It seems unlikely that on day 53 of this 60-day session that our request legislation to provide $150 million in public financing to renovate Husky Stadium is going to leap to the forefront of “go home” issues (although I am still permitted to dream if I want). But that doesn’t mean the UW is coming back from Olympia empty-handed.
At the annual TVW banquet on Monday evening at Olympia’s Red Lion Inn, Governor Dan Evans and Ways and Means committee chairwoman Sen. Margarita Prentice (D-Renton) were co-winners of a coveted “Cammy” award. The Cammy’s are handed out each year at the TVW dinner to recognize some of the most unusual, humorous or embarassing moments from committee hearings or floor action covered by Washington’s public affairs station. By audience vote, Governor Evans and Sen. Prentice won their Cammy for an exchange that occured in the Ways and Means committee on February 5th during the public hearing on the Husky Stadium bill.
In testimony about the deterioration of the stadium, Governor Evans described the precarious condition of the press box and lamented that it would be a terrible situation to have something happen to the box while it was filled with reporters and other media types. Recognizing the “high esteem” that some legislators, staffers and lobbyists hold for members of the fourth estate, Evans quickly corrected himself and admitted that many of the committee members might not think that would have been such a horrible outcome.
Here’s a link to actual committee hearing on the TVW website. The Cammy-winning exchange is between 20:30 and 20:50 of the clip. Hopefully, we can use this Cammy awad as a springboard to stadium success in 2009.