RHAWA Housing Matters Talks with Representative April Connors

I have conducted a fair number of interviews in various legislative buildings in Olympia, but I have to say, I have never felt more relaxed and almost at home than I did when entering Representative April Connors' office.

With the relaxing décor, beautiful art and mirrors on the wall, and the absence of a desk in preference for a table to sit around and have a more intimate conversation.

Connors is now serving her second term in the House of Representatives, and she represents District 8, which encompasses Kennewick and other chunks of the Tri-Cities, Badger, and a few pieces of other nearby cities.

While not serving in Olympia, Representative Connors is a realtor in her district and has been in the real estate and construction industry for thirty years. She and her husband have four children, with one still remaining in high school.

I asked her what really spurred her to run for elected office, and she discussed helping her husband win a seat on the local school board and a friend who won election for Mayor of the City of Kennewick.

“When the two seats came open in the 8th legislative district and they were open seats for state representative, and my friend, and my husband said its time for you to put up or shut up. I have always been interested in politics my entire life, from the time when I was elected leader in high school to being elected in the state house. So, that’s kind of what led me here was encouraging others to get involved and then them encouraging me,” said Connors.

Representative Connors had an interesting perspective on the rent control bill, given the fact that she sits on all the Committees the bill had to pass through before being voted off the house floor.

  •  House Housing Committee
  •  House Appropriations Committee
  •  House Rules Committee
  •  House Floor Vote

I asked her about the work behind the scenes as the bill made its way to the full house for a vote.

“In the House Housing Committee, it was very disappointing because we heard that bill on the first day of session, and when it came in on the first day of session, we were late,” Connors said. She is referring to the hearing starting forty-five minutes late, and as such, many members of the public who had traveled from across the state were not able to speak.

The bill has what is called a fiscal note, meaning it will cost the state money, so the bill next stopped in Appropriations and then moved on to the Rules Committee.

“The Rules Committee is a group of members on each side that are put together that actually pull bills to the House Floor. So, the Speaker of the House then decides which bills the Speaker would like on the Rules Committee. So again, the Chair hears it great, but then the Speaker actually has to want that bill to come to the House Floor. So, she’ll put the bills on the Rules Pull List and then as a member of the Rules Committee you’re usually allowed to pull one to two bills off of that list onto the House Floor.”

When speaking on the floor about the bill, she described the legislation as a “self-inflicted economic wound” and warned about developers leaving the state. We also discussed the proposed budget package and some pro-housing legislation that Connors supported this year.

For our full conversation, check out the Housing Matters podcast wherever you get your podcasts. If you prefer the video version, check out the RHAWA YouTube channel, where you can find all episodes of Housing Matters, along with many other great RHAWA video content.

If you have a topic that you feel should be covered on a future episode of Housing Matters, please send me an email at chjalseth@RHAwa.org.