New Leadership or Old Guard? Demyan Challenges Springer in 45th District Race

Campaign Website - Melissa Demyan

“WA lawmakers work to keep public records from the public — again” by Joseph O’Sullivan from Cascade PBS

“Will 'privilege' give WA lawmakers a long-sought exemption from public records law?” by Shauna Sowersby from The Olympian

[00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington state through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Friday week-in-review show and our Tuesday topical show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, the most helpful thing you can do is leave a review wherever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes.

Today we'll be speaking with a state legislative candidate, but before we dive into our interview, let's talk about our state government and what exactly a state legislator does in Washington. So Washington's government, like the federal system, is divided into three branches. The executive branch is led by the governor - and that branch implements and enforces laws, it includes various state agencies and departments. The legislative branch consists of the state Senate and state House of Representatives. They hold the power of policy and the purse, meaning they make the laws and improve the state budget. The judicial branch is headed by our state's top court, the Washington Supreme Court, and this branch interprets laws and ensures they comply with our Washington State Constitution.

Today we're focusing on the legislative branch. Our state has 49 legislative districts, and each district elects two representatives to the state House and one state senator. State representatives are elected every two years. State senators serve four-year terms, but are not elected all at once. The terms are staggered, with half of the Senate up in US presidential election years and half of the Senate up in even numbered non-presidential election years. State legislators do a lot more than just showing up to vote on bills. Their five main responsibilities include: Lawmaking - they propose, debate, and vote on bills that can become state laws. Budgeting - legislators play a crucial role in crafting and approving our state's biennial budget. Constituent services - they're your direct line to state government - serving as a liaison between residents and the government, helping people navigate issues with state agencies, or advocating for community needs. Committee work - most of the nitty gritty happens in committees where legislators dive deep into specific policy areas - holding hearings to hear from issue experts, lobbyists, and the public about proposed legislation. And their last responsibility, year-round engagement - even when not in session, they're meeting with constituents, holding town halls, attending community events, and preparing for the next legislative session. When you vote for a state legislator, you're not just choosing a name on a ballot. You're selecting someone who will make decisions that impact your everyday life, including the quality of your child's education, your access to healthcare services, the options you have for traveling around the region, the air you breathe and the water you drink, the fairness of the tax code and how those funds are used, and economic opportunities in your region. Your vote in this election has the power to shape the future of our state. By understanding the role of our legislators and positions of candidates, you can make an informed decision that aligns with your values and priorities.

Today, we'll be speaking with Melissa Demyan, a candidate for the 45th Legislative District House seat that has been held for 20 years by Democratic incumbent Larry Springer. In the August primary, fewer than 500 votes separated the two candidates, with the incumbent Larry Springer receiving 49.32% of the vote and challenger Melissa Demyan receiving 47.86% of the vote. So your vote definitely counts in this competitive general election race between these two Democratic candidates that will shape the direction of the district and the state. So I'm pleased to welcome Melissa Demyan to the program. Welcome!

[00:04:23] Melissa Demyan: Hello - thank you so much for having me, Crystal.

[00:04:26] Crystal Fincher: So the first thing I'm wondering is what made you decide to run for office now?

[00:04:32] Melissa Demyan: Yeah, absolutely. So I was adopted and my parents didn't know that they were going to be parents - I came home from the hospital in a laundry basket. But within 24 hours, my family was surrounded by our community - they brought clothes, food, a bassinet. So from an early age, I knew the importance of community and giving back and what privilege that brings - being able to share with others. And I knew that if I had not been adopted into my family, I would have grown up in foster care. And so for me, my parents have demonstrated the true meaning of servant leadership in our community. Being able to speak truth to power was shown to me as well. I was able to see that even when you're scared, even when your voice shakes - if there's injustice, you need to speak up. I grew up in a small farm town in southern California, and there was a large population of immigrants in our community - a lot of my classmates were children of farm workers. And at the time - this was back in the early 90s - there was racial busing that was taking place. So there were literally two sides of the train track, and I saw what that meant and I witnessed my mom go to a school board meeting and speak out against this. I knew she was nervous. That's one of my earliest memories of her - was standing up and saying what's right. And her voice shook - she was scared, but she did it anyways. She didn't think about - What are the other people from our church going to think? What are people going to say? She stood up and spoke her truth and she spoke truth to power in a way that was really formative for me.

