Actually, this one broke late last week, but Shift was so busy covering other Attorney General Bob Ferguson scandals in the days after the launch of his exploratory campaign for governor that we had to save this one. Once again, according to the folks at Center Square, the office that AG Ferguson is allegedly leading is under fire for playing fast and loose with the rules. You know, the kind of thing – “engaged in ‘unethical and unlawful conduct’” that a full-time leader might notice, as opposed to one who is “exploring” his next career move while you are paying him for the current one.

The details are a tad dense, but suffice to say it appears that AG Ferguson was advising/favoring one bidder (which happened to be his client) on a contract that was supposed to be competitively awarded. The complaints against the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) “alleged that AGO employees engaged in numerous ethical and legal violations regarding the procurement of goods and services in an effort to ensure WSU, a client of the AGO’s and the only university to put in a bid, received the contract.” You can read more about what candidate Ferguson is not telling other bidders for his services here… Shift, Center Square

The announcement barely a week old that Governor Jay Inslee was finally retiring has generated many new campaigns and even more rumors.  One that made the national rounds and then back to the Vancouver Columbian and on to the Spokane Spokesman-Review is that former Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler is considering a run for governor’s office. According to one of the congresswoman’s major supporters, “(Herrera Beutler) is engaged in exploratory conversations about a gubernatorial bid and is ‘definitely thinking about it.’ ” More rumor-mongering is here… Shift, Spokesman-Review

The weekend before the recent legislative session imploded in a flurry of insults flying from Governor Jay Inslee and other Democrats, some of the legislative staff were taking a quick victory lap gloating that the legislature would wrap up on time yet again under Democrat control. That’s not something heard so much now, since KUOW reports that Governor Inslee has called the Democrats back mid-month for a special session drug deal that they have not yet reached. More Democrat gaslighting about caring about public safety can be read here … Shift, KUOW.

The devastating visuals coming from Seattle’s streets daily can obscure the fact that the Democrats’ soft-on-crime legislative approach has had devastating results across our state.  The latest community checking in with a reminder of the state’s staggering criminal losses is Vancouver, with a Columbian op-ed citing from a local event that “our state’s retail sector lost nearly $3 billion in 2021 from organized crime, money that could otherwise have bolstered struggling stores, flowed to employee wages and increased tax receipts. Since then, losses have continued.”

Unfortunately for business owners, it seems that Democrats in Olympia were not too bothered by this uptick in criminal activity. Indeed, “(R)etail representatives were critical of legislators for a vehicular pursuit bill not addressing stolen vehicles and for leaving the matter of the Blake decision unresolved.” That dereliction of duty left the author concerned that until “the political will to fight crime stiffens in Olympia, the burden will remain on the retail sector to defend their premises and balance sheets.” More about retail reality here… The Columbian.

In ongoing coverage of a story which must have drawn eye rolls from news anchors across the country, the rain in Seattle’s bus tunnel appears to have stopped enough this morning to allow the regular commute to slowly resume. At least, according to KOMO, the tunnel’s leaking roof was repaired more quickly than anticipated, though it must be noted that the “damage was more significant than Sound Transit originally thought … (A)s it stands, Sound Transit has a contractor hired to work under emergency authority and is planning a temporary repair this week.” A glimpse at what “temporary” could mean here… KOMO

Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney joined us for this week’s Newsmaker Interview. He shared his thoughts on the failure of the Democrat-controlled legislature to fix the serious public safety problems they created with activist-inspired laws passed in 2021. Sheriff Fortney also criticized Olympia lawmakers for failing to pass a strict drug possession law. And he explained his innovative “Lead The Way” program which seeks to steer teenagers away from a criminal pathway. Read more.

INSLEE PRIORITIES TO BRAG ABOUT – MORE LAWS, MORE TAXES, LESS RESULTS

PROVIDING PERSPECTIVE ON DHINGRA’S ANTI-POLICE PERSPECTIVE JUST IN TIME FOR AG ANNOUNCEMENT

BINDA SAGA CONTINUES IN LYNNWOOD – LETTER WARS BEGIN!

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