Davis highway to keep name as proposal dies in Senate

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OLYMPIA — A state Senate committee yesterday quietly killed a proposal to rename Jefferson Davis Highway after William P. Stewart, a black Civil War veteran and early Washington settler.

"It's pretty disgusting," said Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, who sponsored the bill to rename the highway, better known as Highway 99. A small stone marker near the Canadian border dedicates the highway in honor of Davis, president of the Confederacy.

Dunshee noticed the marker as he was returning from a kayaking trip earlier this year. When news of his proposal to rename the road reached the South, he was bombarded with nasty e-mails, some of them threatening.

Despite the opposition, Dunshee figured the proposal would sail through the Legislature. The House passed it unanimously.

But the Confederate president has some fans outside the South. Dunshee's bill died when the Transportation Committee failed to pass it out by yesterday's deadline.

"It's not a priority for me," said Sen. Georgia Gardner, vice chairwoman on the Transportation Committee and a Democrat. The marker is in Blaine, Whatcom County, her hometown.

Gardner defended Davis, saying he accomplished good deeds as a soldier, U.S. senator and secretary of war before he led the South in the Civil War.

She also said the committee was too busy with the transportation budget. Dunshee agreed the transportation budget matters more than renaming the highway. But he said the Senate routinely spends its time on less-pressing issues.

"It's more important than spending half a day honoring Jay Buhner," Dunshee said — something done earlier this year for the former Mariners outfielder.

Dunshee vows that his proposal shall rise again.