Governor Jay Inslee’s bungling of the state’s COVID-19 vaccination effort has even Democrat spin doctors who know him best complaining.  Jaime Medovitch Smith, who some might recognize as Governor Inslee’s former campaign spokesperson, top gubernatorial flak, and current director of communications for the Washington State Department of Commerce, has broken from the party line that everything is rosy with her former boss’ handling of the pandemic.Ms. Smith tweeted this morning her complaints about the problems her mother is experiencing while trying to obtain the vaccine: “I can’t even imagine how seniors or people with disabilities without internet access or no one to help can do this. This whole process is just *expletive*.”  Smith also typed, “No one is taking calls, they all want people to register online. She can’t do it without help. How many more are like her?”  Smith responded to a comment by comparing Inslee’s immunization effort to the Hunger Games.  Despite having 10 months to prepare for the mass vaccinations that scientists told us were needed to end of pandemic, and being the home to many leading technology companies which could help with such logistical challenges, Jay Inslee and the team he put together were woefully unprepared to distribute the vaccine.  While constantly blaming others, the Inslee Administration’s initial efforts ranked it among the bottom five states in the country for distributing doses.  As Ms. Smith’s tweets accurately point out, problems still plague the effort, by building in numerous roadblocks for those who don’t have access to the internet (or the proficiency at navigating  government forms on a computer), and failing to meet basic “equity” standards. Gee, with friends like these, Mr. Inslee… (Jaime Medovitch Smith Twitter)

For a concise presentation on the arguments against the legislature passing a state income tax on capital gains, Shift recommends this presentation from the Washington Policy Center’s Jason Mercier.  The argument is made, in just 22 slides, that SB 5096 is clearly an income tax (which is unconstitutional in Washington State), that the inclusion of the “emergency” clause (so the bill cannot be repealed by a citizen’s referendum) is not justified, that Washington State voters have 10 times rejected a state income tax, and that a capital gains tax is a very volatile source of revenue. (Washington Policy Center and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

National news outlets are beginning to cover the disturbing fact that President Joe Biden has appointed the truly inept Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) head Suzi LeVine to be his Assistant Secretary of the Employment and Training Administration in the Department of Labor.  Earlier this week, FOX News picked up the story of LeVine’s “failing up”, and yesterday the Washington Examiner covered how LeVine has parlayed her privileged ability to raise money for Democrat candidates into obtaining another federal government job (she was an ambassador after raising money for President Obama), despite her disastrous performance as Governor Inslee’s ESD Commissioner.  The stories cover how LeVine removed security protocols at the ESD, which allowed foreign criminals to steal $600 million dollars, which then forced tens of thousands of Washington State residents to wait months for their much-needed benefits payments after losing their paychecks due to Governor Inslee’s “emergency” orders.  LeVine then compounded her many failures by obstructing official state audits of her department and delaying the release of public records to reporters.  In the Washington Examiner’s story, U.S. Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler (R – Camas) expresses her outrage at the Biden appointment of LeVine.  “Washington residents who have had seen massive error after massive error from LeVine’s Employment Security Department are dumbfounded that she would be getting a promotion,” the Congresswoman stated.  “This isn’t a ceremonial title or a cushy spot for donors, it’s a crisis management role and one she’s already failed miserably.”  While it is good news that LeVine’s appointment has been covered by Right-leaning news outlets, it is yet another indictment on the national “mainstream” media that it has yet to mention this alarming Biden appointment.  (Washington Examiner, FOX News,  Seattle Times, and Jim Brunner Twitter)

A former Washington State ESD employee spoke out about the orders given by the department’s leadership (including Suzi LeVine) that made it difficult for state residents to receive assistance.  Jennifer Moore recounted several examples of new procedures that were meant to put additional responsibilities on claimants, and other regulations that kept ESD workers from actually assisting those seeking resolutions to their claims. “The lack of clarity, transparency, and accountability were very evident to me as a very low-level employee,” Moore said. “And it affected our ability to do our job.” (MyNorthwest)

