Just one more day before Shift reveals its top underreported story of the year, while today’s spotlight is on the crumbling empire of House Speaker Frank Chopp. The state’s longest-serving Speaker – now in year 13, after three years before that as co-Speaker – has seen his majority dwindle by 13 seats over the last seven years, down to a precarious 50-48 going into 2016. Chopp has shown you can’t expect much out of the House when he has to keep all of his members toeing his liberal line.
Shift also highlights today other things you can’t expect much from Washington Democrats these days – honesty in fundraising (watch your email box!), competence in management (most recently at the Department of Corrections), or ethical behavior from Snohomish County Democrats (like Aaron Reardon). It’s enough to make you want to turn the page to a new year.