Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s attempt to break Washington’s campaign finance laws, and hide the names of his campaign donors so they can give him more money than legally allowed, remains a moving target, with the state’s Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) still deciding whether to make him follow the rules all other candidates must follow. But the Seattle Times editorial board decided it’s time to weigh in on the months-old scandal, concluding that “This is Ferguson’s chance to show that he is more than just a lawyer, that he is a champion of public disclosure and open government. Lawyers look for technicalities. Governors uphold the spirit and intent of the law, too.”

Of course, AG Ferguson has not shown any remorse for grabbing illegal campaign cash and hiding its source from the public, as Shift has highlighted. Indeed, as the Times points out, “what’s unseemly about the transfer is that Ferguson isn’t saying who those donors are or how much they gave. He transferred the money mere days before the state Public Disclosure Commission clarified that in the spirit of transparent campaign finances, candidates should share that information.” You can read more about how the governor wannabe continues to play fast and loose with the truth – and law – here…Seattle Times, Shift.

Traffic data doesn’t lie, and post-Covid downtown Seattle is a shell of its former self.  As KIRO radio reports, “Vehicle trips and transit rides are still way below pre-COVID levels at 18 of 20 large downtowns, including Seattle”, adding that the city’s traffic is down 27% from pre-Covid levels, which trails only three California cities (San Francisco, LA, and Sacramento) and Detroit in terms of loss of activity.

Of course, given the well-documented safety problems (and just trash) on Seattle’s streets, from random shootings to street racing, it’s a wonder that the numbers aren’t worse.  You can even read that “transit ridership into downtown Seattle is also way off — 35% below pre-COVID levels” here… KIRO radio.

There are certainly plenty of unintended consequences thanks to government’s over-reaction to Covid – from billions fraudulently transferred to criminals in the name of relief, to massive learning loss among children locked out of their schools – but a recent trend was very much intended by big government – an increase in the state’s ability to monitor its citizens.  At least that’s the takeaway from a Crosscut article which highlights that “across the state, one-time federal relief dollars are bankrolling increasingly sophisticated means of surveilling the public with few legal safeguards. Local governments have acquired mobile camera trailers, license-plate readers, gunshot detection software, drones and body cameras, and have installed security cameras in parks, marinas, jails and courthouses.”

The concern about all this money flowing unchecked into high technology comes from one defense attorney, who points out that “history shows that law enforcement and governments are very bad at regulating themselves, so the application gets broader and broader and generally moves into various kinds of social repression.” You can read about how the state can keep a better eye on you here… Crosscut.

One of the unforeseen realities of Governor Jay Inslee’s Covid shutdowns is that the state really doesn’t need all thatmany of its workers to come into the office to keep government functioning. As the Washington Observer noted “some 30 percent of the state agency workforce is teleworking, according to Michaela Doelman of OFM, who briefed lawmakers during their Tuesday get-together. One key takeaway from that figure is that most of them are in Olympia and greater Thurston County and 50 percent of them telework three days a week at bare minimum.”

Now that state legislators know that the state’s workers don’t like to come into the office, “lawmakers are understandably less than happy about paying for pricy real estate that’s only sort of used. It’s why the state is determined to slash office space by 30 percent come 2027, saving it a projected $20 million in the process.” But, for the state, it’s never as easy as doing the rational thing. You can find out why it’s unlikely the state will actually stop wasting millions of your money renting empty offices here… Washington Observer.

From the beginnings of the last legislative session, one of the controversial and high-profile issues pushed by the far-Left in the Senate Democrat caucus was a bill to allow the state to hide runaway minor children from their parents if the child only claimed that they were seeking an abortion or sex-change procedures. Shift highlighted a particularly noxious op-ed by Senator Marko Liias on the bill in question in February, where he deliberately misled the public on what his bill did.

And it appears that Sen. Liias’ “word” was enough for Seattle Times’ Danny Westneat to embrace the falsehoods about what the law allows, and attack the efforts of all those who opposed the bill. For the veteran Times’ columnist, it was enough that “when the former president’s toxic son, Donald Trump Jr., started weighing in on Washington state politics in April, I admit it put me a little on edge.” You can read more about how Mr. Westneat has talked himself off that ledge here… Shift, Seattle Times.

Are you attending the 2023 Summer Freedom Fest hosted by Let’s Go Washington? This year’s hosts include KVI 570 Radio’s John Carlson and [un]Divided’s Brandi Kruse. Learn more here.

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