So that kind of led me on my journey of organizing. I've been a community, a political, and a labor organizer. I started back when I was 17 - before I could vote, I was a fellow for Obama's primary in 2008. And I ended up studying at Seattle U because of their focus on social justice - I love the Jesuit mentality of questioning, and serving your community, and giving back. And in classes there, they teach a social justice element in every course - so I found that to be very much in-line with my values. I always knew that I wanted to move here and raise my family. So my husband and I, before we got married, we moved up here. I found my dream job working with the Machinists Union, so I'm a labor organizer. And I had previously, with the Labor Council, lobbied Representative Springer on safe staffing ratios for nurses. It was my first time meeting him. And his response was that safe staffing for nurses would be too much of a burden on hospital administrators. So it was night and day when I met Senator Dhingra, who asked - How can I help you? What can we do for you? versus meeting Representative Springer who was - Well, we can't do that, it would be too much of a burden for the hospital management. So that never really sat right with me, and I started diving into some of his other votes on key issues that I care about. And just like my parents didn't know they were going to be parents - if you asked me at the beginning of this year, I didn't know I'd be running for office. But thinking back to my mom and standing up when something isn't right - it's clear in our district that something isn't right. And so I wanted to follow her mentorship and guidance and step forward - even when it's scary and my voice shakes - because I think our community deserves more. We deserve a leader who is at the tip of the spear on these issues. We live in an incredibly blue district, and it doesn't seem like our representation with Representative Springer is values-aligned anymore. I think - I have a lot of respect for his years of service, but he's been in the legislature for 20 years, and sometimes it seems like he's bringing politics from 20 years ago into our current legislative session.

[00:08:23] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Well, I want to start off talking about an issue that's on a lot of people's minds as kids have headed back to school - and that's school funding, the funding of our education system. Do you feel like Washington is meeting its paramount constitutional duty to fully fund education? And if not, what can you do about that?

[00:08:48] Melissa Demyan: Yeah, I do not believe that we are. I think we are failing our obligation to the future and our kids. Washington has one of the most regressive tax systems in the country, and we need to come up with bold solutions in terms of progressive revenue to be able to fully fund education. And when we talk about fully funding education, it goes beyond just capital investments on buildings. We need to be thinking about - What do students need to succeed in this time? What sort of technology upgrades do we need to be making in our classrooms? When I'm talking with teachers - What sorts of mental health issues and behavioral challenges are they experiencing that kids are having today? Post-pandemic, things look different. And we have, I think it was 10% of students in school tried to commit suicide - that's an outrageously large number - we need to invest in mental healthcare workers in our schools. We need to be looking at - do we have the most modern and tools that we need to succeed? Because this is our next generation of workforce, and this is our next generation of leaders and movers and shakers. And I just want to make sure that we are planning for the future and giving kids every opportunity to succeed - and that means addressing issues of equity as well. Our reliance on levies and bonds, I think, can be problematic, especially as we see levies failing at higher rates because property taxes disproportionately impacts working-class people. So I want us to be mindful of all that and look at the budget in terms of a statement of values. And for me, investing in kids and our future is pretty high up there.

[00:10:32] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Do you support the expansion, increased funding, increased focus on charter schools?

[00:10:42] Melissa Demyan: No, I don't. I don't believe charters or vouchers are the answer. Representative Springer supports them. I do not. I think every taxpayer dollar that we have needs to go into investing in public education. So that is the short answer - no. We disagree on this issue, and I am fully in support of making sure that the money that we are investing goes directly into public schools and public education.

[00:11:06] Crystal Fincher: And I was just going to ask you about vouchers, but you already answered that. Also want to see if you are supportive of providing kids with free school lunch - anyone who needs it without any kind of a qualification income gate, just universal free lunch to kids in school.

[00:11:24] Melissa Demyan: Absolutely. And I'm really glad that you brought up the no qualification component of this. I am strongly against means testing for any service that we provide. I think it erodes trust in the public when we are not able to provide the services that people expect of their government. And look, I believe in big government. I believe that government should be where people come together to do the most good. And so means testing is an administrative burden that prevents us from helping more people, and especially the people who need it the most. The people who need it the most are the least likely to be able to access the forms and jump through the hoops needed to qualify. And so things like free school lunches - I'm very excited for hopefully our next vice president - he passed free school lunches in Minnesota. I think it's absurd we haven't passed it here yet. We absolutely need to. And they should be year-round free lunches - through the summer. We have not even touched on childcare yet, but we have a childcare crisis in Washington that we need to address. And that includes after school care and also summer - we need to have more funding for summer camps and for enrichment opportunities for kids throughout the year when both parents work. So absolutely free school lunches. And I think it's another area we can disagree - Representative Springer and I. I think it's a little silly that people say - Well, we can't afford free school lunches. But then Representative Springer voted for tax breaks for private planes. So those two things - that doesn't jive for me - we should not be voting for tax breaks for private planes until we've funded all the other programs. That's all I'll say about that.

[00:13:05] Crystal Fincher: That sounds reasonable to me. I'm glad you brought up childcare. That was actually my next question - in that childcare in many areas in our state is more expensive than college, more expensive than in-state tuition for college. It is breaking many families. It is keeping many families from being able to advance economically. It's keeping people out of the workforce who want to be in because it makes more sense to just stay home and take care of the kids than to work solely to pay for childcare. What can you do as a legislator to make childcare more affordable for more people?

