After more than 30 incidents of harassment, intimidation, and even assault against Let’s Go Washington signature gatherers, State Sen. Jeff Wilson (R–Longview) is stepping up where Democrats clearly won’t. His proposed legislation would create “no-protest zones” around signature gatherers, make it a crime to deface or steal petitions, and escalate repeat harassment to a felony — because apparently, in Washington, you now need a law just to collect signatures in peace.

The footage that sparked outrage shows a Covington police officer arresting — and then immediately releasing — a Walmart employee accused of assaulting a signature gatherer. The officer even admits on body cam, “We’ll put on a show,” before taking the cuffs off. So much for equal protection under the law.

Wilson says the initiative process is a constitutional right, not a partisan privilege, but Democrats in Olympia have been oddly silent. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs finally mustered a mild “please report it” statement after public pressure grew too loud to ignore.

Let’s Go Washington’s volunteers are being shoved, threatened, and even hit by cars — all for exercising the same democratic rights the Left constantly claims to “defend.” But when conservatives gather signatures to protect girls’ sports and parental rights, the silence from Seattle progressives is deafening. Apparently, “democracy dies in darkness”… unless it’s happening in a Walmart parking lot. Read more at Center Square.

Governor Bob Ferguson’s latest executive order, EO 25-07, forces Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) onto every state construction project over $35 million — a dream come true for union bosses and a nightmare for taxpayers. Under Ferguson’s mandate, any contractor hoping to bid on major public projects must play by union rules, pay union-level benefits, and hire through union channels — even if they’re not part of a union. Translation: small businesses, minority-owned firms, and non-union workers are effectively told to take a hike.

The math is brutal. Studies from the Washington Policy Center and Associated Builders and Contractors show PLAs drive costs up 10–20%, meaning a $35 million project suddenly costs taxpayers an extra $3–5 million for the same job. Ferguson insists this ensures “economy in state expenditures,” but anyone who’s seen Sound Transit’s ballooning budgets knows better — just ask the Lynnwood Link extension, which ran $500 million over budget under similar union-driven mandates.

Beyond wasted money, Ferguson’s order sidelines the 85% of Washington’s construction workers who aren’t unionized. It cripples non-union apprenticeship programs and punishes firms that train their own workers, all while pretending to promote “diversity.” In reality, it’s a rigged system that protects union monopolies and freezes out the competition.

Even California’s Governor Gavin Newsom — hardly a free-market crusader — vetoed a similar PLA mandate, recognizing how badly it would backfire. But Ferguson? He’s plowing ahead anyway, handing the keys to organized labor while taxpayers foot the bill.

Bottom line: Bob Ferguson’s idea of “building back better” apparently means fewer projects, higher costs, and a hard pass for anyone who dares to work outside the union line. Read more at the Washington Policy Center.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell just signed two executive orders to protest President Trump’s potential deployment of the National Guard — because apparently, when there’s a national security issue, the right response is to hold meetings and write strongly worded memos.

The first order sets up a “Seattle Resilience Task Force” — which, in true Seattle fashion, won’t actually do anything except “educate communities about their rights,” “meet with advocacy groups,” and “collect reports of alleged improper acts.” In other words, lots of paperwork, zero impact. Harrell even barred Seattle Police from cooperating with the Guard, ensuring that if chaos breaks out, no one’s really in charge — but everyone’s very aware of their rights.

The second EO doubles down on political grandstanding, declaring Seattle a sanctuary for illegal immigrants and pledging millions more in city funds to expand the Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs — because nothing says “budget priorities” like spending $4 million on activism while basic city services crumble.

Meanwhile, Washington’s own Gov. Bob Ferguson joined in the resistance chorus, posting online that the state “won’t change our values” in response to federal concerns. Translation: even when it comes to law enforcement and national security, Seattle Democrats will always pick ideology over order. Read more at Center Square.

At least one Seattle Democrats is speaking out against Mayor Bruce Harrell’s embarrassing statement on repeat criminal offenders. Seattle City Council President Sara Nelson isn’t buying Mayor Harrell’s latest excuse for lawlessness — that an eight-time repeat offender shouldn’t be jailed because he might be “hungry.” While Harrell seems eager to turn criminal justice into group therapy, Nelson reminded residents that being compassionate doesn’t mean being clueless. “We can be compassionate without being chumps,” she told Jason Rantz on Seattle Red 770, pointing out that window-smashers and face-punchers aren’t victims of low blood sugar.

Nelson’s focusing her re-election campaign on accountability and public safety — two things Democrats in Seattle appear to have misplaced somewhere between a “harm reduction” seminar and a budget meeting. She emphasized the need to enforce the city’s drug-use laws and actually arrest dealers (radical, right?), warning that without consequences, Seattle just advertises itself as a “crime-friendly” zone.

In a city where the mayor treats criminal behavior as a cry for help instead of a crime, Nelson’s stance feels like a dose of common sense. Seattle voters might finally be realizing that empathy doesn’t fix chaos — leadership does. Read more at Seattle Red.

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