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October 4, 2013

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Fall is officially here the days are colder, the first month of school is over and children are hitting the books. We in government are also focused on studying and preparing for the upcoming session. During the interim, I have been to Olympia for committee meetings on the Growth Management Act, WSDOT project cost analysis, transportation discussions and to research possible legislation in 2014. It has been a busy and productive time.

Additionally, I have been pleased to meet with many constituents during my “coffee talks” which I hold each Friday in my district office from 11 a.m. to noon. I've received great feedback and heard first hand about your concerns. These meetings are very helpful and we will continue to do them after a short break on Oct. 10 and 18. When the meetings continue on Oct. 25, please join me! My local office is located at: 930 S. 336th Street, Suite A, Federal Way, WA 98003.

Transportation
Transportation is one of the most important aspects of a thriving economy and our quality of life in Washington State. Thousands of jobs depend on movement of goods along our highways, over our bridges, through our mountain passes, over rail, and to our sea ports on the west side of the state. Many of you have heard that Gov. Inslee urged a special session in November in order to pass a transportation tax package. As a result, the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus created a series of listening tours to see what the public had to say regarding transportation. This listening tour will be in our district soon, on Oct. 9 in Tacoma.

I encourage you to go to this meeting and have your voice heard. The feedback the Senate gets from those who participate in these meetings will be used to formulate next steps in the transportation budgeting process.

So far the events have been effective. Around 400 people participated in the first meeting in Bellevue, which I also attended. Reports state that there were at least 200 people in Everett during the following meeting and more than 100 citizens in Wenatchee and Yakima earlier last week. If you can't make the meeting in Tacoma, there are two final dates: Oct. 14 in Seattle and Oct. 15 in Bellingham. You can find out more here: http://majoritycoalition.src.wastateleg.org.

Lastly, while these tours are a great tool, I would like to hear from you personally. Please send me your thoughts, concerns and ideas about transportation to Linda.Kochmar@leg.wa.gov. Hearing from you will help me to make the best choices to keep Washington moving forward.

Contact me
You can contact my office any time with your questions and comments by calling (206) 429-2378. I continue to be honored to serve as your state representative in the 30th District and appreciate all the support from our community. Please feel free to pass this email along to others who may be interested or sign-up to receive my emails by clicking here.

Sincerely,

Linda Kochmar