Senator Manka Dhingra (D – Redmond) has received criticism, both in the media and even from a few of her fellow Democrat legislators, for her stubborn refusal to even allow a hearing for a bill to repeal the Democrats’ disastrous 2021 restrictions on police pursuits, which most local law enforcement agencies blame for the state’s high crime rate. Senator Dhingra attempted to use a poorly documented “study” to justify her reckless anti-repeal beliefs, only to have it strongly criticized by leading academic experts.  The senator, who always portrays herself as a moderate when she is seeking for votes from her suburban Eastside constituents, demonstrated how radically liberal she really is by stating she won’t even allow a public hearing for a bi-partisan repeal bill before the Senate Law and Justice Committee she chairs.

If Senator Dhingra is successful in preventing repeal legislation from being voted on in front of the full Senate (where a few Democrats could join all the Republican members to pass the bill) then Washington State residents can really blame the Democrat Senate leadership.  The caucus put her in charge of the committee, and they certainly remove her, if she continues to help criminals by refusing to repeal one of the worst laws ever passed by the Washington State Legislature. (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

Experts fear that increasing taxes on cannabis products with higher tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels will drive more people to purchase illegal products on the black market.  Proponents of the 2012 initiative to allow legal retail sales of marijuana promised it would drastically reduce the amount of illegal products sold in the state.  This has not actually occurred because taxes and regulations make retail marijuana far more expensive, and a large portion of the pot market (those under 21) cannot purchase the product in retail outlets.

The proposed new tax (HB 1641) would increase taxes on higher THC concentrated products up to 65%.  Growers and manufacturers of legal marijuana said that taxes are already causing more people to buy illegal products (there was a drop in legal purchases last year) and higher taxes will continue this trend. A spokesperson for the growers said, “What we do also know is that if we increase the price of concentrates and high-demand products, the illicit market will step right in.” (The Center Square, Washington Legislature Bill Summary, and KOMO News)

A major national conservative grassroots organization released a major memo to its supporters and activists this weekend which outlined its 2024 elections strategy to impact which kind of Republican makes it through primaries to take on Democrats in general elections.  Americans for Prosperity (AFP), which conducts independent campaign activities such as electronic advertising, direct mail, and volunteer doorbelling, stated that the 2022 elections proved that “The American people have shown that they’re ready to move on, and so AFP will help them do that.”  This means AFP will be supporting “new direction” candidates earlier during the primaries. (Americans for Prosperity memo)

The Seattle Public Schools administration is beginning to discuss the likely possibility that many schools will be closed due to a projected large budget shortfall, which is caused by an ongoing significant drop in enrollment and another large pay raise obtained by the teachers’ union through an illegal strike last September.  The district has projected a nearly $295 million deficit over the next three years.  Student enrollment (which determines how much federal and state money is given to the district) is projected to drop more than 16% since the start of the COVID pandemic (from 53,600 in 2019  to 45,000 in a couple of years).

The new contract with the Seattle Teachers Association (agreed upon after an illegal strike) is adding $94 million to the budget shortfall (something today’s Seattle Times article failed to mention, as the reporter protected a liberal organization from deserved public criticism).  School officials have not yet publicly stated there will be school closures or cuts in education programs, but they have begun to use the “C word” (consolidation) to discuss future plans. (Seattle Times)

Attorneys claim that divisive actions by an Olympia elementary school principal to ban white children from a school-sanctioned group violates the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the district’s anti-discrimination policy.  Administrators at Centennial Elementary School have organized a 5^th grade “Black, Indigenous, People of Color” (BIPOC) student group and has started to organize another one for 4^th graders.  Principal Shannon Ritter wrote “this group is limited to students who identify as BIPOC.”

Attorney Mark Lamb states this is legally questionable since it violates the federal Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination based on race, color, or national origin.  The school district’s policies have similar discrimination language.  Lamb states that the principal’s email stating whites were prohibited from joining the club, “makes it apparent that this is not a primarily student-led decision but rather one being generated and defended by the school itself.”  Thus far the Olympia School District has not responded to complaints about the elementary school organizing this racist club.  (KTTH Jason Rantz)

Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat wrote that Seattle should use the demise of Portland as a cautionary tale to not allow extreme liberals ruin Seattle as well.  Even liberals are claiming that our southern neighbor Portland is a mess.  Liberal Democrat Congressman  Earl Blumenauer, who represents the city, says “Portland is Broken”.  Liberal reporters from the Oregon Public Broadcasting network wrote, “Everybody hates Portland.”  And another liberal media outlet talked about how the city no longer attracts newcomers and many of its current residents want to leave.  Westneat writes that people are leaving Seattle as well and they will continue to do so if liberals continue to ruin a city which only a generation ago was repeatedly named “America’s Most Livable City.”  (Seattle Times)

Because Democrat legislators refuse to repeal their reckless 2021 police pursuit regulations, the suspect in a fatal shooting incident in the Tri-Cities was allowed to flee Richland police officers and is still at large.  One suspect has been arrested in a January 26^th incident which left one man dead and two other people injured.  Yet a second suspect, Michael Reep, was able to escape his home in his car, hitting two police vehicles before fleeing. The Richland Police Department released the following statement, “Under current state law, Reep’s felony warrants and the existing Probable Cause for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm do not qualify under the pursuit statue as a “violent offense.”  Thus there is still the likelihood that more innocent people will become crime victims due to this disastrous liberal legislation. (KONA Radio)

Governor Inslee’s 2021 expensive cap-and-trade legislation provided an exemption to our state’s farmers, yet his Department of Ecology (DOE) has failed to provide this exemption now that fuel prices are rapidly rising due to the law being enacted at the start of 2023.  This is the latest attack by the Democrats on Washington State’s agriculture community. Thus far the cap and trade law has raised the comparative price of gas by at least 25 cents per gallon (even though Governor Inslee and Democrat lawmakers have promised voters it would only cost pennies).

This Democrat-inflicted fuel increase will negatively impact the cost of growing products in the state and hurt farmers’ ability to compete in a world market. The non-partisan Washington Research Council estimated the governor’s policy will increase cost of gas by approximately 46 cents per gallon this year.

Farming groups are upset with the Inslee Administration for not keeping their legally bound promise to figure out a method to provide this exemption. Inslee’s spokesperson even admitted the state has failed to follow the law.  Matt Harris with the Washington State Potato Commission expressed his frustration with DOE, “This is such a painful experience. I don’t see a solution going forward,” he said. “We’re stuck with a horrible law that promised us an exemption, and we’re not getting it.”  (Capital Press, Washington Policy Center, Shift, and Washington Research Council)

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview was with second-term Representative Peter Abbarno (R – Centralia), who was promoted to House Republican Assistant Floor Leader prior to the start of the 2023 legislative session.  Representative Abbarno is an attorney and former Centralia City Councilmember. He is married to public school teacher and is the father of two children.

Representative Abbarno shared his thoughts on a wide variety of issues that are being discussed by current legislators. He is the co-sponsor of a much-needed bill to reform the emergency powers of the governor. He highlighted Republican proposals to help lower- and middle- class families with permanent tax breaks. He opposed a Democrat voting measure that prioritizes criminals’ voting rights and another bill that eliminates the public’s voice on tax measures by eliminating Advisory Votes (which was originally enacted by citizen initiative in 2009). Representative Abbarno also provided his views on the state’s housing crisis, school choice legislation, and how some Democrats refuse to repeal their disastrous police pursuit restrictions which have made our state a more comfortable place to be a criminal. (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

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