosophy is we will tax, you know, tax the rich. We're going to collect all this money from the rich so that we can take care of the middle and low income people. And really what that does is it, you know, it eliminates or destroys free market capitalism. [00:57:37] Speaker B: So yeah, it's, well, and, and the impact again is, is these results that we're seeing. We talked about the gas prices and the grocery prices, but fourth most Expensive housing. I know housing is a priority of yours. 7th most costly child care and 3rd highest cost of living. I mean that's impacting everybody. [00:58:00] Speaker A: Everybody, as you said. [00:58:03] Speaker B: Yeah, this is not sustainable. [00:58:05] Speaker A: No, exactly, it's not sustainable. So that's, you know, really, I guess, you know, my hope and where I would say, you know, let's end this on the positive note. It's not sustainable. So I think that the work that I'm doing and the work that my caucus is doing to bring these people in, you know, to tell their stories and to talk about this in a common sense way, I think that's, you know, that's the hope. It's not sustainable. And so they're going to have to, to start looking at this and saying, oh wait a minute, this idea is not working. Let's start, you know, let's kind of backtrack, let's pedal back and see what we can do to fix, fix this and make Washington a more business friendly state again. Because that's, I know we were in the top 10 of business friendly states and now we're in the like the bottom 40s. [00:58:50] Speaker B: Well, and I think the stats on you are saying how many businesses have closed in 2024 and 2025. I think those stats would be interesting as well as, you know, how many people have left the state. I think that would be those, you know, those statistics would be pretty interesting I think for everybody to see and maybe for people like me to help, you know, promote and expose to help that information out there. Because we're not okay. We're not okay. I mean, you know, I'm able to stay here in Washington and I believe I have a calling to do that as well. But it's hard, it is not easy. And you, you feel for people that, you know, are just under the oppression of these taxes and this environment that's very oppressive. It's very regulated for businesses and it's very tax burden. Yeah, right. It's awful. [00:59:42] Speaker A: So. [00:59:43] Speaker B: Well, again we, we thank you for going in there and you know, do haven't make doing the good fight and not giving up and doing whatever it takes and standing against every thing. You know, and a lot of my colleagues that I talk with or we message back and forth, you know, that's, that's what we want to see is we want to see representatives that we understand the situation where we have a minority and it's, it's not very, you know, promising but we expect our representatives to go in there and do everything they can do to fight. And if it takes staying up until 3 o' clock at night, in the morning and you know, throwing 60amendments at it, that's what it takes. I mean. [01:00:31] Speaker A: Right. [01:00:31] Speaker B: That's what you got to do. Is there anything else that's on your agenda for this next session? Now, Suzanne, explain to people the, the two different sessions. So there's the two year cycle. Explain that to people so they understand. [01:00:45] Speaker A: Okay, so there's a two year cycle in the beginning. So the first, so this two year cycle was the 20, 25, 26. So when we go into 25, that is the long session. So that's actually the, the session that's where we're, you know, where we're going to try to get as much as we can, much work as we can done. Then when we go back for the short session, which is a 60 day, that's a supplemental session. So that's really meant to kind of follow up on things that maybe bills that didn't quite make it through that we ran out of time, we could follow up on those bills. Or when it comes to budget issues, you know, we pass a budget that we know is not going to work, then that's when we come back with ideas and legislation to fix the budget that we just passed. So that's what this short session and what I'm going into is that's what it's all about. And so that's why I'm really, like I said, not focusing on submitting new legislation. I'm really looking at what can we do to fix what was passed last year and having those resources, that data and testimony ready to, you know, address. [01:01:55] Speaker B: Those issues kind of do. It's kind of more the second part of that biennium this next session is more kind of tweaking. Right. Because the big session was this year and it kind of sets the whole environment for the next, for the two year cycle. Yeah. So any other things that are top of your list priority? I mean those are obviously very big ones, very important. [01:02:16] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, and then, you know, I didn't talk much about it, but I am on the Transportation Committee, so and I am on the budget part of the transportation. So a big part of. Also what I'm looking at is we are short revenue because we're, you know, electrifying and as we electrify, go to more electric