[00:13:45] Melissa Demyan: Yeah, absolutely. And you took my talking point - that it's more expensive than a year of in-state tuition at University of Washington - that is mind-blowing. And the high cost is partly driven, I believe, due to a lack of people who want to work in childcare. And this is for a number of reasons. They are underpaid - and that is a huge issue. We need to make sure that we're paying our childcare providers a wage that's attracting talent, that people find value in becoming a childcare provider. So we need to hire more childcare providers. We need to make that an attractive job because we have so many childcare providers who are barely making ends meet. And so we want to make sure that we're investing in our care force to incentivize more to want to become childcare providers. So another area where I think we can do good work in the Legislature is by looking at investments in childcare surrounded to apprenticeships. So this is actually one thing that the Machinists Union is working on with our Machinist Institute - that's our apprenticeship program. We have, I think - maybe the first in the state - attached and involved with our apprenticeship program is a childcare facility. Because oftentimes in the apprenticeships and in the trades, we have folks who work odd hours. And so we have people that will be working a night shift, and where are you going to find a childcare provider in the middle of the night? And so looking at extended hours for childcare, looking at how can we invest in public-private partnerships to make sure that we have the programs needed. So that way, what we're doing is our apprenticeship - when you're working as an apprentice, you're able to have access to this childcare during the times that you're working. And so I think that's really key as well - how can we help to support working families with these needs?

[00:15:34] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. So you talk about revenue. Is there specific revenue that you would be proposing or supporting to help achieve the funding that's necessary?

[00:15:46] Melissa Demyan: Yeah. First, it's terrible that we have to be on defensive, but we have to protect the capital gains tax. I think there's other areas where we can get creative in terms of other excise taxes.

[00:15:57] Crystal Fincher: And just clarifying - when you say protect that, I assume you're talking about this November? Voting No on those conservative Republican initiatives put forward on the statewide ballot?

[00:16:09] Melissa Demyan: Absolutely. Yes. Vote No on all of the ballot measures because this money goes towards education. So we need to make sure that we're voting No on these ballot measures that - for the capital gains only affects, what, 4,000 Washingtonians. So really, this is a crisis that we have here. We live in a state with tremendous wealth and the fact that we are not having corporations and the ultra-rich pay their fair share - in this conversation, people who work for a living, that's not who I'm talking about when I say ultra-rich. We have people who make extraordinary amounts of money through investments, and we need to make sure that we're capturing some of that to give back to the public schools, to our roads, our fire departments, our law enforcement, our first responders, healthcare. There's so many areas where I think we can use public funding and we have the tax base for it, but we need to find ways to implement that. And I think part of that is doing the work in the Legislature to organize and to get legislators on board. There is something for everyone here and we need to figure out how to put that into a budget and capture some of that progressive revenue.

[00:17:16] Crystal Fincher: Now I want to talk a little bit about safety also. We have been experiencing some troubling instances in schools - across the state, really, certainly throughout our region - as well as in the community. So when we talk about public safety, what does a safe community look like to you? And what can you do in your role as a legislator to make that more possible?

[00:17:43] Melissa Demyan: Yeah, that's a great question. And I'm really serious about safety - I was the victim of a crime when I was a kid and navigating the legal process and having a challenging time - finding an advocate is really difficult. I think the violent crime hit rate is something like only 20% in terms of "catching the bad guy." And when I think about criminal justice and safety in our communities, there's two words in criminal justice - there's "criminal" and "justice." And I think we spend a lot of time thinking about the perpetrators of crime and not a lot about the justice. So not a lot about helping and supporting victims - because if we're only catching the bad guy 20% of the time, how can we make the community feel safe and the victim feel whole, even when we're unable to find the person who did it? So I think investing and looking at our budget in terms of making sure the restitution fund is fully funded, making sure that victim services are fully funded as well. I think it's only 0.002% of the budget, and that's an incredibly small number - when we think about all these elected officials on both sides of the aisle talking about safety and law enforcement, but what part of that is going to help victims? So I want to sort of help center and focus some of that conversation.

Another area that I think is important to talk about - there was a great article in The Atlantic that sort of put forward this idea around guardians or warriors. We're 49th out of 50 in terms of investment in law enforcement. And this isn't an area where I think you can throw money at a problem - we have to make the job of being a law enforcement officer desirable. And what women and young people and people of color are thinking about is - I want to be a guardian and not a warrior. We have a broken cop culture in our country - we think about police officers in terms of they're like warriors for justice, they're going out to get the bad guy. But in Ireland - one of the beautiful things I discovered there when I was studying was - they call their police officers Garda. And Garda means guard. And so if you're not actively harming someone, they're going to just look out for you. They're there to protect everyone - and that means the guy who's had one too many pints too. They're going to bring him home and tuck him into bed. There's a funny caption - somebody had that happen and the guards took a selfie and they left it on his phone there with him in his apartment. And that made it all over the news because it was a lighthearted moment where you saw law enforcement working for good - they were looking out for a guy before he got into trouble. They're like - Hey, let's take you home. So I think we need to look at the culture around police in the United States. And that starts with making it be a job people want to take for the right reasons - because a guard is looking out for the victim as well, and a police officer in the United States is focused on catching the bad guy. So that sort of reframing is a conversation that I'm really interested in, and I have personal lived experience with that.

