Legislating Your Agenda

Back in Action

2007-03-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

Well I am finally back in the swing of things here in Olympia. It was a busy start yesterday but Im still alive. This is my last full week, I will be moving back to Bellingham this Saturday to start my spring classes Tuesday and Thursdays. Yesterday was a fun filled day of politicking and Chris and I had a chance to testify briefly on the budget that was released on the Senate side. It was a crazy day.

National Model United Nations, NYC

2007-03-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

Well, tonight is my 2nd night in NYC!! It is amazing! I already have SOO MANY PICTURES! (and good experiences)

We spent most of the day shopping yesturday! :) of course, its New York! But today, we got down to business! We went to the United Nations and sat in the General Assembly Hall in Portugal's seat! It was fantastic! It was amazing being in that room!

Andrea and I went exploring today too! We rode the Subway like big girls all the way to Canal Street to look at knock off purses and sketchy shopping! ;) We made it there and back safely and with all our belongings...and more!

I do miss my work though. This is like my split personallity. Domestic and international affairs is where my heart lies, but it cant make its mind up on which it loves more. Being here and meeting so many people from around the world and debating international policy in the city that never sleeps, in a beautiful hotel is miraculous. But! I miss my co-workers back home and the impact we make in Olympia, even though most days it seems obsolete!

I love New York!

Much Love,

Sasha

Child Care

2007-03-04T11:39:00.000-08:00

The WSL has two bills in play right now (one in each chamber-House and Senate) having to do with childcare. Our house version had a near death experience, but because of a really fabulous committee, it is still alive right now, but barely. Our Senate version is the tricky one. If it doesn't get a hearing tomorrow, it is dead. So, Camille (From Eastern) and I are the "chosen ones" to save the bill! All the guys are gone in DC right now so its up to us ladies to work the bill. We can handle it though!

The last week has just been up and down crazy. Tuesday was the longest day known to history, but it ended up being my favorite day of session. We started at 8am and I went to bed at about 4am! We had a committee at 8am (I testified in the healthcare committee about insurance options) then an internal meeting at 10, then meetings throughout the day, then another committee session at 6pm (which was the one that saved our bill) and then our final comittee at 8pm. We didn't leave the capitol until 10 or so. Then we all came back to my apartment to celebrate our winning!!

However, just as we were getting accustomed to being on top of the world, politics happened. When they explain to you how a bill becomes a law, and all the steps it takes along the way, they forget to mention the exceptions...which is what we experienced the last 5 days!

It has been stressful, but fun. Camille and I are pumped for what tomorrow may bring. She created a beautiful graph to illustrate our point, and we made a nice packet to give to all the members to help them to making the "right" decision! :)

I better run and finish up my paper that is 2-3 weeks overdue! oops! Nick and I are going to the Rascal Flatts concert tonight in Tacoma! YAY!

Thanks for listening, tune in next time!

Much Love,
Sasha

Google

2007-02-25T23:27:00.000-08:00

I googled my name just now (don't laugh, you know you all do it from time to time) and this site was one of the things that popped up...
http://www.nwpr.org/HomepageArticles/Article.aspx?n=2642 and also http://education.zdnet.com/?p=822 I seem to find the most random stuff on google...

Anyway, that was a random fact. I don' t really have anything new to report. Just the fact that Coug day at the Capitol started out really great today. My colleague Chris who represents WSU hosted 30 Cougs today for an all day training and a banquet with Secretary of State Sam Reed, which was awesome! I had the privilege of sitting with the Secretary and his assistant Mary, Chris, ASWSU President Zach and their advisor Dan at dinner tonight. Secretary Reed is quite the human being. He is very approachable, intelligent and kind and it was such an honor to spend time with him and the WSU folk. So, Chris, if you ever read my blog, "Thank you!!"

Sasha

Events

2007-02-21T14:27:00.000-08:00

This weekend was just full of busy events to go to on top of work, but I won't ever complain about getting to go to events!! Although it has added to my workload!

