Just another night of mug shots from "mostly peaceful" Portland protestors arrested for arson, assault, and other peaceful activities...
Andy Ngo, Portland journalist, documenting Antifa
Andy Ngo has been doing thankless yeoman’s work in Portland documenting the 100 days of recent rioting and the years of Antifa violence which predated the recent round of “mostly peaceful” violence in that city. While Seattle, Olympia, and other cities in Washington State and around the nation do their best to imitate the nightly street circus and chaos unfolding in Portland (often with the Antifa crew who has been practicing in Portland), these cities are still having a tough time competing with the volume of “mostly peaceful” violence in Portland.
Andy Ngo was a panelist and spoke at the Roanoke Conference earlier this year in Ocean Shores (just before the state went into Inslee’s Covid-19 lockdown theatre). This was the first time I had a chance to meet and visit with him after his panel presentation. I had only followed his good work online before that time. He has been doing thankless work for years now documenting the Antifa crews and their “mostly peaceful” arson and violence. He also has been helping to publish their mug shots as they are arrested, which is a great way to meet the crew who wants to hurt you, but first they need to remove or defund the police.
Andy Ngo, after Antifa assaulted him in Portland
Andy made national news when he was assaulted and hospitalized in a “mostly peaceful” manner last year. This “mostly peaceful” assault by Antifa at the time helped catapult Andy Ngo into a bigger national spotlight. Andy’s biggest crime, of course, was reporting the truth about Antifa, and this just can’t be allowed. Since that time, of course, the Antifa trial runs in Portland have only helped to grow the “mostly peaceful” riots and they have escalated to the recent crescendo we are witnessing today (and if you are in the mainstream corporate news – you are ignoring it as your agenda demands).
I encourage everyone to go to #PortlandMugshots and read any of the articles Andy has been writing as a first hand witness to the nightly “mostly peaceful” insanity in Portland and elsewhere in Washington State (you can also support Andy directly here). Nobody has done a better job documenting the Antifa gang and their efforts to commit “mostly peaceful” violence, arson, assaults, and shootings in the Pacific Northwest. I also want to leave you with some of the best photos of the Antifa gang. These are the folk who want to rule your lives, and who clearly know best what is good for the rest of us. While I’m sure they are inspiring to each other and maybe the professors at Evergreen State College, it is less clear that they represent a very rational or reasonable approach to local governance. Once they abolish the police, they have clearly indicated they plan to come after the rest of us next – in a “mostly peaceful” violent way, of course.
Washington’s Governor Inslee also wears a mask, but the damage he is doing to Washington State is more permanent and worse than his Antifa allies
This gang (Antifa/BLM/insert whatever name sounds cool here) currently occupies the homeless/drug addict camps (see video here), they control the institutions of “higher learning” like Evergreen State College (see Benjamin Boyce’s excellent videos about this institution), and they have strong allies in the Democratic Party throughout the nation. Many local Democratic Party politicians will not condemn them or distance themselves from them (although they all claim they don’t support “violence”).
I’m skeptical their brand of fiery and violent “peace” is what the rest of us want, but they are coming for us regardless. We might as well face who they are. Tell me what you think about putting these guys and their political friends in charge of anything. ANYTHING? Be sure to give Andy Ngo your support, if you can. We need more people like him out there documenting the insanity as it unfolds in our communities.
34-year-old Nicholas James Armstrong, aka Nikki Jameson
Meet 34-year-old Nicholas James Armstrong, aka Nikki Jameson, a Seattle guy
NICHOLAS JAMES ARMSTRONG/NIKKI JAMESON IS A SEATTLE-AREA TRANSSEXUAL ANTIFA MILITANT WHO WAS ARRESTED YESTERDAY & CHARGED WITH RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT. SHE ALSO HAS A CRIMINAL RECORD IN IDAHO, WHERE THIS BOOKING PHOTO IS FROM. MORE DETAILS: HTTPS://T.CO/7M1JJSZY2M#ANTIFAMUGSHOTSPIC.TWITTER.COM/VGS4BFPELE
OUR CONSTITUTION BEGINS WITH THE PHRASE “WE THE PEOPLE.” IT WAS THE FOUNDER’S INTENT THAT GOVERNMENT BE CREATED BY THE PEOPLE, TO SERVE THE PEOPLE. IT WASN’T THEIR INTENTION FOR THE PEOPLE TO SERVE THE GOVERNMENT. IT WAS ALWAYS INTENDED THAT GOVERNMENT WHICH FAILED TO SERVE THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE “ALTERED OR ABOLISHED.” UNTIL WE RETURN TO THE FOUNDER’S INTENT, WE REMAIN WE THE GOVERNED…
When the Inslee administration dropped random and poorly drafted agritourism and farm regulations recently, there was little concern from the Governor's office about how he hurts local farms. This has benn a pattern with the Inslee administration.
