Elections -- Watching the Results

Seattle decided they like the city the way it is and elected government labor-backed progressives to six of the seven seats up for election. Kshama Sawant’s come-from-behind 'victory' will make her the most senior member of the council having won in a similar fashion in 2013.

Sen. Maureen Walsh announces retirement after 28 years of service

State Senator Maureen Walsh (R-College Place) announced last week that she will be retiring from public service after a career that started as a Legislative Assistant, then being elected to the State House in 2005, and finally moving to the Senate in 2016. Sen. Walsh was instrumental in creating the state’s Department of Early Learning. State Representative Bill Jenkin and former Walla Walla County Commissioner Perry Dozier have both announced that they will seek Walsh’s seat in 2020.

Seattle, King County move to block voter-approved $30 car tabs

Washington state voters approved I-976, the initiative to reduce car tabs to $30. The passage of the measure represents a rebuke of Sound Transit and government mismanagement of taxpayer dollars. Unfortunately, Democrats have no need for democracy, and plan to ignore the will of the people. Seattle and King County officials hope to block the voter-approved measure by filing a lawsuit in King County Superior Court.

Spokane voters agree with open, transparent union negotiations

With an overwhelming majority of nearly 80%, Spokane voters approved a city charter amendment requiring the city to conduct open collective bargaining negotiations. Previously, the city’s executive team and the city’s powerful unions have conducted the negotiations in secret. Spokane citizens now have the right to keep track of how city officials negotiate with their tax dollars. Additionally, government employees now have the right to see the tactics used by union executives on their behalf.

Spokane voters make a local income tax impossible

As a precaution against any future plans Democrats may have, Spokane voters pre-emptively banned a local income tax by approving Proposition 2 overwhelmingly. Spokane voters’ ban comes as Seattle fights to implement a local income tax. In July, an appeals court found the state’s blanket ban of an income tax was unconstitutional. The case will head to the state Supreme Court.

Washington voters likely reject affirmative action referendum

Though votes are still being counted, Washington voters seem to have rejected a measure seeking to reinstate the use of racist affirmative action, particularly in state employment and admission to public colleges and universities. Referendum 88 sought to amend a law passed more than two decades that banned state government from discriminating against individuals or groups on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin. The proposed amendment sought to allow state-run institutions to consider minority group membership as a factor in assessing qualified applicants. It would also have destroyed long-standing automatic preferences in the law for our veterans.