By Dennis Box

The Courier-Herald

State Rep. Jan Shabro rolled out the welcome mat in Enumclaw and the folks came.

Shabro, R-Lake Tapps, representative for the 31st Legislative District, moved her office to Enumclaw from Sumner last week and hosted an open house June 22.

Constituents from the district, political allies and friends stopped by for a couple of hours in the afternoon to talk politics, indulge in snacks and have a little post-session fun.

"We joined her campaign the first time she ran (for state office)," Auburn resident Joe McWhorter said. "She takes an interest in the whole district and is very effective."

Chatting and food may have been the main point of the gathering, but politics and figuring what might happen in the next session of the Legislature was a welcome topic.

Javier Figueroa, a fundraiser for Shabro during her first campaign, offered spirited insight on Shabro's success and Dino Rossi's "history making campaign." Figueroa raised funds for Rossi, the Republican candidate for governor in the last election.

"A candidate has to be able to listen and respond," Figueroa said. " A politician is not going to agree with constituents 100 percent of the time. What people want is a courteous, listening response and legitimate reason why she can or cannot help. Jan does well on that. I live in University Place. This is not my district, but I will go out of my way to help a good politician."

The gathering inevitably turned to the recently ended court challenge of the governor's race, which was halted by Rossi when Chelan County Superior Court Judge John Bridges turned down the Republican bid to reverse the election.

"It was an amazing historical event and I was happy to be part of it," Figueroa said. "But he was correct to stop when he did. I believe he went as far as he could."

Figueroa expects Rossi to pass up running for the U.S. Senate against Democrat Maria Cantwell and run for governor again in 2008.

Shabro said she also plans to run for another term next year. She ran unopposed in 2004.

The representative said she moved her office to Enumclaw as part of a plan to circle through the district.

"I spent two years in Sumner and I plan to spend two years in Enumclaw," Shabro said. "Next, I will open an office for two years in Auburn."

High on Shabro's list for the next legislative session is the budget.

"We need to start building a rainy-day fund," Shabro said. "We have so little in reserve. It helps with our bond rating if there is a setback. It seems the Legislature can't leave money alone. These are sound budgetary principles."

Shabro said she was "mildly happy" with some of the election reform measures adopted by the legislature.

"One of my amendments was adopted," Shabro said. "We will now distinguish between the three types of ballots, mail-in, provisional and poll ballots. I felt good about that."

Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@courierherald.com.