Majority Coalition Caucus of the State of Washington | |
|---|---|
| President Pro Tempore of the Senate | Tim Sheldon (D) (2012–2015) Pam Roach (R) (2015–2017) Tim Sheldon (D) (2017) |
| Senate Majority Leader | Rodney Tom (D) (2012–2014) Mark Schoesler (R) (2014–2017) |
| Senate Republican Caucus Leader | Mark Schoesler (R) |
| Founded | December 10, 2012 |
| Dissolved | November 15, 2017 |
| Ideology | 2012–2015: Bipartisanship Syncreticism 2015–2017: Fiscal conservatism Social moderatism |
| Political position | Center to center-right |
| Seats in the State Senate (at dissolution) | 24 / 49
|
The Majority Coalition Caucus (MCC) was a caucus formed on December 10, 2012, by all 23 Republican members of the Washington State Senate and two Democratic senators. Its membership constituted a majority of the chamber's 49 members, allowing it to take control of the Senate from the Democratic caucus whose members had previously formed a majority. The MCC, operating much like a coalition government, offered an equal number of committee leadership positions to Republicans and Democrats. Senate Democrats accepted only three of the nine positions offered them. The Republicans strengthened their position by gaining one seat in the 2013 election, but lost its majority following a special election in November 2017. The coalition has 23 Republicans and one self-identified Democratic senator, Tim Sheldon. On November 15, 2017, the Majority Coalition Caucus returned to being the state Senate Republican Caucus.[1]
Formation and organization
In the November 2012 elections, Republicans gained one seat in the Washington State Senate, reducing the Democratic majority to 26 out of 49 seats. On December 10, 2012, two Democratic state senators, Tim Sheldon and Rodney Tom, announced they would caucus with the Republicans to create a Republican Majority Caucus with 25 of 49 seats.[2][3]
The MCC has the power to appoint the chairpersons and members of the twelve policy and three fiscal committees that play a leading role in considering and advancing legislation, much like U.S. Senate committees. The MCC proposed six Republican chairs and six Democratic chairs and co-chairs drawn from both parties for the remaining committees.
Senate Democrats rejected offers to chair or co-chair any committees offered them except three: Steve Hobbs chaired the Financial Institutions & Insurance Committee, Brian Hatfield chaired the Agriculture, Water & Rural Economic Development Committee, and Tracey Eide co-chaired the Transportation Committee with Curtis King.[4] However, by December 2014 Hobbs, Hatfield, and Eide's roles had been reduced to "ranking minority member" on each of their committees in favor of Republican leadership.[5]
The MCC's two Democratic members were given leadership positions: Rodney Tom was Senate Majority Leader, Tim Sheldon (MCC) was the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Republican Mark Schoesler headed the Senate Republican Caucus, which continued to operate even while all its members belong as well to the MCC.[2][6]
The election of Republican Jan Angel in 2013 to the Senate gave the MCC 26 of the 49 seats. Rodney Tom characterized this as an "exponential" increase in the coalition's leverage.[7]
In the 2014 election Rodney Tom decided not to seek re-election because of family problems. However, the caucus maintained its majority with 26 senators.[8]
The Majority Coalition Caucus lost its majority in the 2017 special election, which saw the election of Democrat Manka Dhingra. On 15 November 2017 the Majority Coalition Caucus was dissolved and all of its members rejoined the Senate Republican Caucus; despite being registered as a Democrat, Tim Sheldon continued to caucus with Republicans.[9]
In the 2018 election, Washington Democratic Party regained its majority in the Senate, electing 28 seats.
