Incredibly, back in 2017, the Inslee Administration knowingly hired a career criminal with 22 felony convictions (who had just been charged for committing even more crimes) as a counselor at Western Washington Hospital, the state’s largest mental health facility.  Today the counselor does not deny he stole more than $5,000 from 13 patients, as he had access to their petty cash accounts. While he was allegedly stealing from patients, the counselor’s annual salary jumped from $41,800 to $118,000.

Mark James was hired by the Inslee Administration just 13 days after he was arrested in Pierce County on a fugitive warrant from Oregon for dealing heroin and methamphetamines.  The Western State Hospital administration was evidently aware of James’ previous 22 felony convictions (a full background check was conducted by the Inslee Administration prior to James being hired) and then wrote letters to the judge in Oregon supporting James when he was convicted of selling and possessing illegal drugs. James admits he profited from selling heroin to a pregnant woman.  James was sentenced 30 days in jail and 36 months of probation for the crimes he was convicted of in Oregon after he was hired to work at Western.

If someone with 22 felony convictions, with more felony charges pending, can be hired by the Inslee Administration, and then have his salary increase nearly threefold, one has to wonder who else has been hired by the state and how bad does someone’s criminal record have to be before they are denied a job where they have access to any taxpayer’s money, let alone vulnerable patients’ petty cash.

This is the latest of several major problems with Governor Jay Inslee’s mis-management of the state’s mental health facilities.  Both Western State Hospital in Steilacoom and Eastern State Hospital in Medical Lake have failed many federal inspections (and Inslee even allowed Western State to lose its federal accreditation in 2018, costing taxpayers $53 million). Both facilities failed to adhere to safety guidelines during the COVID pandemic, resulting in major outbreaks for both staff and patients.

Consider that Washington State taxpayers are currently responsible for nearly $100 million in court fines because the Inslee Administration has failed to perform competency treatment for more than 900 criminals sitting in local jails.  The suspect in an Idaho couple’s murder was previously released from custody by a Clark County judge due to the extraordinary delay caused by the backlog of those awaiting competency treatment.   Recently four Western State Hospital employees won $2 million after a lawsuit demonstrated that administrators failed to protect staffers from physical attacks by patients.  The same employees have since filed another lawsuit against the Inslee Administration for failing to obey state public records laws by not turning over requested internal reports in their first trial.  (Tacoma News Tribune, Shift article, Seattle Times,  KNKX Public Radio, Vancouver Columbian, and Wenatchee World/Tacoma News Tribune)

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced last week that he is asking the legislature for more taxpayer money so his office can hire more government workers to tackle a problem liberal policies created.  Organized retail theft has skyrocketed in Washington State since the Democrats caved into the demands of liberal rioters and passed their anti-police package during the 2021 legislative session. (Remember when the state’s top law enforcement official – Attorney General Ferguson – said nothing as some of his supporters illegally took over parts of Seattle’s Capitol Hill and attempted mass murder of police personnel during the summer of 2020?)  Because liberals have made our state a more comfortable place to be a criminal, organized retail theft has grown rapidly, and AG/Governor wannabe Ferguson wants to enlarge his office by 10 more people to tackle the issue.

While it is good that Attorney General Ferguson (finally) wants to help retailers who have been negatively impacted by the Democrats’ failed policies, it is important to remember that if Ferguson hadn’t gone into hiding during the riots and had spoken out against the passage of the Democrats’ anti-police bills, the organized retail theft problem likely would not be such a serious problem. And, of course, AG Ferguson could always avoid the expense of hiring new staff by transferring some of those whose only job was suing the Trump Administration, as the partisan taxpayer funded lawsuits have ended. (Office of Attorney General media release and KOMO News)

The Washington State Department of Health announced that it will “decommission” its COVID-19 website on December 1^st.  While the website will be removed, the unscientific COVID vaccine mandate imposed by Governor Inslee on all state workers will continue and we can expect to see more delays and last-minute cancelation of ferry routes and mountain passes closed due to the state government not having enough trained and/or certified workers to perform their necessary jobs. Meanwhile national data finds that 58% of current COVID-related deaths in August were from those who are vaccinated. (Washington State Department of Health media release and Washington Post/Seattle Times)

