It seems all we hear from Washington these days is how the two major political parties just can’t get along. Gridlock seems to be the normal operating procedure, while bi-partisanship is close to becoming an endangered species.

There are countless examples of proposed legislation promoted by the president and Senate Democrats that doesn’t get brought up for a vote by Speaker Boehner and the Republicans, and an equal number of Republican ideas that are ignored by the Democrats.

It’s against this backdrop that we can’t help but be impressed that, once again, our state representative, Scott Dianda, D-Calumet, continues to receive bi-partisan support for legislation on a variety of issues.

Dianda’s latest effort involves legislation he introduced late last year which would require the Michigan Department of Transportation to allow local units of government to bid on used snow removal equipment, before it is auctioned to the general public.

While we don’t know the specifics of the legislation, at first blush it seems like a good idea. Testifying in favor of the bill at the Capitol in Lansing Wednesday were Hancock City Manager Glenn Anderson and the county road commission engineers from Houghton, Baraga and Keweenaw counties.

When introduced, in December, the bill received bipartisan support in the form of co-sponsorship from 51 representatives including every member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, like all committees with a Republican majority and chair..

To further exemplify the bipartisan effort, the measure was approved by the House Appropriations Committee on a 24-0 vote, with one abstention.

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