Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with Republican Senator Simon Sefzik, who is running in the 42^nd Legislative District (Whatcom County) to retain the seat he was appointed to last January, after the passing of former Senator Doug Ericksen.  The young senator made an immediate splash in Olympia when he proposed using the state’s surplus funds to suspend Washington’s 49-cents-a-gallon gas tax. Unfortunately for lower and middle class workers who are impacted the hardest by rising fuel prices, the Democrat majority ignored their financial concerns and refused to even discuss the proposal.

In the interview, Senator Sefzik discussed his re-election campaign and how he differs from his opponent who supports the Democrats’ anti-police legislation, while he has been endorsed by law enforcement. He states his opponent has supported bills which have made housing more expensive (state regulations increase the cost of homes by 24%!), while he supports legislation which will help families purchase a new home. He states he will support a state budget that “prioritizes education and tax relief” and helps small employers. The senator outlines his thoughts on how to help students who have endured a poorer quality of education the past two years and he says a Russian classic is one of his favorite books. (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

We asked Shift readers to tell us their stories on how the Democrats’ anti-police legislation has negatively impacted their lives.  We were overwhelmed by the response as it seems everyone has either become a crime victim or has been forced to alter their lives to stay safe. From suburban office park owners who have seen their parking lots become the place where drug dealers and prostitutes conduct their illegal activities to mothers in rural communities who no longer allow their children to play outside unattended, the Democrats’ agenda has made nearly every Washington State residents’ life worse (except for criminals, who have never had it so good). Most shocking is the number of people who said they were seriously considering moving out of the state with Washington’s crime rates the motivating factor. Sadly conditions will only get worse as Democrats appear to be unwilling to reverse their soft-on-crime legislation, and they are even planning to pass more pro-criminal bills if they remain in control in Olympia. (Click to read full Shift Article)

Governor Jay Inslee and his wife Trudi continued their taxpayer-funded holiday through the Nordic countries.  Claiming the trip is a “trade mission,” many see this as yet another excuse by the governor to force Washington State taxpayers to finance trips that his $190,000-a-year salary (plus a substantial six figure pension from his 17 years in Congress) could well afford.  After the governor and his wife took a similar trip to the Glasgow United Nations Climate Change Conference last year to hobnob with wealthy environmentalists at exclusive receptions, it was learned the trip cost Washington taxpayers more than $66,000 as the couple flew first class (all other governors who attended flew coach), rented high-priced villas, and were whisked around in rented Mercedes.

The governor has long believed that Washington State taxpayers should fund personal items he doesn’t believe he should fund. Most people remember he forced taxpayers to fund the extra security needed for his failed 2000 presidential campaign. Yet the only other governor (Steve Bullock of Montana) in the presidential race had his campaign repay his state for the extra security costs of his presidential bid, but Governor Inslee does not believe he has the same obligations.  And while his campaign organization continues to raise millions, all the money goes to pay the retainer fees for high-priced consultants, and not to pay back Washington State taxpayers.

One quick note on the governor’s latest trip. When many people saw the picture of his meeting with Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto, they speculated that the encounter was similar to the humorous meeting between fictionalized Vice President Selina Meyer and the Finnish Prime Minister on the comedy show “Veep.” And after rewatching that scene, we could well imagine our governor acting in a similar manner. (Governor Inslee Twitter, The Center Square, Seattle Times, Montana Public Radio, and YouTube/Veep)

Multiple members of the Washington media have called on the legislature to pass meaningful reform of the state’s emergency powers laws since Governor Inslee announced last week that he will finally be lifting the emergency declaration on  October 31^st (a few days before the mid-term elections and just a few weeks before his overreaching powers would have lasted 1,000 days on November 25th).  The Whitman County Gazette carried a column from Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy Center which provided many of the commonsense arguments for reform.

Governor Inslee abused this power long after it was required or necessary (nearly all other states place a time limit, such as 30, 60, or 90 days, for how long the governor can rule before the legislature resumes its constitutional duties of writing laws).  The governor misused the powers to make decisions which could have been made by the legislature and to impose laws that will last long after anyone is infected with the virus (such as the vaccine mandate on all future Washington State employees).  The governor often made false statements for why he needed to be the lone decider on issues impacting Washington’s seven million residents, such as saying the state would lose federal funding or that Republicans would immediately strip insurance from cancer patients.

It will be interesting to see if any Democrat legislator joins the Republicans in supporting legislation to place a time limit on the use of emergency powers. The governor’s never-ending abuse of this authority was truly a slap in the face of the Democrats who controlled both houses of the legislature. The governor was essentially saying he did not believe they were capable of managing the state’s affairs and that he alone could do a better job than they could collectively. Which again raises the question, if the governor did not believe his fellow Democrats were capable of making laws, then why should the voters? (Whitman County Gazette

Businesses in Downtown Seattle continue to struggle as consumers are unwilling to return to downtown and large companies who lease office space have found the benefits of having their employees perform most of their work remotely.  While tourism associated with the Alaska cruise business has recently helped some retailers, it still is a post-pandemic struggle for many small employers.  Multiple restaurants closed for good as Governor Inslee’s numerous unilaterally decided and unscientific mandates drove away customers and longtime employees. (KIRO7 News)

Dozens of ride-share drivers protested in front of Seattle City Hall on Thursday over the unsafe conditions in Downtown Seattle. This was in response to the murder of Mohamed Kediye, a father of six, and a ride-share driver who was murdered on Sunday night outside the Amazon Spheres in Belltown after he completed a ride. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and Interim Police Chief Adrian Diaz met with the drivers, and they agreed that conditions are unsafe in Seattle.  They did not provide any solutions and encouraged the drivers to propose ways to them on how to make their job safer.  (KOMO News)

Those of us at Shift were greatly saddened to learn of the sudden passing of William “Bill” Hyslop, two-time U.S. Attorney for Eastern Washington, at the age of 71.  Bill served in the position during the George H.W. Bush Administration in the 1990’s and again under President Donald Trump.  To many people across the Pacific Northwest his name was synonymous with “Spokane”, for he proudly championed his hometown and led many community efforts which improved the city.

From leading groups to pass school bond measures to heading up the effort to build the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Bill was always at the forefront of moving Spokane forward.  He was very involved in several Republican campaigns, including those of U.S. Senator Slade Gorton, Congressman George Nethercutt, Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna.  Even in retirement Bill kept involved, principally through the formation of the community group Spokane Alliance for Fentanyl Education. Bill will be missed by those who knew him, as he made Spokane a better place to live.  Our thoughts are with his wife Deborah and their family. (Spokesman-Review)

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