Democrat legislators continue to disregard the pain Washington State residents have endured during Governor Inslee’s arbitrary shutdowns of the state’s economy, by not accepting further public comment or scheduling necessary action on bills designed to alleviate the negative financial impact on the state’s small businesses and workers.  With the February 15^th deadline for when bills need to be passed by policy committees in order to be sent to the full chamber looming, Senator Sam Hunt (D – Olympia) continues to take orders from his Democrat bosses by not scheduling additional public testimony on a bill (SB 5114) which would move the entire state to Phase 2 in COVID recovery (and not just the Democrat-controlled region’s Governor Inslee has already advanced).  If you will remember, Senator Hunt allowed only one hour of public testimony despite more than 1,600 residents registering to provide their views, and then joyfully cut-off people in mid-sentence when they reached his arbitrary one-minute time limit.  The Chair of the House Health Care & Wellness Committee, Representative Eileen Cody (D – West Seattle), has so much disdain for the public that she has refused to even schedule a public hearing on the House companion bill, HB 1321.  Since both Senator Hunt’s and Representative Cody’s constituents have been partially relieved from the severe restrictions randomly imposed under Governor Inslee’s one-man rule, they do not want to be bothered with the anxiety and financial pain thousands of other Washington residents continue to experience.  And they certainly will not pass a bipartisan measure through their committees to help relieve those concerns, even though it is overwhelmingly supported by Washington residents. (Washington Legislature Bill Summary and Shift)

Bipartisan legislation to expand sports gambling to non-tribal cardrooms will have a hearing on Thursday morning.  Last year, the Democrat-controlled legislature gave tribal casinos the state monopoly on the extremely lucrative sports gambling business. (We should note that despite the passage of this legislation also supported by Governor Inslee, the tribal casinos failed to adhere to the governor’s emergency orders and opened up their casinos to hundreds of gamblers every day, while non-tribal businesses near them remained closed.) The bipartisan bill (SB 5212), which would allow 43 non-tribal cardrooms to compete with tribal casinos, has the support of labor unions.  It is estimated that $50 million in state revenues would be annually generated if the bill is passed.  Obviously, the Washington Indian Gaming Association is against the bill, because it does not want competition for its member casinos. (Q13 and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

Two grocery associations have filed a lawsuit over the Seattle City Council’s latest measure to determine how much people in the private sector should be paid.  The Northwest Grocery Association and the Washington Food Industry Association have filed a federal lawsuit stating that it is unconstitutional for the city to demand that grocery stores pay employees $4 more per hour during the pandemic. Seattle City Council President (and mayoral candidate) Lorena Gonzalez stated, “Valuing, through compensation, their most critical resources of workers is not only the right thing to do, but it’s also good for business.”  Hypocritically, Gonzalez continues to lead the council’s actions to defund the city’s frontline workers (the police department). While the city council forces private-sector businesses to increase employee pay, it is cutting the pay and forcing layoffs of city employees who are experiencing far more exposure to COVID-19. (KING5 News)

It is interesting to note that the failure to be prepared for the COVID-19 vaccine is not just limited to Democrat state officials.  Despite having nearly 10 months to prepare for mass vaccinations, and the vaccine being available since mid-December, Democrat King County Executive Dow Constantine blasted out an email this afternoon stating, “This week I opened two new COVID-19 mass-vaccination clinics in the South King County.” If he was deeply committed to saving lives and allowing small businesses to reopen, shouldn’t these facilities have been opened weeks ago?  While liberal politicians like Governor Inslee and Executive Constantine keep proclaiming how larger government is the answer to all our  problems, their actions continuously demonstrate its inability to handle basic tasks private enterprise handles on a daily basis. (Dow Constantine email)

Senator Brad Hawkins (R – East Wenatchee) has obtained support from the Washington Education Association and the Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction over his bill to extend the school year, so students don’t experience “learning loss” over the summer months.   The legislation, SB 5147, would provide funding for a pilot program where 50 school districts could voluntarily spread their education calendar over 11 or 12 months, instead of the traditional nine months. (KPQ and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

A man suspected in the brutal murder of two women in Adams County is in the United States illegally.  In the latest example of harm being committed by someone whom liberal politicians seek to protect through social policy, Mauricio Nava-Garibay confessed to killing two women in Othello before dismembering their bodies.  The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed an immigration detainer on Nava-Garibay. (Elkhorn Media Group)

The Washington Dairy Farmers are seeking to pass legislation that will protect farms from having to pay three years of back wages due to a 2020 Washington State Supreme Court ruling.  An industry spokesman says if the legislation is not passed that dairy farmers would face an $80 million liability from workers seeking overtime pay for the past three years.  The legislation (SB 5172) is currently seeking action from the Senate Committee on Labor, Commerce & Tribal Affairs. (Pacific Northwest AG Network and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

In the latest demonstration that Democrat legislators seemingly hate private-sector jobs, they have introduced a bill which would remove tax incentives from companies which are simply “alleged” to have committed an employment law violation – validity does not matter.  Representative Timm Ormsby (D – Spokane) has introduced HB 1285, which would eliminate tax breaks for any fruit and vegetable processor which has a complaint filed against it for alleged violations.  Rep. Ormsby is obviously not interested in fair process or if the company is actually guilty.  This is one of many job-killing bills which the Democrats have introduced which would negatively impact private-sector jobs if passed. (Click to read full Shift Article and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

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