Tag Archives: Drew MacEwen

MacEwen calls for urgent action on building state ferry fleet

Sen. Drew MacEwen today called for the in-state construction of more ferries to meet the needs of Washingtonians and tourists visiting the region.

MacEwen was responding to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s announcement that the electric-power conversion of two state ferries will be delayed until after Seattle hosts the World Cup in 2026.

“It is crucial that we build more ferries for our state fleet,” said MacEwen, R-Shelton, who also serves as Deputy Senate Republican Leader. “Residents rely heavily on these ferries to get to and from work and school and to make other necessary trips. It’s also a huge tourist attraction and economic driver for our region.

“Unfortunately, our ferry fleet and our ferry service have not lived up to the standards that we need and Washington taxpayers deserve.”

WSF operates the largest public-ferry system in the country, serving more than 19,148,000 total annual riders (10 million passengers and 9 million vehicles) in 2024. It is a division of the state Department of Transportation and operates 10 routes serving 20 terminals within Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. To service these routes, WSF maintains a fleet of 21 vessels.

MacEwen says a larger, more reliable fleet is vital to the communities he represents in the 35th Legislative District, which includes Mason County and parts of Thurston County and ferry-reliant Kitsap County.

“It is vital for our state that we build more boats, and we build them soon. I’m not opposed to new technologies and having electric-driven ferries, but the reality is that the technology is not yet there to mass-produce these boats. We need to look at building diesel-efficient ferries while we wait for technology to catch up with other forms of propulsion.

“We can do this, but we need to drop the bureaucratic barriers that are out there and get our people the service that they are paying for and that they deserve. We also need to be reforming how we’re handling our ferry workers. We need to expedite more training, more education, and more pathways to get more workers into our system so that people can adequately rely on the ferry service that we have in this state.”

Sen. Ron Muzzall, R-Oak Harbor, agrees.

“The governor’s confidence is appreciated, but the communities that rely on our ferries every day need more than just promises—they need reliable service now,” said Muzzall. “While I support efforts to restore staffing levels, we must ensure that our shipbuilding process is efficient and cost-effective, not bogged down by delays and political considerations. Bid flexibility is a step in the right direction, but we need real accountability to get ferries built and in service.”

MacEwen pointed out that one way to help ensure new ship construction is by Washington taking advantage of President Donald Trump’s emphasis on new domestic shipbuilding capacity.

“In the governor’s inaugural speech in January, he said that we would work hand-in-hand with the Trump administration when practical and when we have agreement; this is an area where that exists,” MacEwen added. “In his address to the nation the other night, President Trump called out the need for more shipbuilding across this nation.

“Washington is a leader in this industry — between our Navy and our ferry infrastructure. This is an opportunity for our governor and the president’s administration to work together to serve the needs of this state.”

Lawin Serves as Page for Sen. Drew MacEwen

Lilly Lawin and Drew MacEwen

OLYMPIA… Lilly Lawin, an 8th grader at Oakland Bay Junior High from Shelton, recently spent a week working as a page for the Washington State Senate at the Capitol in Olympia. Lawin was one of 21 students who served in the Senate during the sixth week of the 2024 legislative session.

She was sponsored by 35th Legislative District Sen. Drew MacEwen, who represents Mason, parts of Thurston and Kitsap counties.

“It was such a privilege to be a part of Lilly’s experience here as a page and I am so happy she decided to learn more about the legislative process because she did an amazing job,” said MacEwen.

The Senate Page Program is an opportunity for Washington students to spend a week working in the Legislature. Students are responsible for transporting documents between offices, as well as delivering messages and mail. Pages spend time in the Senate chamber and attend page school to learn about parliamentary procedure and the legislative process. Students also draft their own bills and engage in a mock committee.

“One thing I will take away from this experience is the people I met and the relationships I have built due to this amazing opportunity,” said Lawin. She also stated she is striving to become a surgeon and hopes to be in the running start program to help her do so.

