Frank Chopp |
Frank Chopp, the speaker of the Washington House, has been an important figure in Washington politics for some years - most of a decade anyway - but he's not been particularly a household name, unless your house is in Olympia or maybe Chopp's 43rd district in Seattle. But now it seems to be getting that way, which is something he may relish or would rather go away.
His importance, as builder, solidifier and governor of the Democratic majority in the House, has been accepted in political spheres for some time. (So has his larger than life personality, and patterns of communication some writers have started to call Choppisms.) But few legislators emerge into the larger public consciousness even so.
This year, Puget Sound people have begun seeing headlines about Chopp's role on the Alaskan Way dispute - if Chopp doesn't want it, it's dead. The sense you got was of not only outsized personality, but of outsized power.
What the Slog and the Olympian are now reporting about Chopp and his dealings with two other legislators could take that image a step further.