New state legislator fills her father's position in Olympia

OLYMPIA —

On Monday morning, fifth-grade teacher Laura Grant-Herriot walked through the doors of the House Democratic Caucus where her father, the late Rep. Bill Grant, D-Walla Walla, had served for more than two decades.

The room erupted.

"Everyone went nuts," said House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, who worked closely with Grant-Herriot's father.

Grant, 71, died Jan. 4 from a rare form of lung cancer. On Feb. 20, commissioners from Walla Walla, Columbia, Benton and Franklin counties, all Republicans, elected Grant-Herriot, a Democrat, to fill her father's position with a 6-5 vote.

"Her dad's seat has been empty on the floor since the session began," Kessler said. "... There was a good spirit in the chamber; I know Bill would have been very proud."

Driving into Olympia on Sunday night was "really emotional," Grant-Herriot said. "I can definitely feel his presence here."

She remembered advice her father often offered:

"We're all people here; no one is more important than anybody else."

Those words served her father well. Though he was considered a heavy hitter in state politics, he was known for his ability to work across party lines.

He was an oddity in Eastern Washington, a Democratic farmer who served 22 years in a Republican district and the only Democrat from rural Eastern Washington.

Her first day at work, Grant-Herriot hit the ground sprinting. She sat in her father's old seat, and Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, helped her sift the piles of paperwork.

Grant-Herriot voted on more than 70 bills that day. That was the big stuff. The small? Inside her desk, shoved to the back of the drawer, she found several old pens — her dad's pens.

Grant-Herriot, who teaches in Walla Walla, says she always feels anxiety the night before the first day of school.

But this time, on Sunday night, the 47-year-old mother of three girls was preparing for a new life, in a new town, in a new career — at least for the rest of the legislative session.

Her father's death had come as a surprise; yes, he'd had cancer — but "he was fighting this thing," she said.

After he died, there were so many things to take care of: the funeral, the farm, his position in Olympia.

"We [the family] just felt like one of us needed to step forward," she said. "We knew how important it was to him to keep a Democrat in that seat."

Grant-Herriot accepted the family bid, and sent her résumé to the local Democratic party.

"A bulldog in politics"

Monday morning at Berney Elementary School where Grant-Herriot teaches, she was absent.

The kids knew something was up, and it didn't take long for the news to break.

An announcement was made over the intercom: "Congratulations to Ms. Grant-Herriot; we now have a bulldog in politics."

Katie Wencel, a fifth-grader in Grant-Herriot's class, said all the kids went into a cheering frenzy.

"People were raising their hands, clapping and saying 'whoo-hoo,' " Katie said.

"I never thought that our teacher would be in politics, I saw her on the news, and it's like she's a movie star."

David Talley, principal of Berney Elementary, couldn't be more thrilled to have a member of his staff in state government.

Plan for session

"She'll represent the agricultural and education world well, no doubt about that. It makes me feel good, in these tough times especially," he said. "It's nice to know you'll have a voice there."

Indeed, Grant-Herriot says her top priorities will be education issues and agriculture.

Her plan for the session is to align herself with her constituency to best represent her district, she said. She will serve on the Agriculture & Natural Resources, Capital Budget and Higher Education committees.

"Kind of an anomaly"

Both parties are interested in what will happen to Grant-Herriot's seat in November.

"I know the Republicans would love to get that seat ... it was kind of an anomaly to have a Democrat in that district as long as we did," said Rep. Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla.

"It won't be very easy for Laura this fall. ... Bill held that seat for 22 years, and there's been a lot of interest," she said.

Gregg Loney, a county commissioner from Walla Walla, said some people expressed concern that the commissioners were voting for Grant-Herriot because with the least experience of the three candidates, she'd present the smallest threat to Republicans in the fall election.

Loney sees it differently. "I actually think if she runs, she would be more difficult to beat because she would have a sentimental vote because of her father," he said.

Kessler wants to see Grant-Herriot stay put.

"We hope she will work hard to keep that seat, and we think that's her intention," she said. "We will certainly give her all the help we can."

Grant-Herriot says it's just too early to tell if she will run.

She did hint at a possible long-term stay: "I'm probably not unlike my dad when he first came over. I don't think my dad ever intended to be a career politician, and he ended up being here for enough years that it could appear that way."

Chantal Anderson: 360-236-8266 or canderson@seattletimes.com