About five days after this video was published, the Inslee administration came out and started walking back some of the more egregious abusive parts of the agritourism rules his office was arbitrarily imposing on local farms. This has become a pattern of behavior from the Inslee administration where they randomly and with little warning and no input (from the people the rules actually impact – there does appear to be input from donors and special interests), they impose abusive regulatory rules on targeted industries, businesses or populations in the state. Since these often are impractical and often irrational, there is blow-back and frustration by the impacted parties as they expose the poor regulatory diktats invented by the Governor and his staff. Eventually, when the frustration and protests reach an adequate crescendo, then the Governor’s staff will quietly make some random changes in the rules. Sometimes the changes are for the better, sometimes they are more confusing, and sometimes these changes launch a new round of confusion.
None of this changes the basic question – Does Governor Inslee really care about the harm he inflicts? The answer appears to be only if it could impact his mega-donor base and the deep pockets of the special interests who fund his political ambitions. Otherwise, not so much.
OUR CONSTITUTION BEGINS WITH THE PHRASE “WE THE PEOPLE.” IT WAS THE FOUNDER’S INTENT THAT GOVERNMENT BE CREATED BY THE PEOPLE, TO SERVE THE PEOPLE. IT WASN’T THEIR INTENTION FOR THE PEOPLE TO SERVE THE GOVERNMENT. IT WAS ALWAYS INTENDED THAT GOVERNMENT WHICH FAILED TO SERVE THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE “ALTERED OR ABOLISHED.” UNTIL WE RETURN TO THE FOUNDER’S INTENT, WE REMAIN WE THE GOVERNED…
The Washington State Republicans had better than expected results in the 2020 Primary elections, but there is a long winding road before the general election in November
The Washington State Republican Party insiders were approaching the 2020 election with few expectations of success. There was a general treading water attitude and hoping for the best. This seemed to be the most common view behind closed doors (and often in public statements). However with the drawn out process of counting mail-in ballots over several weeks, the final election numbers are a source of optimism for some around the state. Let’s dig into the details
Governor Jay Inslee demonstrates how to wear a mask
Primary Election Results Overview
First, the 2020 primary election results had the highest voter turnout since the 1960s (Presidential Year Primary turnout). Primary elections have a notoriously low participation rate, yet Washington State’s recent election had a participation rate of 54.44% of the vote – see here. This may still seem low, but compare it to 2016 (34.88% – see here), 2012 (38.48% – see here), and 2008 (42.6% – see here). In theory, the higher the turnout in the primary, the more relevant the voting results will be in November. If past Presidential elections are any indication, we should expect a turnout result of 85-89% (of registered voters – if you want to see these historic stats go here). Of course, this is 2020, and all bets are off for a normal election season with Covid chaos, Seattle riots, Mask-panic, and no kids in the classroom.
Statewide offices
We already discussed the Governor’s race (see here), but Republican candidate Loren Culp broke out from a crowded Republican challenger field with 17.4% of the vote. Incumbent Governor Inslee cruised through the primary with 50.14%. If all the Republican candidates in the field were added together, this would result in about 45% of the vote. It is still a steep climb and an impressive performance if Culp were to win the Governor’s race in November. If Culp went home and binge watched Netflix and didn’t do anything else between now and November, he would get 41% of the vote (here is a Republican who proved this in 2016). The combination of a good campaign, motivated voters, and a less than enthusiastic support for Inslee must combine to close this gap, and the race will be determined by this middle 10%. For reference, In 2016, Republican Bill Bryant earned 45.61% of the vote. In 2012, Republican Rob McKenna received 48.46%. In 2008, Republican Dino Rossi got 46.76%.
Joshua Freed, Republican Write-in Candidate for Lt. Governor
In the Lieutenant Governor’s race, the Republicans bumbled into their own worst nightmare (which I referenced as a potential problem in this article before the election) by splitting the Republican vote four ways, which ensured only two Democrats will be on the ballot in November. The two Democrats are former Congressman Denny Heck and fully “Woke” State Senator Marko Liias. While the Republicans appear to be gearing up for a write in campaign, it isn’t yet clear how organized or well known that effort will be across the state. Heck (and nearly all Democrat Party insiders) is presuming he will be elected, but Liias could be hoping for the Republican write-in effort under the presumption this would siphon Republican votes away from Heck, who is widely perceived by insider Republicans as slightly better than Liias. Josh Freed appears to be the Republican choice for this write-in effort, so this will be a real test to see how effectively the Republicans can communicate to voters the need to write “Josh Freed” on the write in line on their ballots.