[00:21:03] Crystal Fincher: So there are a lot of cities right now who are trying to hire police officers across the state. Many cities are facing challenges with hiring the amount of officers that they want. But they're also facing budget challenges, as their public safety expenditures have grown to be larger and larger parts of their municipal expenditures. At the same time, we're hearing experts across the board, police chiefs, both in the region and across the state, saying - We can't fix every problem, and there is a stark shortage of the types of supportive services, rehabilitation services, crisis services that are needed for people who are facing substance use disorder or mental health crises. And so it seems like while everybody acknowledges the necessity of additional services, the funding for that is very hard. And when at least cities and many counties are faced with - Hey, invest in hiring more cops or invest in these services that everyone says are necessary - the money seems to run out before the services. What do you see as your role in helping to ensure that those services are available for the people who need them and that they are included in the comprehensive patchwork that is public safety?

[00:22:40] Melissa Demyan: Yeah. I think we need to - I'm going to sound like a broken record on this because every area that we talk about - we need to come up with some more progressive revenue funding. But this is an area where I think prioritizing and looking at models that are working - King County on the Eastside - I know Kirkland and there's a coalition of cities that are doing some great work with crisis responders and treatment centers. So I think you used a phenomenal word just now - patchwork. We have a patchwork across the state and it's not meeting the needs of every community. And so one thing that, as an organizer, I think I bring to the Legislature is being able to look at some of these problems, figure out and hear from folks in the community, talk with everyone who needs to be consulted on this, and bring together a coalition to start looking at this from a more holistic perspective. That's what we do as an organizer - I find places where we have common ground to start. And you see this in union negotiations as well. We have to find places where we can have common ground and build a coalition - hear from everyone, find what's working, identify what's not, and then bring together that coalition and keep fighting until you have a result. So I think this is a long - unfortunately - process because every day that we delay, there are people who are being criminalized for mental health and substance abuse disorders, and I don't believe that's the answer. So I want to make sure that we are keeping treatment at the forefront of the conversation and looking at where is this working and how can we get other places to adopt a similar model.

[00:24:28] Crystal Fincher: So what does that mean when you're looking at prioritizing budget expenditures in the Legislature? Does that mean that you're prioritizing services over hiring additional bodies. What is that prioritization looking like for you?

[00:24:43] Melissa Demyan: Yeah, well, I think services includes hiring additional bodies.

[00:24:48] Crystal Fincher: I'm talking about police - hiring enforcement versus supportive services. Certainly, we've seen significant investments to date in hiring additional officers - we hear Bob Ferguson talking about that in his campaign for governor. Is that your top priority for expenditures? Or are you looking to right-size the equation with the other elements that we just talked about?

[00:25:14] Melissa Demyan: I think right-sizing the equation is a great way to put it. Eastside Fire and Rescue actually has somebody now on staff that goes out with Fire to help with treatment and issues - so when there is a response or they think somebody is using fentanyl or drugs, they're able to leave Narcan with that person. And I think it's really unfair - the amount of hats that we are making our police officers wear. They have to be caseworkers. They have to be social workers. They have to be first responding medical. Sometimes, they have to be treatment and addiction people. And then at the same time, they have to carry a gun and be warriors for justice. So that's too many hats. And so I think we're having a lack of bodies. And you see this in any workforce - if you have somebody wearing too many hats or they're doing too many jobs, they're not doing any job particularly well. And so I think just hiring more officers wearing so many hats - that's not going to fix a burnout. I think in the ideal world, you have a team of a firefighter, a nurse, a social worker, a crisis response - all together - and they go around and they help people. Obviously, that model is going to take a really long time to get to, but I think we need to be a little bit more strategic when we think about the staffing and who we have on a team. Because somebody in crisis needs a team of people, and each person on that team should bring a different skill set. So I think we need people who can protect, we need people who can treat, we need people who can prevent as well. And so looking at it from that lens, I think, is where I would want to - like you said - help to recenter the equation.

[00:26:57] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. And I do think that there's a lot that is encouraging and leading the way in that transition in the 45th District. As you talked about, the coalition of cities banding together for both co-response, the opening of a crisis care center there in the district - really showing what is necessary, leading the way on the implementation of that. And I definitely am excited to see more of what that is. And I think many people in the region are, as other cities look to your district as an example.

I also want to talk about homelessness, which is a problem that has been getting worse, unfortunately, in many areas in our region. And we just recently had the Grants Pass Supreme Court decision, which basically made it okay - it's no longer considered cruel and unusual punishment for cities to enact criminal penalties for people sleeping in public spaces who don't have anywhere else to go. This is amidst many cities attempting to enact camping bans to prevent people from being able to sleep, while simultaneously there aren't enough shelter beds, shelter spaces, available housing to even house everyone on the street. So I guess starting off, did you agree with the Grants Pass decision, and where do you think we need to go to meaningfully reduce the amount of people who are without homes on our streets?

