Washington State Senate Republican Leader John Braun expressed his strong disapproval of Governor Jay Inslee’s decision to give two more pay raises to state employees while denying tax relief to help lower- and middle- income households which are struggling due to Democrat-caused inflation and high energy prices.  Senator Braun referred to the announcement from the Office of Financial Management that the recently concluded secret negotiations between Governor Inslee and the Washington Federation of State Employees will cost Washington taxpayers $1 billion from the state’s general fund and a total of $1.6 billion in total funds and will additionally have a domino impact on the salaries of other state workers to raise the cost to taxpayers even higher.

Senator Braun put into perspective what these pay raises the governor just handed to his major campaign contributors will mean to Washington taxpayers. “For what it will cost to give raises to a relative few, we could have given tax relief to everyone. Inslee and Democrats said no. Our plan to cut the gas tax would have shared the benefit (of surplus state tax revenues) among more than 7 million people statewide. Instead, the governor and the public employee unions who donate millions to his campaign crafted a raise and benefits package that rewards a fraction of Washingtonians.”

The Republican Leader then stated that when Republican legislators introduced legislation to suspend the state’s 49.4 cents per gallon gas tax they were told by the Democrats that the state couldn’t afford it. “Apparently, it could. It just didn’t want to. And saying that the proposal would benefit the oil companies was a false, but convenient and triggering, talking point for the governor. Perhaps he just wanted to reserve the money to placate his donors and tax relief for everyone threatened that.”  (Senate Republican Caucus media release and Shift)

 

Speaking of the secret negotiations between Governor Inslee and his campaign contributors at the Washington Federation of State Employees, Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy Center was denied access to records of the offers and counteroffers made by the two sides.  Mercier filed a public records request with the Washington State Office of Fiscal Management for the documents involved in the negotiations.  He was informed by a staff attorney that such documents are exempt from being disclosed to the public until after the union contract is approved by the legislature. Thus taxpayers and legislators will not be provided transparency on the negotiations until the union has collected its pay raises, bonuses, and improved benefits. Just another example of how the one-party rule of the Democrats denies transparency for taxpayers to the financial benefit of the Democrats’ major campaign contributors. (OFM email to Mercier on public records request)

 

Amazon is taking the Inslee Administration to court claiming the state’s process for addressing workplace safety problems violates the U.S. Constitution’s 14^th Amendment for due process.  In the lawsuit filed in federal court yesterday, the online retailer challenged the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries’ (L&I) process of forcing employers to make expensive workplace changes based on unproven allegations. The lawsuit contends that “requiring employers like Amazon to incur significant financial and operational burdens to abate alleged hazards before the Department has proven a violation of any workplace safety rules and failing to provide a meaningful opportunity for employers to contest the abatement requirement or appeal the denial of a request to stay abatement.” The lawsuit stems from a citation L&I filed against Amazon last March, regarding physical tasks that were performed at the company’s Kent warehouse. (Geekwire and Amazon v. State of Washington)

 

State lawmakers are considering bans or increasing taxes on higher potency forms of cannabis because researchers have found a link of its use to those experiencing psychosis.  “Flower” marijuana generally has a THC level around 20% yet some cannabis products known as “dabs” have THC levels around 90%.  Those opposed to additional taxes or bans on high potency products say that these measures will only drive more people to still-thriving illegal markets.  When the marijuana legalization question was put before Washington voters in 2012, proponents argued that it would greatly reduce the underground market.  Yet, illegal sales remain strong because of the high cost of legal cannabis (due to taxes and regulations) and because those under 21 are not allowed to buy from a marijuana retailer. (Seattle Times)

 

Two men were injured (one critically) in a drive-by shooting in Renton on Monday night. That adds two more people to the victims’ list since the Democrats in the Washington Legislature made it more comfortable to be a criminal in our state with the passage of their anti-police legislation in 2021. These latest shootings remind us that Democrat Representatives Tarra Simmons (Bremerton) and David Hackney (Tukwila) proposed legislation last year (HB 1692) which would reduce the penalties for those convicted of committing drive-by shootings.  If the Democrats remain in control of the legislature, it is certain this bill will be re-introduced. (KOMO News and Washington Legislature Bill Summary)

