State budget conversation must move back to the center
Rodney Tom and Jim Kastama, state senators from Puget Sound suburbs, both insist they are still Democrats. But they felt they had to do something to stop fellow Democrats from writing a budget strong on gimmicks and weak on reform and sustainability.
So, to the shock of many Capitol observers, these Democrats, along with Sen. Tim Sheldon, of Potlatch, Mason County, bucked their party and joined Republicans in staging a breathtaking coup of the Senate budget.