[00:28:32] Melissa Demyan: Absolutely not. The Supreme Court was dead wrong on this. They have made some terrible decisions. And this is, I think, a highlight of why our presidential elections matter - Donald Trump made some really terrible appointments to the Supreme Court that are going to have lasting implications in all areas for a long time. Grants Pass is, I think, a horrific abuse of human rights. All people deserve dignity. And when we cannot provide basic shelter for people in a country or in a state with this much wealth, we are failing. And I think - with homelessness, there's sort of two issues we have to look at. We have to look at the immediate urgency - there's somebody on the street tonight, it is raining outside right now, it is August and it's kind of cold. We have to immediately address the issues that people are facing in the moment. We need to have more shelter beds available. We need to make this a priority to help address the immediate suffering that's taking place. And then we have the longer term issue, which is we need to build more housing at all income levels - both community publicly funded housing for people who are working on getting to permanent housing situation, but then we also need housing at various income levels because so much of our society is one paycheck away or one layoff away from losing their home. And so we need to come up with a strategy that addresses both ends of the spectrum. We need to immediately harm reduce and reduce suffering for those who are experiencing homelessness - our unhoused neighbors. And then we need to make sure that we're looking at the long-term strategy to get as many people into housing as possible.

This is an area where I am still learning, but it has been deeply personal for me for a long time. I actually worked at ROOTS Young Adult Homeless Shelter as my work study when I was at Seattle University. So I spent time with University of Washington students who every night would get in line for shelter - they were experiencing homelessness. They would read on their mat with a flashlight at night after lights out. And they were students just like me. And so this is something that was an issue back in 2009. It's an issue - even more of a crisis - now. And so we need to act urgently and meet the moment. And it's not going to be easy - there're so many factors involved. And I do not want to portray myself as an expert on this area - I am in a growth and learning phase on this, in terms of all the complexity of making sure that we have resources both on the front end to reduce suffering and then on the housing development front. But I do know that anybody who says that this is not a crisis is not paying attention.

[00:31:24] Crystal Fincher: Is new housing needed? Do we need to build more housing as part of the solution to this?

[00:31:30] Melissa Demyan: Absolutely. We need - I was reading a report - I think it's a million new houses in the next 20 years. So we need to see increased density in many areas, and then we need to focus on reducing some of the barriers to building in various places as well. I think our zoning needs to be looked at - I'm encouraged by some of the transit oriented development conversations and the bills that are passing. We definitely need new housing - short answer.

[00:32:01] Crystal Fincher: Got it. I do want to look at this holistically and accurately - and you kind of alluded to it a little bit - you are one person in a group of legislators. You can't act unilaterally. Certainly your vote is important, your voice is important. But it's not like you can personally sign something into law alone - there are dynamics in this Legislature, that frankly have stymied a lot of these issues that we've been talking about. We've been talking about needing more housing for quite some time, talking about needing to fully fund education before and after the McCleary decision. We've been talking about the need for more progressive revenue. And yet, with a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate, those haven't been able to get through. So really, there's a need to understand where the caucuses are at and what's needed to shepherd these proposals and these policies through in order to get them to pass. So as you're looking at it, particularly when thinking about the need to pass new progressive revenue, what to you has been the roadblock - particularly in the House caucus - that has prevented that from passing before? And how will you work to address that dynamic and help to be able to get this to a point where it can pass?

[00:33:26] Melissa Demyan: Yeah, I love this question. I want to share an example first - I think Representative Bateman's bill on expanding single-family zoning is an incredible example of why we need more organizers in our Legislature. She would meet with anyone, anywhere, anytime - and just kept pushing and having conversations and coming across a roadblock and then finding a way to break through. And that's why so many people on both sides supported the legislation when it passed. I think it's the golden example of why we need more organizers. As an organizer, that's what I do. I'm not a policy expert yet - I have a lot to learn in terms of some of the specifics. But what I do know how to do, what is intrinsic in my soul, is how to bring people together, how to find the root of their hangup - what is their issue with it? When we sit down in union negotiations, we're not thinking in terms of red, or blue, or partisan lines - I've been trained to think in the purple. In terms of when a union puts forward a proposal, we're not trying to screw the business. I'm incredibly pro-business in terms - I want to see businesses succeed because that means workers succeed. And that's the goal of a contract negotiation - is to find a way where both sides can succeed. And so you have to ask a lot of questions. You have to get people to open up and share with you what is their hangup, what is their reservation. And sometimes they'll be forthcoming and other times you have to organize to push them. And so bringing stakeholders to the table - we need to organize more people to come testify at committees.

We need to look at who are the players on our team in terms of Democrats in our caucus and our leadership. Representative Springer is the Deputy Majority Leader. He has been there for what, almost 20 years, and he has had his opportunity to sit on Appropriations and Rules. And a lot of good legislation can be killed in Appropriations and Rules. And so we have several legislators - especially I think the worst examples are ones in safe blue districts - where, Crystal, you said it perfectly. We have a Democratic House, a Democratic Senate, and a Democratic governor. There's no reason why we can't pass many of these areas of legislation. But I think we need folks who have a background in organizing and who maybe are a little bit less removed from some of these issues. As a renter myself, I understand the urgency of passing tenant protections and rent stabilization. Representative Springer owns his home. He owns a business. As a worker - someone who works 9 to 5 - I can tell you our Legislature is not set up for everyday average workers. What job do you know of where, if we were to have more people run, that you could go to your boss and say - Hey, I need three months off to go to Olympia and try to pass bills? It's a really difficult conversation. So we have then - the result of that - a lot of folks in our Legislature and in leadership positions who are business owners, who are lawyers, who set their own schedule, who are not necessarily one paycheck away, who are older as well - who are not experiencing the urgency of growing up, living with a once-in-a-lifetime crisis every year.

