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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The second week of the 2015 legislative session was full of committee hearings, meetings with constituents, and works on bills.
The week began with a remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I had the privilege to speak during a ceremony on the House floor, and I shared the story of Eric Renz, a man who made a difference for justice in our own community. Eric was killed late last year in a bicycle accident, and last weekend a memorial service was held to honor his life.
Eric and I were opponents in the last election, bot that didn't stop us from being friends. As I said on the House floor, “We found common ground in our love for our community and a motivation based on our shared faith to do right. Eric spent his life in Christian ministry, helping the less fortunate of our community. He was tireless in his work to help the homeless. I'll never forget the morning we sat down for breakfast in the middle of the campaign and talked together about ways to improve our political process for the good of the poor and marginalized. That's why he ran for office.”
You can view the rest of my speech here.
Highlights of the week included committee work session on our state's need for more college graduates with computer science degrees, the growth of an innovative public-private partnership to promote Washington tourism, and trade movement throughout the state. I was delighted to visit with constituents representing realtors, college students, dental hygienists, bankers grocery distributors, the Puyallup Main Streets Association, the Puyallup Police Department, and more.
I also introduced several bills, including a bill to engage the private sector in helping to reduce recidivism among youth who are leaving the juvenile justice system, a bill to leverage state housing dollars to improve student achievement in our schools, and a bill to provide better information to lawmakers and the public about what is driving costs in our state universities.
Finally, this week I was proud to sponsor my cousin, Cy Hanson, in the House Page program. Cy is a student at Kalles Junior High School in Puyallup. During the week he was able to deliver documents to legislators and staff, meet fellow students from across Washington state, and attend page school. I was happy to host Cy at the Capitol this week, and I encourage junior high, or middle school students from our district to apply to the House Page program. Is someone you know is interested in being a Page, please don't hesitate to contact me for more information.
Keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Hans Zeiger
