KTTH radio host Jason Rantz obtained an internal email from a liberal state legislator which reveals the racist arguments the representative made to her caucus for why Democrat House members should not support a bill to make January “Chinese Descent History Month.”  Representative Cindy Ryu (D – Shoreline) wrote in an internal email to her Democrat House colleagues that they should not support SB 5264 because it was authored by a white legislator (Republican Senator Keith Wagoner of Sedro Woolley), and falsely stated that the Senator’s wife was Taiwanese and thus not as “diverse” as other Chinese. Representative Ryu extended her ignorance to making hateful stereotypical comments about Republican legislators, stating she had never seen them “embrace people who spoke a language other than English.”

Sadly, for Representative Ryu, who is of Korean decent, the real reason for not supporting the legislation was because the group supporting the bill, Washington Asians  4 Equity (WA4E) successfully led the ballot effort (Referendum 88) in 2019 to reject affirmative action quotas.  WA4E pushed to have Chinese Americans honored the same way the legislature had previously honored Filipino Americans, Hispanic Americans, Korean Americans, and Japanese Americans. Yet, because of Representative Ryu’s opposition, the bill was killed by Democrat leadership on the Senate Rules Committee and was never brought up for a vote by House members.

Senator Wagoner was disappointed to learn of the racist arguments made in the memo sent to Democrat House members. He said, “You know I value my relationships with all my colleagues, including Cindy, so not only was I shocked, but my feelings are a little bit hurt. You know, I don’t pretend to represent the Chinese community. I’m not their voice. But I am trying to be a legislator with ears who listens to them and tries to give them what they want.” He also corrected the false assertion made by Representative Ryu about his wife.  He explained that both of her parents fled to Taiwan from mainland China when Mao took over. “She is definitely Chinese,” Wagoner asserted. (MyNorthwest, Washington Legislature Bill Summary, Washington Asians for Equality website, and KOMO News)

It appears the nine liberal justices on the Washington State Supreme Court want to do their part to help their fellow Democrats make it through next month’s general election, by not even announcing when they will hold a hearing on the lawsuit over the Democrats’ unconstitutional state income tax on capital gains.  In March, a Douglas County Superior Court followed decades of legal precedent to rule that the capital gains tax passed by Democrat lawmakers was unconstitutional.  In July, the Washington State Supreme Court said it would bypass the Court of Appeals and rule directly on the constitutionality of the tax.  Yet in the subsequent three months, the justices have not scheduled a date to hear the case. Evidently the court doesn’t want to create any type of news story on the illegal state income tax for fear it will remind voters that not only have Governor Inslee and Democrat legislators failed to provide any type of tax relief (as has been done in nearly all states with surplus revenues) but they want to impose even more taxes on Washington residents.

This delay by the court is significant because while the lower court ruled that the tax as unconstitutional, the employees at the Washington State Department of Revenue have been instructed by their bosses to act as if the Supreme Court will ignore legal precedent and rule the tax as constitutional. Thus the state is preparing to collect a tax from 2022 financial activity, even though the tax was determined to be unconstitutional for almost 10 months of the year.  For this reason, the Citizen Action Defense Fund has filed a cease and desist letter against the DOR requiring them to stop rulemaking on a tax which is currently considered illegal by the state’s court system. (Jason Mercier Facebook post, The Olympian, KIRO7 News, and Citizen Action Defense Fund media release)

The judges on the federal 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals appear to have difficulties with the City of Seattle’s defense that it did not create the dangerous situation in the CHOP/CHAZ which led to the death of 19-year-old Lorenzo Anderson.  During the court hearing on the lawsuit brought by Lorenzo’s mother, the judges did question the city’s defense by asking if the city’s action of abandoning the CHOP/CHAZ during the liberal activists’ riots did play a significant part in Anderson’s death, especially since medics could not enter the area after the teen was shot. The judges also informed the city that it may face a difficult time if this case makes it to trial due to the destruction of key evidence (i.e. the phone texts from then-Mayor Jenny Durkan and other Seattle officials). (Northwest News Radio)