Lawin, 14, has enjoyed playing the bass in her school band for the past two years and enjoys learning more about the legislative process. Lilly’s parents are Brandon and Casey Lawin as well as Marissa DeMiero of Shelton.

Students interested in the Senate Page Program are encouraged to visit:

Find out more about the Senate Page program here.

MacEwen to host telephone town hall Feb. 22

OLYMPIA… State Senator Drew MacEwen will host a telephone town hall on Thursday, February 22 starting at 7 p.m. He invites constituents from the 35th Legislative District to call in with questions and concerns about state government and legislation being considered during this year’s legislative session.

With the end of the session approaching there are many items of importance to discuss, including the six initiatives that will be appearing on the November ballot.

“No need to travel, all you need to do is mark your calendar and call in with the number provided. I encourage you to join me and your fellow constituents from all over the 35^th district as we discuss issues related to this year’s legislative session,” MacEwen said.

Constituents will receive a phone call on the date and time of the event inviting you to join. If for any reason you do not, you can still join the town hall by calling (360) 249-7921 at 7 p.m. on February 22^nd. Once you have joined the meeting and would like to ask a question or make a comment, simply hit the STAR * key on your telephone.

“I look forward to hearing from you and discussing your questions and concerns about state government and decisions being considered during this year’s legislative session,” MacEwen said.

35th District lawmakers frustrated after majority refuses to hear vital bill on sexually violent predators

As the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) prepares to release more sexually violent predators (SVPs) into communities across the state under the current costly and broken system, 35th District lawmakers Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, and Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, were shocked to learn their bill to fix that system would not be getting a hearing during the 2024 legislative session.

“Protecting the public is one of our primary duties as state lawmakers, and we have come up woefully short here because of the majority party’s tunnel vision on reforming violent criminals,” said MacEwen. My seatmates and I have worked extensively with all stakeholders on this issue, and it is insulting to every community in the state now faced with the release of SVPs into their neighborhoods not to be given a voice in Olympia.”

“This is outrageous,” said Griffey. “We have heard loud and clear from our constituents in the 35th District and many other communities across the state that are being caught off guard when the state places SVPs in their communities with little to no notice and, in some cases, virtually no oversight that we need a better system. We offered the starting point for that system overhaul, and despite verbal promises that our bill would be given a hearing, it was ignored.”

“We did not come up with these proposals without careful thought and consideration,” said Couture. “For the better part of two years – and especially over this recent interim, we have been hard at work on this issue, meeting with stakeholders, and receiving a tour of McNeil Island to fully understand the current process. For all of that work to be ignored at the cost of public safety is outrageous.”

Among other things, House Bill 2093 would ensure all LRAs are owned, operated, or contracted through the state to improve accountability, transparency and oversight.

“Under the current system, DSHS often works with private for-profit, third-party operators who, in some cases, have refused to allow on-site inspections, creating a gaping hole in the oversight of these facilities,” explained Griffey.

“That puts the public at risk,” added Couture.

In addition, House Bill 2093 redefines where SVPs can be released, places new restrictions on the siting of LRAs, adds specific notification and engagement requirements for DSHS with local governments, law enforcement, prosecutors, and community members before an LRA can be sited, bars SVPs from, choosing their own LRA, and improves transparency of SVP treatment plans, including the criteria used to determine their eligibility for release.

“We understand that we are constitutionally required to provide a path to conditional and eventually unconditional release of SVPs,” said MacEwen. “However, our current system is a broken patchwork that leaves our most vulnerable at risk, which is unacceptable.”

“This thoughtful, well-informed legislation is the result of countless hours spent engaging with law enforcement, prosecutors, treatment providers, DSHS, management at the Special Commitment Center, and importantly, our constituents and communities across our state, said Griffey. “It is an effort to create a working system that meets our constitutional obligations while prioritizing public safety and state accountability. I am extremely frustrated that we were not even given the opportunity to have this important discussion with a hearing in the 2024 session despite being promised we would.”

