He missed more votes than all other Pierce County senators combined, but won’t say why
A pair of Pierce County politicians — one a freshman Republican, the other a veteran Democrat — were near the top of the list of state legislators who missed the most floor votes this year.
Sen. Jim McCune, R-Graham, had the fifth-most missed votes of Washington’s 49 senators during the recently concluded 2021 session, according to a helpful tally that’s been recorded for every year since 2001. (You can view it in a searchable database at WashingtonVotes.com)
Rep. Jake Fey, D-Tacoma, likewise grabbed the No. 5 spot for vote absences in the 98-member House.
There may be legitimate reasons for some or all of those absences. Getting treatment for a broken bone, which Fey suffered during the session, surely deserves some grace.
But Washingtonians who elect legislators and entrust them with full representation are entitled to know what those reasons are — especially during an unprecedented remote session when lawmakers cast votes without having to set foot in Olympia.
McCune has been unresponsive to questions about why he was out of action so much in his first session as a senator. The silent treatment isn’t a good look for the former Pierce County Council member, who has a lot of catching up to do after serving one term in the House a decade ago.
McCune’s 29 missed votes, out of 490 Senate roll calls, dwarfed the total number for Pierce County’s other seven senators (eight missed votes combined). And Fey’s 20 missed votes, out of 484 House roll calls, also stand out compared to the number for Pierce County’s other 15 representatives (45 missed votes combined).
Is it reasonable for voters to expect their elected leaders to participate in every single vote, weekdays and weekends included? Probably not.
In a part-time Legislature like we have in Washington, many of the 147 lawmakers have year-round jobs, family duties and other obligations that make 100-percent participation very challenging.
Yes, there were fewer reasons to be sidelined in 2021, when they met remotely via video hookup due to COVID-19 restrictions. They could cast votes from the convenience of a home office, kitchen table or back patio — possibly wearing bunny slippers and pajama bottoms (we’ll never know) — rather than having to travel back and forth to Olympia for 3 ½ months.
But that didn’t eliminate every reason to miss a vote. “We are a citizen legislature,” Senate Republican leader John Braun said in a statement to a McClatchy reporter in March. “Many of us have jobs or other responsibilities that are capable of temporarily taking us away from the Senate. This year many of us also have experienced connectivity issues, regardless of location — even when we have been in Olympia.”
Braun was responding to inquiries about Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, who missed substantial time this session while reportedly traveling in El Salvador. Ericksen was out of pocket for 53 Senate roll calls, second only to Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney (63).
We reached out to Fey about his multiple missed votes; he explained that he had medical appointments in February and March for a wrist fracture he sustained early in the session. Fey, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, said he missed additional votes in April to complete work on the $11.8 billion transportation budget.
“While the virtual session may have made it easier to vote, it made meeting with other legislators challenging in many ways,” he said via email.
Could McCune have missed votes for equally justifiable reasons? Sure. So why not share what they are?
Not only did McCune decline to respond to several inquiries from us, he also didn’t submit comments to organizers of the WashingtonVotes database, who give legislators an opportunity to explain their missed votes.
Reasons cited by other legislators included wedding and funeral attendance, weekend military duty and COVID vaccine appointments.
The folks back home in the 2nd Legislative District have every right to ask why their freshman senator was unavailable as often as he was. Perhaps they’ll have more luck getting a straight answer than we did.
News Tribune editorials reflect the views of our Editorial Board and are written by opinion editor Matt Misterek. Other board members are: Stephanie Pedersen, News Tribune president and editor; Matt Driscoll, local columnist; and Jim Walton, community representative. The Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom and does not influence the work of news reporting and editing staffs. For questions about the board or our editorials, email matt.misterek@thenewstribune.com
This story was originally published May 6, 2021 at 2:45 PM.