We join with the many shocked by the passing of Washington State Senator Doug Ericksen.  The senator was a well-respected lawmaker and a good friend and supporter of Shift (he was one of the first to agree to our Newsmaker Interview).  He fought hard for his constituents and was a champion of conservative principles, which often earned him the scorn of his opposition.

Senator Ericksen also had a unique take on the many oddball policies proposed by the Democrats.  One example was when he responded to liberals’ spending taxpayer funds on study after study about removing the Snake River dams by proposing a study on removing the Ballard Locks and the dams that provide power to Seattle.  Senator Ericksen’s dedication, hard work, and sense of humor will be missed.  The Washington State Republican Senate Caucus posted a tribute which includes some of Senator Ericksen’s accomplishments.  Our prayers are with his family, friends, and colleagues as they grieve his passing during the holiday season. (Bellingham Herald, Shift, and Republican Senate Caucus)

Governor Jay Inslee said it was “asinine” for anyone to ask him about the repetitive failure of his previous climate policies.  It is worth remembering (even if he doesn’t think so) that the governor’s earlier environmental efforts were failing so poorly that the state scrubbed them from his “Results Washington” webpage prior to the launch of his failed five-month presidential campaign.  Ironically, the governor now uses his past failures as the main reason why the state should spend even more money and give him even more regulatory control, so that he can fail even more spectacularly. (Click to read full Shift article)

A new report from the Washington Policy Center provides a solid recap on the confusion surrounding Governor Inslee and the Democrats’ failed attempt to impose a very poorly developed Long-Term Care payroll tax on the rest of us.  Many people were pleased to hear that the panicked legislative Democrats had convinced the governor to bail them out using his “emergency” powers, and that tax  collections will be delayed (especially the hundreds of thousands of Washington workers who Inslee and the Democrats wants to force into paying tax dollars despite never being eligible to receive any the program’s benefits). The WPC report provides an important reminder for everyone that while “Inslee and Democratic leaders are acknowledging the law they passed was a mistake, be clear: They aren’t saying they won’t take your money for this fund, they are saying they won’t be taking it yet.” (Washington Policy Center)

While the future of the of the Long-Term Care (LTC) payroll tax is uncertain, support continues to grow for the initiative to make it voluntary for Washington State residents to enroll (i.e., eliminating mandatory participation).  The I-1436 campaign is attempting to collect 400,000 signatures to send its commonsense measure to the legislature.  Lawmakers then have the option of adopting the proposal, sending it to the voters, or proposing to the voters a ballot measure of their own.  Remember Washington State voters shot down the Democrats’ LTC payroll tax by 63% in an “advisory vote” in 2019.  The initiative campaign has set this Thursday (December 23^rd) as the deadline for supporters to turn in their collected signatures. (I-1436 Campaign, Shift, and Secretary of State Election Returns)

The Democrat and Republican caucuses in both the Washington State Senate and House have joined together in a lawsuit against Governor Inslee for his unlawful use of his veto authority, when he  removed subsections in HB 1091, his expensive Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) legislation.  The governor’s veto was not only illegal, but he also broke negotiated promises to legislators which were instrumental to passing the bill.  The governor’s veto removed subsections of the measure which linked implementation of the LCFS (as well as SB 5126, his Cap-and-Trade bill) to the passage of a new gas tax bill to fund transportation projects.  Republican State Senate Leader John Braun (R – Centralia) said of the lawsuit, “I expect the Supreme Court will strike down the vetoes we are challenging today, just as it did recently with our previous challenge to the governor’s partial vetoes. This is not a partisan effort to undermine the governor’s authority. This is a bicameral, bipartisan effort to preserve the Legislature’s lawmaking power. I’m encouraged that all four legislative caucuses are united here.” (Senate Republican Caucus media release and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

Eastside property managers and the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce should be sending Seattle City Councilmembers a large holiday gift basket for the construction boom (and subsequent tax revenues) taking place East of Lake Washington. The radical and failed homeless, public safety, drug, housing, tax, and climate policies passed by Seattle’s elected officials have seemingly caused a major shift in where employers want to locate their offices.  In 2019, Seattle had 5.2 million square feet of office space under construction compared to the Eastside’s 3 million square feet. Today the Eastside has 4.6 million square feet in new development, while Seattle has just 2 million.  More importantly, 88% of the Eastside’s new construction has already been leased, while just 17% in Seattle will have tenants when construction is completed. (Seattle Times)

A liberal eco-terrorist was sentenced to one year in federal prison for placing a potentially dangerous “shunt” on railroad tracks in November 2020.  Thankfully, the woman and her accomplice were caught before they could successfully install the shunt and before it could derail a scheduled train which carried 97 tanker cars of crude oil.  In October, the other eco-terrorist pled guilty to charges and was sentenced to six months. (Bellingham Herald)

Many political analysts predicted that, in order to be successful, Seattle City Attorney-elect Ann Davison would need to hire qualified and politically connected individuals to lead her office, since the region’s liberal establishment will certainly not want someone who challenges their failed policies to be successful.  On Friday, Davison announced two key administrative staff members.  Former Seattle mayoral legal advisor (and former city attorney candidate) Scott Lindsay will be Davison’s Deputy City Attorney and former U.S. Deputy Attorney Natalie Walton-Anderson will serve in the important role of Chief of the Criminal Department. (MyNorthwest)

Walla Walla area schools are experiencing a significant drop in the number of students failing a course since they have returned to in-person education.  When schools were forced into distance learning (and as teachers’ unions fought to keep kids out of schools) during the COVID pandemic, the number of students who failed a class drastically increased.  Even some honor students were suddenly failing classes.  The Milton-Freewater Unified Schools said nearly half of the district’s students received at least one “F” grade. With schools returning to in-person instruction, the Walla Walla School District reports a 42% increase in passing grades. (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin)

The Washington State Farm Bureau elected a farmer from the west side of the state to be president of the organization during its annual meeting in Yakima last month.  As the agriculture industry remains under continuous attack from liberal Seattle area legislators who have no farming experience, the bureau’s members selected Auburn vegetable farmer Rosella Mosby as their president.  President Mosby stressed the importance of farmers to become more active and advocate for issues that are important to their survival. (Pacific Northwest AG Network)

The family of Senator Slade Gorton announced that a memorial will be held on Thursday, January 20^th at 2:00 PM at the Overlake Golf & Country Club (8000 NE 16^th Street, Bellevue).  Slade passed away on August 19, 2020, after 70 years of public service in the military, as state representative, attorney general, a three-term U.S. Senator, and served on many high-profile boards and panels, including the “9/11 Commission.”  Please RSVP to [email protected] if you are able to attend.  (Slade Gorton Memorial information)

King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn is Shift’s Newsmaker Interview as we complete our series of speaking with the three Republican candidates challenging two-term incumbent Democrat U.S. Representative Kim Schrier in the 8^th Congressional District.  Dunn is a former federal prosecutor and was just elected to his fifth term serving on the King County Council.  He is the son of former Washington State Party Chair and six-term U.S. Representative Jennifer Dunn.   Councilmember Dunn blames the current inflation on “out-of-control spending in Washington D.C.” and states that voters need “to elect fiscally responsible leaders to Congress,” in order to recover from this economic crisis.  (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

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