Monday I hosted abou 16 WWU students for what we call Viking Day. The 16 students came down and got to live my life for a day and meet with legislators, progress the WWU agenda and listen in on committees. It is a really great way for students to get involoved in the legislative process without committing to a whole lot all year round. Later that night I had the opportunity to go to the Democratic Crab Feed which was cool, but not as awesome as I thought it would be. I had good salmon and garlic bread though!(yea, I know I was at a crab feed, but I just wont eat crab...I have morals ok!) :) The event hosted the Governor of Montana as well as Governor Gregoire, Senate Majority leader Lisa Brown and others who gave great speaches and mingled with the croud a bit.

Tuesday was Higher Education day where the universities all brought down a number of people and had a very lovely luncheon, afternoon of meetings and a reception at the Governor's mansion. Joyce Taylor from King 5 news was the MC for the luncheon (she is also a WWU grad and offered to have me up at the King 5 studio for a tour!!!) and Governor Gregoire was there to present former governor Booth Gardner with an award, and UW graduate David Horsey was the key note speaker for the afternoon. I had fabulous food and my roomate Bryce snagged me some awesome WWU stuff after the luncheon was over which rocked!

That night I made an appearance (no I'm not being snotty I actually did just make an appearancae) at the Gov's mansion (which is beautiful) for the reception and met a few people and had some finger food and then I jetted up to Tacoma to see Nickleback in concert at the Tacoma dome!

So as you can see it has been quite the week already but while I was off galavanting at all these events work has been pilling up like crazy and there is only a month until I go to Nationals in NYC for Model United Nations representing Portugal...ya...to bad time didn't stop until you got everything done and then started again, wouldn't that be nice!!

Thanks for Listening, Tune in Next Time!!

Much Love,

Sasha

Photos

2007-02-18T11:11:00.000-08:00

The last couple of weeks have been incredibly crazy! There is a lot of stuff going on including Monday's Viking Day. We're bringing down about 20 WWU students to do my job for a day...should be fun....

Here are two pictures the PI photographer took of us before the article ran a few weeks ago.

Thanks for Listening, Tune in Next time!

Much Love,

Sasha Sleiman

My Life...the Juggling Act

2007-02-13T18:20:00.000-08:00

For someone who never really liked the circus, I'm sure living in one! This week (heck, the rest of session will be like this!) is full of work work work! So this week I will be testifying twice on Thursday (10 am House Higher Ed, 330 pm Government Opps), I also have a reflection paper due for my internship, work to do on one of WWU's budget provisos and meetings to attend! It is a bit much! This job is definitely teaching me time management skills! Hey, at least I'm learning something right?

I should probably keep this short, seeing as though I have so much to do! :) I promise I'll do details later!

Thanks for Listening! Tune in Next Time!

Much Love,

Sasha

Tuition Testimony

2007-02-05T17:43:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

Well, my "light" day turned into a rush in a hurry. I was assigned last minute (1 hour before committee) that I was to testify in front of the Senate Higher Education committee on our most important issue: tuition. The testimony was written in about a half an hour and of course I had to scramble to get dressed and to the hearing on time all in an hours time. (oh and my computer broke today,so I was using my school laptop that I never use, so I had no printer because it wasn't set up...) It was pretty awesome...but I think the testimony went well, other than a random question from the chair....no one, even the administrations understood what he was asking! Here is the link to the website (starts at about 36 minutes):

http://www.tvw.org/MediaPlayer/Archived/WME.cfm?EVNum=2007021039&TYPE=A

Thanks for listening! Tune in next time!

Much Love,

Sasha

Thank God for Helpful People

2007-02-01T21:08:00.000-08:00

So today was the day in my learning experience that God decided to show me how helpful people can be. First I will tell you the end of my story: I dropped ASWWU's Transportation bill: Expanding Commute Trip Reduction to Students of Institution of Higher Education.
Now to the beginning of my story:
I went today to meet with Representative Flannigan-the Vice Chair of the transportation committee in the House-but instead I met his wonderfully helpful LA Maralise! She informed me it is late in session (ya...three weeks in...time flies!) to drop a bill and we had to work fast. The representative was very busy today but she agreed to help me prep myself and she promised to get me at least five minutes with her boss sometime that day. She got intouch with committee staff who told us the best way to get the bill dropped and said they'd try to get the bill heard NEXT WEEK! :) She also got me in touch with the CTR state board to touch base with them on my draft bill and see if they liked it, which I have been trying to do for awhile now and never could get ahold of them! Pretty much, I am very excited! If anyone really wants to read my bill you can find it on the legislative website (www.leg.wa.gov), go to bill information and type in 2011 (thats the bill number) and it will bring it up! :-)
I also testified this week on the importance of electronic voter registration to students. Apparently it was on NPR the other day... here is the link to listen to it on the TVW website! I think if you scroll to about 46 minutes I'm right after the woman who's talking, its very short...its cute though! Definitely less stressful than any other testimonies I've given!
http://www.tvw.org/MediaPlayer/Archived/WME.cfm?EVNum=2007011300&TYPE=A

well I'll update as more cool things happen in my life!

