July 31, 2020

State Representative Andrew Barkis (R-Yelm) had strong words for Jay Inslee because of the governor’s lack of effort to solve the problems being faced by many property owners due to the governor’s eviction moratorium.  As a KOMO News story points out, many landlords are facing severe financial difficulties because they still must pay bills even without receiving rent checks.  Barkis said despite many good suggestions being brought forward to solve the problem, the governor has failed to listen (likely because the suggestions did not come from an Inslee campaign contributor) and that Inslee’s “lack of leadership is staggering.”  Barkis, whose career has been in property management, said of the governor, “You have been presented with so many solutions, you just choose to ignore them so you can further the Seattle Tenant organizations agenda and continue to legislate via proclamation. Meanwhile more people in Washington suffer as they face losing their homes. Does this really help? When the owner loses their rental home guess what, so does the tenant. Instead of working together to solve this problem, you extended the moratorium for another two and a half months. Good job!!” (KOMO News and Barkis Facebook post)

Controversial Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal is being challenged for re-election by five individuals, of whom all oppose his divisive sex education bill which he passed through the 2020 Democrat-controlled legislature and got signed by Governor Jay Inslee.  By far, the challenger who has earned the most amount of financial support is 30-year-old Lakewood resident Maia Espinoza. Thus far Reykdal has raked in  $94,000 in campaign contributions, mostly from government employee unions (including the Washington Education Association) and from tribal governments (including those who defied state health restrictions to re-open gambling casinos). Besides his sex education bill (which the voters have the opportunity to repeal with Referendum 90 on the November ballot), Reykdal also created controversy when he tweeted on election night (and which he deleted 24 hours later), that the Democrat legislators should punish counties that voted for I-976 (the car tab initiative). Espinoza has obtained nearly all her $67,000 in contributions from Washington State individuals.  If one of the challengers defeats Reykdal, it will be the first time in over 50 years the superintendent was not essentially handpicked by the teachers’ unions. The top two vote receivers in next Tuesday’s primary election will face off in the November general election. (Everett Herald, Public Disclosure Commission reports, Shift, and Twitter)

The Seattle City Council continues to rush forward on its controversial measures to reduce funding of the Seattle police Force by 50%.  Despite most councilmembers recently winning elections promising more police funding, the council has caved into the demands of violent protestors and is reversing course to quickly implement public policies which impact the safety of hundreds of thousands of residents. Councilmember Kshama Sawant selfishly states that it is a “mind-boggling assertion” to take a deliberative course to ensure the changes are done correctly, and that the views of residents who do not protest violently are also considered.  Meanwhile, Mayor Jenny Durkan has proposed a far less radical reduction of the police budget by moving some services to other departments. Washington State Democrat leaders, like Governor Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson are silent, having abandoned the mayor because they are fearful of standing up to those on the radical left. (MyNorthwest)