Washington state voters had been promised one thing this year, and that was the worst governor in state, Jay Inslee, would finally be leaving office. Unfortunately, the Seattle Times decided to rhetorically burst that bubble, by pointing out “that Gov. Jay Inslee will end his third and final term as governor next January, bringing a new head of state government for the first time since 2013. Will the new boss be the same as the old one?”

The Times reporters then spend many paragraphs pointing out how Attorney General Bob Ferguson will just carry out Gov. Inslee’s policies, without writing that in case any undecided voters were reading. They even allowed Fergson to go out of his way to say nothing at all, claiming “I’m just not looking back on what the governor said on something, right?” and “I am not looking back, and I don’t think the people are looking back.”

It’s no wonder that AG Fergoson would not want voters to consider his record – to “look back” – before deciding on this year’s race. Now it will be up to voters to decide if, when Gov. Inslee said “said he trusts Ferguson will carry forward his agenda”, that was a positive thing. … Seattle Times.

The economic damage delivered by Democrats in the recent legislative session is still to be determined, but the fact they made it easier to raise taxes is no surprise. Part of that tally will include what the Seattle Times is reporting about how Democrats in Olympia created new ways for King County Executive Dow Constantine to get into taxpayer wallets after last fall he “issued dire warnings about the county’s budget situation”.

Shift readers know that Executive Constantine makes an annual plea for legislators outside of King County to join their furthest Left colleagues in allowing him to raise taxes, arguing most recently that with “inflation running hot the last several years, Constantine said, the county’s expenses were outpacing the money it was able to bring in.” So, his liberal buddies in Olympia, “passed two obscure bills, largely along party lines, that could help King County — and only King County — raise taxes to fill its budget gap.”

You can rest assured that the Democrats are putting their finger to the wind to determine the right course of action, as according to one clueless council member his Executive Constantine is “(P)utting out polls to see what (taxes) would be most tolerable to the public, considering all the different factors and variables in the upcoming budget.” Read on to see that when there is not enough money flowing in, reducing the amount of spending going out is never one of Executive Constantine’s options. … Seattle Times, Shift.

One of the top comedies coming out of Seattle so far this year concerns the escapades of Seattle Municipal Court Judge Pooja Vaddadi and her incredibly shrinking job duties, thanks to allegations of bias and incompetence. Now KUOW tells us that the controversial jurist will take a step back to “focus on parking tickets and traffic infractions instead of criminal cases.”

Shift readers will recall that the folks in charge of putting criminals away in the city begged for relief from a biased judge and that “attorneys that have appeared in [Judge Vaddadi’s] courtroom believe that her decisions demonstrate a complete lack of understanding, or perhaps even intentional disregard, of the evidence rules, even on basic issues.” You can read on to see how legally diminished the judge is that she can believe her new job assignment is “(T)echnically it’s not a demotion, honestly I wouldn’t consider it one anyway.” … KUOW.

Shift will leave with little comment the news from the (Tacoma) News Tribune of a law passing allowing booze in strip clubs, other than to note that the Democrats in charge of the schedule in Olympia claimed they were too busy and did not have time to hold public hearings on citizen initiatives, as required by the state constitution, but they did have time to hold public hearings in both chambers and pass a law to allow booze in strip clubs.

It seems, after decades of effort by supporters of illegal activities, that they were in position to capitalize on a fake controversy after a “series of surprise law enforcement inspections targeting Seattle LGBTQ+ nightlife venues elicited public backlash and inspired state lawmakers to apply new scrutiny to the state’s lewd conduct laws.” And you can read on to see nothing motivates Democrats to action faster than showing supporting for “lewd conduct” when their base voters are involved in the conduct. … (Tacoma) News Tribune.

The latest embarrassing twist in the Democrats’ effort to destroy the four Lower Snake River dams (and the Eastern Washington economy that depends on them) is having former Michigan Governor (and current Energy Secretary) Jennifer Granholm tell a congressman representing Eastern Washington that his constituents don’t really matter when the Democrats are fighting climate change. That’s the news coming out a federal hearing covered by the Tri-City Herald where the “nation’s energy secretary defended a recent federal agreement on the lower Snake River dams after Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., said breaching the dams would be ‘catastrophic’.”

The defense from the Biden Administration of their rip-out-the-dams approach is that it won’t happen for a few years. You can read on to see how the greenies’ plan could negatively impact some environmental things, like the fact that currently “60% of all U.S. wheat exports are barged through the lower Snake River dams, with a single four-barge tow carrying as much wheat as about 540 semi-trucks.” … Tri-City Herald.

This election year promises to be a busy one, with the ballot filled with races without incumbents, where special interests will try to quietly work their way. One of those that will draw less attention than most (while still pulling in big bucks as the Washington Observer is writing) features a pair of  “heavyweights in the still-crowded race for Public Lands Commissioner (who) raked in more cash last month as their competitors returned to the campaign trail.”

The PDC watchers noted that the preferred choice of the extreme environmentalists who normally fund Democrats is “King County Councilmember Dave Upthegrove, who raised $32,000 in February … (bringing) his campaign’s war chest to $286K.” The most mainstream candidate in the race is former U.S. Representative Jamie Herrera Beutler, “who took in $35K that month. That brings her campaign’s running total to $280K.” Read on for more details about a campaign that will only pick up intensity. … Washington Observer.

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