Thanks for Listening! Tune in Next Time!

Much Love,

Sasha

Nothing Short of Amazing

2007-01-30T00:17:00.000-08:00

Today was nothing short of amazing. Each and everyone of our experiences here, from sitting in committee to meeting with the Governor have been tremendous, but I must say today topped them all!

We started off our day with a couple of good meetings with Senators Kastama and Marr. Senator Marr was gracious enough to take us onto the Senate floor where we got our picture taken with him behind the President of the Senate's podium.

Then we got to participate in what I like to think was the most thrilling experiences yet. We spent an hour and a half with Chief Justice Alexander, the longest serving Chief Justice in this state's history. We got to sit with him in his chambers and chat about student concerns and life at our universities now. Then we were given the honor of being escorted personally by the Chief Justice on a tour of the Supreme Court which is just incredible. Justice Alexander knows so much of the history and procedure that no one else could have ever shared with us. We got to go up behind where the justices sit and hear cases, back into the conference room where they discuss decisions on cases...where no one in the public gets to go on just any tour. He described for us in detail about the process of hearing a case and making a decision. Everything is so formal and elequent...I LOVED IT!!!! Here is a picture of the Justice with the liaisons (except Mike from CWU who was out sick!! :-(

We continued our day, business as usual, some of my colleagues testified infront of various committees and we had more meetings. But to close our business day was the spectacular view. It was nothing short of amazing...

For a Monday, I think we made out pretty well!!

Thanks for listening! Tune in next time!!

Much Love,

Sasha

Ways and Means

2007-01-25T18:22:00.000-08:00

Today was my big day in front of the Senate Ways and Means committee. Ways and Means is the committee that writes the budget for the state, so as you can imagine, it is very important to us as the student lobby to express all our concerns and priorities for the budget. I guess it went pretty well...I was really nervous, therefore sounded really, really shaky. But you can listen to it for yourselves if you're that bored!! :) I put the link below. My speach starts right around 58minutes if you want to scroll ahead and not listen to all the testimonies before mine!

http://www.tvw.org/MediaPlayer/Archived/WME.cfm?EVNum=2007011230&TYPE=A

Today was also a big day in Lebanon, but not a good one. Riots have been going on all across the country, but mostly in Beirut. I just pray that the country can find middle ground before young people, like my cousins, get too caught up in the fight and risk their lives. Lebanon is such a beautiful country with people who can achieve so much. Lebanon (maybe I have a bias...) could lead the way for democracy and peace for the middle east, and has been known to do so, it is just so sad that people are jeprodizing the country's leadership. Lebanon has been on a downward spiral since 2005, spiralling into hatred and annomosity. My prayers are with the entire country, especially my family and I hope yours will be too.

Thanks for listening! Tune in next time!

Much Love,

Sasha

Busy, Busy, Busy

2007-01-22T19:48:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!!!

I thought it was about time to bring you up to speed in the subject I like to call "My Life"! :) I am just sitting at home finishing up my bill tracking summary and board reports. I am going to WWU on Wednesday to address our Board of Directors about legislative affairs. I spent my weekend up in Bellingham with my roomates, Kristina and Brett, Nick and Bailey and Nick's roomates! It was so nice to be able to get back to my university and remember what its like to be a college student. It is surprisingly easy to forget your not a permanent resident here in Olympia, and in reality your still a college student trying to make it through to a degree. Being in this "real life" enviornment has been a huge learning experience for me. It is one thing to have a summer job, or a part time job while going to school, but this is really real. We're actually crafting policy (or helping at least, they let the smart people actually write policy) and if we get our handfull of bills passed...even if we get one passed, we helped craft law. It is very surreal.
We have another week full of meetings and committees. I am testifying in front of the Senate Ways and Means committee (which is the $$ committee in the Senate) on Thursday for five minutes!!! Tomorrow is when we start preping for my speech...kinda nerve racking!! I will pretty much be on edge now until Thursday at 3:30pm...it should be fun! ;) I usually don't get nervous speaking in front of people, but when you're addressing the Senators who write the budget for the Senate of the State of Washington...it's a bit nerve racking. Oh well...
Well, Studio 60 is on in about 35 minutes, so I should go prep for that! haha just kidding! But I will sign off now and go to my friend Stacy's apartment...I don't have cable (which is a very refreshing thing...I never thought my grandmother would be right in that I really don't need to watch t.v all the time!)

