Governor Jay Inslee is using the COVID pandemic as an excuse to give more money to his campaign contributors in state government employee unions, despite them not losing a single paycheck (in fact received a pay raise) while others lost their jobs or their businesses due to Inslee’s so-called “emergency”orders. The governor says “our state employees have gone through a lot” as he adds more funds to their pension system, and he is forcing those who have lost wages, their jobs, and even their businesses to pay for it.  Governor Inslee does not care about those who have suffered during his one-man reign, he just wants to make sure his buddies in the state employee unions are financially rewarded (with our tax money) for funding his and other Democrats’ campaigns. (Click to read full Shift article)

The Vancouver Columbian editorial board, normally an echo chamber for Democrat politicians and liberal ideas, has joined the loud chorus of those demanding that the Democrats in the Washington State Legislature join their Republican colleagues in reforming the state’s emergency orders powers. The editorial says that nearly everyone agrees the governor should have the authority to respond to a crisis, but the state legislature needs to be brought into the decision-making process within 90 days.  The paper argues that, “the thought of giving a governor indefinite emergency powers is disturbing, and it belies the notion of representative government. The public – through their elected legislators – should have a say in the state’s continuing response to the pandemic. It also should have a say in any future emergencies, once the initial shock has subsided.”

Since the Democrat majority in the legislature has done nothing to curb the dictatorial powers of the governor, House Republican Leader JT Wilcox stated today he will bring an 8^th order motion to the virtual floor of the House which will require members to vote on whether or not to debate a “moderate” proposal (HB 1557) to provide legislative oversight to the governor’s emergency powers. Wilcox stated that he hopes that Pierce County Democrats “will be motivated to support the motion” since Governor Inslee’s unscientific process has severely impacted the lives of their constituents. Thus, on Friday, eyes will be on Speaker Laurie Jinkins and Representative Jake Fey of the 27^th Legislative District, Representative Dan Bronoske and Representative Melanie Morgan of the 28^th LD, and Representative Jamila Taylor and Representative Jesse Johnson in the 30^th LD, to see if they side with Governor Inslee’s unrestrained powers or with the needs of their Pierce County constituents. We should note that if the legislature fails to act in the closing days of the session, then Governor Inslee will continue to rule as King and have undemocratic free reign over the state for another year.

Washington is not alone in seeking restraint of the governor’s emergency powers.  Throughout the country 300 bills have been introduced in 45 states to reign in the governor’s authority. Even in states where the party of the legislative majority is the same as the governor, more power has been given to the legislature during an emergency.  As Representative Wilcox reiterated, studies have determined that Washington State is among the worst five states in the country for legislative oversite of the governor’s emergency powers. (Vancouver Columbian, Republican Legislators media availability, Washington Legislature Bill Summary, Politico, and Maine Policy Institute)

As a report from the Washington Auditor’s Office reveals, Governor Inslee’s Employment Security Department lost more than $1 billion dollars of unemployment insurance funds due to mismanagement, all of which will need to be paid back by raising taxes on state businesses.  The state senate voted to delay raising taxes on some of the businesses hardest hit (hospitality, gyms, museums, performing arts, and some retail) for a year.  Yet while Democrat legislators gloat over passing this (Republican) proposal to help struggling businesses, remember the same Democrats are seeking to hit those same businesses with higher transportation costs with a Low Carbon Fuel Standard (by up to 63 cents a gallon), a Cap and Trade scheme (by 18 cents a gallon) and a 10-cent-a-gallon gas tax.  They also want to create an unconstitutional state income tax and raise 33 more taxes and fees (that will hurt many of these same businesses) as part of their transportation package. Yes, those Democrats sure care about small business, right. (KIRO TV and MyNorthwest)

We find it interesting that while Governor Inslee is quickly releasing nearly 20 prisoners (with more to come) due to the Washington State Supreme Court’s controversial Blake decision, he also has legislative bills on his desk which make it more difficult for law enforcement to do their jobs.  Jay Inslee’s soft-on-crime approach is occurring as violent crimes are on the rise in the state and the court system now has a year-long backlog of cases to prosecute criminals.  As Shift previously reported, among the many negative things the Democrat-controlled 2021 legislative session will be remembered for is the Democrats rewarding violent protesters by reducing the sentences of convicted criminals and making it tougher on police to protect citizens – and doing it during a crime wave. (News Tribune and Shift)

Tiffany Smiley, a former triage nurse, activist, and the wife of an injured veteran, is the first announced candidate to take on five-term U.S. Senator Patty Murray. The 70-year-old Murray took her made-up “mom in tennis shoes” act back to Washington D.C. in 1992. She’s now a very wealthy political insider, who after 30 years in office has still never held a town meeting to answer the questions of those she is supposed to serve. (By contrast, Senator Slade Gorton used to hold 12 – 15 a year.)  Murray is rarely seen in Washington State, and when she is, it is only among her liberal special interest friends.  Smiley is from Pasco and received credit for being among those who brought national attention to the failure of the Veterans Administration to serve those who fought for our country. (KHQ TV and Tiffany Smiley Campaign)

By imposing a $4 an hour “hazard pay” for grocery workers, the City of Olympia has joined other Western  far-left local governments to raise food costs in their community and provide more revenue for grocery stores in neighboring cities. This is especially curious, due to the great expense grocery stores have incurred to increase protection for the workers, the facemask requirement imposed by the state, and the number of people who have either received their shots or are currently in the process for being vaccinated. Also, why are grocery store workers the only ones to receive this government-mandated wage increase? What about drug store workers, restaurant and bar servers, hotel employees, barbers, hair stylists, doctors, nurses, police officers, firefighters, dentists, theater operators, cannabis retailers, etc.? But like most actions by liberal government entities, it doesn’t need to make sense, it just needs to be profitable for a liberal special interest group, in this case the UFCW 21. (The Olympian)

Seattle residents who travel across Lake Washington notice a stark difference between their parks and sidewalks and those in Bellevue – there are no homeless encampments. Even though there are many unfortunate people without shelter on the Eastside, law enforcement works with non-government agencies to find the individual a place to live.  But if the person refuses the assistance (often because shelter locations forbid use of drugs and alcohol) then enforcement measures are taken. The City of Bellevue considers this the compassionate approach, for it provides people the assistance they need, instead of forcing them to suffer on the streets, as they do in Seattle. (My Northwest)

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