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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Family Values Make Olympia One Big Party

Lynda V. Mapes Staff writer

FROM WEST SIDE STORIES page B1 (Saturday, February 1, 1997): Correction Sen. Bob McCaslin, R-Spokane Valley, wants the world to know he did not, in fact, kiss former Lt. Gov. Joel Pritchard as Pritchard administered him the oath of office, as reported in this space. “He gave me a cheek-to-cheek kind of thing.” Pritchard said. “We were just sort of laughing. He grabbed me. Hugged me, you know.” There you have it, folks. No kiss.

That baby of Mona and Gary’s is solid political gold.

The state’s First Family-to-be is the toast of the capital. Crusty old GOP war horses throw their arms around the new Democratic governor and bury him in bear hugs. Locke’s wife, Mona, 32, and 6-1/2 months pregnant, draws glowing smiles wherever she goes.

Forget the honeymoon. The rookie governor and first lady are in the middle of a love-in, group hug, cooing contest extraordinaire.

Republicans who control both houses of the Legislature even gave the Lockes an elegant wooden cradle as an inauguration gift, bestowed before a joint session of the Legislature.

The cradle was festooned with a pink and blue bow as big as a basketball. The Lockes don’t know if they are expecting a boy or girl.

As he presented the gift, Sen. Dan McDonald, R-Bellevue, the Senate majority leader, told Locke how the gift was selected.

“We talked about savings bonds, to promote fiscal integrity.

“My personal favorite was the complete tapes of Milton Friedman. But you folks are about to embark on a career more important than governor,” McDonald said, as lawmakers hoisted the cradle overhead for all to see.

Locke then made it clear where his priorities lie.

In his inauguration address, he told lawmakers, “Mona and I are expecting our first child in March. So in very rapid succession, I will be blessed with two titles that carry immense responsibility and immense honor: governor and dad.

“That’s the thing my folks really want. Forget this governor business.”

The rhetorical meringue is bound to deflate a tad by March - just in time for a new bloom of good will when the baby arrives with spring.

Locke keeps the new cradle right by his desk in the governor’s office.

Maybe he’ll take it home to the brick mansion next door to the Capitol building. But if he’s really smart, he’ll leave it right where it is.

Let’s get physical

Now that the GOP controls the Senate, Bob McCaslin has a new seat on the Senate floor right up front.

McCaslin, R-Spokane Valley, is in his element. He’s always leavened the ponderous atmosphere in the Senate’s marbled chamber and punctured some of the body’s more gaseous debates with jokes, often at his own expense.

And now, McCaslin’s new seat puts him at ground zero in the back-slap zone: an aisle walked by legislators to approach the rostrum.

On opening day this week, nearly all senators taking the oath of office at the rostrum also received a bear hug, slap on the back, squeeze on the elbow, or smack on the cheek when they walked past McCaslin to get back to their seat.

When it was McCaslin’s turn to be sworn in, he grabbed former Lt. Gov. Joel Pritchard and planted a big wet one on his cheek.

McCaslin, it turns out, is only a sourpuss when it comes to spending.

Is that on the rocks?

Leave it to those fearless state lawmakers to take on the pressing problems of the day. Consider HB 1194, requiring employers to allow mothers to breast feed; and HB 1099, designating Mammuthus primigenius the official fossil of the state of Washington.

How have we done without these laws for so long?

Then there are the lost causes, bills even their sponsors know won’t become law, from repealing the Growth Management Act to putting prisoners on chain gangs.

And the causes celebre, such as HB 1068 that would ban drinking alcohol in the Capitol.

That bill, sponsored by Rep. Mark Sterk, R-Spokane Valley, a police officer, has already attracted statewide media attention.

In some ways, the bill looks like a sure winner.

What lawmaker is going to step up to the microphone to argue for the right to drink at his or her desk?

, DataTimes MEMO: West Side Stories runs every other week.

West Side Stories runs every other week.