Maxford Nelson, the Freedom Foundation’s Director of Labor Policy, shares his research on the political contributions of the so-called bipartisan Public School Employees of Washington/SEIU Local 1948 (PSE).  The government employee union has built a reputation in Olympia for being “bipartisan” in its support of candidates, but Nelsen’s research finds that while the union does contribute to legislative candidates in both parties ($66,500 directly to Democrat candidates and $40,500 to Republicans in the 2022 campaigns), nearly all of the money received by Republicans were to those who are either running unopposed or with a nominal Democrat challenger, while they contribute to Democrat candidates who are in both safe and competitive races.  Also, while PSE spent a little over $100,000 on direct contributions to legislative candidate campaigns in 2022, it spent three times as much on independent expenditures. And of this $300,000+, only $22,500 went to independent efforts to help GOP candidates. (Click here to read full Guest Commentary)

There is a glimmer of hope for good government advocates who want to eliminate the use of title-only bills in the Washington State Legislature.  In the past, legislators (especially Democrats) have circumvented constitutional requirements allowing votes only on bills which have had time for public scrutiny (10 days) by passing title-only bills out of committee (essentially blank pieces of paper) to serve as “placeholders” for future legislative actions. Democrat legislators then add some text to the bill and quickly pass it in the Senate and House chambers without giving the public a chance to testify on the measure – or give members time to read it.  In a bipartisan effort, Republican Senator Shelly Short (Addy) and Democrat Jamie Pedersen (Seattle) have proposed a rule change (SR 8601) in the senate which will prohibit title-only bills in that chamber.  Unfortunately, similar rule changes have yet to be introduced in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.  (Washington Policy Center and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

Former Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna joined Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy Center in a very informative 30-minute webinar on the legal battle to overturn the Democrats’ state income tax on capital gains.  McKenna is the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, who were successful last spring in having a Douglas County Superior Court judge rule that the Democrats’ tax is unconstitutional. Current Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson appealed that decision (because he strongly believes Washington residents need to be taxed even more to fund a more rapid expansion of state government) to the Washington State Supreme Court. The court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on January 26^th.

One of the most interesting comments in the webinar came from McKenna when he outlined what the repercussions will be if the Supreme Court members choose to ignore nearly a century of legal precedent by allowing this tax to be enacted simply because Democrat politicians call it an “excise tax” instead of its proper description as an “income tax” (which is an unconstitutional tax in Washington State).  “If the tax is upheld as being an ‘excise,’ then the legislature will start passing other taxes on income and call them ‘excise taxes’.”  McKenna then added, “I am also concerned that local governments will then begin to pass the same kind of “excise” taxes (on income) as well.”  For those of you interested in these very important legal proceedings, this webinar is an excellent source of information. (YouTube/Washington Policy Center and MyNorthwest)

April Sims, who recently admitted breaking state laws in 2021 by deleting texts between herself and Democrat staff members in her role as a Washington State Redistricting Commissioner, will be sworn in as the President of the Washington State Labor Council on Friday afternoon in Tacoma.   In what can only be called destruction of evidence, it was disclosed in early December that Sims illegally erased critical texts between herself and commission staff members and the House Democrats’ chief of staff which were sent in the minutes leading up to the deadline for the commission to adopt new legislative and congressional boundaries in 2021.  Sims and the other Democrat Commissioner (Brady Walkinshaw) have been criticized for several unusual delaying tactics in the final hours before the deadline, as they sought to derail the public process and turn redistricting control over to the all-Democrat State Supreme Court. The texts which Sims deleted were sought as evidence in lawsuits filed by media members and citizens seeking public documents regarding the commissioners’ actions.

Sims’ promotion to becoming the new state labor boss is a clear indication that union members must not be worried about having their leader be someone who is not concerned with following state laws. After all, she did it with the blessing of the Democrat legislators the unions depend on for their public pay increases. All are invited to the swearing in ceremony which will be held at the Hotel Murano (1320 Broadway, Tacoma) starting at 3:00 PM tomorrow afternoon. (The Stand and The Olympian)

Former Washington State legislator and U.S. Navy veteran Chad Magendanz is very concerned that Democrat legislative candidate Clyde Shavers was able to run a campaign for so long before it was finally revealed (a week before the election by Shift) that he repeatedly lied about his military service, his employment record, his residence, and his family background.  In a Seattle Times op-ed, Magendanz calls on Secretary of State Steve Hobbs to sponsor legislation to have the background of all state candidates independently verified to ensure future liars like Representative-elect Shavers aren’t allowed to lie to voters about their background.  Yet given the silence by Democrat officials and organizations over the lies which Shavers repeatedly told, it is doubtful Democrat Hobbs will act impartially and do what is right for Washington State voters. (Seattle Times and Shift)

In the latest example of a liberal politician failing to keep the promises made to voters to win an election, Seattle Bruce Harrell has dramatically failed to keep his promise to create 2,000 new housing units in his first year for those facing homelessness.  While the mayor’s “dashboard” on the progress of this promise shows the city is close to meeting this goal (it states the administration is currently at 1,912), nearly all of these housing units were created and announced by previous Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan.  According to PubliCola, fewer than 300 units were created in 2022 by the Harrell administration.  Also, 100 of the units on the dashboard have already been cancelled, including 68 beds which were supposed to be part of the controversial expansion of a shelter in the SoDo neighborhood, which was cancelled due to protests from nearby International District residents and businesses.

While the Seattle Times mentioned this “2,000 units” promise as a major reason for its endorsement for Harrell’s candidacy in 2021, the paper has not followed up and reported on whether or not the promise was kept. Of course, the failure to deliver on campaign promises is a common occurrence in Seattle politics.  During their 2019 campaigns, current Seattle Councilmembers Lisa Herbold, Andrew Lewis, and Dan Strauss all promised to increase funding for the Seattle Police Department. Yet, when liberal activists began rioting in Seattle just a few months later, each of the three immediately caved to the rioters’ demands and supported the defunding of the police department. That has led to a dramatic rise in crime rates, especially in lower income neighborhoods. This reversal on a campaign promise was especially noteworthy for Councilmember Lewis, who was in a close contest with Jim Pugel, a former Interim Seattle police chief who strongly advocated for more police funding. (PubliCola, One Seattle Homelessness Action Plan, KUOW/NPR, Seattle Times, and MyNorthwest)

Lynnwood officials state there is very little they can do to stop the opening of a new methadone dispersing center a few hundred feet away from the Alderwood Boy’s and Girl’s Club.  Neighbors and parents protested at a city council meeting on Tuesday, after learning about the opening of the new opioid treatment facility (which will disperse methadone daily to 300 clients). Evidently the center has been working with city staff members for nearly a year to obtain the necessary permits, yet Lynnwood councilmembers stated they were not informed, and a public hearing was held on December 29^th when most people are celebrating the holidays. The opioid center is scheduled to open on January 23^rd. (Everett Herald)

A former Spokane County employee was sentenced to one year in prison for embezzling $1.4 million of taxpayer funds.  Rhonda Sue Ackerman was found guilty of filing 211 false claims, between 2007 and 2016, in her role as a clerk in the county’s Risk Management Department.  Funds were paid to friends and family members who in return gave most of the money back to Ackerman, who spent the funds on lavish trips, gambling, and gifts.  (Spokesman Review)

Do you like The Daily Briefing? Do you want to keep seeing coverage of issues which are important to you?

Shift was the only Washington media outlet in 2022 to interview legislative candidates to obtain their views on the important issues facing Washington State voters.

Please consider making a contribution to ensure Shift continues to provide daily updates on the shenanigans of the liberal establishment.

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].