Those of us at Shift sifted through leadership quotes this past week as Washington State begrudgingly commemorated 600 days of the undemocratic one-man rule of Jay Inslee.  We were attempting to find quotes that supported his autocratic methods of removing all others (from legislators to local health officials) from the decision-making process on serious government actions which impact millions of people’s lives and personal finances.  Not surprisingly, we mostly found quotes which run contrary to the governor’s actions, for they often talked about the need for inclusion of other people’s views. (Click to read full Shift article)

Washington State Senator Doug Ericksen (R – Ferndale) said he joined in the call for Governor Jay Inslee to resign because, “the governor’s failure of leadership, his abuse of the powers granted to him by the people of our state and his use of the COVID-19 pandemic to divide our state through hate and fear.”  In an op-ed in the Centralia Chronicle, the senator said he did not come to the decision to join those in the Freedom Caucus lightly, but did so because of “the danger to democracy and freedom” caused by Governor Inslee’s actions. (Centralia Chronicle)

Washington State hospitals are expected to remain full through the end of November, despite Governor Inslee bragging in July that he alone had “won the Super Bowl” against COVID.  While the infection rates are declining, hospitalization and death rates are lagging behind. The governor continues to alienate many state residents by denying their representatives from having an active voice in decisions which impact their lives. He has also refused to say what data points there are for him to end his one-man rule of the state.  (KING5 News and Battle Ground Reflector/Senator John Braun)

As hundreds of Washington State Department of Transportation and Washington State Patrol employees have been unilaterally fired by Governor Jay Inslee thanks to his vaccine mandate, there is great concern about whether the state will have the employees needed to keep the Cascade Mountain passes open this winter.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a stormy and cold winter, which means the passes will likely require much by state worker maintenance to keep them open. Washington State Senator Curtis King (R – Yakima) is concerned about the movement of goods over the passes. He said extended pass closures “could have a very negative impact on drivers and freight hauling throughout Washington this winter, and it could hurt our economy at a time where there are already major supply-chain concerns.” (NW News Network and Seattle Times)

The Washington State Department of Health is working on a vaccine verification program to help businesses scan whether a customer has been vaccinated for COVID or has recently been tested negative.  According to reports, state officials are attempting to build on a program that was developed by the Cuomo Administration in New York State (yea, that sentence sure brings confidence).  This brings up a couple of points.  First, only a few months ago, Governor Inslee’s office said there would be no need for a vaccine passport system in Washington State.  Now it appears Washington residents will need them to enter their favorite restaurant or retail shop.  Secondly, nearly all of the state’s COVID related programs have been disaster.  From COVID Data Dashboards which failed to provide data to the public, to a contact tracing program which only contacted a very small percentage of the public, to a vaccination rollout which was one of the worst in the nation, thus causing many to become unnecessarily infected with the virus. Good thing that Jay is the only one who can save us, In his mind. (Puget Sound Business Journal, Seattle P-I/MSN, and Shift)

King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski, whose endorsement page reads like the who’s who of the region’s liberal establishment, has been repeatedly accused and internally reprimanded for verbally abusing staff members, especially women. This has reportedly been going on for years, but was not publicly disclosed until yesterday.  Councilmember Dembowski, who nominally represents the residents of Northeast Seattle, Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, and Bothell on the council when he is not taking orders from Seattle’s liberal elite, is up for re-election this year, but faces nominal opposition from a candidate, Sally Caverzan, who has not raised enough money to be required to file public disclosure forms.

Councilmember Dembowski’s history of verbal abuse has apparently been going on for many years and has cost county taxpayers an undisclosed amount of money due to financial settlements with abused staff members and the hiring of mediators and counselors.  In 2018, Dembowski’s abuse became such a serious problem that the council’s female chief of staff (who has since resigned because of Dembowski’s actions) and four other female staff members went to the King County Prosecutor’s office to discuss their complaints. Earlier this year, far-Left Council President Claudia Balducci wrote a detailed letter to Dembowski outlining his various abusive behaviors and how the victims were often women.

It is easy to criticize the different approaches that have been levied against two members of the council who have two different political viewpoints.  Councilmember Kathy Lambert, with her moderate non-Seattle-centric viewpoint, is immediately raked over the coals in public by the liberals who dominate the council, had her committee chairmanship stripped from her, and was forced to apologize for a campaign mail piece which partisan liberals claimed was “offensive” (to conveniently help Lambert’s Seattle-centric opponent).  Meanwhile, Councilmember Dembowski, who is endorsed by the region’s liberal elite, is allowed to continue to verbally abuse female staff members for years by his fellow liberal councilmembers, costing taxpayers untold thousands of dollars, and he still maintains his committee chairmanship. Just another example of liberal privilege.

One additional note.  Since it took the Seattle Times at least three years to publish this story of staff abuse by a liberal official, does that mean we will have to wait until 2024 for them to finally publish anything regarding the staff abuse by Representative Pramila Jayapal, which was reported over a month ago by a national publication?   (Seattle Times, Caverzan Voters pamphlet statement, Washington State Public Disclosure Commission, Balducci’s Letter to Dembowski, Dembowski’s campaign endorsement page, and Buzzfeed)

The Spokane County Commission will soon change from a three-person body where all of the commissioners are elected countywide, to five district-elected commissioners. The boundaries for the new districts were just agreed up by a bi-partisan board. The new commissioners will run for office next year and assume office in 2023. (Spokesman-Review)

The West Benton Fire Department Fire & Rescue in Prosser has found a way around the vaccine mandate for medical personnel. The Tri-Cities area station house has opened a position for someone who just responds to fire emergencies and not to ones which require medical personnel. This way, the responder will not be required to be vaccinated. (KEPR TV)

Federal taxpayers like you sent $2.6 billion dollars to Washington State, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) Chris Reykdal is making sure most of it is benefiting his buddies over at the Washington Education Association (WEA).  The money was sent to the state to help schools manage through the pandemic. The money was intended for safety equipment and other supplies to help keep schools a safe environment for students and school employees.  While the SPI made sure to buy some supplies, a Seattle Times report reveals that the federal money has also been spent to increase teachers’ salaries and hire more staff (even as public schools are seeing declining enrollment), which enables the WEA to collect even more dues (which then allows the union to spend even more money to elect liberals to local school boards, the legislature, and other state officials such as the Superintendent of Public Instruction). (Click to read full Shift Article)

BABYLONBEE FRIDAY!

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