vehicles, then we're not collecting as much gas tax. And that's why we, you know, the gas tax was increased. But that progression to electric vehicles is, is, you know, causing financial issues for the state. So that's, you know, something that I'm going to focus on. I know I've worked with Representative Barkas who is the ranking member on the Transportation committee. And last year he ran a bill I co sponsored to use CCA or the Climate Commitment act money to fund the transportation budget. And that bill didn't get a hearing. But we're going to come back because we have to figure out how we're going to fund the transportation budget. And it's not just like new projects. It's not the, you know, the new projects, glamour, fun stuff. It's we need to figure out how we're going to fund preservation and maintenance so keeping the roads that we do have functional and travel worthy. So that's, that will be another big focus is going back and figuring out how are we going to look, you know, get new, new revenue sources. I know we raised the gas tax. They looked at last year, looked at the ruc, which is the road usage charge. People are not interested in that. There might be, you know, something else that we can do with that. But you know, I think my major focus is can we get some of that cca, that Climate Commitment act money to use for transportation. Even you know, if we, if we could pay for all of the ferries out of the Climate Commitment act, that would give us more money for preservation and maintenance. [01:04:09] Speaker B: So where is that money going now? I guess I just would have assumed. Yeah. [01:04:14] Speaker A: Because. [01:04:15] Speaker B: Yes, tax, right. Why is it not going to transportation? [01:04:19] Speaker A: So the gas tax does go to transportation. [01:04:21] Speaker B: Okay. [01:04:22] Speaker A: But the Climate Commitment act, that money, that is part of our, you know, that is part of the reason our gas is so expensive is because of the cap and trade. Because we have the cap and trade where we basically we sell credits to companies to in, to allow them to pollute. And that raises money. So all of that money goes into the Climate Commitment act. And that money is used for, you know, as far as transportation wise it's used for pedestrian walks and bridges, for bike lanes, some of the, you know, the EV stations, charging stations, things like that. And then of course it's also then a lot of that money is going into commerce for you know, heat, heat pump, you know, rehabs for buildings and things like that, grants to pay for that. But the majority of it, so the majority of the money that's, that, that comes from the cap and trade, which we've already made like I believe almost $2 billion since that was put into place is, is not going to transportation and is sitting to be used for new you know, Project Green projects to make our, our state more environmentally friendly. [01:05:50] Speaker B: Wow. Yeah. Yeah. That needs to be looked at, I think, big time. [01:05:54] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:05:54] Speaker B: Yeah, big time. Wow. So we're, we're also entering into another election season. We've got some very important races happening. And you know, part of your role is people look to you for, you know, what, what do you think? I mean, you know, these people, you work with these people. So you want to share and I didn't prep you on this, so I don't know how much you want to share, but do you want to share about your thoughts coming into this election season? It's a very important election and people tend to kind of, you know, disengage after a presidential election. But we have very important school board elections and city council, local city council races. So any thoughts on that coming up here in the next couple months? That's going to be playing out, you know. [01:06:40] Speaker A: Well, I definitely, you know, definitely would encourage people to get out and vote. Please, please vote. And I know you've probably said this, and I'll say it again, is if you're not, if you're not comfortable with mailing your ballot, don't mail your ballot, Take it down to the auditor's office, put it in a ballot box, don't mail it. But, you know, it really does matter that you vote. And so there are, yes, some important races in the Valley. We have the school board, you know, school board races going on right now, which is really super important that we have people that are going to represent our, you know, our community and our values. And so I would say, you know, look into those, when you're looking at those, you know, those candidates is look into them and see what they stand for. And you know, and, and there are, I mean, it is a partisan, but those people are, you know, affiliated with different parties. So you can, you know, you can tell by looking, looking at that the. [01:07:40] Speaker B: School board races are nonpartisan. [01:07:42] Speaker A: They are non partisan. But you know, then, but you, you know, by looking into it and really vetting those, those people running for those positions, you can see, you know, where their alliances lie. And I think that's a really important thing that