In the Attorney General race, Republican Matt Larkin prevailed over his two primary Republican rivals to take on Incumbent Democrat Bob Ferguson, who, between filing his 66th and 67th lawsuit against the Federal government is likely to campaign very lightly over the next few months. Ferguson feels comfortable with his 55% front runner status from the primary. Last place finisher, and former chair of the Mainstream Republicans Mike Vaska had a surprisingly poor showing at 8.22%, and after his 2004 defeat for the same position, where he received 8.77% in the primary, edging out the Libertarian candidate that year to avoid last place (see results here), he might be hoping third time will be the charm. Ferguson has used this political office for partisan persecution and grandstanding unlike any AG in recent memory, but this abuse of office has also made him popular among supportive partisan voters.
Kim Wyman, Secretary of State
Incumbent Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman came out ahead, but only slightly with 50.89% of the vote. Some votes were siphoned from her column to Independent candidate Minger (3.62%), due to a voter’s guide screwup by the Culp campaign. This probably gives the George Soros backed groups pushing Democrat candidate Tarleton in the general a bit of hope, but the odds generally support a Wyman victory this year. Wyman has prevailed in tightly contested races before. The other incumbent Republican holding State wide office – State Treasurer Duane Davidson is facing an uphill fight after receiving 46.67% of the vote in the two person primary, but he is still within striking distance of victory if Democrat candidate Pellicciotti chokes or has a bad night. As two of the few Republicans to hold state-wide offices anywhere on the West Coast, these races will be watched closely by both sides of the partisan divide around the nation.
Chris Leyba
For the State Auditor’s race, challenger Republican Chris Leyba faces off against incumbent Pat McCarthy. McCarthy only received 47% in the primary, but this doesn’t include the other Democrat challenger who was bounced in the primary with 11% of the vote. While McCarthy’s office has botched one of the worst frauds in Washington State government history at the Employment Security Department (see article here), her policy of “see no evil, hear no evil, find no evil” has been popular in Olympia’s government bureaucrat circles and will help ensure total support from Democratic Party and government union insiders. Lebya will need to inspire more votes to come his way if he is to prevail in November.
Mike Kreidler
The Office of Insurance Commissioner will remain in Democratic Party control next year. Libertarian candidate Anthony Welti was bounced in the primary election, receiving only 13.67% of the vote. Welti had studied this office, campaigned hard, and raised money, yet he could not overcome a young Republican candidate who filed to run at the last minute and describes himself as an “autistic savant.”The impressively unqualified Republican challenger Chirayu Patel and the fossilized Democrat incumbent Mike Kreidler is a political face off created for a Saturday Night Live skit. Their 70 year age difference will make for an interesting contrast with one person who knows nothing and the other who has forgotten everything. While the truth is often stranger than fiction, the disappointing loss of Welti in this race sends a strong signal to Libertarians that their chances on any ballot position are exceedingly low if a member of both parties is in the same race – regardless of how effectively they campaign. While this race is a disappointment, at least this election result will demonstrate that sometimes elections really don’t matter.
Sue Pederson
In the Commissioner of Public Lands race, incumbent Democrat Hilary Franz fared worse than expected with her 51% finish to lead the primary. Franz aborted her campaign for Governor when Governor Inslee wisely bailed on his failed campaign for President. Franz came into this reelection race with 10x more cash than all her opponents combined, and she squandered her campaign cash profligately. Republican challenger Republican Sue Pederson came through the primary easily, but will still have a massive challenge in the fall. At least voters get a real choice in this election.
Maia Espinoza
Democrat incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal had the most dismal numbers of any statewide incumbent this election cycle.He barely cleared 40%, and the Republican challenger Maia Espinoza will be a strong contender in the fall. This is particularly true since Reykdal sued Espinoza to remove language from her voter’s guide statement which called out his strong support for sex ed curriculum which teaches sexual positions to 4th graders. While Reykdal got the typically tame Thurston Superior Court judges to go along with his effort (Thurston County Superior Court is widely recognized as the place where the Constitution goes to die) , the Washington State Supreme Court actually decided to reject Reykdal’s efforts to silence Espinoza. The offending language will be back in the voter’s guide statement in the fall, and Espinoza is riding this wave (on top of the R-90 effort to reject Reykdal’s pet sex ed curriculum bill, which will be on the ballot in the fall too). On top of this, Reykdal’s efforts to trash every child’s education in Washington State this year with the Covid fear porn effort doesn’t seem likely to endear him to angry parents trying to manage kid’s distant zoom “education” efforts. This is a race Republicans can win this year. It would be hard to imagine a better set of circumstances to take out a normally strong incumbent. A combination of abrasive elitist arrogance, abusive policies, tone-deaf tweets, and erratic behavior have weakened this incumbent.
State Legislature (House and Senate)
The Republicans were likely to pick up at least a few seats this year, even if they botched everything and screwed up most of their campaigns. The 2018 elections did not go well for the Republicans in the state legislature (both State House and Senate), so the pendulum was bound to shift towards Republicans at least a little. However, based on the primary election results, it seems like Republicans are poised to do far better than the low expectations set for them. Here are the races to watch:
19th Legislative District(SW Washington – Pacific, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Wakaikum, small part of Lewis Counties)
This district is shifting Republican for the first time since World War II. Trump won this district in 2016. In the recent primary, the Republicans all came out ahead. The Republicans are poised to sweep these seats for good. This will add a Republican to both the state house and senate, and it defends a Republican incumbent.
