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Senate Republicans officially holding majority again with Short’s swearing-in

Sally Short choked up a bit as she was sworn in to her new role as a state Senator Wednesday morning.

“While I am sad to leave my colleagues in the House, I look forward to working with them as a member of the Senate to solve the tough challenges our state faces this session,” Short said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon.

Sen. Shelly Short, R-Addy. (Courtesy Shelly Short office.)

The Republican from Addy was in her fourth term as Representative for the 7th District when she was appointed by district commissioners to replace Rep. Brian Dansel, R-Republic. Dansel announced his resignation on Jan. 24 to take on a job in the Trump administration. That caused a temporary 24-24 tie in the Senate.

With Republicans’ slim majority gone, Democrats made a push to change floor rules Friday, to give present members a majority in certain cases. This effort failed when Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, entered the debate, as the only Republican on the floor.

Democrats pushed the effort in the interest of passing a delay on the “levy cliff,” and according to reporting by Walker Orenstein for The News Tribune, they expected Democratic Lt. Gov. Cyrus Habib to side with them. But, he declined to vote in their favor.

With Short’s appointment last week, and her swearing-in Wednesday, Republicans have gained back their official majority in the Senate.

Short was on three committees in the House: Environment, Health Care & Wellness and Rules. She also served as House Caucus Chair. Now she will shift to working on three Senate committees: Agriculture, Water, Trade & Economic Development; Energy, Environment & Telecommunications and Local Government, according to a press release from Short’s office.

Erin Fenner: erin@washingtonstatewire.com, @erinfenner


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