On the other side of the country, a week of conflict over the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives has Lewis County still waiting for someone to represent them in Congress.
During a Friday morning meeting, Sarah Kohout, district director for Congresswoman-elect Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, told Lewis County commissioners and mayors, “They need to elect a speaker before any other business can happen. Marie still needs to be sworn in and they can't move forward to any legislation.”
All week, the majority-Republican House has failed, time and again, to come up with the votes for any one candidate to take the position of Speaker.
In the meantime, Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Washougal, wrote in a statement Thursday, “Every day the House goes without a Speaker is a day Southwest Washington goes without the representation it deserves.”
An auto mechanic from Skamania County, Gluesenkamp Perez continued, “It’s past time to put people over politics and elect a Speaker, and I remain open to supporting a unity candidate if one steps forward.”
Kohout, who previously worked for Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, is a regular at the monthly Lewis County Mayors Meetings. She told local leaders she intends to continue attending or sending other staff members to the meeting on behalf of the congresswoman-elect going forward.
Gluesenkamp Perez’s district office is located in Vancouver, “just steps away from outgoing Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler’s Vancouver office,” wrote her team in an email.
Kohout said she will be happy to help the county or municipal leaders in continuing business they had with Herrera Beutler, including securing dollars for updates on Lewis County’s 911 infrastructure.
