Friends,

 

Happy Sunday from the team at Shift WA, working since 2013 to shift the political debate in Washington state. We’ve spent the last decade providing people like you with the facts and perspective needed to make a difference in your community. So, as always, we hope to help keep you up to date with an item or two of interest from your own backyard. Read on…

State Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig recently assured the public that his fellow Democrats were no longer hiding public records, but a recent report by Crosscut reveals that’s just not the case. According to Crosscut, the “Washington state Senate has released a new batch of lawmaker emails and text messages that had been redacted using a legally unproven exemption designed to shield government information from the public.” This latest release of long-hidden records contradicts Sen. Billig's earlier statements and raises concerns about the Democrat-controlled legislature's handling of its obligation to disclose information under Washington's Public Records Act. Read this story and more.

 

The Spokane mayoral race is a competitive contest between incumbent Mayor Nadine Woodward and challenger Lisa Brown in a classic conservative vs. liberal showdown. Democrats aim to win the top office in Spokane after a decade of being unsuccessful. One of the key issues dividing the candidates is the growth of the City Council office's budget and staff over the last two decades – particularly during Woodward’s term. Mayor Woodward is citing the budget growth as evidence that the City Council is attempting to overreach and grab power. Read this story and more.

 

In case you missed it…
Everyone knows Governor Jay Inslee's cap-and-tax law, passed during the 2021 COVID-lockdown legislative session, is complex. Now it appears Gov. Inslee is hoping to exploit that complexity to evade accountability for rising gas prices. But doubts about this strategy are emerging. Even the Seattle Times highlighted an expert's criticism of the law's premise, questioning the logic of placing a disproportionate financial burden on one state's consumers to reduce emissions. Read this story and more.

 

Take a moment to enjoy the beautiful photography of Nehalem Beach in Oregon at sunset, courtesy of former U.S. Representative Rod Chandler.