you make sure that you look at because, you know, we, I, I think that, you know, the values of the, of the Valley, the 4th district are really, you know, very family. Family faith and what is it? Family, faith and freedom. [01:08:15] Speaker B: Freedom. Freedom. [01:08:17] Speaker A: And so, you know, I think that you need to look at that and who are, who, who aligns with your values. And if there Isn't any information in the voter, in the voter's guide, then that's probably not somebody that you're going to align with. But also, look at, you know, I know the recommendations of, of the GOP and who they've looked at, you know, they've recommended and they have vetted those candidates. And so I know, like in the, I think it was the seventh position. I'm not sure. I don't know them off top of my head. But, you know, they've, they have endorsed Pam Orbaugh, who is a sitting, sitting school board member, and she's actually the chair, or she was. I'm not sure if she's still the chair, but she was the chair of the school board, and she's done a really, really good job. Her, her, you know, what she's done and all about her is, is available on her website. Also, the gop, he has vetted her and recommended her. So I'd say, you know, look, you know, look at those candidates. We have, you know, a few for the city council. Same thing. You know, we have a couple, you know, good people running. We have incumbents that are already in there that have done a good job, and there's information out there. So what I would say is just make sure that you make, that you are informed when you make that vote. And if you do have questions. And I have had people do that on, you know, on several occasions that they have reached out to me and asked me, you know, my thoughts, and I'm willing to do that on a, you know, one. On one. But I think that this, what that would. I, what I would tell the listeners is do your research, know who you're voting for, and, and please vote. Just, we really need, we really need everyone to get out and vote. We need those numbers. [01:10:00] Speaker B: Yeah. And these decisions are big decisions. The more local the race, the more it impacts you, you know, it impacts the policies in your school district. It impacts, you know, what happens in your cities and in your county. So like Suzanne said, go to the spokanegop.com and they have their endorsed candidates and they have a great process where they vet people and they look at everything. They put them through an interview. You know, they look at all their material information and they make sure that they're aligned to conservative values and the GOP platform. So we definitely recommend you do that. Suzanne, have you, had you. Have you made any public endorsements in any of those races? [01:10:44] Speaker A: I'm trying to think of the, If I may. Yes, Pam, and I was trying to think If I did any other. I did endorse Laura Padden. Laura Padden had ran, and she's a. She's an incumbent Republican, so I did do that. I know on her mailer that she had me one of her endorsements. And then I did also endorse, which he's not running now, but we did go through that process as Preston McCollum for county prosecutors. So he's the interm. Right now. And then he will go through the process of being, you know, selected. The. They'll go through. Go to the county commissioners and they'll decide on. On one of the three people that the GOP put forward, which we had a really good meeting on Saturday. I thought it was really well done, very professional. We had great, you know, nomination speeches. We had great speeches from all three candidates. And very professional in the way that it was ran and the votes. And so I feel really confident in that. And Preston did actually take. I think it was 78% of the vote. So he is the number one on that list. But we still have to submit three to the county commissioner. So it was Preston McCollum, Steve Garvin, and then Marshall Casey. So those will go forward to the county commissioners, and then they'll make. They'll make a choice from. From those. Those three people. So, you know, I have worked with Preston because he works for the county prosecutors. When my first session, we had. That's when we were working on the Blake. The Blake decision, which was, you know, where the basically made drug use legal. And so we couldn't pursue. Right. [01:12:29] Speaker B: That was also. [01:12:32] Speaker A: Right. And. And the right to pursue because we had done away with, you know, the law enforcement couldn't pursue a vehicle. And so we were trying to, you know, change that legislation. So I worked really closely with Sheriff Knowles, and at the time, it was Chief Midle and Larry Haskell, so prosecutor Larry Haskell and then Preston McCullum. And so Preston was just very, you know, he's always been very professional, very reliable, easy to, you know, talk to run things by. And so I'm really was really happy to see that he was going to, you know, pursue the prosecutor, the county prosecutor position. So. [01:13:08] Speaker B: Yeah, well, we. I'm glad you brought that up, because I wanted to ask you about that, because I saw you there. And I am a pco, so I am a