Governor Jay Inslee and Democrat legislators are quietly attempting to restrict Washington citizens’ ability to propose and repeal Washington State laws by again pushing legislation which would restrict initiatives and referendums from taking place in odd-numbered years.  The Democrats are blatantly attempting to silence the voice of the people because it goes against their liberal selfish desire to increase the size and cost of state government. The legislation (HB 1727) is clearly one of the most undemocratic bills in Washington State history.   Will Democrat legislators (especially those in swing districts), who are already nervous going into the 2022 elections (because of their support of the disastrous police reform laws, the poorly developed Long-Term Care tax, the unconstitutional state income tax on capital gains, expensive energy policies and more bad policies), be willing to support legislation which restricts Washington voters’ voice?  Shift will be watching, and we will report on those who do support this anti-democratic bill. (Click to read full Shift Article)

Last Friday afternoon (when politicians tend to release bad news), the Inslee Administration informed the public that once again it was responsible for a data breach which exposed the personal information of hundreds of thousands of Washington State residents. The Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) announced (nearly two weeks after the fact) that its data system was compromised and that hackers had access to the personal information of 250,000 Washington residents who had previously applied for business or professional licenses.  As the result of the breach, the DOL suspended its issuing of necessary licenses to those who need them to create income.

This comes after Governor Inslee’s appointees in 2020 reduced security measures at the Employment Security Department, which allowed foreign criminals to gain access to hundreds of thousands of Washington State residents’ personal information and conduct one of the largest thefts in American history (stealing more than $650 million).

At the time, the governor promised the public that the state would improve its data security.  Yet twice last week (the other being a smaller breach at the Washington State Department of Transportation), the Inslee Administration had to admit that its security measures failed.  As Democrats continue to increase the size and scope of state government, the more the public is forced to provide the state with personal information. Yet the Inslee Administration fails to take seriously its obligation to protect this personal information, leaving all of us open to more attacks in the future. (Seattle Times and KONO Radio)

House Republican Leader JT Wilcox stated that much of the first half of the 2022 Legislative Session was spent correcting measures the Democrats had previously passed without input from Republican lawmakers. At this morning’s Republican legislators’ media availability, Representative Wilcox pointed out a basic truth: the Democrats’ failure to listen to divergent viewpoints is why their legislation contains many flaws. “It is a little-known value in having a loyal opposition that it can be used to prevent the majority from making a mistake. And unfortunately, I think the approach taken the past few years (by the Democrat majority) of just proceeding with ideological bills has meant there has been a lot of mistakes to fix.” (Washington Republican Legislators media availability/TVW)

New Seattle Attorney Ann Davison said that her office will begin to prosecute crimes within five days of when they are committed.   There is currently a two-year delay (of more than 5,000 cases) in the prosecution of most crimes in Seattle, which allows many criminals to continue to commit crimes unpunished.  City Attorney Davison credited former U.S. Attorney Brian Moran with the proposal and he will continue to provide advice on how best to reduce the large backlog of cases irresponsibly left behind by outgoing City Attorney Pete Holmes.

City Attorney Davison has continued her walking tours of neighborhoods, which she began during her campaign, to learn how her office can make neighborhoods safer.  While the new city attorney is seeking solutions to the dramatic rise in crime is Seattle, city councilmembers appear to be more concerned about finding ways to impede her efforts.  Immediately after Davison was elected Seattle City Attorney, the council voted to require her to submit quarterly reports not required of any of her male predecessors and continue to consider other restrictions on her as well.  (Seattle Times and Seattle City Attorney media release)

Small businesses on Seattle’s Capitol Hill and in the Central District are feeling the impact of the pro-criminal actions taken by the Seattle City Council and the Democrats in the Washington State Legislature. Two coffee shop owners have had their businesses repeatedly vandalized as crime in Seattle has jumped 10% and violent crime has increased 20%.  Republicans in the legislature are pushing for legislation in their Safe Washington program to fix the many problems with the Democrats’ 2021 “police reform” package, to help small employers who are on the front lines.  Thus far new Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has given only lip service as to any plans he may have to decrease the city’s skyrocketing crime rates.  (Q13 Fox News and Washington Senate Republican Caucus)

The Walla Walla Union-Bulletin is looking for people interested in serving on the paper’s new Community Editorial Board.  The paper said it is looking for individuals with diverse backgrounds and views to serve.  The group will be responsible for publishing at least one-editorial a week and make recommendations to the editor.  Those interested should click the link to learn more and to apply. (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

Lawmakers from the 14^th Legislative District (South-central Washington) will be holding a Town Hall Meeting via Zoom on Saturday, February 19^th starting at Noon.  Senator Curtis King (Yakima) and Representatives Gina Mosbrucker (Goldendale) and Chris Corry (Yakima) will provide an update on the 2022 legislative session and answer questions. Those who wish to participate will need to register in advance. (KIT Radio and Zoom registration)

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with Representative Mary Dye (R – Pomeroy) who has represented the 9^th Legislative District (which covers the Southeast corner of the state) since 2015.  She and her husband operate a 3,000-acre wheat farm in Garfield County. The representative is the author of three bills (the “ORCA Plan”) to use money collected from the state’s new “cap-and-trade” program to make “significant investment” in projects which would improve our environment (especially in Puget Sound), reduce the growth of wildfires, and increase maintenance in Washington’s neglected state parks while making them more accessible by eliminating expensive entrance fees.  These are areas Governor Jay Inslee has continued to ignore despite doubling the cost of state government during his time in office.

In her interview, Representative Dye delivers an overview of the ORCA plan and why it should be supported. The Republican lawmaker also provides her thoughts on the Democrats’ latest attack on the agriculture community (HB 1838, the lad-grabbing “buffer zone” proposal), and shares her views on irresponsible liberal efforts to tear down the Snake River dams (in her district), Governor Inslee’s abuse of emergency powers, and the Democrats’ disastrous Long-Term care payroll tax. (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

Despite an investigation and report from the (Democrat) State Auditor’s office which clearly stated there was “no evidence of bias in the acceptance or rejection of ballots” during the 2020 elections, liberals immediately ignored the facts to push their political narrative that our election system is full of discrimination.  While we should be celebrating the great work done by former Washington State Secretary of State Kim Wyman and the state’s 39 county election offices for making sure our elections are fair and honest, Washington State Democrat Party Chair Tina Podlodowski is tweeting statements claiming 60 years of discrimination in our state’s elections – which is completely opposite of what the auditor office’s investigation found.  Makes us wonder, if a candidate or elected official repeated Chair Podlodowski’s false statements, would they be fined under Governor Inslee’s ridiculous, and likely unconstitutional, proposal to fine politicians for lying about the election process? (Click to read full Shift Article)

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