Governor Jay Inslee and his legislative Democrats continue to display their liberal greed and the philosophy that it is more important for the state government to collect and keep massive tax revenue surpluses than it is for lower- and middle- income families to retain enough of their paychecks so they can pay their bills.  Democrat policies have caused record inflation and the price of gas continues to skyrocket (even though we have not yet seen the significant negative impact of the Democrat’s state energy policies which will cause gas prices to soar by another 30 to 40 cents a gallon in the coming months). These rising prices are especially hurting those on a fixed income, who cannot afford the inflationary increases that are especially hitting anything that requires transportation, like groceries, clothes, and school supplies.

Governor Inslee, who is the sixth-highest paid governor in the country (at just over $190,000 a year) and is driven around at taxpayer expense in a large SUV, appears oblivious to the suffering of those financially impacted by his liberal policies.  Washington remains one of a small handful of states which is not providing some tax relief to its taxpayers. Even the 13 other states where the House, Senate, and governor’s office are controlled by the Democrats (so-called “Democrat trifecta” states) have either passed tax relief or are currently considering tax-reduction proposals. But not Governor Inslee and Washington’s big-government Democrats. Instead of working to provide relief to Washington residents, Governor Inslee issues false anti-business claims (i.e. that the oil companies will immediately raise the cost at the pump whatever the amount of any tax reduction) which not even President Biden and other Democrat governors believe.

On Friday, House Republican Leader JT Wilcox tweeted that he had seen some movement amongst the Democrats towards holding a special session and he said that if this occurs Republicans will call for votes on fixing the Democrats’ disastrous anti-police package, emergency powers reforms, and various tax reduction bills.  Previously various Democrat legislators have threatened to challenge Governor Inslee, but usually back down after the press releases have been sent. (Q13 Fox News, Washington Research Council report on the impact of Inslee’s Cap and Trade on fuel prices, JT Wilcox Twitter, and Shift Article)

Crosscut’s new political reporter Joseph O’Sullivan (who left the Seattle Times to replace Melissa Santos, who moved to Axios) did an excellent job in providing the Democrats’ spin on the 2022 legislative races by barely mentioning the key issues which are most pressing on voters.  The article gave a couple vulnerable and ineffective Democrat legislators the chance to criticize their own Democrat leadership.  Senator Emily Randall (D – Bremerton) stated that “Democratic leadership, our governor especially, is not always in touch with the needs of Washingtonians outside of King County and the I-5 corridor.”  Unfortunately for Senator Randall, she and her fellow Democrat incumbents have a long history of ignoring the non-urban areas of the state, and that will continue as long as so many Democrat members come from Seattle and Tacoma.

Representative Dave Paul (D – Oak Harbor), who is facing a tough challenge from Navy veteran and Philippine immigrant Karen Lesetmoe, also criticized his own party for not providing any type of tax relief to help struggling families. But again, as long Democrats are in control, the majority’s top priority will be to make sure government has too much money and not whether citizens have enough money to pay their bills. When not blaming his own party leadership for his troubles, Representative Paul adopted the national Democrat spin on who is to blame for inflation when he stated, “I can’t do a lot about a Russian dictator invading Ukraine.”  Evidently Representative Paul forgot that his party passed the governor’s inefficient and expensive cap and trade bill which will cause fuel prices to go even higher in the coming months. (Crosscut, Shift’s Newsmaker Interview, and Washington Research Council)

A drive-by shooting occurred last night in a Federal Way residential neighborhood, leaving a 19-year-old man in critical condition.  Fortunately an observant Federal Way police officer spotted the suspects fleeing the scene and arrested three individuals who matched descriptions from witnesses.  The number of such drive-by shooting incidents appears to be growing just as violent crime rates continue to rise since the 2021 passage of the Democrats’ disastrous anti-police laws.  Earlier this year Democrat State Representatives Tarra Simmons (Bremerton) and David Hackney (Tukwila) proposed HB 1692 which would have reduced the penalty for convicted drive-by shooters.  The bill was so extreme that Democrat Speaker Laurie Jinkins refused to even hold a public hearing on the controversial legislation during an election year. Yet we can certainly expect to see it return if the Democrats keep control of the legislature, as their anti-police animosity runs deep. (KING5 News and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

The Seattle Public Schools (SPS) district continues to experience a sizable drop in enrollment – and school district officials blame “wealth and privilege” instead of their own failed policies for the student departures.  The district’s own 2022-2023 school year projections reveal a 7.7% reduction (52,798 to 46,748) in the number of students enrolled in SPS since 2020.  The district highlights that most of this reduction is occurring in the city’s wealthier neighborhoods.

When asked about the large number of students no longer attending Seattle public schools, a district official put the blame on parents who are seeking better educational opportunities for their children than those offered by the SPS.  Assistant Superintendent JoLynn Berg said, “I do think in Seattle we have a high degree of wealth and privilege and a higher instance of opportunity.”  While liberal officials always seem to blame some form of discrimination or wealth equity for all the problems they created, it is hard to use “wealth and privileged” as the cause in this case since the same levels of “wealth and privilege” were around in 2020 as there are today.   For many families, the difference in education is so significant, they are now willing to pay a large additional amount of their income for private schools or leave their jobs to homeschool their children. Maybe some parents don’t want their children in a school district where elementary school principals refuse to cooperate with police when an intruder is causing havoc in classrooms.  (Seattle Times and KOMO News)

The Bremerton School District will likely have to pay millions in attorney fees following its loss in the lawsuit filed against it by football coach Joe Kennedy after he was fired for praying after games.  While Coach Kennedy did not seek damages for the loss of seven years of salary, the district is responsible for attorneys’ fees in the case.  The non-profit First Amendment group First Liberty provided the coach with attorneys and says it is now determining the total bill.  The district said it will work with its insurance provider to pay the bill. (Kitsap Sun)

For the first time since 2019, new American citizens were sworn in at the usually annual Naturalization Ceremony held at the Seattle Center.  This year more than 300 individuals from 74 countries completed the legal process to become American citizens at the July 4^th event. For those who have never attended the ceremony, it is often a very moving experience to see those who have sacrificed and worked hard to become legal citizens of our country.  As then U.S. Senator Slade Gorton told the new citizens during his speech at the 1992 ceremony, “My fellow Americans, welcome to your privileges and responsibilities as citizens of the First Universal Nation. You are our future, as you are the world’s.” (MyNorthwest and Shift)

Eastern State Hospital finally has a new chief executive officer after the position had been vacant for more than a year.  Eric Carpenter is now leading the troubled hospital which, like Western State Hospital in Steilacoom, is a state-run mental health facility.  And like Western State, it is dealing with several administrative challenges and controversies.  Carpenter’s predecessor resigned after an investigation found that the Inslee Administration incorrectly handled domestic violence accusations against an employee who is now charged with murder.  Like Western, the Medical Lake facility (just west of Spokane) has experienced several outbreaks of COVID as state administrators failed to adhere to guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus. Staffing levels are very low at the hospital and those who work at Eastern State recently joined the employees at Western State Hospital in signing a petition about the administration’s failure to provide safe working conditions. (Spokesman Review)

Shift posted on Friday a special Holiday Edition of the Daily Briefing providing links to the 10 legislative candidate interviews we have conducted thus far in ‘22.  Each of the races highlighted is either an open-seat contest or one where the Republican is challenging a Democrat incumbent in the hopes of winning a majority in either the State House or Senate (or both) this November. Shift will continue to conduct such interviews (this Friday, 30^th LD candidate Ashli Tagoai is scheduled to be profiled) through the election. (Shift’s July 4^th Daily Briefing Holiday Edition)

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