King County Executive Dow Constantine demonstrated his contempt for the 1^st Amendment and freedom of the press when his staff blocked a member of the local media from attending a guided press tour the executive held at the controversial Homeless Complex next to the Chinatown International District (CID).  This is especially troublesome since the member of the media his staff banned was Jonathan Choe, who continues to break stories on how Executive Constantine has upset members of the CID community by not consulting with them before imposing his massive 500-resident homeless facility on the edge of their neighborhood.

Previously, Executive Constantine embarrassingly hid behind staffers and fled from a media briefing when Choe brought up CID concerns over the complex.  Evidently the executive believes he does not need to consult with members of the public over major county projects in their neighborhood, answer questions from the media over these projects, or provide equal access to media members for guided tours of a controversial facility.  Not exactly a shining example of government transparency.

Brandi Kruse expressed her outrage in an online video over this latest anti-media action taken by Executive Constantine and his staff (which she called “egregious” and “Orwellian”) and condemned the local media for not standing up for Choe.  Kruse said, “I plea to the media to stick together on this one because if they don’t it is a slippery slope.” Kruse then lists many members of the Puget Sound media and continues, “What happens the next time a leader doesn’t like your reporting and doesn’t think you are a reporter and keeps you from attending a press conference. While all of this is happening to Jonathan Choe you haven’t said Jack Shit.”  (Jonathan Choe Twitter, Discovery Institute’s Fix Homelessness program, and Brandi Kruse Twitter)

 

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell called the multiple acts of violence which took place over the weekend the latest “wake-up call” that the city has failed to invest in public safety and that its liberal policies are a complete failure in keeping residents from becoming victims.  There were four scenes of violence over the weekend, two in the University District and one each in the Pioneer Square and International District neighborhoods.  Since the mayor is a reliable Seattle liberal, he needed to point to guns as the problem, yet he at least mentioned the city council’s “defund the police” measures as being responsible as well.  While more Seattle residents and visitors are become victims of crimes, neither the mayor nor the council have brought forth a plan to reverse the skyrocketing crime rates caused by their liberal policies. (KOMO News)

Crime and drugs have become such a problem in Washington State that the Spokane Fire Department is looking into providing bulletproof vests for its first responders.  Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer says that his employees’ jobs are more dangerous than ever. He said it used to be very rare for one of his firefighters or EMS personnel to be threatened while on a call, but now it happens on a weekly basis.  The chief said he will make an official proposal to purchase bulletproof vests in November. (KXLY)

 

Fencing put up around the large Spokane homeless encampment (“Camp Hope”) on Friday, by the Washington State Department of Transportation, was severely damaged by Saturday.  The fencing was put up by the state to restrict those coming in and going out of the encampment.  Yet this lasted only a few hours before holes “developed” in the fencing. (KXLY)

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview was with Stephanie McClintock, the GOP candidate for the open State House of Representatives Position 1 seat in the 18^th Legislative District (Clark County).  In the August primary, McClintock won the “test run” against her Democrat opponent (who is heavily financed by government employee union money) by over 5%.  She is a mother of two college-aged sons and a former Battle Ground School Board Member. McClintock currently works as a public relations specialist for a grain export company, and she and her husband previously operated their own small business.

In her interview, McClintock, who is the daughter of a police detective, states that the legislature needs to repeal the Democrats’ anti-police laws which were jammed through in 2021.  She states her opposition to the Democrats’ poorly conceived and expensive Long Term Care payroll tax and her frustrations with Governor Inslee’s secret negotiations with his political contributors in the government employee unions. McClintock shares her thoughts on a new I-5 Columbia River bridge and on Governor Inslee’s attempt to remove the clean energy provided by the Snake River dams (it would remove barge traffic and force thousands of large semi-trucks onto already crowded roadways). She concludes the interview by providing an excellent book from Erik Larson as her current favorite. (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

 

 

 

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