1. Tatiana Brown is running for State Senate.

  2. Each Senator is responsible for representing 160,000 people.

  3. There are 49 Senators total, one for each of the 49 districts in Washington State. 

  4. Tatiana is fighting for the opportunity to serve the 37th LD.

LET’S GET ORIENTED

WHAT IS THE SPECIFIC JOB OF A STATE SENATOR?

  1. Senators sit in the legislative body.

  2. The legislative body is the branch of government that makes laws, writes budgets, and focuses on state taxes. 

  3. Laws or policies impact every aspect of our society. The decisions made in Olympia impact our life in the 37th. 

  4. Senators introduce “bills,” which have to make it through the Senate and House to become a “law.” 

  5. Laws may look like the Washington College Grant (House Bill 2158) or the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights (Senate Bill 5023). Both the House and Senate work together to pass laws, and create change.

  6. They help write and pass the state budget.

  7. They shape how Washington State spends BILLIONS of dollars, funding things like schools, transportation, climate policy, medicaid (apple health) & housing programs. 

Flowchart illustrating the legislative process for a bill passing through the Washington Legislature, starting from introduction in the First Chamber, passing through Policy, Fiscal, and Rules Committees, then Floor Vote, followed by approval in both chambers and the Governor's signature, leading to the bill becoming law.

Credit: Washington Statewide Poverty Action Network

Senators convene in Olympia for 2-3 months each year “in session.” They spend the majority of the year “out of session.”

  1. Serving their communities

  2. Working with community leaders, and understanding issues that impact their communities

  3. Sometimes helping people navigate state systems like unemployment issues, housing assistance & agency delays.

They are YOUR advocate. They should work for you.

WHY SHOULD VOTERS IN THE 37TH CARE?

Whoever the people elect into this Senate seat influences: 

  • Whether housing becomes more affordable or expensive. We need a leader and a champion who will advocate for their constituents.

  • How schools in the district are funded and staffed. The senator is an ADVOCATE for their students, young people and constituents. It is visible when leadership is failing in securing funding that impacts their communities because schools are the first thing to bear the brunt of budget cuts. 

  • Whether transit actually works for people. Light rail expansion, bus funding, and fare policies are shaped in Olympia. Fast, reliable, and accessible transit is funded and shaped by the legislature. 

  • Public safety & investment in communities. Behavioral health services, crisis response, and the criminal justice system. HUGE amounts of this funding comes from Olympia.

  • Environmental Justice in neighborhoods, like in the south end who have long carried the burden. This funding comes from Olympia. We need an advocate to protect our environment and young people.

  • Tatiana will fight for the people, and with the people.

  • "there is no single answer that will solve all our future problems. There's no magic bullet. "

    -Octavia Butler

  • "The future is not settled"

    -Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom

  • "the uncertainty of the outcome cannot translate into uncertainty about the right thing to do"

    -Dr. Vandana Shiva

  • "the proper task of social justice is no smaller: it is, quite literally, to remake the world"

    - Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, in Reconsidering Reparations

  • "We cannot create what we cannot imagine"

    -Suzanna Kassouf, rethinking schools

  • "We are who we've been waiting for"

    -Grace Lee Boggs