Published 4:45 pm Wednesday, December 2, 2020
Washington farm groups lost their most powerful ally in the state House on Tuesday, as state Rep. Brian Blake ended a 12-year run as chairman of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
Blake, an Aberdeen Democrat, was the Washington Farm Bureau’s legislator of the year twice, including in 2020. Still, the Farm Bureau leaned toward Republicans in election endorsements, and Blake’s race was no exception. He was unseated by Cathlamet Republican Joel McEntire.
Blake said in an interview he didn’t know whether the Farm Bureau’s non-endorsement hurt. His biggest liability was his party identification, he said.
His rural southwest Washington district has evolved from solidly Democratic to solidly Republican. It backed Donald Trump for president and Loren Culp for governor, and the district’s long-time Democratic senator lost re-election, too.
The district also favored repealing a sex-education bill that passed along party lines in the Democratic-controlled Legislature. The issue hurt Blake as the Farm Bureau made local endorsements.
“The district turned Republican 10 years ago, and I was aware of that,” said Blake, a legislator since 2002. “People are just finally fed up with the regulatory morass that has been created.”
He said Democrats have work to do to repair their relations with agriculture. “There have been angry moments,” he said.
“There have been some what I would call ‘unfortunate’ bills, and they’ve left the impression Democrats are anti-agriculture,” he said. “I think elected Democrats and the party have to step back and say, ‘No, that’s not the message we want to convey.'”
Blake was the Farm Bureau’s legislator of the year in 2011 and shared the award this year with Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima.
“Rep. Blake was pivotal again this year in ensuring good policy came out of his House committee,” Washington Farm Bureau President Mike LaPlant said in a statement.
“Issues related to the use of important pesticides and changes to water law were carefully reviewed and discussed in his committee,” LaPlant said. “These complex issues deserve the time and attention that Rep. Blake gives them.”
As agriculture committee chairman, Blake blocked a Senate bill to ban chlorpyrifos, a widely used pesticide.
He was the only Democrat to join 30 Republicans in sending a letter to the the State Board of Health, asking it to back off plans to regulate manure.
Despite Blake’s loss, Democrats maintained their 57-41 majority in the House. They have yet to pick Blake’s successor as committee chairman. Contenders include Mike Chapman of Port Angeles and Debra Lekanoff of Bow.
At Blake’s last legislative meeting, conducted by video conference, his committee heard presentations on several issues. At the end, committee members thanked Blake for his handling of the committee.
“It’s hard to meet someone in the Legislature who is more genuine than Rep. Blake,” said Rep. Sharon Schewmake, D-Bellingham.
Blake, 60, said he saved his campaign signs and hasn’t ruled out running again in two years.