Rep. Jim Walsh (LD 19)
Jim Walsh – Representative (Position 1) – Jim is the lone Republican incumbent here. He looked strong in the primary (57% against two opponents). He appears to be winning on his own without needing much party support and his numbers are better than ever before. He has been attacked by hundreds of thousands of dollars in attack ads to little effect. His opponent appears unhinged and extreme, which will only help him in the general election.
Joel McEntire – Representative (Position 2) – Joel is challenging longtime incumbent Brian Blake for the second time. Blake is the last of the moderate Democrats in the state house, and I’ve enjoyed discussing policy and working with him over the years. The Democratic Party has simply left him behind and stomped on him when they could. McEntire came out first in the primary with a 53% lead over incumbent Blake. Two years ago McEmtire was close, but spent most of the campaign deployed to Iraq (he is in the Marines Reserve). This year McEntire was in district campaigning and is dominating this race. If the Republican Party can remember to spell his name correctly, their support will probably help him win this race. I’ve had many conversations with Joel and I admire his determination.
42nd Legislative District(North Whatcom). This has been a solid Republican district, but in 2018 money flooded into this district and one Republican legislative seat was lost. This year, it appears likely the Republicans will get this seat back.
Jennifer Sefzik
Jennifer Sefzik – Representative (Position 2) – Jennifer is a strong Republican candidate for this office, and has been campaigning very effectively. She beat the incumbent in the primary (with just over 50% of the vote), which bodes well for November. She needs help to get over the finish line, but it really looks good. This is the same district where we saw the USPS appear to intervene to help Democrats (see article here).
10th Legislative District (Island County/parts of Skagit County). This district went completely Republican about 8 years ago, but the Republicans lost a house seats here in 2018, and it is a battleground district. The Republicans have the Senate seat, but need to retain one of the two house seats, and pick up the one they lost two years ago in order to expand their representation in the state legislature.
Sen. Ron Muzzall, R-10
Ron Muzzall – Senate (incumbent) – Ron was appointed to fill a vacancy when former incumbent Senator Baily retired. This is his first election, and he came out ahead in the primary (50%+) but it is still a tight race. He is a solid person in office (longtime Whidbey Island farm family) and this is an obvious priority for the Senate Republicans to retain this seat. The Dems threw a lot of money at him and still he came out ahead in the primary.
Greg Gilday – Representative (position 1) – Greg came out ahead in a 5 way primary (46.25%) of the vote, but this will be a tough race in November. He can win, but he needs support and a more aggressive campaign effort. The State House caucus is supporting him, but it will be a slog through November. This would maintain a seat for the Republicans if he wins as Republican Rep. Norma Smith has retired from this seat.
Bill Bruch – Representative (position 2) – Bill also came out ahead in a 3 way primary (48.7%) and is the chair of the Skagit County Republicans. I was impressed with his hard work on this race and I believe he has outperformed expectations. Bruch looks likely to win, if he can maintain momentum. This would also be a pickup for Republicans if he prevails in November.
44th Legislative District(Snohomish County – Mills Creek to Lake Stevens/Marysville) This district has been a swing district at times with both Republicans and Democrats holding these seats.
Mark James
Mark James – Representative (position 2) – Mark has outperformed expectations and the primary election results (he received 47.4% in a 3 way primary) indicates he can win in November if he keeps up the momentum. This would be a pickup for the Republicans, and largely one that received scant state-wide attention until now.
26th Legislative District (Gig Harbor, parts of Tacoma). This district has gone Republican over the past 6 years, but the Republicans lost a closely fought Senate seat (less than 100 votes) in 2018 (see results here). Right now, the Democrats have thrown millions of dollars into this district attempting to get it back. It will be another hard fought campaign here.
Rep. Jesse Young (26th LD)
Jesse Young – Representative (Position 2) – Jesse has repeatedly helped the Democrats waste millions of dollars in fruitless attempts to remove him from office and he has had everything including the kitchen sink tossed at him. This year is no different. The House Republican Caucus is supporting him well, but this is a real campaign, and support for his race matters. He came out ahead in a 3-way race with 52% of the vote, which is good, but he needs to maintain momentum. Jesse has always been a solid voice of sanity in the legislature and has become increasingly effective over time. His Republican seatmate Michelle Caldier looks poised to win re-election after prevailing in a tough primary fight.
28th Legislative District (Southwest Pierce County). This has been a split district for years with both Republicans and Democrats holding seats. Right now only the Senate seat is held by Republicans, both reps are Democrats.
