Articles written by Ron Muzzall
Sorted by date Results 1 - 14 of 14
By 
2024 Legislature wrap-up: Republican lawmakers push financial restraint
The final gavel has fallen in Olympia and the Legislature is adjourned. I thought I might wax philosophical about this year's events as I've done in previous columns, but let's start with a...
Hope springs eternal for this local lawmaker
Nothing changes your outlook on life quite like the birth of a child. Seeing the helpless life for which you’re now responsible can be scary, but as many parents find, that gives way to excitement and optimism for what the future holds for this p...
The problem with Progressivism
The United States was born out of conflict. Profound disagreement led to a war with tragic losses of life and property for the revolutionaries who put at stake their lives, fortunes and sacred honor. The promise of progress was worth the risk even...
Healing our health care system
If you’ve been following my work in the state Senate, you’ve likely picked up on some themes. In all my work, I look at the state’s policy problems through a pragmatic lens of structure, discipline and accountability. But what’s the goal? In my view,...
More hope and less politics
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote a column in this paper bringing attention to a different public health problem sweeping the nation. While maybe not as physically deadly, the...
Health Care: Why does it cost so much?
The facts about health care in the United States are eye opening. How can a nation that spends nearly twice as much as our economic peers still have so many problems? As the former ranking member of...
Reproductive care is more than abortion
It seems that the efforts to enshrine reproductive access in the state constitution have been aborted, as the proposed amendments from the House and Senate failed to receive a Floor vote before our...
We owe it to the future
There seem to be a lot of “crises” in Olympia – a housing crisis, an opioid crisis, a public safety crisis, a climate crisis. Attaching this moniker has adverse effects on people by creating a false...
Ideology not making communities safer
There are lies, dang lies and statistics, but in the debate on fixing the failed "police reform" laws from 2021, it seems that no amount of research, pleading, facts or lived experience can overcome...
We need more accountability, not less
We deserve better, even if we don't demand it. The latest findings from the Washington state auditor's office are unfortunately just a snapshot of an obscure yet growing problem in our state...
When is enough enough?
My mom was a great cook and baker. Every year as we neared my birthday, she would ask what kind of cake I wanted. It was the same every year, but she would ask anyway before making the four-layer chocolate cake with a pudding-based filling and a...
Confronting a philosophical pandemic
It was clear to me as early as 2008 that a pandemic was at hand. The symptoms were easier to ignore than to acknowledge. Some embraced and reveled in the early stages of this malady. Doctors began pointing to the symptoms, only to have their...
Environmental activist or active environmentalist?
As a farmer and outdoorsman, I despise litter. Maybe it’s because the wind blows on Whidbey Island, but it seems we spend an inordinate amount of time picking up litter that has blown into our fields and woods: plastic bags, pet-food bags, f...
The value of listening
R-Oak Harbor I am very familiar with the 10th Legislative District. I’m a fourth-generation family farmer on Whidbey Island who has been deeply involved in our community for years, serving as a firefighter and fire commissioner, and on community a...
