Constituent discusses Sen. Rossi encounter | Letter

Published 10:30 am Friday, January 20, 2017

I was in the group that tried to get just a minute of Sen. Dino Rossi’s time on Monday for a brief discussion of education funding. I am not a member of the Lake Washington Education Association (LWEA), I am not a teacher and I am not a parent, but I do live in the 45th district and I care about the state budget. I was with other community members, parents and teachers from the 45th.

We were on our way to his office when we encountered Sen. Rossi getting in an elevator. I’ve had the opportunity to talk with many elected officials in a variety of situations, and I’ve never been treated so rudely. He snapped at us that we were late (for what, we didn’t know), and let the elevator doors close in our face. I did go on to his office to deliver the Student Bill of Rights. But again, I’m a concerned constituent, not a lobbyist.

I understand that Sen. Rossi doesn’t need my vote since he’s not running for re-election, but that doesn’t relieve him of the obligations of responding to the people he represents.

Sherri Nichols

Redmond

Editor’s note: As noted in this week’s story, the union admitted on Twitter it didn’t have an appointment to speak with Sen. Rossi.