Senator Steve O’Ban (28th LD)
Steve O’Ban – Senate – Steve is in a very hotly contested race. He is a great state senator, and many people don’t know that he was one of the attorneys for the Freedom Foundation back in the day when they won the Federal Supreme Court case against the WEA forcing the union to stop illegally taking political dues from teachers paychecks. He received 49.67% in the primary in a very hotly contested race sure to cost millions this cycle. He needs all the help he can get, and he is a tough campaigner. The Republicans will need to continue their strong support in this race and try not to screw up 3rd Party PAC work, which has been very sloppy and less than helpful this cycle.
Whenever I post articles with specific references to legislative races, I always get grief from those whose races I did not cover. This is already a very lengthy article, but I wanted to note that the Republicans could achieve better than expected outcomes in other races around the state IF this becomes a wave election year. Neither Biden nor Inslee are inspiring to anyone, but on the other hand, there is true foaming at the mouth hatred towards Trump, so voter turnout and motivation will matter more than ever. Additionally, I’m not sure anyone can quantify the impact of the riots, increasing crime, attacks on policy, blundering virus policies, “Woke” BLM activists marching through Left-leaning neighborhoods threatening to take private homes, and collapsing local businesses on voter turn out and choices. This is new territory, from a political impact standpoint. It doesn’t seem like anyone can be certain how these things impact voting. Specifically I would track the 24th District (Olympic Peninsula), 30th District (Federal Way), and the 47th District (Kent) to see what this means. It is also worth tracking the 25th District (Puyallup), although the primary showing in that race indicates a full Republican sweep again in November.
Senator Mark Mullet (5th LD)
Additionally, Republicans and conservative activists tend not to pay attention to districts which are entirely controlled by the Democratic Party, but the political intramural fights in these districts are worth tracking. Specifically, the 5th District (Issaquah) Senate battle between incumbent Senator Mark Mullet and his challenger. At this point, Mullet is behind, and his “fully woke” challenger could win in November. This is particularly true if the Republicans decide to launch a write-in campaign in this district which would likely siphon votes from Mullet. He is one of the last sorta business friendly Democrat Senators left in Olympia, and if he is removed, that chamber only goes deeper into crazy town with few voices of sanity behind closed caucus doors. There is also an interesting primary fight in the 11th (Tukwila, Renton) where incumbent Rep. Hudgins received a pathetic 33.5% of the vote in a three way race, and was dominated by an even more extreme Leftist in the primary. While Hudgins is no moderate, he is not partisan foaming at the mouth crazy. If he loses this seat, the further shift of the Democratic caucus to full riot-woke world will be closer to Sawant’s vision for Seattle.
Elections have consequences. Other than in the Insurance Commissioner race, your vote really does matter, particularly in King County where you might get three or four ballots. None of us will find salvation in the political process, but a secular hell can be delivered to our communities if the worst options on the ballot take control. Look at Seattle as our own local example of how NOT to run a community. The Leftists clearly want the rest of the state to get the Seattle treatment. The future will, once again, belong to those who show up.
Just another Day in Seattle’s Leftist paradise
OUR CONSTITUTION BEGINS WITH THE PHRASE “WE THE PEOPLE.” IT WAS THE FOUNDER’S INTENT THAT GOVERNMENT BE CREATED BY THE PEOPLE, TO SERVE THE PEOPLE. IT WASN’T THEIR INTENTION FOR THE PEOPLE TO SERVE THE GOVERNMENT. IT WAS ALWAYS INTENDED THAT GOVERNMENT WHICH FAILED TO SERVE THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE “ALTERED OR ABOLISHED.” UNTIL WE RETURN TO THE FOUNDER’S INTENT, WE REMAIN WE THE GOVERNED…
Do Write-in political campaigns work in Washington State? Have write-in candidates won before? What laws apply? This video covers these topics and more.
In some ways, Washington State’s Top 2 Primary (Jungle Primary) System encourages write-in campaigns if one party ends up getting both slots on the ballot. This happened in two high profile races in Washington State in the 2020 primary election. The first was the Lieutenant Governor race and the other was the 10th Congressional District race. It appears that write-in campaigns have been officially filed in both those races for the general election. In this video we discuss the relevant state laws which apply to write-in campaigns as well as the types of write in campaigns that can be launched. We also discuss some that have worked in the past.
