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Former Washington lawmakers urge rebuilding bipartisan ties to bridge rural–urban divide
Summary
Former state legislators JT Wilcox, Larry Springer and Joel Kretz told a club audience that trust, shared experience and patient, cross-district work are key to narrowing the rural–urban political gap; they cited wildfire and wildlife bills as examples where bipartisan cooperation produced results.
At a Public and Global Affairs Committee program at the Rainier Club, moderator and former state representative JT Wilcox introduced a panel of longtime lawmakers who argued the rural–urban divide in Washington can be narrowed by rebuilding relationships and focusing on shared problems.
The program’s nut graf: Larry Springer and Joel Kretz, who together have decades of legislative experience, used recent examples — wildfire mitigation funding and a contentious wolf-management hearing — to argue that in-person engagement and trust-building, not rhetorical purity, produce durable policy.
"We had 1,300 signees," Springer said of a virtual hearing on a wolf-management bill, describing the geographic breakdown he found when he reviewed the registrations: "There were 8 signees that signed in in support of the bill. And guess where they lived — North Central Washington. There were 954 signees opposed to the bill, all of which live west of the Cascades." He used the data to show that some hearings misrepresent on-the-ground stakes.
Panelists described the process that makes bipartisan deals possible: informal dinners, mutual respect and repeated contact across districts. Wilcox said those personal routines allowed members to ask difficult questions away from cameras and make tradeoffs that benefited constituents.
The speakers also identified structural pressures that make cooperation harder. Springer said turnover and inexperience amplify panic when budgets tighten, and multiple panelists blamed the information age and social media for increasing political temperature and promoting purity tests inside caucuses.
The discussion also touched on legislative patience. Panelists recounted multi-year efforts to advance complex measures and urged newer lawmakers to prioritize effectiveness over theatricality. "Always find something to agree upon," Springer advised younger members.
Moderator Wilcox noted the program was being recorded by TVW, Washington’s public-access channel, and encouraged audience members to engage with both urban and rural communities as a way to reduce misunderstanding.
The event was organized by the Public and Global Affairs Committee; Julia, the outgoing committee chair, closed the session by thanking the panel and naming Elena Sedona Sedoma as the incoming chair. The program concluded without any formal votes or policy directives.
