Washington State Legislature: A Case Study in Civility and Politics

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1 Washington State Legislature: A Case Study in Civility and Politics Francis Benjamin Washington State University The Council of State Governments WEST Annual Meeting - Honolulu - August 2, 2011

2 Washington State Legislative Service Project Examines the Washington state legislative process and the perceptions and attitudes of a variety of participants and stakeholders connected to the Washington state legislature. Legislators who served during the period 1990 to 2009 Legislative staff Legislative interns from the last ten years Lobbyists Members of the media Registered voters College students

3 Legislator Service Perspectives Benefits Ability to represent and help their constituents Learn the legislative process in-depth Influence the crafting of legislation Access to important policy influencers Professional growth Challenges Separation from family Short election cycle Persistently tight schedules Hyper-partisanship, too frequent display of disrespect and incivility Poor public policy outcomes

4 What is Legislative Civility Incivility Legislative Process Civility Mutual respect Interest in other s perspective Doesn t require agreement Recognition that you may be wrong

How Important is Civility in Producing Good Policy Outcomes Percent of respondents 50 40 30 20 10 0 Percent of respondents 50 40 30 20 10 0 1

5 How Important is Civility in Producing Good Policy Outcomes Percent of respondents Percent of respondents Not important Essential 10-point scale Not important Essential 7-point scale Legislator Lobbyist Voter Student

6 Does Bipartisan Collaboration Improve the Effectiveness of Legislative Sessions? Legislator: Yes 95% No 5% Lobbyist: Yes 81% No 19% Percent of respondents Almost Never Almost Always 7-point scale Staff

7 How Civil was the Legislature During the Legislator s Tenure? Percent of respondents Extremely uncivil Extremely civil 10-point scale Legislator

Changes in Legislative Civility During the Legislator s Tenure Percent of respondents 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

8 Changes in Legislative Civility During the Legislator s Tenure Percent of respondents Decrease substantially Decrease somewhat Stay about the same Increase somewhat Increase substantially Legislator Lobbyist

9 Changes in Legislative Civility During the Last Ten Years Percent of respondents Less 2 3 Same 5 6 More Voter Student

10 Hindrances Bipartisan Collaboration Party and caucus leadership influence Pressure from lobbyists/special interest groups Focusing on re election Majority vs. Minority (especially with super majorities) Differences in party ideology and perspective Lack of personal relationships between legislators Not working in a professional manner/lack of respect for other legislators Focusing on making the other party look bad

11 Encouraged by Bipartisan Collaboration Developing personal relationships with other legislators Maintaining mutual respect/courtesy/civility Working in committees and study groups When the vote separation between majority and minority is small Crisis/disasters Leadership who are inclusive of both parties Legislators who focus on making a difference in their community and state

12 Civility Factors Party Caucus Smaller vote separation between majority/minority increases civility Plan for ideological differences Party Leadership Inclusive leaders are viewed as more civil Structuring committee seating/ working groups Legislator Relationships Importance of personal relationships View all legislators as valuable Professionalization of the Legislature Increased time requirements on legislators Decrease in non partisan staff

13 Civility Factors Legislators Residences During Session Legislators Families Joining Them During Session Transportation Changes Technological Changes Televising of sessions Computers/ /text messaging

14 Civility Factors Legislator Demographics gender, election vote %, length of service, party Legislative District Demographics legislator composition, turnover rate, region, density Session Demographics majority/minority, senate/house, date, majority vote lead

15 Campaign Incivility Carries Over to Legislative Sessions Civility of the legislature while a legislator (10-point scale) With Civility With Hostility How treated during campaign (7-point scale)

16 Civility Factors Is Being a Legislator a Worthy Calling? Legislators Perspective Citizens Perspective

17 Incivility as it Relates to Political Discrimination among New Young Voters Political discrimination has become the accepted outlet for socially unacceptable discriminatory behavior.

18 Political Discrimination What Types of Political Discrimination are Acceptable How Does Political Discrimination Compare to Other Types of Discrimination

19 Civility

20 Washington State Legislature: A Case Study in Civility and Politics Francis Benjamin Washington State University benjamin@wsu.edu (509)

Chapter Ten: Campaigning for Office

1 Chapter Ten: Campaigning for Office Learning Objectives 2 Identify the reasons people have for seeking public office. Compare and contrast a primary and a caucus in relation to the party nominating function.