OUR CONSTITUTION BEGINS WITH THE PHRASE “WE THE PEOPLE.” IT WAS THE FOUNDER’S INTENT THAT GOVERNMENT BE CREATED BY THE PEOPLE, TO SERVE THE PEOPLE. IT WASN’T THEIR INTENTION FOR THE PEOPLE TO SERVE THE GOVERNMENT. IT WAS ALWAYS INTENDED THAT GOVERNMENT WHICH FAILED TO SERVE THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE “ALTERED OR ABOLISHED.” UNTIL WE RETURN TO THE FOUNDER’S INTENT, WE REMAIN WE THE GOVERNED…
Background articles and documents:
Washington State Law – RCW 29A.24.311 (this includes the “sore loser” rule)
Washington State Law – RCW 29A.60.021 (this explains more of the laws around the process of a write-in campaign)
A quick reaction to the 2020 Primary Election Results for the Governor, and Washington State's own political games behind the scenes
This was my initial reaction to the Washington State 2020 Primary Election Results last week – looking at the Governor race, and Washington State’s own political games behind the scenes. Also, a quick reaction to the Office of Superintendent Instruction election results.
OUR CONSTITUTION BEGINS WITH THE PHRASE “WE THE PEOPLE.” IT WAS THE FOUNDER’S INTENT THAT GOVERNMENT BE CREATED BY THE PEOPLE, TO SERVE THE PEOPLE. IT WASN’T THEIR INTENTION FOR THE PEOPLE TO SERVE THE GOVERNMENT. IT WAS ALWAYS INTENDED THAT GOVERNMENT WHICH FAILED TO SERVE THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE “ALTERED OR ABOLISHED.” UNTIL WE RETURN TO THE FOUNDER’S INTENT, WE REMAIN WE THE GOVERNED…
Steve Hall retired as City Manager at the City of Olympia several years earlier than originally planned. As a retirement gift, he got stuck with a $10,000 fine for his lawbreaking.
King County Executive Dow Constantine leads a NO on I-976 press conference in Seattle (Photo: Andrew Villeneuve/Northwest Progressive Institute)
2019 media story about the original violation (see here, and here, and here).
The July 23, 2020 public hearing with the full commission can be viewed here (starts at about 38 minutes into the hearing)
Former City Manager Steve Hall’s $10,000 settlement (linked here) Note that he will only have to pay half this amount if he doesn’t break the law again.
Olympia City Manager Steve Hall, during happier times
The background on this case starts in 2019.Tim Eyman succeeded in putting the $30 car tab initiative (I-976) on the November 2019 election cycle. A massive opposition $5.2 million campaign funded by mega corporate contributions (see here) was organized in opposition – mostly targeting Tim Eyman by name, which was weird and unusual. Local cities and counties were aggressively lobbied to formally make public proclamations and official votes in opposition to I-976. Most of them did this in typical government group-think, follow-the-herd, lemming style. The City of Olympia was no exception. The voters obviously disagreed, and the initiative for $30 car tabs passed, once again, for the third time in 20 years.
The “Vote NO” mailer from the city
However, unique among all the local government jurisdictions around the state, the City of Olympia decided to blatantly violate Washington States campaign finance laws and fund a “Vote No” mailer to all registered voters in the City of Olympia. This mailer was explicitly illegal and prohibited (See RCW 42.17A.555). Jurisdictions often skirt the intention of this law by providing extensive and biased “communication” about certain initiatives and propositions, but generally (with some exceptions) they can get away with it, even if they violate the spirit or intention of the law. However, in this case, the City of Olympia blatantly violated the law by sending out a flyer that said “Vote No” on I-976 in multiple locations on these flyers. This isn’t a gray area, this was a crystal clear, perfect example of how to blatantly violate the law and mock the public’s trust.
For additional background, it is worth noting the City of Olympia at the time, used their public affairs folk to come out and just blatantly defend the illegal actions at the time (see here, and here, and here).
Other cities and local governments will get the message that breaking campaign finance laws are worth the minor cost involved
Why this settlement will encourage more illegal activity
Someone needs to take the blame – let’s blame the guy who is just retiring
If you review the hearing video itself (linked here – again – forward to about 38 minutes before it starts), other than the obvious inefficiencies of the Zoom-hearing itself (Steve Hall and his attorney kept dropping off the hearing due to technical challenges), you can note in the beginning that two of the five board members of the PDC Board had a personal relationship with Steve Hall going back years. This is not uncommon in the incestuous world of the Olympia -political scene, and it was appropriate for both these board members to make this historic relationship public. The small world of political insiders in Olympia makes it challenging to hold everyone equally accountable. It is inconceivable that an outsider like Tim Eyman or you, or even I would be treated with such kid gloves in this process.
However, the more practical concern about this settlement is the disturbing fact that the penalty does not represent any discouragement to other jurisdictions from violating the same law in the future. It is certain, in fact, that more will do so. I expect to be busy filing those complaints when they break the law in the future, but now this case merely helps establish the “cost of doing business.” It seems lawbreaking by local government will be certain in the near future. Why not? This is chump change for the tax dollars the city can extract from the people if the city can use tax dollars to help defeat citizen’s initiatives to reduce taxes. All the bureaucrats and politicians need to do is give “bonuses” and promotions to the employees who get stuck with the wrist slap fine, or they can blame someone like Olympia City Manager Steve Hall who was retiring anyway.
