Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with Senator Mike Padden (R – Spokane Valley), the Ranking Republican member of the Senate’s Law & Justice Committee.  The senator is a graduate of the Gonzaga University School of Law, and he served as a Spokane County District Court judge for 12 years prior to becoming a state senator in 2011.  Senator Padden represents the 4^th Legislative District, which includes the cities of Spokane Valley, Liberty Lake, Colbert, and the rural communities of Northeast Spokane County.

In his interview, Senator Padden discusses his efforts to reform the Democrats’ “ridiculous” restrictions on police pursuit and the Democrats’ current “misguided” legislation to prohibit police officers from stopping vehicles with expired tabs or faulty equipment, and from pulling over drivers who have suspended licenses or outstanding warrants.  The senator states his opinion that the legislature must make drug possession a Class C felony and reverse the Democrats’ disastrous 2021 legislation which essentially decriminalized possession of such lethal drugs as fentanyl, meth, and heroin.

Senator Padden also describes his efforts to improve housing availability and to oppose legislation to make assisted suicide even easier in Washington State. Finally, the senator provides his thoughts on the state budget and why there is plenty of money available to provide tax relief to lower- and middle- income workers, if only Democrats were willing to reduce taxes. (Click to read full Newsmaker interview)

The Washington Policy Center posted a very informative “Legislative Memo” on a very troubling piece of legislation proposed by Democrat Attorney General Bob Ferguson to allow government officials to determine whose comments would be subject to criminal prosecution.  The bill (HB 1333) was proposed by the AG’s office and sponsored by Democrat Representative Bill Ramos (D – Issaquah).  The legislation would create a new category of illegal offenses called  “domestic violent extremism” (DVE) and allow the attorney general to increase surveillance of those the government perceives as using DVE language. The government would create a list of officially banned phrases, thoughts and expressions, and friends and neighbors would be encouraged to report to authorities those who use the prohibited words. It is as if Attorney General Ferguson considers the George Orwell novel 1984 an instruction manual.

We highly recommend reading the legislative memo for it is especially bothersome when one considers how the extremely partisan Attorney General Bob Ferguson reacted to recent acts of political violence and how he has used his taxpayer-funded office to promote the far-Left Democrat agenda in our state.  While AG Ferguson has made numerous comments about what took place on January 6, 2021, when fringe President Trump supporters ransacked the nation’s capitol building, he has never once condemned the violent acts his liberal supporters committed when they illegally took over portions of Seattle and attempted mass murder of Seattle police personnel. Since AG Ferguson is the state’s top law enforcement official, it was truly disturbing to watch how he failed to support police officers under attack. And while the AG used taxpayer funds more than 80 times to sue the Trump Administration, not once has he joined other states’ many lawsuits filed against the Biden Administration.  With this kind of extreme partisan history, do we really want Attorney General Ferguson to have the capabilities to determine what words or phrases people can use and then have the ability to prosecute those who use the prohibited phrases he finds objectionable?  (Washington Policy Center, Washington Legislature Bill Summary, and KOMO News)

Governor Jay Inslee’s cap and trade policies continue to cause gas prices to rise in Washington State, while fuel costs in neighboring states continue to decline or stay stagnant.  The governor and Democrat lawmakers have knowingly lied in the past about the impact their misguided cap-and-tax policies would have on fuel prices.  Some, like the governor, have told voters it “will be less than 1 cent per gallon”, while his own Department of Ecology has placed the figure at higher than 40 cents a gallon. During the first few weeks after the implementation of the cap-and-tax policy, gas prices in Washington state rose approximately 25 cents more per gallon of gas than in other Western states.  After a week of prices remaining the same in Washington, they rose again last week from an average of $4.13 per gallon to $4.18 while national gas prices remained constant at approximately $3.40 a gallon. (The Center Square, Shift, and Washington Policy Center)

