Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz – seemingly without a trace of irony – co-authored an article promoting wildfire prevention methods which have long been advocated by conservatives, and opposed by extreme environmentalists like Franz.  In a Seattle Times op-ed, Franz highlights forest management practices which reduce the underbrush and fallen trees which often “fuel” wildfires.  These practices have long been followed by many tribes and advocated by conservatives (such as Todd Myers, now at the Washington Policy Center, and formerly a top aide to one of Franz’ predecessors at the Department of Natural Resources, and author of many articles over the years).  Liberals, such as Commissioner Franz before she got into office, have opposed such practices because they were not “natural.” (Seattle Times and Washington Policy Center)

The Washington State Department of Ecology will distribute only $700,000 to other state agencies for drought relief.  As Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy Center points out, this is less than the $750,000 the Governor Jay Inslee wasted to study – again,  – whether or not to tear down the Snake River dams, something only Congress, not the governor, can authorize.  It is also far less than the $2 million Governor Inslee wasted on a state vaccine lottery which had no impact on the number of people who obtained the vaccine. And who knows how close it comes to the amount taken from the state treasury to cover personal security costs for the Inslee for President campaign, which the governor has refused to reimburse the state for. (Capital Press, WPC Center for Government Reform Facebook, and Shift)

Speaking of the wasteful vaccine lottery – an anonymous winner in the state’s COVID vaccine lottery for military members was selected yesterday morning.  If this military member is like previous grand prize winners of Governor Jay Inslee’s vaccine lotteries, then he/she received the COVID vaccine long before the $2 million lottery was announced, and thus it had no impact on their decision to become vaccinated.  (KOMO News)

Is Pete Holmes embarrassing showing in yesterday’s primary election a sign that even the wacky liberal Seattle voters have finally had enough of the city’s rampant crime problems and liberal homeless policies?  While it is unlikely there will be a dramatic shift in Seattle’s far-Left vote patterns, it does appear the liberals’ figurehead on being soft-on-criminal issues has some troubles in his re-election effort. Three-term Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes, whose office is often criticized for not prosecuting lawbreakers, but instead acting as a second defense attorney in criminal cases, is currently in second place in a three-candidate contest, with just 32.8% of the vote, and is still very vulnerable to not even qualifying for the top-two general election.  Moderate candidate Ann Davison, who has campaigned on taking a tougher approach to prosecuting criminals and was endorsed by the Seattle Times, came in first place with 34.6 of the initial vote count.  Holmes is currently only 550 votes ahead of (equally extreme) Nicole Thomas-Kennedy for the second spot on the November ballot. Whichever one faces Davison in the general election, there will be a clear contrast for the voters.  We can certainly expect to see the region’s liberal establishment come out in full support for either Holmes or Thomas-Kennedy, even as its ironclad grip on the region’s policies is beginning to show some strain.   (King County Election results and Ann Davison Campaign)

King County Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht has ordered her department’s professional staff to work remotely due to the rampant crime in Downtown Seattle.  You read that right … the county’s top law enforcement official believes Seattle’s crime problem is so out of control that it is unsafe for her fellow public safety employees to come into downtown.  This follows 33 King County Superior Court judges sending a letter to the City of Seattle demanding it do something about the unsafe conditions around the county courthouse.  So, while the lame duck mayor pretends everything is OK, and encourages people to come back downtown for shopping and entertainment, those actually in the criminal justice system are demonstrating with their actions that Downtown Seattle is not a safe place to work or visit due to failed liberal public safety policies. (MyNorthwest, KOMO News, and KING5 News)

King County Councilmembers Reagan Dunn, Kathy Lambert, and Peter von Reichbauer all easily made it through their re-election primaries.  One noteworthy result was that Ubax Gardheere received only 5% of the vote as a candidate in the 9^th Council District contest, which Dunn won handily.  Gardheere made news a few weeks ago when it became known the liberal candidate had previously been arrested for illegally boarding a school bus, and threatening the safety of the students on board by claiming she had a bomb.  She had been endorsed by Democrat State Senator Rebecca Saldana, Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales, and Redmond City Councilmember Varisha Khan. (King County elections results, Q13 News, and Ubax Gardheere campaign)

The former minister of Downtown Seattle’s Plymouth Congregational Church writes that liberal development policies and procedures are the cause for homelessness in Seattle.  If one subscribes to the belief that economic conditions (and not drug abuse and mental illness) are at the root of the city’s homeless problem, then the city’s liberal development policies and endless procedures are too expensive for developers to construct affordable housing. (Post Alley)

In hotly contested races for the Spokane City Council, the two candidates strongly supported by realtors and other members of the business community both easily made it through the primary to advance to the general election ballot. Since the city is in the midst of a housing crisis, many believe the council’s current alignment of six liberals to one moderate/conservative is a major part of the problem, and are hoping to elect Jonathan Bingle in the 1^st Council District (Northeast) and Mike Lish in the 3rd Council District (Northwest) to bring some needed balance to the council.

Bingle was the clear winner in a three-person race, receiving 47% of the vote and Lish came in a clear second place in his five-candidate contest, with nearly 30% of the vote.  A third race in the 2^nd Council District (South), which did not have a primary due to only having two candidates, will feature incumbent councilmember Betsy Wilkerson being challenged by Tyler LeMaster, a realtor and former staff member for Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers. (Spokane County election results, Shift Newsmaker Interviews with Jonathan Bingle, Shift’s Newsmaker Interview with Mike Lish, and Spokane Public Radio)

75% of the voters supported the recall of Benton County Sheriff Jerry Hatcher.  Recall proponents made eight charges against Sheriff Hatcher in their recall petition was which upheld by the Washington State Supreme Court.  Most involve providing false statements, tampering with evidence, and intimidating witnesses.  Hatcher said he will stay in office until the vote is certified in three weeks, and then he will retire in Montana. A new sheriff will be among the three names nominated by the Benton County Republicans, and then selected by the county commissioners. (Benton County election results and KEPR News)

Wenatchee area business operators are concerned that the state’s plastic bag ban will put small businesses at a disadvantage to big retailers.  While the state law mandates that businesses charge 8 cents per paper bag or recycled, thicker plastic bags, small business owners say they can not find them at that rate for the quantity they use. One small business owner said the 8-cent fee, “doesn’t even put a dent in the cost of the bags a small business pays.  Large companies, because they order them by the pallet, it probably covers their costs…There are no 8-cent bags that we can purchase.” The state ban on plastic bags, which many critics contend will actually cause more damage to the environment, will begin on October 1^st. (Wenatchee World and MyNorthwest)

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