The Capitol Ideas spotlight today is on Rep. Steve Bergquist, the Renton Democrat who serves as one of the vice-chairs of the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee. We recorded this a few days before the final operating budget was approved, so rather than talk about the destination, today we'll outline the journey. It's a budget travelogue.

If the Washington state operating budget were part of the Marvel universe, today’s episode of Capitol Ideas might be the origin story. We’re about to hear from Representative Steve Bergquist, vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee, in a conversation recorded just a few days before the House and Senate both voted to approve that nearly-seventy-billion dollar two-year spending plan.