Shift’s Newsmaker Interview is with Kirkland City Councilmember and President Emeritus of the Washington Coalition for Open Government Toby Nixon.  Last week, as part of a national Democrat effort to divert public attention away from the Biden Administration’s disastrous Afghanistan retreat, Washington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler used his office to send out an extremely partisan and divisive press release over new abortion laws in Texas. Nixon immediately filed a complaint against Kreidler with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission over misuse of public funds.  We talk with Nixon about his complaint against Commissioner Kreidler, about the Washington Coalition for Open Government, the push to open negotiations with government unions, and how the City of Kirkland is handling the many problems that are crippling Seattle. (Click to read full Newsmaker Interview)

Late breaking news – a Chelan County Superior Court judge has just denied two motions by Attorney General Bob Ferguson in the Capital Gains/Income Tax lawsuit.  The judge denied Ferguson’s motion to dismiss the case and denied the AG’s motion to change the venue.  (Jerry Cornfield Twitter)

Governor Jay Inslee said at his Thursday media event that Washington State health officials are working with King County on its vaccine verification program.  If this effort goes as well as other COVID-related endeavors performed by the Inslee Administration, then it is doomed for failure.

Not surprisingly, the media members in attendance failed to ask the governor why this effort by the state will go any differently than other programs coordinated by Governor Inslee during the pandemic.

Remember the state’s contract tracing program where the stated goal was to reach 90% of those who tested positive for COVID? The state only reached 6%.  Remember when Washington State was near the very bottom of all states in vaccinating residents during the critical initial weeks the vaccine was available last December and January? How many people became infected with COVID because Inslee’s team was totally unprepared for a mass vaccination effort everyone knew for months was needed in order to slow the spread of the virus?  Remember the wasteful Vaccine Lottery program in which all the grand prize winners had received their vaccines prior the start of the lottery (one grand prize winner didn’t even know the lottery was occurring) and nearly half of the prizes went unclaimed? These are the types of failures which occur when a small group (like Inslee’s team) rejects diverse viewpoints while implementing huge programs onto a statewide population. There are many other failures by Governor Inslee and his team during the pandemic which you can read about here and here.  (Everett Herald, Washington Policy Center, Shift, and  Seattle Times)

The Democrats’ poorly planned Long-Term Care Insurance program has run into a serious glitch – no insurance company is currently offering long-term care insurance plans to Washington State residents.  Insurers have figured out that Washington consumers plan to purchase coverage for only a year in order to receive an exemption from the new state payroll tax.  After a year, the consumer will simply drop the coverage.  This is obviously not a profitable business plan for insurers.  One official within the Washington State Insurance Commissioner’s office admitted there was a problem when she stated, “There are 12 companies [in the state] that can sell long-term care stand-alone policies, and 22 can sell riders, and we’re finding that none of the companies are writing new business right now.” Thus there is no way for workers to purchase private plans which would exempt them from the state payroll tax.  The state official’s only response to this major problem was to tell state residents to continue to waste time by repeatedly calling insurance companies to see if they have suddenly reversed course and have resumed selling long-term care plans.   Washington residents must have long-term insurance coverage by November 1^st to be exempt from the 0.58% payroll tax which will take effect in January. (MyNorthwest)

Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy Center points out a politically relevant comment made during last night’s broadcast of the NFL game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.  NBC announcer Al Michaels stated that one of the arguments Buccaneer QB Tom Brady used to convince Tight End Rob Gronkowski to sign with Tampa Bay is that Florida does not have a state income tax. Washington State used to make the same argument to companies who were considering investing in facilities in our state.  Recruiting talented people to our state is just one of many legitimate arguments against the income tax Democrats keep trying impose on Washington residents. (Facebook post)

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan refused to say whether she would actually fire police officers or other city workers who refuse to adhere to her vaccination mandate by October 18^th.  The mayor clumsily dodged several attempts by Q13 reporter Brandi Kruse to answer directly what would happen if a city worker refused to be vaccinated.  There have been many media reports that some police officers, City Light workers, and other city employees were going to fight the mayor’s vaccination orders. The mayor has repeatedly said she expects all city employees will agree to receive the COVID vaccine. Referencing the mayor’s ridiculous CHAZ statements from last summer, Kruse asked Durkan if her unsupported optimism is yet another example of her “sunny ‘Summer of Love’ disposition.” The mayor responded by saying she believes she will never have to decide whether to fire an employee because she “has every optimism that people will follow through and do what is right.” (Brandi Kruse Twitter)

Two reports of Asian Giant Hornets in Whatcom County were confirmed by state officials yesterday.  One of the hornets was fitted with a radio transmitter to help state entomologists locate the hornets’ nest so that it can be eradicated. (KGMI)

Senator Brad Hawkins (R – East Wenatchee) said an informal survey of his Central Washington constituents reveals most do not support various state mandates that have been imposed by Governor Inslee.  60% don’t support the state forcing school workers, state employees, or health professionals to be vaccinated. 56% were against mandating that all students need to wear masks.  Approximately 6,500 12^th Legislative District residents responded to the survey which was promoted in the local media and via Hawkins’ office. (NCW Life Channel)

It has been nearly nine months since Donald Trump left office and Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson is still fixated on the former president.  In a email to his supporters, Ferguson went back four years to discuss how a few people in his office actually had to work on a weekend in order to file a lawsuit against President Trump’s immigration policy.   Yet this only reminds many people how partisan Ferguson is and how he continues to use taxpayer money to push his liberal agenda.  While President Biden’s immigration policies on the Mexican border has led to more mayhem and more possible violation of rights, Ferguson has refused to file a lawsuit against his fellow Democrat.  Thus in Ferguson’s world there is one set of rules for Democrats and a more restrictive set of rules for everyone else. (Ferguson campaign email)

Isaiah Paine of the Spokane Home Builders Association identifies the Seattle law firm which has filed lawsuits attacking citizen initiatives in Seattle (on homelessness) and Spokane (on natural gas) because the opinions of the firm’s rich liberal clients matter more than the citizens’ opinions about their own communities.  Paine writes, “The truth is these far-left individuals and organizations knew that voters in Seattle and Spokane would pass both initiatives if presented on the November ballot. So instead of losing fair and square in a battle of ideas, they took the opportunity away from voters before they even had a chance to cast a ballot.” And you wonder why liberals pay so much attention to appointing and electing far-Left judges in Washington State? (Click to read full Guest Editorial)

BABYLONBEE FRIDAY!

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