Thanks for listening! Tune in next time!

Much Love,

Sasha

Seattle PI

2007-01-21T23:32:00.000-08:00

The Seattle PI wrote an article about the student lobbyists...its pretty decent...I got the first quote, and it wasn't completely butchard...but I definitly said some more profound things during the interview then what was actually reported...oh well at least it wasn't the beaches quote the Wenatchee World gave me this summer!! :) Here's the link! Check it out!

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/300637_studentlobbyists22.html

Thanks for Listening, Tune in Next Time!!!

Much Love,

Sasha

Meeting the Governor, Workin' Bills

2007-01-17T18:13:00.000-08:00

Yesturday was our big day, we met Governor Gregoire for a 30 minute sit down to discuss tuition, financial aid, on-campus child-care and research opportunities. It was a pretty good meeting, other than the fact I got like 2 sentances in (which seems to be the trend in meetings/testimonies lately). She was really interested in what we had to say and seemed to be very willing to work with us on most of our issues.
Other than that it has been business as usual. Today we had a few meetings with legislators and I had my first "intern" meeting with all the WWU interns this quarter. Karen Morris, the President of WWU came down to Olympia today to talk to the Senate Higher Ed committee about how wonderful WWU is, it kinda made me miss it!
This experience is definitly overwhelming at times, but worth every moment of it. It is so cool to know I'm representing 14,000 students at a university and I could potentially have an influence on how policy is written or enacted. Being apart of the process is so rewarding and throws a curve ball at me everyday!
I better get cracking on my weekly report to my Board of Directors and get some questions answered for people before tomorrow!!

Thanks for listening! Tune in next time!

Much Love,

Sasha

End of One Week the Beginning of the Next...

2007-01-11T21:28:00.000-08:00

First of all the first week of session isn't even over and I'm already doing terrible about writing every day!!! We've done a lot of meetings in the last couple of meetings and I actually testified for the first time in front of House Appropriations (the money committee of the House) about childcare on campuses and the cost of textbooks. I am also testifying in front of Senate Ways and Means in a week or so.
My weekend was relaxing. Nick came down with Ms. Bailey Belle which was so nice. I spent most of the day Saturday in a WSL Board of Directors meeting and writing a letter to the Governor for our meeting tomorrow. It was pretty sweet... wait, no, I worked all day on a Saturday, not so fun. But, was very nice and relaxing. Nick and I went up to his parents in Puyallup and watched the Seahawks lose their play off game.
Today is the new week however and we're off to a good start. We met with Senator Parlette today who is the Wenatchee Senator who gave me my first opportunity in the legislature my Senior year. So it was very nice to see her in an official meeting as a lobbyist and not as just a constituent and a high school girl on a field trip! It was a very productive meeting needless to say. Then some of my colleagues testified in front of the Senate Higher Education committee and did a great job.
Tomorrow we meet the Governor at 11am which is pretty huge. We're all very excited to sit down with her and talk about her tuition policy, childcare and financial aid. This week promises to be a fun filled week with lots of meetings and running around. Learning this area, the way the "world" works here and how everyone interacts is fascinating to me. It's been fun, it'll be even more interesting as time goes on.
Oh, PS: I got 'my' draft bill back from the code revisors office today, which is really exciting, so now I have to go "shopping" for sponsors so to speak, then the "how a bill becomes a law" cartoons will start to become a reality (or hopefully) for me! I am super stoked about this bill and hopefully the legislature will be too!!

Thanks for listening! Tune in next time!

