Both Republican and Democrat legislative leaders agree, it is time for Democrat Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler to go.
Newsmaker Interview
Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with Casey Jones, a police commander for a regional SWAT team and a Republican candidate for the Washington State House of Representatives in South King County. He is challenging first-term Democrat incumbent Representative Jamila Taylor in the 30th Legislative District (Federal Way, Algona, Pacific, and parts of Auburn). Jones has been a Federal Way resident for 23 years and has served in law enforcement for 28 years, first as a narcotics detective and school resource officer before assuming command of the SWAT team.
Jones discusses in his interview how the Democrat’s controversial 2021 anti-police legislation inspired him to run for office, as he has seen first-hand how liberal public safety policies have negatively impacted our communities. Jones also details his views on Governor Jay Inslee’s abuse of emergency powers (now on Day 839), the tax cuts he would support to help lower- and moderate income families, how to protect our schools, the “unorganized mess” of the Democrats’ Long-Term Care plan and tax, and why he lists a Stephen King classic as his favorite book. (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)
State
Legislative leaders from both parties and from both the House and Senate have called for the resignation of Democrat Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler after it was revealed earlier this week that he had fired the senior staff member who had made public that the commissioner had bullied employees and regularly used crass and offensive language. Through a spokesperson, Kreidler stated he had no intention of resigning.
The legislative “four corners” of the House and Senate (the Republican and Democrat leaders in both bodies) have each called for the resignation of the 78-year-old career politician, who has been insurance commissioner since 2001. Kreidler previously served 26 years in the Washington State Legislature and two years in Congress. Republican Senate Leader John Braun (Centralia) said, “The claims of inappropriate workplace conduct were disturbing on their own and called into question Commissioner Kreidler’s ability to effectively lead his office. But firing a whistleblower is completely unacceptable, and quite frankly, the final straw.”
Earlier this year, it was reported that several former and current employees of his office claimed Commissioner Kreidler had used racist slurs and treated his staff inappropriately. At the time, several Republican leaders and the Chair of the Washington State Republican Party called on Kreidler to resign. Once again, Democrats have a much-higher bar of what disqualifies a Democrat from office in Washington State (see Troy Kelley, Ed Murray, Mike Lowry, Brock Adams, etc), so sometimes it takes some time to see what’s right. (Seattle Times, Washington State Republican Senate Caucus media release, Northwest News Network, and Washington State Republican Party media release)
2016 Republican candidate for Governor Bill Bryant wrote that the education funding improvements the legislature made to comply with the McCleary decision have nearly been wiped out due to large, negotiated salary increases for teachers, and many school districts (especially in lower income communities) no longer have the funds needed to educate the children. In a News Tribune op-ed, Bryant called for voters to “elect legislators who have the spine and spleen it will take to ensure the state funds basic education for all kids.”
Bryant made three recommendations for the legislature to fix the latest funding crisis for Washington state public schools. He proposed that all school districts receive the same fixed dollar amount per student. Secondly, Bryant suggested some small financial adjustments could be made based on special education needs and some cost-of-living factors. Finally, he recommended placing a cap on the amount of money which can be spent on salaries. We are sure the folks at the Washington Education Association are already printing up protest signs, as that last suggestion reminds voters that union bosses see every crisis at our state’s schools as another opportunity to get more money to the teachers (News Tribune)
The Washington State GOP and the Tiffany Smiley for U.S. Senate campaign are holding a virtual volunteer training session this evening, to prepare for Saturday’s “Day of Action,” when volunteers will doorbell for Republican candidates across Washington State. To register for tonight’s (6:00 PM) training session please click here, and to sign up to volunteer tomorrow, please click here. In order for Republicans to win in Washington, they must mount a strong grassroots effort to overcome the significant advantage Democrats receive thanks to the money of wealthy special interest groups. (Washington State Republican Party)
Western Washington
A lawsuit was filed by a Seattle woman who was severely when she protested in 2020 on I-5, claiming that the Washington State Patrol and the Seattle Police Department should have done more to enforce laws against pedestrians on the freeway and that it should have done more to protect demonstrators once they were on I-5. The woman was one of two people hit by a speeding vehicle on July 4, 2020, while they were taking part in Black Lives Matter demonstrations. The other woman was instantly killed. The driver of the car is also named in the lawsuit and is currently awaiting a competency evaluation before his criminal trial on charges of vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, and reckless driving. Drug paraphernalia and crystal methamphetamine were found in his car, and he told police he was suffering from untreated addiction. Who would have thought that a mixture of protesting on a freeway, the use of illegal drugs , and authorities unwilling to enforce reasonable laws would have so many negative consequences? (Seattle Times)
The reckless public safety decisions by the far-Left members of the Seattle City Council is threatening the lives of residents even further as police response times to life-threatening emergencies continue to climb. Previously the Seattle Police Department was meeting its goal of averaging seven minutes to respond to “Priority 1” emergencies. Yet, since the Seattle City Council caved into the demands of liberal rioters by voting to “defund the police” in 2020, the department has lost more than 400 officers (30% of the force) and response times have increased to an average of 11 minutes in North and Southwest Seattle. In neighborhoods served by the department’s West precinct (Magnolia, Queen Anne, and Downtown), it is taking nine minutes for officers to respond. Response times for less serious emergencies have doubled from averaging an hour to now taking over two hours. (Q13 Fox News)
It was announced this afternoon that Pierce County Councilmember Hans Zeiger would be resigning from his position at the end of July to become the president of the Jack Miller Center, a non-profit history and civics organization. The 37-year-old Zeiger had served in his current position since the start of 2021, after serving 10 years in the Washington State Legislature. Many political insiders consider him to be a rising star in Washington politics. (News Tribune)
Eastern Washington
Chinook salmon counts on the Snake River have already surpassed the 10-year average, and there are still two months to go in this season’s run. Also, early indicators reveal that next year’s runs will be even greater. Democrat politicians and wealthy urban environmentalists have been raising money and scaring the public by falsely predicting a decline in this year’s counts. These increased numbers are the latest good news following the 2020 release of the federal government’s comprehensive scientific study, which concluded that salmon could survive, and population numbers would increase, with proper management of the dams’ operations. The survey data also comes one week after the draft of the unscientific partisan report released by Governor Inslee and U.S. Senator Murray which ambiguously stated it would cost between $10 billion to $27 billion to replace the “benefits” of the dams (how serious can anyone take a cost figure that varies by $17 billion?) (Todd Myers Facebook, University of Washington Snake River Fish Counts, and Lower Snake River Dams Replacement Report)
Shift Article
If one is seeking examples of efficiencies in train transportation, they likely will not be looking to Washington State where both Amtrak and Sound Transit are failing to provide promised service to their customers. Amtrak announced there would be more delays before resuming service between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., which the bureaucrats at the Washington State Department of Transportation (who know plenty about service delays) said was “extremely dissatisfying.” Meanwhile at Sound Transit, the steady announcements of project delays and cost overruns, along with a fare collection system which allows anyone to ride the system for free, is starting to make taxpayers incredibly nervous. The latest phase of the project (ST3) is already projected to cost nearly three times the $54 billion voters were promised, and we are only five years into a 25-year construction schedule. (Click to read full Shift Article)
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