Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson will likely continue to receive favorable press from the Seattle Times and other state newspapers as his office is currently drafting up legislation which will provide publishers with additional breaks from state taxes.  In an item we put aside last week, the Seattle Times ran a 1,000-word column from its “Free Press Editor” Brier Dudley which reads like a press release from a Ferguson campaign.  It was full of praise for the governor wannabe and glowing quotes about the importance of a “free press.”  There was no quote from anyone who opposes the tax break for publishers, or any reason given for why this might not be good policy.

Those who are skeptical might wonder if the Times would provide similar coverage if a Republican lawmaker was proposing substantial tax breaks to seafood processors, realtors, construction companies, or any other industry. The tax break arguments for these business segments are just as legitimate as they are for newspaper publishers. While this is hypothetical, it is fair to believe that articles about these legislative efforts would contain quotes from the opposition about giving tax cuts to corporations while low-income workers are forced to pay high fuel and property taxes.

The Seattle Times has constantly been very favorable to Attorney General Ferguson.  When liberal rioters were assaulting police officers and even attempted to murder many of them during the 2020 Seattle riots, the Times never mentioned that our state’s top law enforcement officer went missing.  Shouldn’t a free press provide the public with specifics about where our elected officials stood during these historic events? Shouldn’t a free press let us know whether Ferguson stood with police officers or with his liberal supporters who were attacking officers with baseball bats and Molotov cocktails?  And when AG Ferguson spouts his outrage over the events of January 6^th, wouldn’t a true free press point to his hypocrisy in that he has never condemned the political violence carried out by his supporters?

It is difficult to believe that the Times currently covers Attorney General Ferguson with the same amount of scrutiny with which they cover non-liberal political figures, and if the AG is successful with pushing through this tax cut for newspaper publishers, it is hard to imagine they ever will.  Is this good for a “free press?” For it is difficult to be a watchdog of the state’s political establishment when you become dependent on this establishment to fund your business. (Seattle Times, KOMO News, and KING5 News)

Seattle City Councilmember Tammy Morales posted a tweet yesterday which she likely believed supported her position that more liberal housing policies are needed, though the tweet actually reveals facts which prove what a colossal failure liberal policies have been in reducing the housing gap for many minority groups.  The councilmember referenced a new report by the Washington State Department of Commerce, which Councilmember Morales claims shows that the “housing gap is BIGGER today than in the 1960s.” She went on to say that it is worse today than it was 60 years ago when “housing discrimination & redlining were legal.”

By the councilmember’s own admission, 60 years of liberal housing policies have made things worse for people of color to purchase a home.  So, if our goal is to increase home ownership in the Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, and other BIPOC communities, wouldn’t it be racist to continue to support liberal housing policies which have a 60-year track record of making things worse?

Seattle continues to be a test market for liberal policies.  There are absolutely no moderates or conservatives involved in writing the city’s laws, and this has been true for over 20 years.  Ask yourself,  is Seattle’s homeless problem worse or better then it was a generation ago?  How about public safety? How about public education? Councilmember Morales admits housing is worse.  It is difficult to find one facet of Seattle civic life which is better today than it was before the start of the new millennium. These facts would lead most reasonable people to abandon failed liberal policies and look for solutions which actually work.  (Councilmember Tammy Morales Twitter and Washington State Department of Commerce Housing report)

The contract the Seattle School Board approved this week with the Seattle Education Association (teachers union) will leave the district with an $187 million budget shortfall, and not even school board members know where they will get the money.  When asked about Seattle Public Schools’ (SPS) budget deficit,  School Board President Brandon Hersey said, “Do we currently know the best strategies to figure out how to accommodate that (pay for the teachers’ contract) within our subsequent budgets? We made it very clear that the answer to that question is no.”

SPS was already running a deficit (due to the loss of state and federal funding after a nearly 10% drop in student enrollment) before it caved into the teachers’ demands to settle the union’s illegal strike.  The new contract will mean the district will face a $47.5 million deficit in 2023-2024 school year and $139 million for 2024-2025. Currently the district’s budget is just over $1.1 billion.