They did it again
This crew knew better, but didn’t care
While the City of Olympia is striving mightily to become a “mini-me” to Seattle (with all the signs of success – graffiti, homeless drug addict camps, piles of garbage, failing businesses, high taxes, higher crime, etc), the elected officials and the staff are also well versed in campaign finance laws. This isn’t Colville or Walla Walla where PDC complaints are a novelty. All factions of the Democratic Party in the city (and this is a one party town with a little Socialist flavoring to give it some political spice and variety) throw PDC complaints at each other like rocks at a peaceful Antifa protest. Until I jumped into the fray a few years back (after they filed PDC complaints against me), it was mostly intramural PDC complaint wars.
This is only notable because almost all the elected officials have dealt with the PDC for years – and as I stated in my original complaint:
“…These are experienced politicians and Steve Hall is one of the more experienced City Managers in the State of Washington. They’ve all had PDC complaints filed against them in the past, and many of them have crafted their own PDC complaints to file against others. The PDC’s offices are located in the city itself. Most of them can drop by the PDC offices after getting a cup of Starbucks on their way to visit the homeless/addict camps downtown…”
They all knew the law. Every elected official knew this mailer broke the law. They just didn’t care, and, in fact, their Public Information Officer came out and defended the mailer and pretended that it didn’t break the law at the time (see here).
Rep Sharon Santos (37th LD) was fined $900 by the PDC
Not the only people breaking the law
In addition to this case with the City of Olympia, over the past few weeks, some of my other complaints have been processed and resulted in additional wrist slaps around the state:
On July 23rd, the 34th Legislative District Democrats were fined $450 by the PDC for breaking the campaign finance laws, which appears habitual for them. My original complaint is linked here. The formal negotiated settlement is linked here.
On July 6th, the Grays Harbor Democratic Party was fined $900 by the PDC for regular and common violations of the campaign finance laws, which was also habitual for this organization for years. My original complaint is linked here (originally I submitted this in October 2017). The final settlement is linked here.
On June 19th, Democrat Representative Sharon Santos (37th Leg. District) was fined $900 and received a formal warning letter from the PDC based on a 2017 complaint I filed (linked here). This was also some classic campaign finance violations committed by this legislator. Settlement is linked here.
The Citizens for Sequim School Bond 4 PAC was fined $150 for some fairly typical campaign finance violations they committed a few years ago. My original complaint is linked here. The PDC settlement is linked here.
King County Executive Dow Constantine (D) was sent a formal Warning Letter from the PDC linked here in June. This was based on a 2017 complaint I filed against him (linked here). General campaign finance violations by his sloppy campaigning and basic lawbreaking in the past. It appears he is being a bit more careful now.
Tax Amazon PAC – The PDC sent a formal Warning Letter to this secretive PAC founded by Kshama Sawant (linked here). Naughty, naughty letters like this probably have no impact on the lawbreaking committed by this crew on a regular basis. My original complaint is linked here.
King County Executive Dow Constantine was warned by the PDC for his lawbreaking
This is just a recent sampling of the work I’ve been doing over the past few years exposing these law breakers. If you want to see the complete list (including source documents) which is updated regularly, go here.
Moving Forward
This settlement was covered a little by the media (linked here). It isn’t clear many people read those stories. However, in the Covid19 era, a lot of government actions are being mostly ignored right now, and most people are understandably focused on other more pressing issues. This is certainly the time for bad actors in government to make their moves because the country is distracted with masks, lockdown, virus fear-porn, job losses, no kids in school, prepping, and a hyped sense of waiting for the next shoe to drop.
This is a good reminder that we all must start digging deeper into local government and exposing what they are really doing or failing to do with our tax dollars. It is no accident that Governor Inslee is attempting to reduce government transparency, suspend the public records act, and reduce government accountability right now (If you waste a billion dollars at a government agency like ESD and kick the cash to a Nigerian fraud operation, even THAT won’t have career or employment consequences).
Despite these challenges, we still must pay attention. Document the problems. Recruit insiders to expose the truth. Try to expose the truth to wider audiences. Apathy and darkness encourages worse behavior to flourish unchecked. Eventually, someone will be involved in government who cares, even if nobody appears to care right now. It is easier to clean it up or downsize it when it is widely known how poorly government really operates. Unless some of this money is filtered back into your own pockets, why would any sane person lobby to send more tax dollars to be wasted by these clowns?