member, a voting member of the boss body of the gop. And Representative Schmidt came as a guest, which was great because she's one of our elected officials. And. And I think that's an important Collaboration that we continue and maintain and continue to work together. We may not always agree, but this process, and I've talked about it before, but just to remind everybody, this is one of the duties of, of a PCO is that when you have a partisan or Republican elected official, so either legislature or county that resigns or steps down or retires like prosecuting attorney Larry Haskell did, then it goes to the pcos to nominate their top three who they're going to recommend to the county commissioners. And so that process happened again. And like Suzanne shared about, it was a good meeting. We had about 125 PCOs there on Monday or on Saturday and, and a lot of guests too. So yeah, process and I know people worked very hard to try to make sure to get that one right. Yeah, you know, a couple good candidates. But I felt the same way you did, felt very good about Preston McCollum, you know, being the top nominees. So important processes and we just again, another opportunity to say get involved. You know, let's talk about. You've been having town hall meetings. How you know, what are some things that you do to make sure to, to connect with constituents. I think you're very intentional about it and I really appreciate that. Just like you coming on here, I think that shows that you want to make sure, you know, that people are hearing from you. You want to hear from people like what are your plans to help make sure that that two way communication is going on. [01:15:08] Speaker A: Yeah, so I do, I, I had a town hall in June and then I have another one that I'm, I'm trying to schedule right now. So it's either going to be in September or October and I'm going, I want to have it at Trent elementary because they have a really nice auditorium and again I was, I helped to get some, some capital budget funding for them so like to have it there. And. But I do the town halls and that is the reason that I do the town halls. I try to at my town halls try to cut it short as far as like talking about me and talking about what I've done. I do want to give you an update obviously, but at the same time I don't want to talk at you. I want to make sure that we have the opportunity to have question and answers so that you can let me know what, you know, what is affecting you, impacting you, what's going on in your life. I want to know is there things that I can, you know, do to, to help, you know, maybe there's legislation or something. That I can do. Or maybe it's just a quick call to an agency, which is a lot of times when someone's telling me something, it's like, oh, yeah, I don't think that's right. Let me call the agency. And a lot of times if you get a representative to call the agency, they're, you know, much quicker at responding than if. If it was just, you know, unfortunately, just a regular, you know, constituent. So. But those are the things I like the. And I also actually was just. I had a. I was at Ponderosa Women. So I do. I was one of the speakers at the Ponderosa Republican Women on last Tuesday, and one of the things that they were talking about doing, and I said, oh, absolutely, I want to do this. So we're going to start doing, like, coffee in, you know, in our district. So I know they're working on doing like a dinner with the 7th district with representative Abel and Representative Engel doing like a dinner and then just inviting people in. And all it is, is just come visit. It's not a. There's not going to be a program. We're not, you know, going to talk about anything in particular. I would, you know, we'll have information, but they're going to do that. I think it's next week. And then I'm, you know, going to schedule with. With Ponderosa Republican Women, and I want to talk with my pco, with my, what a District. [01:17:21] Speaker B: District leaders. Yeah. [01:17:23] Speaker A: Yes. And so that we can really. I. I'd love to have all, you know, make sure that all the PCOs are invited because that's why, you know, that's the hope. And Andrea is, let's go have coffee. Maybe we'll have some cookies and we'll just, you know, and talk and let me know what, you know, what things are going on and what's bothering you or what's, you know, causing. Causing problems. It may not be a state issue. It might be a city, it might be a county, might, you know, be federal. But I would be able to help you with that and tell you that, hey, this isn't state, but I know who you should connect with and who can help you with that issue. Or if it is state, you know, I. Again, you know, it can sometimes be as easy as just me calling an agency and saying, hey, you know, what's going on here? Let's look into this. But then the other parts of it is, you know, I really want to hear those stories about, you know, when you're frustrated with what's going on you know, in the legislature. I want to hear those stories. I want to, you know, I want to know your, you know, that your frustration. But also, let's talk about how you can get involved during the legislative