One of the oddities of the election that mixed bag of demographics state lawmakers picked for their leaders.

Senate Republicans stayed with Jim West of Spokane, middle-aged, divorced, 20-year veteran. House Republicans went with spinster Cathy McMorris of Colville. Well, I didn’t want to call her an old maid. She’s only 33. Pretty young to take over from sly old fox Clyde Ballard, who’s been the GOP boss for I believe a couple of earthquakes. She may be in over he head.

Senate Democrats picked a single mother, Lisa Brown of Spokane, forever famous as a representative for bringing her baby onto the floor of the House while it was in session, sending Speaker Ballard into fits for her disregard of rules and protocol.

House Democrats kept Speaker Frank Chopp and majority leader Lynn Kessler, both married with grown children. I heard Kessler speak the other day. She blasted Tim Eyman and then admitted she voted for I-695, the $30 car tab, which took $3.5 billion out of the revenue stream.

West is the one to watch. Remember back in 1998 when Olympia cops charged him with threatening the life of Tom McCabe, executive director of the Building Industry Association of Washington, whose organization is credited with restoring control of the Senate to the GOP?

That was the first time West was Senate majority leader. Angered by a newspaper ad run by McCabe criticizing him, he left the following message on McCabe’s answering machine: “McCabe, you sonofabitch, you’d better get me, because if you don’t, you’re dead!”

He left no name but McCabe recognized his voice and called the cops. Now, anybody with a smidgen of political sense would know the message was that if McCabe didn’t succeed in defeating West in the next election, he — West — would see to it that McCabe would be out of a job.

McCabe chose not to understand it that way. It frightened his wife, he said.

I defended West by saying he was a wuss and wusses don’t kill people. He was a bright, likeable pussycat of a guy who had a terrible temper, which was seldom displayed when he was in the minority but put a tiger in his tank with the power of the majority.

He might trip and fall on you and kill you, I said, but he wouldn’t step on an ant. It eventually went to trial where West got off, more or less. If he didn’t do it again for nine months, the charge would be taken off the books. He had to pay court costs. He contributed $500 to Mrs. McCabe’s favorite charity and he’s still paying off his lawyer. He also has chided me ever since for calling him a wuss. What do you care what I called you? I said. I got you off, didn’t I? You’re not in jail.

When I called McCabe to ask how things were between him and West now, he was away on personal business but a spokesman for the Builders said, “The hatchet has been buried. We’ve liked Jim as a legislator and he continues to impress us by and large in everything he does.”

Do McCabe and West talk to each other? “Let’s say there’s no longer any hostility or animosity,” said the spokesperson.

And they work well together? “Yes.”

West wasn’t putting such a smiley face on his response. He and McCabe communicate through “intermediaries,” he said. “I never had much to do with him before the incident and have not had any occasion to talk to him since. I have developed good relationships with others in the Builders with whom I had a 100 percent voting record before that, and 100 percent since.”

Well, you surely will have to talk to him eventually at public meetings, etc., won’t you, I asked. Kind of like Bush and McCain? Painfully polite? Forced informality? Grinch smiles?

He didn’t take the bait. I got the distinct impression that Washington voters will vote for a state income tax before Jim West addresses Tom McCabe again. Maybe after he gets his lawyer paid off. It’s going to be an interesting session.

(Adele Ferguson can be reached at P.O. Box 69, Hansville, WA, 98340.).