There are indication that the district will look to Washington State taxpayers to pay for its poor money management. School Board member Leslie Harris hinted at that when she said, “The Legislature has not in any way, shape or form done right by the school districts, school districts staffs, and most importantly the students in Washington state public schools K-12. Frankly I don’t see that changing anytime soon unless we get together and leverage.” If the legislature does bailout the SPS, than there is no reason for any school district in the state to be fiscally responsible with taxpayers’ money.  (Crosscut)

King County Executive Dow Constantine continues to purchase hotels and apartment buildings to shelter homeless individuals, but the problem is that the homeless individuals aren’t moving in.  The county has only met half of its target occupancy rate as five of the 10 proposed shelters remain empty. Failed liberal policies led Executive Constantine and then-Seattle Mayor Ed Murray to declare a state of emergency over homelessness in 1995.  Since then, more liberal policies have made the crisis even worse.  So Executive Constantine has used the worsening crisis to rapidly expand King County’s subsidized housing programs by secretly buying properties in neighborhoods across the county, causing many residents to complain about the executive forcing these shelters into their communities.

When county officials were asked why so many of the properties remain empty they said, “There are not enough people doing this work. And there are not enough people who can afford to do this work.” This translates into “The county needs to increase taxes so it can hire more government employees at an even higher salary so they can convince people living on the street to move into free housing.” The county also blamed the delay on local residents who have fought against having a large homeless shelters opening in their neighborhood and next to their schools. (Seattle Times)

Seattle firefighters are experiencing an increased number of physical attacks due to liberal policies which have caused the shortage of police officers and a surge in drug overdoses.  The Seattle Police Department has been forced to reduce the number of calls it respond to due to the mass exodus of more than 400 officers since the end of 2020.  As the result, firefighters are put into unsafe situations without protection. Also, there has been a sharp increase in drug overdoses since the Democrats in the Washington Legislature essentially decriminalized possessing dangerous drugs.  Firefighters state that drug overdose calls often turn volatile. (KOMO News)

King County Metro drivers report an increase in crime and drug usage on their buses, often causing unsafe conditions for those on board.  Despite  far fewer passengers, bus drivers say there has been an increase in the number of unlawful incidents on their routes.  There is often open drug use and fights between passengers. On September 11^th a passenger was arrested while carrying two Molotov cocktails. A spokesman for the union which represents the bus drivers said the problem is lack of arrest of those conducting illegal activity.  He said, “A little bit of enforcement will go a long way, the word will spread if you ride the bus and are held accountable to the Code of Conduct.” (KING5 News)

Officials are not sure when Highway 2 (Stevens pass) will reopen as crews will let the wildfire run its course.  So far nearly 12,000 acres have burned.  Previously, fire fighter officials in the region had warned that due to Governor Inslee’s vaccine mandate, they were fearful that they would not be able to call up enough crew members to fight the fires.  (KPQ Radio and Wenatchee World)

Another calf was killed by wolves as the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) deliberates what to do next. The calf was killed on a farm in Stevens County in Northeast Washington.  It is believed that a wolf from the Smackout pack was responsible.  WDFW had halted lethal removal of wolves  a few weeks ago after a wolf from another pack was mistakenly killed.  The Stevens County wolf attack was seventh since mid-August. (Capital Press)

Shift’s Newsmaker Interview was with community leader, business owner, and Marine veteran Dan Johnson, the 42^nd Legislative District Republican House candidate in the open Position 2 contest.  Johnson grew up in Whatcom County, where he owned and operated his family’s tow truck business until it was sold in 2019.  Johnson worked, as a private citizen in 2009 with then State Representative Doug Ericksen to write the strong DUI legislation known as “Hailey’s Law” (the legislation was revised in 2020 to incorporate a Washington State Supreme Court ruling). His campaign recently released a video of Johnson driving around Bellingham while describing how failed liberal crime, drug, and homeless policies have had a negative impact on the community.

In his Shift Interview, Johnson outlines his legislative agenda to reverse the Democrats’ disastrous anti-police package to “restore a safe living environment for our citizens”, implement meaningful emergency powers reform, and to provide Washington residents with tax relief by reducing the state’s property, sales, and fuel taxes.  Johnson also provides a timeless classic as one of his all-time favorite books. (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

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