session. And I know that we've, you know, the GOP had a. Was it kind of a push, you know, push to vote? Kind. I can't think of what it was. [01:18:36] Speaker B: Get out the vote. [01:18:37] Speaker A: Yeah, get out to vote. But it was, you know, a call to action, really. Basically. It's like when we have this really, like when the, you know, Parents Bill of Rights, you know, when we know, like, it's going to committee or it's going to the floor, that we can have those PCOs and the people in the community responding and sending emails and, and, and getting their voice in. And so that's what I also want to do at those coffees, is let you know how you can get involved and how you can, you know, contact your legislator or just, you know, log in online, because you can do that without calling or emailing anyone. You just go on and say, you know, you're pro or con. And so, yeah, just so hopefully get people involved. We really need to be involved. And, you know, I think that that's the one thing I wouldn't say that's probably my biggest frustration is when I talk to people and they tell me that, you know, that their vote doesn't matter, their voice doesn't matter, and they're not going to do anything. They just, you know, they live their life. They're going to just, you know, not pay attention. They don't watch the news anymore. And it's. And I. That's really frustrating to me because your vote does matter. Your voice does matter. And if you, you know, if you put your head in the sand, then you. If course, no, you're not going to make any difference. But if you choose to, you know, pay attention, be active, you know, pay attention, pay attention already. But, you know, be active, be involved. If you choose to do that, your voice and your vote really do matter. Yep. [01:20:04] Speaker B: And work with our elected officials. You know, there's a couple different. You go through some, you know, different times in the, in the seasons. Right. In the year. How. What's the most impactful thing for people to do if there is, you know, something that you can do about it. So I would imagine, I mean, because when. When it's during session, it's pretty crazy. So is it still best for people to connect with you, you know, during session, directly? Is it better for them to do it like maybe before session or after session to really get the impact or are you able to have those conversations during session? And again, is it best for them to email you directly or to go through the, the website and, you know, log in and yeah, what's the best, what's the most important? [01:20:55] Speaker A: So I would say that for it, I would really, during the interim. So when we're not in session, I mean, when we're in session is great too. And there's different things that you can, you can do at that time. But I would say that if you have concerns or there's issues that actually when we're in interim, that's a really good time to reach out. And I would say email me directly. You can go through the website, but I'd say email me directly because we are, like I said, my LA and I are both very, very responsive to our emails. So that, you know, if you have something. Because I think that we need to be prepared going into session. Like, if I'm going to write a piece of legislation, I'm going to have it done now. I don't, I don't write it in December, January or get it, you know, get it put together. Then it's, it's going to be now so that I can also do like, what they call stakeholder work. I can get other people to, you know, buy off on my idea and, and get them to support it and maybe, you know, get some people across the aisle. So I would say that, that, you know, right now the best, best way is to, you know, reach out via email and, you know, let me know what, you know, your issue or whatever, or please, you know, when we get the coffee scheduled. And once we do, I will, absolutely, I'd love to come back on and, you know, and, and you know, tell when they are and make sure that we have that notice out that we have these coffees and we'd love for pcos and really anybody in our community, we want people in the community to come out and just talk, tell us, you know, what's going on in their, in their lives. But now I just lost my train of thought, so. [01:22:34] Speaker B: And here's your contact information again, if you want to reach out to Representative Schmidt, her email and her direct line as well. And so definitely we need people like you said to be doing that and to be engaging and talking to you, especially about the impact of some of these new policies or, you know, if it's, if it's a hardship on you. I mean, that's how they're she's there to represent us in the 4th Legislative District. And your stories and we need those real life stories no matter where you live. [01:23:08] Speaker A: Right. [01:23:09] Speaker B: You know, on the impact of this. So. Yeah. Any, anything else that you want to make sure to share with people? [01:23:16] Speaker A: Oh, gosh, we shared a lot. I know we would have covered a lot of ground. I can't, you know, I can't think of anything right now. But like I said, I would love when I get, you know, those things scheduled to, to