The state’s future ban on gasoline-powered vehicles is clearly risky public policy given the multitude of major questions which legislators and regulators currently cannot answers. The state wants to make it illegal to sell new gasoline-powered cars after 2035, thanks to Washington Democrat lawmakers passing a bill in 2019 to allow a committee of unelected Californians to decide our state’s laws regarding vehicle emissions.  In August, when members of the California Air Resources Board (who were mostly appointed by far-Left California Governor Gavin Newsom) decided to ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars in their state, Governor Inslee decided that Washington law dictated our state must do the same.

Yet there has been no analysis done on whether or not our state will be able handle the exponentially large influx of electric vehicles in a few years.  As Crosscut points out, “The state government does not know how many new charging stations and what types of new chargers will be needed by 2035. Sources of electricity and the electric grid to deliver that power still have to be built out to address the expected increase in power needed. The cost for this project is largely unknown. An electric-vehicle council of 10 state agencies has been set up to take over this planning, but is still getting organized.“ As Democrat Senator Marko Liias said of the Democrats’ public policy process which will impact the lives of nearly all Washington residents, “We’re building an airplane while we’re flying it.”  A report to legislature on what is needed isn’t expected until at least December of next year. (Crosscut and KING5 News)

Denny Westneat’s weekend column in the Seattle Times accurately portrayed the multitude of boarded-up store fronts as symbols of Seattle’s failed liberal public safety policies and “a city that can’t get its act together.”  Westneat wrote about the number of Capitol Hill small businesses (many owned and operated by immigrant entrepreneurs) which have been the target of criminals ramming stolen cars into the front door of closed stores before stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise.  The act has become so commonplace that responding police officers are often blasé, and victims are told to set up GoFundMe accounts to help pay for immediate expenses. Seattle City Councilmembers, whose liberal “public safety” policies have caused the skyrocketing crime rate, have only responded by passing legislation to make taxpayers pay for all the broken windows caused by the increase in crime. (Seattle Times)

A transit drivers’ union official blames the COVID vaccine mandate for Community Transit workers for the last-minute cancelation of bus routes and further reduction of services.  Similar to Governor Inslee’s vaccine mandate for state employees inflicting severe frustration on ferry commuters by causing last-minute cancelation of sailings, Snohomish County bus riders have been made to suffer due to the transit agency not having enough drivers and mechanics to provide scheduled transit services. Community Transit will cut 78 weekday routes in March to “stabilize” its service, which has been unpredictable since the start of this year when the agency’s COVID vaccine mandate went into effect.  Drivers union president Kathleen Custer said, “A lot of that has to do with the vaccine mandate that CT implemented as of January 1^st. We lost a lot of employees because of that.” Thanks big government!  (Everett Herald)

Frustrated by the lack of cooperation from the Inslee Administration to remove the large homeless encampment on Washington State Department of Transportation property, Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich has invited Governor Inslee to come to Spokane to discuss the situation with local leaders.  The sheriff said in a public video, “Governor, I’m asking you: Please come to Spokane, please help us resolve this—I’ll give you all the credit.”  The governor did visit the encampment last week when he was in town for a basketball game at Gonzaga University.  It was a very brief and highly coordinated event, intended for the cameras, not for solutions.  Sheriff Knezovich said, “Rather than just taking time for a photo op, I invite the governor to come help us break the logjam created by his bureaucrats.”  No word yet from the governor’s office if they will accept the sheriff’s invitation. (The Center Square)

The Washington Policy Center announced that it has hired former Dan Newhouse staffer Sean O’Brien as its new Eastern Washington Director. O’Brien recently left Newhouse’s office as the Deputy Chief of Staff and Executive Director of the Congressional Western Caucus.  He replaces Chris Cargill, who is now the President & CEO of the Mountain States Policy Center. (Washington Policy Center media release)

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