Lawmakers are in Olympia to serve, not live luxuriously

Folks, wake up, the coffee smells rancid. State Sen. Rodney Tom is among many/most state senators who take trips at the expense of donors/lobbyists, have the state pay for their cellphones and dry-cleaning bills, not to mention costs associated with maintaining their “home offices” [“State lawmakers ring up big cellphone bills for state,” News, Jan. 31].

Sen. Tom says that he just happened to figure his actual cellphone use related to state work and oddly enough, every month it comes in a couple of dollars under the $75 per month limit that requires details of use. Sure senator, very believable.

When state senators tell you they need home offices, cellphones, dry cleaning paid for by the taxpayer, they are cheating a system with rules [that] were written by these senators to financially benefit these same senators. Money in politics is the problem of our times. State senators need to work in Olympia and not travel, not charge the public for “services” and not maintain home offices. They need to be in Olympia and work.

--Jim Innes, Mercer Island