To get back to your original question, I think the way that I approach this is through organizing and pushing to have these conversations - to sit down and meet with anyone, anywhere, anytime - to bring the stakeholders to the table. When you elect an organizer to the Legislature - this campaign is not about me. And if you ever hear me say "my campaign," check me on that. This is our campaign. Because when you elect an organizer, I'm bringing the entire community with me to Olympia. My goal is to sit down and meet with groups and individuals who are impacted by this legislation and not just stand out front and say - I'm the leader. Here's what we're going to do. I'm asking - You're here on the ground. This is your issue. What can I do to serve you? And so that's the mindset that I bring. And I hope we continue to push the caucus leadership to have more conversations like that with their constituents. And maybe, in this case, having the next generation of legislators lead by example - this is what we want and we want to expect of our legislators is - more of an organizing mentality to pass the critical bills that we need to get done.

[00:37:57] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. I do want to talk about housing a little bit. There have been some bills that have been stuck in the Legislature - you just referenced some of those that would be helping renters, particularly one of those having to do with rent stabilization - preventing predatory increases to rent prices every year. Do you support giving cities the option to cap the percentage that a landlord can raise the rent annually?

[00:38:28] Melissa Demyan: Yeah, I do. I think it needs to be a conversation. As a renter myself, I've experienced every year the sheer panic and terror that comes with renewal season - how much is my rent going to be? That is no way to live your life - I think it takes years off of our lives when we have to live every year thinking, do I have to move? And the longer you've been in your place, the more stuff you have and the more expensive it is to move. And so I think we need to have that conversation, and it's a hard one because there's two sorts of landlords. There's the individual mom-and-pop landlord that we think of that I have way less of a problem with - they lived in their house, maybe they downsized but they're keeping this other property so that people can rent it. And they have costs - they need to fix the roof, it's a huge expense. So we need to think about that in terms of a reasonable rent increase. But then we have these corporations that are buying up homes in neighborhoods at extraordinary rates. We have corporate-owned apartment buildings that are raising the rent based off of what they believe the market will allow, rather than the needs of their books to be able to still turn a small profit. But they're not thinking about that - I was reading about this algorithm that a large portion of our corporate-owned apartments are using to determine what the market will bear in terms of what they can charge for rent. And that is now - if you ask me, that's price fixing. That is not based off of need to raise the rent - that's based off of an arbitrary number that an algorithm is spitting out. And when you have so many companies using the same AI model across the country, we now have a new floor for what rent is, and it's not based on the needs of the landlord to even turn a profit. It's based off of how much can they maximize their profit at the expense of the people who need a place to live. And so I want to keep that thought in mind as we talk about rent stabilization and rent control, because I absolutely experience this every year and it's nerve wracking and I have more gray hair for it. We need to come up with a way to have a conversation that is balanced - that looks at the needs of people over profit.

[00:40:52] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, absolutely. We talked about how to work more effectively within the caucus and within the Legislature, if you are elected as a legislator. There's also a number of good governance democracy proposals to help people more effectively participate in our democracy and help to make sure that the people who we're sending to Olympia best represent what the community feels and needs. One of those proposals is even-year elections. The difference between turnout in odd years and even years is dramatic - we're seeing that again this year. Is even-year elections something you support?

[00:41:36] Melissa Demyan: Absolutely, yeah. I think maximizing people's ability to vote is crucial in democracy. I was taught early on that there's sort of two great things that we have in the United States that a lot of other people around the world are not fortunate to have. And one is voting rights and the ability to vote and cast a ballot for who you want to lead you. And the other is a jury of your peers - serving on jury duty. And I think in both of those areas, I see too many of my own peers and folks sloughing off those great privileges and responsibilities that we have to each other - because it is what sets us apart. So when I hear people say - Oh, I forgot to vote or I didn't cast my ballot - I think about friends that I have in other countries who don't have the ability to experience that freedom, for lack of a better way to put it. And so I absolutely 100% support even-year elections. It makes sense. I don't know why we're against it.

[00:42:39] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, definitely. Also wondering, do you support giving cities or counties the option to implement ranked choice voting?

[00:42:47] Melissa Demyan: Yeah. Yeah, I think ranked choice voting has a lot of benefits - and absolutely.

[00:42:53] Crystal Fincher: Makes sense. I want to talk about one major difference - one of several major differences - between where you are and where Representative Springer is, and that is outspoken support of the Keep Our Care Act. What is this act? What will it do? And what's the difference between you and the incumbent, Larry Springer?

