This week’s Newsmaker Interview is with Jackson Maynard, president of the 2022 Roanoke Conference, which is the annual place to be for Washington State’s moderate and conservative activists, policy makers, and elected officials, held again in Ocean Shores in late January.  In 2021, the Roanoke Conference Board reluctantly adjusted to COVID-related restrictions and held an abbreviated, online conference. This year, the Roanoke Board announced that the conference will return to assembling in-person at the Ocean Shores Conference Center January 28^th – 30th.  Registration for the conference is now open. Maynard is highly respected in Olympia as the General Counsel for the Building Industry Association of Washington, after previously serving as an attorney for the Washington State Senate.  Shift speaks with him about the upcoming 13^th annual Roanoke Conference and Maynard talks briefly about his own 2020 campaign for congress. (Click to read the full Newsmaker Interview and Roanoke Conference Registration)

Brandi Kruse criticized politicians, especially Governor Jay Inslee, for their divisive tactics and failure to unite the public during the COVID pandemic and called on Democrat lawmakers to end the governor’s 620 days of abusing his “emergency” authority. Kruse echoed what Shift has been pointing out for a while, that Governor Inslee’s extremely partisan comments attacking “Trump voters” for not becoming vaccinated (while ignoring the fact that many Democrat voters, such as state employees, also refused to be immunized) did “little to unite Washingtonians behind a common mission.”

Kruse said Democrat legislators should join Republicans in amending the Emergency Powers Act and placing a check on the governor’s powers in an effort to reduce partisan frustrations over necessary steps to return to the “new normal” we face for an undetermined period.  Kruse writes, “Even for Democrats, there is very little downside in doing so, besides perhaps hurting the governor’s ego.”

We will see if the Democrats are willing to end Governor Inslee’s undemocratic one-man rule of the state during the 2022 legislative session.  Thus far, Democrats have appeared to be more concerned about the governor’s ego than they are about uniting the state in taking actions which will save people’s lives.  ([un]Divided Facebook video and Shift)

The Freedom Foundation announced earlier this week that it had assisted more than 100,000 government workers in opting out of having union dues taken from their paychecks. The Foundation’s efforts were spurred by the 2018 U.S. Supreme Court Janus v. AFSCME ruling, which stated it was an infringement on workers’ 1^st Amendment rights to be forced to pay dues which are then used to fund political efforts the worker opposed.  The Freedom Foundation began its efforts educating workers of their rights first in Washington State, before spreading the effort to all 50 states.  (Freedom Foundation media release, Smarter Government Washington, and Shift)

The Washington State Redistricting Commission has until midnight Monday to agree on new congressional and legislative district boundaries. The commission is made up of two Democrat and two Republican members, and at least three of them must approve each of the maps.  Historically, members deliberate until the very last minute (or beyond) before finally approving a deal.  Earlier this week commission members stated they were close to an agreement, with boundaries in South King County the key sticking point.  If the commissioners fail to agree on maps, then the ultra-liberal Washington State Supreme Court will determine the boundaries (which has been the favored approach by Democrats in other states to get favorable partisan lines. (Seattle P-I and Seattle Times)

Former Washington State Senator, and current Executive Director of the Family Policy Initiative, Mark Miloscia asserted that if the Seattle Public Schools or Governor Inslee were to impose a vaccine mandate on students it would be “an assault of parents’ rights” and would lead to even more families pulling their children from public schools.  Miloscia, who was first elected to the Washington Legislature in 1998 as a Democrat, before switching to the Republican Party, stated that the financial impact of students leaving the public school system would “cause disruptions, like you will not believe how big it will be.”  The Seattle Public Schools board chose to delay a vote on a vaccine mandate at its last meeting, but could still vote on it at the upcoming November 17^th meeting.  State officials have said they do not plan to impose a vaccine mandate on students, but remember these are the same officials who claimed just a few months ago that there would not be a “vaccine passport” for entering public businesses or events. (MyNorthwest)

The Olympia City Council unanimously created the latest virtue-signaling government commission to do very little to ease racial tensions, but to likely spread plenty of taxpayer funds around to liberal special interest groups.  The city council supported the creation of an 11-member Social Justice and Equity Commission, which will “help mitigate and eliminate institutional racism and oppression in the city of Olympia.”  The commission will hear and rule on complaints of racism and throw city resources at ideas to alleviate discrimination.  The Olympian reports that the scope and range of the commission’s orders have not been specified, “though specifics will have to be ironed out once the commission once is created.” Nothing could go wrong here, right? (The Olympian)

Yakima County jail inmates are using phone and computer tablet privileges to send threatening messages to their victims.  This has resulted in several domestic violence victims suddenly reversing their decision to testify against accused criminals out of fear that either they or a loved one could be hurt. Surprisingly, the interim director of the county jail appeared to understand that this was a serious problem, but seemed more concerned that taking away prisoners’ access to technology would eliminate “the benefit that they might be getting from that communication with family and friends, that are keeping them encouraged and getting them through a hard time.” (YakTriNews/KAPP)

Democrat Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who already has more than $3 million dollars in the bank account for his 2024 campaign for AG/Governor/Dog Catcher, is complaining about the fundraising freeze he must adhere to surrounding the legislative session, and is begging now for even more money.  In a recent fundraising email, Ferguson’s campaign complains that it “can’t raise a dime until the Spring,” due to state laws which apply to all Washington State elected officials. Ferguson may well need all that money in 2024, since an increasing number of Washington State residents are growing frustrated at the AG’s silence over major public safety issues, and his extreme shift Left since getting into office.

While liberal activists were rioting in Seattle, assaulting police officers, and illegally taking over portions of Seattle in 2020, Ferguson apparently forgot he was the state’s top law enforcement official, turning his back on the police and saying nothing.  Despite being vocal (and filing dozens of lawsuits) on dozens of federal issues during the Trump Administration, Ferguson remained quiet as his fellow Democrats on the Seattle City Council defunded its police department, which resulted in a mass exodus of police officers and skyrocketing crime rates (especially in low-income neighborhoods).  And, when given the cover to condemn the violent views of the radical Seattle City Attorney candidate Nicole Thomas-Kennedy (provided by two previous Democrat governors), AG Ferguson laughed at the reporter and again refused to take a public stand against liberal political violence.  Ferguson will likely need every penny to whitewash over his repetitive failure to defend public safety. (Ferguson Campaign fundraising email, Shift, FOX13 News, and Seattle Times)

There is sooo much speculation surrounding Governor Jay Inslee’s appointment of Democrat State Senator Steve Hobbs (Lake Stevens) to replace Republican Kim Wyman as Washington’s Secretary of State.  The governor had a long list of much more “loyal” individuals who were interested in the job, so why did he select Senator Hobbs (and how will this appointment help the governor)?  State Representative John Lovick (D – Mill Creek) has immediately emerged as the leading contender to be appointed by Democrat PCOs and the Snohomish County Council to replace Hobbs in the Senate.  Shift provides some hearty speculation on what promises Representative Lovick made to support Governor Inslee’s liberal legislative agenda and what promises the governor’s team made to Lovick of financial support, in the face of a very serious Republican challenge next November to retain the Senate seat (in what is currently a swing suburban 44^th Legislative District). (Click to read full Shift Article)

BABYLONBEE FRIDAY!

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