“Our communities in the 35th District brought this to us more than a year ago because they were worried about their families and neighborhoods’ safety. They did the heavy lifting to stop the Tenino facility from opening, but that was only the beginning of the work needed to ensure the safety of communities across Washington state,” said Couture. “My seatmates and myself have put in months of hard work to build this thoughtful legislation and prioritize the safety of our communities. Unfortunately, the majority party continues to prioritize criminals over the safety of the people of Washington – and especially over those whom these sexually violent predators have victimized. I am disgusted.”

On the positive side, Couture’s House Bill 1926 did receive a hearing and is currently sitting in the Rules Committee awaiting a vote on the House floor. The bill ensures that SVPs serving a concurrent sentence cannot earn community custody supervision credit concurrently that counts toward their community custody supervision requirements under an LRA placement. Put simply, they cannot double dip on earned supervision credit and must serve any supervision required under an LRA placement consecutive to other supervision requirements.

“I am pleased to see my bill regarding Department of Corrections (DOC) supervision credit is still moving, but this is a drop in the bucket compared to all we need to do to improve the current system related to SVPs,” said Couture. “We are not done. We will continue to fight for these reforms that are so important for the people of the 35th District and the state of Washington.”

“I look forward to the chair of the Community, Safety, Justice, and Reentry Committee hearing this important issue when we bring it back in a fresh bill in 2025,” said Griffey. “My concern is that it is nearly a year from now, and in the meantime the state has plans to release more SVPs into communities across the state that I truly believe will be at risk due to the gaps in oversight, transparency and security in the current system.”

MacEwen, Griffey and Couture encouraged everyone concerned with this issue to reach out to the chair of the House Community Safety, Justice and Reentry Committee directly here to share their concerns.

Background

With the 1990 Community Protection Act, Washington became the first state in the nation to enact a civil commitment law for SVPs.

SVPs are defined as someone deemed by an expert to suffer from a “mental abnormality or personality disorder which makes the person likely to engage in predatory acts of sexual violence” if released into the community.

The law allows prosecutors to petition the court to block the prison release of a sex offender who has served their sentence and meets the criteria of an SVP and have them diverted to civil commitment for treatment at McNeil Island indefinitely if it can be proven at trial that they meet the standard. SVPs are considered the most likely to re-offend.

While SVPs used to be housed indefinitely on McNeil Island but, in the wake of legal challenges, the courts have said SVPs must receive treatment at McNeil Island and undergo annual assessments to determine if that treatment has worked. They now qualify to be released to one of two Secure Transition Facilities, operated by the state, or a Less Restrictive Alternative (LRA), often run by a private for-profit third party that does not provide adequate security and does not provide necessary access for state oversight.

Danielle Jacks serves as page for Sen. Drew MacEwen

Danielle Jacks

OLYMPIA, WASH. – Danielle Jacks, a 10th grader at Sunrise Beach High School from Yelm, spent a week working as a page for the Washington State Senate at the Capitol in Olympia. Jacks was one of 15 students who served as a Senate page for the fourth week of the 2024 Legislative session.

Jacks was sponsored by 35th Legislative District Senator Drew MacEwen, who represents Mason County, and parts of Thurston and Kitsap counties.

“Danielle did an excellent job paging,” MacEwen said. “I was excited that she chose to be a part of this opportunity and learn more about the legislative process.”

“After hearing about how much of an amazing opportunity this program was through my four other siblings who were also pages, I realized I wanted to learn more about the legislative process and follow in their footsteps,” said Jacks. She also stated her most memorable part was being able to see all the buildings and the history behind it all because she never realized how much there was to learn at the capitol.

Jack’s, 16, enjoys reading, riding horses, and walking. Her passion is photography and wants to continue her future with this hobby and hopes to possibly go into media in order to pursue these dreams.

Danielle’s parents are Aaron and Carla Jacks.