[00:43:15] Melissa Demyan: Absolutely. Thank you for asking about this. This is critically important. So we have eight big healthcare systems that control more than 90% of licensed hospital beds in Washington state. So we have a consolidation in the industry that has taken place in terms of healthcare, and this drives costs up for everyone. And so what the Keep Our Care Act will do is prevent hospital mergers that are - it'll prevent bad hospital mergers, that's the simplest way to put this. One of the side effects of these hospital mergers taking place is that, especially when they're religiously run, they will prevent access to reproductive care. And they will also prevent gender-affirming care. And so we have communities in Washington state - in fact, there are six counties where one health system has 100% of the hospital beds. And so uninsured and underinsured individuals are disproportionately harmed when health systems do not prioritize their community's needs. And so we have these major hospital chains that are going into communities - and particularly in underserved and rural areas. - and buying up community healthcare clinics. So this bill prevents that from happening. And it's called the Keep Our Care Act - it is about keeping costs lower for community members. It's about making sure that communities have access to reproductive care and are not prevented from seeking that due to a religious hospital chain buying up their community care clinic, making sure that people have trans, gender-affirming care. And so, Representative Springer - he withheld support for this bill on Appropriations - and that's a problem for me. That is a huge issue.

[00:44:58] Crystal Fincher: Now, just one clarification there. Is it fair to say that it doesn't necessarily prevent the merger, but it prevents the loss of services, like reproductive healthcare or gender-affirming care, as a result of a merger? Is that a fair classification, or does it go beyond that?

[00:45:16] Melissa Demyan: Yes. It ensures that health entity consolidations do not negatively impact access to healthcare services. So it requires the Attorney General to have oversight and enforcement. And so it includes a health equity assessment so that health entity, these consolidations address the needs of marginalized communities. And it ensures community input through public notification of proposed consolidations - and the opportunity for public hearings and comment. So if there was a proposal of a merger, it gives your community the opportunity to organize and say - Hey, this is going to impact us. And it allows the Attorney General that enforcement and oversight needed to prevent limiting care and diminishing access to quality and affordable care.

[00:46:02] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. And this is a bill that had a lot of support - broad support - especially as the amount of mergers increase. We are no stranger to religious hospitals and religious healthcare systems here. We have quite a few. And even though we have significantly protective laws here when it comes to the ability for people to choose their own healthcare, especially when it comes to reproductive care and gender-affirming care, religious hospitals don't necessarily have to abide by those and they frequently choose not to provide those services. It's been a problem in rural areas already in our state where those services sometimes have been under threat of not just being available in an entire county, entire regions. So this is critical to maintain the type of healthcare that we're fighting for, fighting to maintain - particularly at the federal level - that has impacted so many people across the country after the Dobbs decision. And it's a little bit scary to feel like - even though you have technical legal protections, a religious hospital can swoop in, buy up a chain, and right now say we're really not comfortable providing all of the services that you're currently receiving. And you can just be left kind of stranded on an island without life-saving, life-changing healthcare that you have there. And so this is a really important act. Very different position, as you said, where you are at and where Larry Springer, your opponent, the incumbent in this seat, is at. What will it take to pass the Keep Our Care Act this legislative session, if you're elected?

[00:47:51] Melissa Demyan: Yeah, we need to organize around this. It's one of the reasons I believe that I received the sole endorsement from Planned Parenthood and other women's organizations who care about this issue, because it's exactly like you said - every Washingtonian deserves access to affordable quality healthcare regardless of their identity, their zip code, their medical needs. And with the recent decisions out of the federal Supreme Court, we need to make sure that in Washington, we are very clear and we safeguard a woman's right to choose. It is absolutely fundamental that we pass this. And so the answer to your question is - whatever it takes. We need to get in there and organize. I need to figure out who is - aside from Representative Springer - some of the roadblocks, and we will push through because this can't wait. We needed to pass this last session. And I am very disappointed in Representative Springer for not supporting it when he had the opportunity to. And so, whatever it takes - we've got to get this done. And it's one of the motivators for me running with the threat that we have of having another Trump term - we can't wait. We have people from other states coming to Washington to exercise their reproductive freedom and to receive gender-affirming care. And to receive end-of-life care as well - I know we haven't mentioned that yet, but Washington is one of the few states that offers end-of-life care. So I think that's something where we need to make sure that we are solidly in the proactive stance. This is a bill that can't wait.

[00:49:23] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Well, is there anything that we haven't talked about today that you feel is really important to discuss or that is flying under the radar?

[00:49:35] Melissa Demyan: Yeah, I think there's two things that I want to mention. One of them has to do with legislative accountability. So Representative Springer was a co-chair on what was called the Sunshine Committee. And there was a few years back where there was a state Supreme Court decision that essentially mandated that legislators comply with public records requests. And the fastest bill the Legislature maybe has ever passed - within a day - was to opt themselves out of that decision and make it retroactive. So that way, everything prior to the decision would also be opted out. Thankfully, Governor Inslee - after citizens organized around this - vetoed that bill. But we are still very much in the dark when it comes to behind-the-scenes in the Legislature. And I think this ties into a much bigger problem in our democracy, both federally and at the state and everywhere, is around public disclosure and campaign finance and lobbyists and conversations that legislators have - for lack of a better way to put it, how the sausage is made. As a labor organizer and as a union representative, we deal with records requests from companies all the time. It's critical when we're talking about bargaining a contract - I need to request from the company relevant information to bargaining - that could include things like financial records, that could include how much benefits cost, that could include anything relating to bargaining. Because I need to have all the information in order to make a good decision. And if a company doesn't provide that, we file what's called an unfair labor practice. And in our state right now, for the public to get information that's relevant to us making informed decisions about our legislators and our legislative process - in terms of voting, in terms of lobbying, like citizen lobbying and being able to go and talk with our legislators - we're not able to access that relevant information. Most of it's redacted. A majority of our Legislature exercises executive privilege and has their records redacted. And so I'm committed to not exercising executive privilege. I believe in transparency. I think we need more accountability from our legislators. And this is something that's really important to me in terms of just good governance, because I think when you rely on redacting records and doing deals in secret and all of that, I think that erodes trust in government. And we cannot afford to erode trust in government when we have Republicans doing such a great job of that all on their own. So that's something that's really important to me.

