OLYMPIA — Mark Streuli, a farm lobbyist who grew up on a dairy and was once deputy director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture, has a side hustle — auctioneer.

His on-stage exuberance has earned him a nickname, “Mark the Spark.” Motto: “Licensed, bonded and ready to go!”

Streuli, 57, brings the same outgoing style to lobbying for the Washington Cattlemen’s Association, the Washington State Potato Commission and the Washington Potato and Onion Association.

These days, however, are not the best for the extroverted lobbyist.

The Capitol is fenced off. Hearings are conducted by video. Streuli testifies from his house, a blank gray wall behind him. He talks into a computer screen showing the disembodied heads of legislators.

“You just don’t know what they’re looking at. At me? Another screen? Their phone? I assume they’re looking at me,” Streuli said. “I am more confident testifying in person.”

Streuli says he has rarely seen anyone in person during the pandemic. He misses being on the capitol campus and seeing who lobbyists on the other side of an issue are talking to. “I’m sure they like to see who I’m talking to, too,” he said.

“It’s challenging. I miss the people. To me, it’s really a people business, at the end of the day,” he said.

Started on a farm

There’s a straight line, more or less, from Streuli’s boyhood to what he does now.

Streuli’s father, Herb Streuli, was a dairy farmer in Enumclaw, about 40 miles southeast of Seattle, and state president of the Farm Bureau, testifying in front of government panels on farm issues.

Herb Streuli sold the dairy in the 1980s when the USDA was buying out producers. At 90, he lives in Edmonds with his wife, Ryn.

Mark Streuli spent Saturdays at an auction barn, admiring the auctioneers. After graduating from high school in 1981, he went through Central Washington University, not briskly. He worked, started a family and graduated in 1990 with a degree in political science.

He broke into state politics that year managing the re-election campaign of Frank “Tub” Hansen, a retired Moses Lake farmer.

When Hansen died the following year, The Seattle Times called him “a spirited defender of farmers,” prone to folksy sayings like, “By damn, I’ll show ‘em where the bear run though the buckwheat.”

Hansen also was the last Democrat to represent the now thoroughly Republican 13th Legislative District in Central Washington. “Partisanship was not as extreme as today,” Streuli said.

Wide divide

In sizing up the 2021 Legislature, Streuli notes the widening partisan divide. The 2020 elections didn’t change the numbers — Democrats didn’t add or subtract from their majorities in the House or Senate. Both parties, however, added new members.

“The blue got bluer, and the red got a little redder,” Streuli said. “I think we’re seeing proposals that may not have moved before and now they’re moving this session and may make it to the governor’s desk.”

He listed a capital gains tax, a low-carbon fuel standard and a carbon tax as three policies with improved chances of passing.

Farm groups are on the defensive on all three issues. It’s not unusual for agriculture to be on the defensive in Olympia. But the usual channels for showing up and going on the offensive are not there.

Normally, the agriculture industry raises its profile with annual events, such as dairy day, potato day and beef day — enjoyed by all. Last year, farmers drove tractors around the Capitol on the first day of the session, trying to set a tone.

Between last session and this one, the pandemic shut down farm tours, a favorite way for lobbyists to introduce lawmakers to agriculture.

“We missed all our tours. We didn’t have dairy day, potato day, beef day,” Streuli said. “Combined, all of that is important.”

The innovation this year has been to rally supporters to sign in remotely “pro” or “con” on bills that are being heard by committees. (You can also sign in “other,” for what it’s worth).

Most people don’t testify, but for those who do, there’s no need to leave home. The result has been more people saying something and less time to say it. “I think it’s good in some way and watered it down in some way,” Streuli said.

Inside the legislature

Streuli learned the inner workings of the Legislature by working as a policy analyst for Senate Democrats between 1991 to 2008.

He moved to the agriculture department while Dan Newhouse, now a U.S. House member, was the director. Streuli rose to become Newhouse’s deputy director.

After a stint lobbying for the Washington Farm Bureau, he went into business for himself — Streuli Public Affairs.

Roughly halfway through the session, the big issues remain unsettled. The biggest, Streuli said, is how a bill on overtime wages for farmworkers comes out.

Streuli said lawmakers have been good about responding to phone calls, texts and emails. The remote hearings bring in testimony from all parts of the state. But there’s no substitute for meeting in person with the people casting votes, he said.

“Transparency has decreased,” he said. “I don’t see how it couldn’t have some effect on the outcome.”

Job: Lobbyist. Clients include Washington Cattlemen’s Association, Washington State Potato Commission and Washington Potato and Onion Association.

Education: Bachelor’s degree, Central Washington University.

Family: wife Janet; grown sons Nick and Jake and step-daughter Jennifer, and an adopted daughter Marlee, 6.