While many Democrat lawmakers stubbornly refuse to repeal their many hastily crafted bills which have made Washington State a less safe place to live and work, Republicans continue to seek ways to discourage those who steal catalytic converters.   Representative Greg Cheney (R – Battle Ground) has worked with a few moderate Democrats to introduce legislation to increase penalties for those involved in repeatedly stealing vehicle exhaust systems.  HB 1840 would make it a Class C felony for anyone convicted of repeatedly stealing converters and increases penalties on those who buy the precious metals without proof they came from their own car. Unfortunately , this proposed legislation is not a priority for Democrat leadership, as they have not scheduled any public hearing for the bill. Evidently, public safety continues to slide down the priority list for Democrat legislators now that the election has passed. (House Republican Caucus media release and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

A 32-year-old Seattle school teacher has been arrested and charged with several counts of repeated sexual misconduct with a 16-year-old student.  Franklin High School science teacher Pawares “Mac” Pathompornvivat was arrested last week at the school and was released on $100,000 bail.  The student had informed school officials of the encounters and stated that Pathompornvivat had informed her that he had a previous sexual relationship with another student. Police are investigating whether there are other victims. The teacher is now on paid administrative leave. (MyNorthwest)

Thurston County has been forced to put several unresolved “cold cases” on the back burner because of a shortage of police officers.  The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office reports it has 21 unsolved missing person cases that it does not have enough officers to investigate.  Like many local law enforcement agencies in the state, the Thurston County Sheriff’s office is understaffed and is overwhelmed due to the increase in crime since the Democrats in the legislature passed their disastrous 2021 anti-police laws. (KING5 News)

Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward emphasized much of the progress her administration has made on public safety, housing, homelessness, economic development, and mental health during her annual “State of the City” address on Thursday, but asked state lawmakers to do their part to make the city safer.  The presentation in front of 400 attendees at the Spokane Convention Center provided a glimpse of what the mayor will be focusing on this year as she runs for re-election.  It currently appears that the mayor will be challenged by liberal career politician Lisa Brown, who announced a couple of weeks ago she will be stepping down as  the Inslee Administration’s Director of the Department of Commerce at the end of this month.  This comes after Director Brown forced taxpayers to fund her moving her office last year from Olympia to Spokane (where she is more than 300 miles away from the office where nearly all of her employees work) so she could begin to organize her campaign on the taxpayers’ dime.

Mayor Woodward stressed in her speech the need for the legislature to reverse several of the Democrats’ disastrous 2021 anti-police laws which have caused crime rates to skyrocket as they have embolden criminals. She made special mention of the police pursuit restrictions which local business groups have strongly criticized Democrat Senate Leader Andy Billig (Spokane) for helping to keep in place, at the expense of the safety of his own constituents.

The mayor also called for reversing the Democrats’ 2021 decriminalization of possessing such lethal drugs as fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine. She stated she is working with moderate Councilmembers Michael Cathcart and Jonathan Dingle on a city measure that would restore accountability for those who openly use drugs, and help them receive the help they need. (Spokane Public Radio, Fox 28 News, Text of Speech, and The Center Square)

The use of hydroelectric power significantly increased in the Western United States in 2022, after reaching a 20-year low in 2021.  An increase in rain and snow is being credited for the 13% increase in the clean, carbon-free power created by dams.  Washington State, which saw a 19% increase in 2022, leads the country in creation of hydroelectric power, with 145 federal dams. (KUOW Public Radio)

The Democrats in the Washington State Legislature have obviously failed to learn the lesson from their past mistakes, as they continue to push another anti-police bill which will make communities, especially those which are lower income, less safe.  One would think that after the complete failure of their 2021 anti-police package, the Democrats would have learned that when they make the state more comfortable for criminals, that more innocent, hard-working people, especially those in ethnically diverse neighborhoods, will needlessly become crime victims.

Yet the Democrats in the 2023 legislature want to impose even more restrictions on police in the name of “equity.” Some 23 Democrat Representatives are co-sponsoring a bill (HB 1513) to prohibit officers from pulling over cars with expired tabs or broken equipment, and the legislation will also forbid law enforcement from stopping vehicle owners with suspended licenses or misdemeanor warrants.  This will allow criminals to go free to commit more crimes, and it will make our streets less safe for law-abiding people to drive on. (Click to read full Shift Article)

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