Now that folks have had a day to recover from the shock of the Democrats’ abrupt collapse late Sunday, at the end of a legislative session they promised to finish on time but will now require an overtime period, the only thing left is assigning the blame for the failure. Of course, Democrat “leaders” like Governor Jay Inslee started on that even before their weekend drug deal fell apart, but as the Seattle Times quoted outgoing Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox, “There should have been no surprise about the result.”(House Democrats) got caught up in an unfortunate ideological conflict and didn’t have a way out of it.”

The result of that conflict is the failure to fix the state’s current failing drug policy, and now all drugs will be officially legal in Washington State on July 1 (though that may not differ much from the reality today in places like Seattle). Cities and counties can take it upon themselves to make public drug use and possession illegal again within their borders or continue the losing game of waiting for the state to take meaningful action.  And any action to make drug use a crime is dead for many Democrats, as The Stranger reported from behind the Democrats’ closed caucus doors that “Rep. Roger Goodman, who led the House on the bill as chair of the chamber’s Law & Justice Committee, said the gross misdemeanor (penalty) sparked a ‘revolt’ in the caucus on Friday. A large faction of progressives — mostly from Seattle — felt as if the body hadn’t been listening to communities of color on this issue.” You can find out who is listening to who by reading more here. (Shift, Seattle Times, The Stranger)

Just as the partisan political battles are being reduced to a simmer in Olympia, they are cooking with gas over in Spokane, where Mayor Nadine Woodward refuses to let a liberal city council majority dictate city personnel policy to her. The latest kerfuffle is over the police chief. The Spokesman-Review reports that Mayor Woodward is on one side, “(C)alling herself a ‘law and order mayor,’” while on the other side, “the City Council was motivated by politics and a dislike of law enforcement” by Woodward’s definition.

That makes for an interesting election year, with the Mayor saying “I am deeply concerned about the council’s insistence on keeping alive a topic that has already gone through an independent investigation by the Office of the Police Ombudsman,” and a Council which wants to tell her what to do. You can read more about the dispute here. (Spokesman-Review)

The spectacular failure of the state’s Democrats to pass any kind of legislation to stop the legalization of drugs is requiring that local elected officials act, and the (Everett) Herald has a good review of how quickly several cities are moving in Snohomish County (which as Shift noted yesterday was moving forward with its own drug policy). As the Herald writes, “Count Sultan mayor Russell Wiita as among those happy the issue, for now, is being left to cities and towns. ‘The bill that was in front of the House would have set us backwards,’ Wiita said. ‘Sending this down to local jurisdictions is a challenge, no one’s arguing that, but we’re going to be in a better place than what we would have been in with that bill.’”

Beyond Sultan, Everett and Lynnwood could join their fellow Snohomish County cities of Marysville, Arlington, and Lake Stevens as cities “with laws on the books to arrest people for simple drug possession.”  More on an area that is fed up with the state’s inaction is here. (Shift, Herald)

Consider it another piece of unfinished business public safety business for legislative Democrats, as the new law to fix the police pursuit bill is already being defined as too little, with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) telling Center Square that “more work will be needed to address community concerns regarding crimes such as motor vehicle theft, organized retail theft, or residential burglary.”  You can read more about the troubles with SB 5352 here. (Center Square)

There are always a few departures after a legislative session, some much more welcome than others (generally when it involves elected officials). One transition notice which crossed the desk this morning causing particular angst for all of us here Shift is that the Washington Policy Center’s Jason Mercier is leaving his research role at the state’s premier think tank for another research and executive role at the Idaho-based Mountain Policy Center. No one has been quoted more often by Shift over the last decade on the state’s misguided fiscal policies than Mr. Mercier – his wit and calm analysis will be missed. You can read more about this unwelcome change – no offense to the WPC’s incoming Government Reform leader State Representative Chris Corry – here. (Washington Policy Center)

And, with every departure announcement is one for a new arrival.  That’s why Shift is pleased to highlight the election of State Representative Drew Stokesbary as the new House Republican Leader. Rep. Stokesbary will be a highly capable successor to Rep. J.T. Wilcox, who announced he was stepping away from the top GOP spot after session adjourned. Read more about the new leader here. (MyNorthwest)

First-term Republican Representative Sam Low (39th LD) joined us for last week’s Newsmaker Interview. Representative Low is a member of the powerful House Rules Committee, as well as the Transportation Committee, the Housing Committee, and the State Government/Tribal Affairs Committee. He shared his thoughts on disappointing bills passed by Democrats like their watered-down version of police pursuit reform, the liberal drug possession measure, the erosion of parental rights, and stricter gun restrictions which he believes the courts will rule is unconstitutional. Read more.

A LAWSUIT FILED FASTER THAN BOB FERGUSON COULD SAY ‘TRUMP’

ANOTHER LAWSUIT DEMOCRATS CAN’T DUCK AFTER DUCKING DURING SESSION

WHILE LEGISLATIVE DEMOCRATS DITHER ON DRUGS, NEIGHBORHOOD AROUND CAPITOL SUFFERS LEGALIZATION IMPACTS

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