Composition
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) |
Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coalition | Non-coalition | |||||
| Republican | Democratic | Vacant | ||||
| After 2012 Election | 23 | 2 | 24 | 49 | 0 | |
| 2013 Session | 23 | 2 | 3 | 21 | 49 | 0 |
| 2014 Session | 24 | 2 | 3 | 20 | 49 | 0 |
| 2015–16 Session | 25 | 1 | 23 | 49 | 0 | |
| 2017 Session | 24 | 1 | 24 | 49 | 0 | |
Majority Coalition Caucus-Led Committees
| Committee | Makeup | Chair | Ranking Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accountability & Reform | 3 MCC / 2 D | Mark Miloscia | Pramila Jayapal |
| Agriculture, Water & Rural Economic Development | 3 MCC / 2 D | Judith Warnick | Brian Hatfield |
| Commerce & Labor | 4 MCC / 3 D | Michael Baumgartner | Bob Hasegawa |
| Early Learning & K-12 Education | 5 MCC / 4 D | Steve Litzow | Rosemary McAuliffe |
| Energy, Environment & Telecommunications | 5 MCC / 4 D | Doug Ericksen | John McCoy |
| Financial Institutions & Insurance | 5 MCC / 4 D | Don Benton | Mark Mullet |
| Government Operations & State Security | 4 MCC / 3 D | Pam Roach | Marko Liias |
| Health Care | 8 MCC / 5 D | Randi Becker | David Frockt |
| Higher Education | 4 MCC / 3 D | Barbara Bailey | Jeanne Kohl-Welles |
| Human Services, Mental Health & Housing | 3 MCC / 2 D | Steve O'Ban | Jeannie Darneille |
| Law & Justice | 4 MCC / 3 D | Mike Padden | Jamie Pedersen |
| Natural Resources & Parks | 4 MCC / 3 D | Kirk Pearson | Brian Hatfield |
| Rules | 11 MCC / 7 D | Brad Owen | Pam Roach |
| Trade & Economic Development | 4 MCC / 3 D | Sharon Brown | Maralyn Chase |
| Transportation | 9 MCC / 6 D | Curtis King | Steve Hobbs |
| Ways & Means | 13 MCC / 10 D | Andy Hill | James Hargrove |
List of MCC members
- Originally appointed
- †Originally Elected in Special Election
Responses
Most local media initially responded with cautious optimism to the announced coalition,[10] though a columnist in the Spokesman-Review responded with skepticism.[11] Democratic leaders denounced the MCC as "the exact opposite of collaboration" and denied that it was bi-partisan.[12]
See also
References
- ↑ "MCC returns to the Senate Republican Caucus". Twitter. November 15, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
- 1 2 Tom, Rodney; Schoesler, Mark (December 16, 2012). "Op-ed: State Senate's new Majority Coalition Caucus will govern across party lines". Seattle Times. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
- ↑ "Washington State Senate: Republicans Claim Majority After Democrats Defect". HuffPost. December 11, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2012.
- ↑ "Legislature: Power play puts Senate in GOP hands". Seattletimes.com. January 14, 2013. Retrieved January 17, 2013.
- ↑ "Republicans begin remaking Senate". The Spokesman-Review. December 14, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ↑ "Op-ed: 2013–14 Policy Committee Structure" (PDF). Senate Republicans. December 10, 2012. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
- ↑ Jordan Schrader (November 7, 2013). "With Jan Angel's victory, state Senate majority will grow". The News Tribune. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2013.
- ↑ "TVW, Washington States' Public Affairs Network – Public Affairs Made Public". Retrieved November 21, 2019.
- ↑ CoalitionWA, Majority (November 15, 2017). "MCC returns to the Senate Republican Caucus. Still a bipartisan coalition dedicated to jobs, education and the budget. Serving all of Washington's families. To continue to follow our caucus and agenda, follow @WashingtonSRC #waleghttp://ow.ly/7xCE30gBs6u". @WashingtonMCC. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
{{cite web}}: External link in|title= - ↑ Thanh Tan (December 13, 2012). "Editorial Round-Up: Washington newspapers cautiously optimistic about Senate's new Majority Coalition Caucus". Seattle Times. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
- ↑ Jim Camden (December 16, 2012). "Spin Control: Coalition majority might not be so great". Spokesman-Review. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
- ↑ Ed Murray and Karen Fraser (December 13, 2012). "Op-ed: Don't call the state Senate's Majority Coalition Caucus bipartisan". Seattle Times. Retrieved December 16, 2012.