Sen. Leonard Christian with his gift for the Senate: Flag paperweights cast in aluminum by the manufacturing program at Spokane Community College.
OLYMPIA – Spokane Valley’s Leonard Christian passed his first bill as senator in the Washington Senate Wednesday, with all the ceremony that is customary when a new member gets a bill through the Legislature’s upper chamber for the first time.
Christian’s bill allows local fire districts to dissolve their civil service systems under certain conditions. SB 5172 requires fire commissioners to adopt a resolution and also requires a vote of a majority of fire district employees covered by civil service. The bill applies to fire districts where firefighters are fully-paid and civil service rules have been adopted.
Christian said the bill will give greater flexibility to fire districts in Washington state. The measure passed 47-1.
The measure is Christian’s first to be passed by the Senate, but it is not his first bill to get a floor vote in the Washington Legislature. Christian served in the House from the 4th Legislative District in 2014, and again in 2023 and 2024.
As dictated by Senate tradition, Christian distributed gifts to all members of the Senate, reflecting the interests and history of his district. Christian’s gift was an aluminum paperweight cast in a U.S. flag design, reflecting the 4th District’s role in aluminum production from World War II to the present day. The paperweights were produced by the manufacturing program at Spokane Community College.
During personal remarks on the Senate floor, Christian said the flag took on a new meaning for him after he joined the Air Force at age 18 and he developed an understanding of the sacrifice of our nation’s veterans. “There were thousands of people who went before me who died to protect that flag, the symbol of America,” he said.
The paperweights are engraved on the back with the words, “Our forefathers were willing to die for this flag; the citizens are just asking for your best.”
Christian said, “I hope we remember every day we are here that we are here to do our best.”