One of Washington Democrats’ favorite pastime — redrawing maps until they get the “right” voters — may finally be headed for a reality check at the U.S. Supreme Court.

The legal fight centers on Washington’s controversial redraw of legislative districts in the Yakima Valley after activists sued over the bipartisan 2021 map. The revised lines consolidated Latino communities into a new district, with supporters claiming it was about protecting voting rights. Critics, including House Minority Leader, argue it was another example of race-based political engineering dressed up as “equity.”

Now the case is gaining steam after the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which cracked down on using race as the dominant factor in redistricting. Suddenly, the same crowd that insisted these maps were perfectly legal is nervously warning that changing them before the August primary would create “chaos.” Funny how Democrats only discover concern for stability after their preferred maps are threatened.

Secretary of State says overturning the maps now would be disruptive. Translation: the political class would rather keep questionable district lines in place than admit the process may have crossed constitutional lines.

Meanwhile, activists behind the redraw insist the districts weren’t “solely” based on race — which is a bit like saying the snake oil wasn’t entirely snake.

The Supreme Court could reject the case, send it back for reconsideration, or take it up directly. Either way, Washington’s carefully crafted redistricting experiment may soon face scrutiny far beyond Olympia’s usual echo chamber. Read more at KUOW.

A forensic audit of King County’s Department of Community and Human Services is confirming what critics warned about for years: when Democrats build bloated government programs with little accountability, fraudsters line up at the buffet.

Investigators uncovered alleged fraud, waste, and abuse involving taxpayer money, including suspicious cash withdrawals, altered documents, and payments tied to family members. Even worse, county employees reportedly saw glaring red flags and approved the payments anyway — because apparently basic oversight was optional inside the county bureaucracy.

King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn told “The Gee and Ursula Show” on that the scandal goes beyond simple incompetence. He described what he called a culture inside King County government that too often looked the other way while taxpayer dollars disappeared.

And here’s the kicker: auditors only reviewed 36 contracts — roughly 2% of the department’s total — and still found 19 instances of fraud. If nearly half the sample is rotten, what exactly is hiding in the other 98%?

Dunn said he spent years pushing for an audit and warned that earlier action could have saved taxpayers “tens of millions” of dollars. Instead, county officials dragged their feet while the problems piled up.

The scandal is becoming a perfect snapshot of modern progressive governance in Washington: massive spending, minimal oversight, endless layers of bureaucracy, and officials acting shocked when the money starts flowing to politically connected insiders and questionable nonprofits.

Now Dunn is calling for prosecutions, ethics reforms, tighter grant rules, and sweeping changes to restore public trust. Because at some point, taxpayers get tired of funding a system where “accountability” only shows up after the money is already gone. Read more at MyNorthwest.com.

Washington’s Legislative Ethics Board is now weighing whether to move forward with an investigation into after allegations she helped steer taxpayer money toward an organization that employs her.

The complaint centers on whether Simmons violated state ethics laws by helping secure funding for the Equity in Education Coalition — her employer — through a 2024 budget proviso. The complaint also involves the American Equity and Justice Group and was filed by the group’s treasurer, Kim Gordon.

During a May 20 hearing, Simmons’ attorney argued the case should be tossed entirely, claiming legislators are supposed to benefit others through their work and that ethics laws only apply when lawmakers directly benefit themselves.

In other words: apparently funneling state money toward your own employer is perfectly fine, so long as you don’t personally walk out carrying a sack with a dollar sign on it.

Assistant Attorney General Julia Eisentrout pushed back, arguing the ethics board already found “reasonable cause” that Simmons violated ethics rules and pointing directly to Simmons’ role sponsoring the proviso that benefited the organization paying her salary.

Eisentrout also noted that Simmons’ listed job responsibilities included building relationships with lawmakers and government entities — the kind of overlap that would normally send ethics alarms blaring in any functioning accountability system.

But Simmons’ defense essentially boils down to this: employees supposedly have no real interest in the organizations they work for. A fascinating new standard that would probably surprise literally everyone with a paycheck.

The case now heads to the Legislative Ethics Board, which will decide whether the investigation moves forward. Either way, it’s another uncomfortable reminder that in Olympia, the line between “public service” and “taxpayer-funded insider dealing” keeps getting blurrier. Read more at Center Square.

Washington state officials agreed to permanently stop denying foster care licenses to religious families who refuse to promote gender ideology, settling a federal lawsuit brought by Tacoma-area Christian foster parents Shane and Jennifer DeGross.

The couple fostered children for nearly a decade before the state revoked their license because they would not comply with a pronoun mandate pushed by Washington Democrats. DCYF even attempted to block the couple from caring for children over age five unless they abandoned their religious beliefs about biological sex.

A federal court signaled the policy likely violated the First Amendment, and the state ultimately backed down. Under the settlement, DCYF will remove the pronoun requirement and revise licensing rules so foster parents are not punished for their religious beliefs.

The loss also costs taxpayers $250,000 in attorneys’ fees — another expensive reminder that Olympia’s obsession with ideological purity tests keeps colliding with the Constitution.

At a time when Washington already lacks enough foster families, state officials chose to target experienced Christian parents instead of focusing on getting vulnerable kids into stable homes. Read more at Seattle Red.

The Northshore School Board voted 4-1 to eliminate Bothell High School’s school resource officer program, ignoring pleas from students, parents, staff, and even the school’s principal to keep Officer Garrett Ware on campus.

The district’s own survey showed 78% of students supported the SRO program and 84% viewed Ware positively. None of it mattered.

After the vote, hundreds of students walked out in protest chanting “We want Ware,” while a petition demanding his return quickly gathered thousands of signatures.

Students described Ware as more mentor than cop — someone who greeted kids daily, helped struggling students, and worked to keep drugs and dangerous behavior off campus.

Still, board members pushed ahead with the vote, with one member bizarrely invoking segregation-era “Whites Only” water fountains to justify removing the officer, while others framed the decision around “equity” concerns despite overwhelming student opposition.

Even Bothell High’s Black Student Union president rejected the board’s narrative, saying students felt safer with Ware than without him.

In the end, the board ignored the community and voted for ideology over common sense — another example of progressive politics overruling the people supposedly being represented. Read more at Seattle Red.

Please consider making a contribution to ensure Shift continues to provide daily updates on the shenanigans of the liberal establishment. If you’d rather mail a check, you can send it to: Shift WA | PO Box 956 | Cle Elum, WA 98922

Forward this to a friend.  It helps us grow our community and serve you better.

You can also follow SHIFTWA on social media by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter.

If you feel we missed something that should be covered, email us at [email protected].