State Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, missed arguably the most important vote of the 2016 legislative session.
In total, he missed 25 votes this session, topping the list for the most missed votes out of Clark County’s delegation. One of the final votes he missed was on the much-negotiated supplemental operating budget. Benton did not return a call seeking comment.
The bulk of the county’s state lawmakers, meanwhile, had a near-perfect voting record for the 2016 regular and special legislative sessions, according to WashingtonVotes.org, a nonpartisan organization that tallies lawmakers’ voting records.
All of the region’s state representatives — Republican Reps. Paul Harris of Vancouver, Lynda Wilson of Vancouver, Brandon Vick of Felida, Liz Pike of Camas and Democratic Reps. Jim Moeller of Vancouver and Sharon Wylie of Vancouver — didn’t miss any of their 518 roll count votes in the House.
“I am grateful that I was not sick, did not have a family emergency and was able to be present,” Wylie said.
Sen. Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver, missed one vote out of 455 votes in the Senate.
After a long day on the Senate floor voting for bills, one of her constituents, a Vancouver resident, showed up to chat with her.
“I stepped out briefly,” Cleveland said.
Senate security is charged with notifying members of an upcoming vote if they have stepped outside. Cleveland said the security guard had stepped aside for a moment and didn’t alert her.
“I missed it by just seconds,” Cleveland said.
Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, missed seven votes and said it was due to her position in Senate leadership.
Whooping cough
There were 1,257 votes introduced in the Legislature this session, according to WashingtonVotes. There were 89 lawmakers who didn’t miss a single vote, and eight who missed more than 50.
Rep. Elizabeth Scott, R-Monroe, missed 137 votes, the most floor votes of any lawmaker, after being diagnosed with whooping cough.
“I have a history of not missing floor votes as I believe it is an integral part of representing the people who elected me to serve them in Olympia,” she said in a statement. “However, after being diagnosed with whooping cough and upon the strict advice of the county health department, I was ordered to stay home. This caused me to miss the busiest week of floor action.”