Skyrocketing crime rates continue to impact lower income neighborhoods the hardest since the passage of anti-police legislation at both the state and city levels.  Two people were injured in the Columbia City and Rainier Beach neighborhoods from gun violence yesterday. The first was an attempted robbery in Columbia City, which left a store worker in serious condition after being shot in the chest. The second was an apparent random shooting into a Rainier Valley home where a 50-year-old man was shot in the neck and is also in serious condition. (KOMO News)

Taxpayers will now be paying to help small business owners fix damaged storefronts caused by criminal activities. Businesses with less than 50 employees and less than $7 million in revenue can apply for up to $2,000 from a City of Seattle grant program funded by federal COVID relief aid.  While it is good to help struggling small employers maintain a professional appearance by replacing the boarded-up windows, the city’s leaders are responsible for creating the conditions which allowed skyrocketing crime rates and massive vandalism to take place in the first place. (KING5 News)

The sponsor of the Tacoma City Council’s new encampment ban writes an op-ed to respond to the new law’s liberal critics who have a history of enabling homelessness. Last week, councilmembers voted 6-3 to pass a new law which bans homeless encampments within 10 blocks of a homeless shelter. Councilmember John Hines sponsored the measure and said that leaving encampments up is inhumane. In his News Tribune op-ed, Hines outlines that the city is spending more than $100 million to provide low-income housing and help shelters. He believes that this legislation will help people get the help they need. Hines writes, “This policy separates what we know works, well-managed shelter, from what we know does not, unmanaged encampments.” (News Tribune)

A new survey of Seattle residents finds that most believe they are not getting their money’s worth from the city for the amount of taxes they pay.  The Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce paid for the survey of 700 residents and found that 73% of voters disagreed with the statement, “I trust the City of Seattle to spend my tax dollars responsibly.”  Also, when asked, “Would you say that taxes in Seattle are too high, too low, or about right for the level of services the city provides,” 57% of the respondents said they were too high, 32% said they were about right, and 11% said they were too low. (The Center Square)

A new report from Todd Myers of the Washington Policy Center uses actual fish run data from the Snake River to demonstrate that comments made by extremists who wish to tear down the four dams on the river are pure hyperbole and not tied to scientific data.  The report states that the 2022 Chinook salmon runs at the Lower Granite dam, the dam which is furthest upstream, was 85% higher than they were in 2021, and the 4^th highest in more than 20 years.  This fact, along with other fish run data, contradicts the false narrative often pushed by the liberal anti-dam activists who have used outlandish statements (never challenged by their liberal friends in the mainstream media) that the Snake River Chinook salmon would be extinct by 2025.

Myers reiterated an important point that is never mentioned by the environmental extremists. Fish runs on the Snake River, like nearly all rivers, are cyclical.  The runs are currently running strong (next year’s run could possibly be even higher), but it will predictably decline in the coming years. Myers states that the “goal is to have average returns increase gradually on a 10-year average.” (Washington Policy Center report)

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview was with Republican State Senate candidate Janelle Cass, who is running against controversial career politician Senator Marko Liias in the 21^st Legislative District (Southwest Snohomish County). The Democrat incumbent made news during the 2022 legislative session when he was forced to apologize on the senate floor for insulting Oregon Governor (and fellow partisan Democrat) Kate Brown. This was after he nearly caused a retaliatory tax war with Washington’s neighboring states over his proposed “export tax” on fuel refined in Washington State but sold in other states.

Cass is an Air Force veteran (a graduate of the Air Force Academy), small business owner, and the mother of two college-aged children.  In her interview, Cass described her opponent as “a firehouse of bad legislation” and was frustrated by the “trade war” with our neighbors Senator Liias almost caused by his actions. She drew another contrast with Senator Liias by stating she supports the coalition of Snohomish County local officials who are seeking to repeal the Democrats’ anti-police legislation which Liias supported. She stated her opposition to her opponent’s plan to take zoning out of the hands of local citizens and give it to state bureaucrats in Olympia, as well as her frustration with our state’s public schools for passing students to the next grade despite failing subjects. Finally, she listed her favorite book as a classic science fiction comedy which millions of people have enjoyed.(Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

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

Shift is the only media outlet in the state 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 and provides you inside coverage of the 2022 elections which includes exclusive interviews with top candidates.

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].