Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood is a bastion of beloved public artwork, from the huge bust of a Troll lurking under the Aurora Bridge to Richard Beyers’ “Waiting for the Interurban,” frequently festooned with balloons, costumes or hand-lettered banners celebrating weddings, birthdays or other special occasions.

While some art lovers look down their noses at the monument to children’s television icon J. P. Patches, the replica of a rocket and other sculptures, Fremont’s public art has a bevy of defenders.

But a group of state lawmakers is not among them. If they have their way, one of Fremont’s signature artworks, the 16-foot-tall statue of former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, will come down.

This week a group of Republicans has introduced House Bill 2120. It seeks to remove the bronze monument and replace it with another artwork. The measure would set up a statewide committee to determine the new artwork, which would then be subject to a series of public hearings, at least two of would be held east of the Cascade mountains.

The bill cites Lenin’s role in the formation of the Soviet Union, and atrocities committed under the auspices of that government, including the “Red Terror of 1917-1922” and the deportation and genocide of Crimean Chechens and Tatars. Sponsors conclude that Vladimir Lenin “does not meet the standards of being one of our 15 state's top honorees with a statue display in Seattle.”

The bill caught many in Fremont by surprise. Longtime Fremont businesswoman Suzie Burke, the neighborhood’s largest industrial land owner, was quick to point out that not one of the bill’s sponsors lives in the Seattle area.