Much Love,
Sasha

The State of the State

2007-01-09T20:01:00.000-08:00

Well, today was quite the busy one. We ran from meeting to meeting plugging our legislative agenda and student issues. We found out we have to testify in front of two different committees next week which should be quite the adventure. I guess I'll put both my public speaking and writing skills to test shortly.
Imbetween meeting a lot of different legislators, I worked with my advisor Steve Lindstrom to finalize some language proposals for the code revisers office to put together a transportation bill that WWU is working on this session. I am really excited about it, it isn't a huge piece of legislation, but hopefully it will be noncontroversial and passable. It would be quite an accomplishment to know you virtually helped write law and worked to have it passed. This bill is pretty much my baby this session.
We also attended the State of the State, which was wonderful. It was quite impressing to witness the proceeding live (we even got seats....but being an hour and a half early, you get lucky!) The governor is definitely an amazing woman. She is so dedicated to education it really impresses me. Even though Im skepitcal as to how she's planning on a paying for everything, I really think her heart's in the right place. Even though Im here to represent higher ed, I was really impressed with what she said about her ambitions for K-12 this biennium!! She is so dedicated to early learning and improving math and science. If only math and science classes were taught better and more supportive when I was in elementary thru jr high, maybe I would like it better! ;) K-12 is definitely one of my areas of interest, even though they're in a sense our competitor for funding at this point. It just breaks my heart to see schools not get funded enough, forced to cut classes that students are really interested in and not have enough money to hire the best teachers. I had such a wonderful K-12 career, wonderful teachers who cared and supported me and a pretty good school district that provided a good facility for learning, I am for sure very fortunate, and hopefully one day can give back to the place that gave me a start! At any rate, the State of the State was a beautiful, passionate speech given by one of the most articulate speakers I have ever listened to. Hats of to the Governor, I cant wait to officially meet her a week from today!! (crazy huh?)

Thanks for listening! Tune in next time!!

Much Love,

Sasha

End of Day One

2007-01-08T17:19:00.000-08:00

Well, the day is over, and it was a good one! First of all it was sunny most of the day!!! :) (Which is a huge deal here!!) Second of all, I met the Secretary of State!! But more on that in a second!!

The first thing we (WSL Liaisons) did as a team was meet in front of the Temple of Justice just before the swearing in ceremony began. As we were standing out there enjoying the sunshine and catching up on eachother's morning, the Governor walked by with a body guard and took the time to have passing conversation with us on her way into the ceremony. It was just the usual "hi how are you, have a good day" but we thought it was nice of her to interupt her conversation with her escort to chat! Then we were lucky enough to go watch the ceremony in the supreme court which is definitly very interesting. I am a sucker for all the formal ceremony stuff (who woulda thought!!) Just the feeling your in the presence of so many accomplished people in such an amazing atmosphere, the room alone was humbling! The Supreme Court is such an amazing body, their role is so important and I don't think people even realize the significance of the history and the present role of the Court. It was definitly like a really moving history class; sitting through the proceding.
Now for my favorite part of the day: meeting the Secretary of State Sam Reed. So after the swearing in ceremony I went with the WSL liaisons to take a tour of the Secretary's office when I realized I forgot my bag of agendas in the Temple of Justice. So I ran back and grabed them and as I walked out, down the stairs back toward the leg building I realized I was walking, practically on the heels of the Secretary. So not really knowing what to do (kinda akward walking next to someone w/no one around and there be total silence: we all know I cant hold silence long!) I asked him how his day was starting out which led to a conversation about the WSL and our support for his Electronic Voter Registration bill. I basically walked from the Temple to his office all alone with him!! Talk about being in the presence of important dignitaries!!!!
I also got a chance to see the Senate swearing in ceremony an hour later with some of my collegues which again was a very humbling almost emotional experience. There is a lot of good and bad that goes on in politics, and it is so good to be reminded why people come to serve this state and this country and forget the rediculous politics that are played day in and day out. All of these legislators feel they were called for this service, and that is something to be respected, no matter what party or voting record. Being in the presence of the Chief Justice, 49 Senators and others was so amazing. It really made me think about why I love this profession and why I want, more than anything, to serve my country not in arms but in service.

Thanks for listening! Tune in next time!

Much Love!

Sasha!

Wish Me Luck!!

