Peter’s Blog
Mandatory Sex Education Passes: Ignores Local Families
On Wednesday, March 4, many of us watched the House pass Mandatory Sexual Education legislation along party lines 56-40, with Republicans voting against. A similar bill, SB 5395, passed the State Senate on January 22. Mandatory Sexual Education was passed despite a...
Centralia Hosts Homeless Workshop
The City of Centralia hosted the first of several homelessness workshop at city hall this week, featuring a a presentation from Director of Lewis County Public Health and Social Services (LCPHSS) J.P. Anderson and County Manager Erik Martin. Under the requirements of...
Campaign Kickoff to Elect Peter Abbarno a Success!
On Wednesday, February 26th, the kickoff breakfast to support Peter Abbarno's campaign for State Representative was a huge success! Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney Jonathan Meyer served as emcee, the invocation was delivered by Bethel Pastor Scott Collins, and the...
What Would You Do With The State’s $2.4 Billion Surplus? VOTE
The Revenue forecast reports $1.1 billion in unexpected revenue from existing sources; creating a total state surplus of $2.4 billion according to Rep. Drew Stokesbary. House Republicans have proposed tax cuts and critical services spending. The Majority Party...
Homeless Students Falling Through Cracks
In 2018, Senate Bill 6560, Ensuring that no youth is discharged from a public system of care into homelessness, passed unanimously (House and Senate) in a strong bipartisan commitment to reducing homelessness among our most vulnerable population. According to a recent...
Bipartisan Funding Bill for Chehalis Basin Flood Mitigation Passes House!
House Bill 1154, sponsored by Rep. Richard DeBolt, passed virtually unanimously on Sunday night in a strong bipartisan manner. The legislation authorizes the State Finance Committee to issue up to $700 million in general obligation bonds to finance Chehalis Basin...
Ghost Bills: End the Practice.
Legislative attempts to end the practice of title-only bills died in Legislature without even public hearings. Title-only bills contain a title or intent statement—but no content. Legislators amend the bills with text later, often when it is too late for the public to...
Bipartisan Bill Supports Historic Downtowns in Lewis and Cowlitz Counties
House Bill 2868 recently passed the State House with unanimous Bipartisan support. The legislation, Sponsored by 19th Legislative District Representatives Walsh and Blake, is very important to small and rural communities because it encourages investment and...
Taxes going UP again for many Washington businesses
February 9- Last year, the majority in Olympia raised the Business and Occupation Tax (B&O) on businesses like mine and more than 85,000 others. I was a very vocal opponent of the tax increase- testifying before the State Senate with the Association of Washington...
Lewis County Law Enforcement Team ‘Polar Plunges’ for Special Olympics Athletes
February 8 - The Lewis County Law Enforcement Team plunged into the Puget Sound to raise money and awareness for Lewis County Special Olympics and Special Olympics Athletes in our community. Peter Abbarno and the 2020 Polar Plunge Team at the Polar Plunge in Tacoma...
Flooding; Homelessness; Family Wage Jobs; and Taxes discussed in Kelso
February 7- Peter Abbarno, candidate for State House in the 20th Legislative District, joined Cowlitz Citizen Update host Spencer Boudreau in Kelso for a discussion about many local issues important to local residents. Cowlitz Citizens Update is Cowlitz County's...
Abbarno Meets with Kalama City Councilors to Discuss Local Issues and Solutions
February 7- Peter Abbarno spent the day in Cowlitz County with local community members and Kalama City Councilors Matthew Merz and Steve Kallio. Both Merz and Kallio have endorsed Abbarno's campaign for State Representative in the 20th Legislative District to replace...