And then I think this also ties into the amount of influence that lobbyists, especially corporate lobbyists, have in Olympia and in our federal government. The amount of money that businesses, corporations - let's be clear, this is not mom-and-pop businesses donating a couple hundred bucks to support their favorite candidate - I'm talking about the Exxon Mobils, the Phillips 66 Petroleum Company, the Chevron, the oil companies. I'm talking about the very large employers who have a vested interest in supporting a legislator who votes against unemployment for striking workers like Representative Springer did. You see these donations - and yes, they're all publicly disclosed - we can go to the PDC and look up who is donating to a candidate. But we have a hard time accessing and finding out what conversations are taking place there around their priority legislation. Representative Springer received a max-out check from the Boeing company. And earlier in the legislative session, he voted against unemployment for striking workers, which helped to kill the bill. That's one of those things where it's like, all right, I can't say that it's one for one there - but it feels very transactional from a citizen's perspective. And so I want to make sure that we're looking at campaign finance reform, that we're looking at how can we make this process more transparent and more fair for average voters to know and to understand the influence that corporate lobbyists have on our legislators. And so for me, as an advocate for workers and working families, I signed the No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge. I'm not taking corporate PAC money. My opponent is sitting on a half a million dollar war chest almost - and it's very few individual donors - it's mostly corporations and industry associations. So I think it's important that we think about that - who is funding the people and what does their voting record look like? Because it's one thing if you take all this money and then you vote with the party's values, right? You vote your values. It's another thing when you are taking all this money and then you break with your party on the bills where it counts - on the Keep Our Care Act, on unemployment for striking workers, on the Employee Free Speech Act, which allows employees to opt out of political or religious meetings that their employer has. And yeah, when you vote against 1589, the bill to transition to clean energy - Representative Springer voted against that. It's one of those things where - okay, well, I'm looking at all the oil and gas money you took, and it doesn't take long to put two and two together there. So, I don't know. I think that's something that we need to talk more about generally - and encourage people to look - because in our primary, we were outspent three to one in an uncontested primary. This is quite rare. Uncontested primary - there was no Republican on the ballot, it was Representative Springer and I - and IE's came in and spent over $50,000 to support him. And they were funded by - who do you think? Oil and gas companies. So they're looking out for their friend - they're clearly nervous. They wanted to stop our momentum because these are the conversations that an organizer wants to have. And I think it's a conversation that our district is having right now and wants to continue to have. I think your voting record matters, and that's why we have a "Receipts" page on our website - just thankfully, one of our volunteers went through and looked up all of these votes that Representative Springer has took, but against our values, I believe, as a district. And we put how Senator Dhingra voted on that bill and how Representative Goodman voted on that bill, because our other two legislators in this district are incredibly values-aligned and are a great representation, I think, of where we're at. But Representative Springer voted no or opposite how they voted on many key bills over the last several years.

[00:56:21] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, that was certainly very enlightening - to see just how many bills there were where that was the case - where Representative Springer seemed to be just the odd man out on so many votes where both Goodman and Dhingra were aligned. Well, certainly appreciate you taking the time to have this conversation with us today. Appreciate all of the insight and getting to know you better. If people want to learn more about you and your campaign or get involved, where can they visit and what can they do?

[00:56:55] Melissa Demyan: Yeah, so we have our website - melissademyan.com. We also have - I'm on TikTok now - it's very new for me, but I am building a TikTok group and it's been a lot of fun. We also have our Facebook page and we have our Instagram page. And the best thing to do is give me a call, send me a text. My number is 805-217-1965. I'm an organizer - I love having conversations. I want to hear from people. So if you want to get involved, give me a call, shoot me a text - I'd be happy to plug you in. This is a movement. And so I just appreciate everybody who wants to be involved and have these conversations because I know state government is not the sexiest position or the most hot topic. And I heard recently, average people spend one hour a year thinking about politics. And so I'm sure 50 minutes of that, at least, is thinking about the presidential election. So if I can even just have one minute of your time to talk with you about why this race and why local government matters, I would be incredibly honored.

[00:57:57] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Thank you so much, Melissa Demyan.

[00:58:00] Melissa Demyan: Thank you.

[00:58:01] Crystal Fincher: Thank you for listening to Hacks & Wonks, which is produced by Shannon Cheng. You can follow Hacks & Wonks on Twitter @HacksWonks. You can catch Hacks & Wonks on every podcast service and app - just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to get the full versions of our Friday week-in-review shows and our Tuesday topical show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave a review wherever you listen. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the podcast episode notes.

Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time.