come back on and make sure that I talk about those and, and we will talk more about, you know, once we have the coffee scheduled and things is at the coffees talk about this is a good time during the interim to meet with, you know, with, meet with me or email, you know, send me, you know, things that are going on. And then when we're in session, there's a different way that's, that's more impactful of, of communicating and that's really, that is actually once we get into session, the most impactful way is to get on the website and log in whether you're pro or con or if you want to, you know, register to be a, you know, testifier to testify about a particular bill or if you don't feel comfortable speaking, you can also email that or not email, but you log it, you put in your written testimony. And so because we really do pay attention to those, we look at those when we're in committee meeting and that's help. Sorry, I got a tickle in my throat. [01:24:27] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, well, and I know that people logging into and, and putting whether they're pro or con on bills has really made a difference. I know people are frustrated because they feel like, you know, the Democrats aren't listening, but we were able to show like a huge amount of people that were against a lot of this legislation. And I mean, I know again, maybe it didn't go well, but it sure makes an impact and it shows. [01:24:52] Speaker A: It does. And there were things, you know, and I don't have them off the top of my head right now, but there were absolutely bills that were killed that the Democrats pulled because we had so many people logging in. They're like, oh, we're not going to do this is so it does, it does work. I mean, it doesn't work every time, but it does work and they do pay attention. [01:25:12] Speaker B: Yes, for sure. Well, Representative Schmidt, thank you so much for coming on today and taking time to share with the people about your heart and, you know, why you're doing what you're doing and the impact you're able to make and just being open and willing to connect with the constituents and to try to make our state better and our community better. And so we can stay here. I really want to stay here. [01:25:36] Speaker A: You know, the other thing about. [01:25:38] Speaker B: Yeah, the other thing about Suzanne is that we live about a mile apart. [01:25:42] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:25:44] Speaker B: And I've lived here for, like, 23 years. Let's see. 20. [01:25:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:25:48] Speaker B: 24 years as well. So we've both been here for a long time and didn't know each other until we both ran in 2022. But again, I. I think you're doing a very good job, and I really do appreciate, you know, that you listen heartfelt, you know, listen to your constituents and provide opportunity, and you really do are trying very genuinely, I see it, to. To do good for our citizens and to make our state better. So thank you for. Because it's not an easy fight, like you said, you know, you're going over there for six months at a time, and. Yeah, that's part that I'm not so sad, you know, that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. [01:26:29] Speaker A: I know, I know. Yeah. That actually crossed my. Like, I think maybe MJ was the winner. [01:26:35] Speaker B: Well, you know what? We're all the winner because we were working together. Right. You know, and. And so. And. And God had other plans for me. Right. Who knew? So. But thank you again. And do you know, please know this is here to communicate something. Something comes up, you guys want to highlight, you know, something crazy the Democrats are doing or something crazy they're doing the legislature or they're not listening to or giving a hearing to some good bills. The whole fentanyl thing just flabbergast me. I had no idea that they weren't even willing to hear a fentanyl bill. I mean, wow. And we need to shout that from the rooftops. And so, however, I can be of assistance with any of that. And I know we've got a lot of keyboard warriors around, especially on AX and Facebook, that. That are willing to help as well. So, you know, however we can, partner. But thank you for everything you're doing and keep it up. And blessings to you and your family. As, you know, they make the sacrifice as well. [01:27:39] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:27:40] Speaker B: And I hope. [01:27:40] Speaker A: Blessings to you and thank you. Thank you for what you're doing, because I think this, you know, this podcast and just all the work that you've done with the GOP and just really getting messages out there, I just want to really thank you for that. I appreciate everything that you're doing. [01:27:54] Speaker B: Thank you. Thank you. And Vivian says thanks to you both. Very enlightening. Thanks, Vivian. Thanks to everybody that's been listening and. And engaging as well. And yes, we'll hope to have you again sometime here in the near future. All right. [01:28:08] Speaker A: Blessings to you. [01:28:08] Speaker B: Take care. [01:28:10] Speaker A: To you, too, M.J. okay. Bye. Bye. Bye.