2007-01-08T08:07:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm eating my breakfast right now, I checked the news, I showered and I'm listening to Disney tunes; I think I've started my day off right!!! In less than an hour though I am leaving for my first day of work on the hill!! 1st stop: Temple of Justice to watche the new justices take the oath of office.

Wish me luck!!!

Thanks for listening! Tune in next time!!

Much Love,

Sash

My Fab Apartment!!

2007-01-06T21:11:00.000-08:00

Above: My ledge with photos from home!

Above: Looking down from my loft to the living room!

Above: My spiral stairs leading to my loft, if you cant tell, there are red X-mas lights around them!!

Left: Looking down from my the loft,

(Notice the JFK print!! Love him!!)

Bailey Belle

2007-01-06T21:05:00.000-08:00

This is my little Bailey Belle!!! (well actually it is Nick's...but she is so adorible I have to claim her sometimes!!!)

Capitol Tours and Great Deals!

2007-01-06T20:40:00.000-08:00

Training came to an end on Friday (yesterday) with a grand tour of the capitol campus with our adivsor Steve Lindstrom. It started out as the usual tour...this is this, that is that; but we definitly had some excited distractions along the way. We got to go on both the House and Senate floors and saw members and aides along the way. We also got a chance to take a little tour and learn about the history of the Secretary of State's office, and best part: we got to make our own Seal of Washington with the old fashon stamper and everything! It is the original seal stamper from 1889!!! Very cool!! Then we made a stop in the Gov's office and met a few people waiting for their meeting with the Gov.
After my day of walking in the rain and learning the campus inside and out, I went up to Seattle with my roomate Bryce to shop and hang out with a few friends. (Im not going to lie, this was the highlight of my day...) I found amazing deals at Express (the best clothing store ever!!) and got a new suit coat and blouses for only $30!!!!! (after my giftcard from my awesome mother!!) haha, I know you all really wanted to know that!! ;)
So my week is officially over and I've been lounging all day (I was a big girl though and set up my internet with only a little help from Nick and my Daddy!) It has overall been a very good week, I've enjoyed my job, learned a lot and have a fabulous apartment!!!!

Thanks for listening! Tune in next time!

Much Love,

Sasha

Week One

2007-01-04T07:37:00.000-08:00

Well, our first official week as lobbyists is coming to a close. We had a "rigorous" training with our contract lobbyist Steve Lindstrom this week where we spent most of the time learning the "tricks of the trade" and "how a bill becomes a law...in 72 steps!" Today was a pretty eventful day however. We met a man named Dan Steele who works for the school districts around WA state and is also a former WSL lobbyist from WSU. We also met with the Council of President Executive Director Terry Teale who manages all of our administration lobbyists and helps organize all the univeristy Presidents. We had lunch with a great guy named Shane Hamlin who is the Secretary of State's Legislative Liaison and a former EWU liaison. (Pretty much the whole day was learning that if you are successful here as a student, there are definitly a multitdue of opportunities for jobs after college with really awesome people!)

We've also been spending a lot of time on the phone and on email trying to set up meetings with legislators and have been pretty successful! So far we have the Senate Majority Caucus Chair Harriet Spanel (who also serves as one of Bellinghams senators!!), the governor's executive policy woman Deb Merle to talk about WA Learns and the Gov's AWESOME budget for Higher ed, not to mention the Governor herself!!! :) Just to name a few!! It is definitly an overwhelming thought to know these people are willing to meet with you and will learn you name, your face and your issues!! I can see why so many people get caught up in this game, just preping for the session is kind of a high!! :) (dont worry though, I'm not too far out there yet!) ;)

This experience is surprisingly very humbling. I feel VERY fortunate to be apart of the process. I am actually drafting up a bill to change a few things on one of the Commute Trip Reduction bills dealing with transportation around universities in the state and will hopefully get it threw the proper procedures soon! Which is exciting. I've always known I wanted to be in politics, and I defintily know there are good days and bad, but one thing I know is this work: representing Higher Ed: is really rewarding and you really learn to appreciate the kind of work people do here in Olympia representing all of us at home!! (Speaking of which...for all of you back home in Wenatchee... our own Senator Parlette is doing a FABULOUS job representing us and being a MAJOR player this year as the Minority Caucus Chair!! Yay for Wenatchee!!)

Thanks for listening, tune in next time!! :)

Much Love,

Sash