OUR CONSTITUTION BEGINS WITH THE PHRASE “WE THE PEOPLE.” IT WAS THE FOUNDER’S INTENT THAT GOVERNMENT BE CREATED BY THE PEOPLE, TO SERVE THE PEOPLE. IT WASN’T THEIR INTENTION FOR THE PEOPLE TO SERVE THE GOVERNMENT. IT WAS ALWAYS INTENDED THAT GOVERNMENT WHICH FAILED TO SERVE THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE “ALTERED OR ABOLISHED.” UNTIL WE RETURN TO THE FOUNDER’S INTENT, WE REMAIN WE THE GOVERNED…
Four Republican Candidates for Washington State Lieutenant Governor risk splitting the Republican vote in the primary which could mean two Democrats on the ballot in November
***Please note, this article was updated a few hours after it originally posted, see below***
The Washington State Republicans haven’t had much success for many decades running a successful candidate for the Lieutenant Governor position. The 2020 election cycle is shaping up to be another difficult election for this state-wide office for Republicans.
Joel Pritchard (last Republican Lt. Governor)
Since statehood, Washington has only elected 16 Lieutenant Governors (compared to 23 State Governors in the same time frame). The outcome of the 2020 election will determine who earns the right to be Washington State’s 17th Lieutenant Governor. While most Lt. Governors in Washington State history were Republicans, the Republicans haven’t occupied this seat in state government since January 15, 1997 when Republican Lt. Governor Joel Pritchard handed the office over to Democrat Lt. Gov. Brad Owens after Owens narrowly won the 1996 election with less than 50% of the vote (pre-jungle primary days – see results linked here) and remained in that office until January 10, 2017, when the current (soon to retire) Democrat Lt. Governor Cyrus Habib won this office. Interestingly, it appears that Republicans rarely hold this seat for more than a term or two. However, most of the Democrats who have won an election for this office remain there for decades (Cyrus Habib being the only Democrat exception in Washington State history). For example:
A proposed logo for the Washington State Democratic Party
This year’s Lieutenant Governor’s race, similarly to 2016 (11 candidates ran in 2016 – see results here), has a plethora of candidates running for this office. However, there are some clear front-runners, and with Washington State’s jungle primary election system, this is one of the races on the ballot where the Democrats have a very real chance of getting both top 2 vote getters and ensuring the general election could be a run-off between two Democrats. If you want to better understand Washington State’s top 2 primary system go here. By the way, this scenario unfolded in 2016 in the Washington State Treasurer’s race where three Democrats evenly split their votes and two Republican candidates received the top two vote counts in the primary (see results from that race here) , which led to a general election for that office where regardless of who won the general election, a Republican would be holding that office (Duane Davidson was elected).
Marko Liias
Of the 11 candidates vying for the Lt. Governor position in 2020, only two of them are Serious Democratic Party candidates – Democrat Congressman Denny Heck (10th CD) and Democrat State Senator Marko Liias (21st LD). Heck’s campaign web site is linked here, and the Liias campaign website is linked here. (Full disclosure – I filed a PDC complaint on Liias in 2017 – see here, and he was sent an official warning letter last year for violating Washington’s campaign finance laws linked here). Originally, Democrat State Senator Steve Hobbs (44th LD) was running for this seat, but the Democratic Party powers behind the scenes realized they were risking another situation like the 2016 State Treasurer’s race and they put the squeeze on Hobbs to drop out. He dutifully complied (I don’t know which carrot and/or stick finally convinced him, but I’m sure it was worth it), despite raising over $162,000 for the race (see here). There are two other Democratic Party candidates on the ballot, but they are not serious candidates for office.
How do I define “serious?” Easy answer – they are raising at least some money and running a campaign which includes advertising and promotion of their campaign around the state. To see how much money these candidates are raising to support their campaigns – go to the Public Disclosure Commission website (linked here).
Denny Heck
Specifically, Denny Heck has raised over $721,000 for his campaign so far and has spent over $517,000 (see here). As a former state legislator (1976-1980s – 17th Leg. District) and as the current Congressman from the 10th District, Heck is easily the front runner for this office, not just in the primary, but also in the general. His next closest competitor is State Senator Marko Liias who has raised over $206,000 so far (see here), and spent almost all of it in an effort to survive the primary race. While they are both Democrats, Heck is obviously pushing for the political insider lane, and Liias appears to be going full “woke” for the CHOP, Antifa and BLM Socialist votes. This will split the Democrat votes, but since these are the two leading campaigners, there is a real chance they could both make it through this primary.
The reason for the potential for the breakout of two Democrats on the November ballot is because the Republicans threw five candidates into this race, and at least four of them are splitting some votes. Before I go any further, yes, it is true I have a soft spot for Libertarian candidates, but the two who jumped into this statewide race have both raised zero dollars and are not running state wide campaigns. Similarly other candidates have also raised zero dollars and are not running serious campaigns. For the conservative voter, any of these candidates would be better than the two serious Democrat candidates on the ballot. Let’s look at the four Republican candidates who are campaigning:
Marty McClendon
Marty McClendon is viewed by many as the “front runner” in this race (the recent King5 poll (linked here) disputes this), although he did jump in late, and has only raised $27,700+ so far (see here). His “front runner” status is due in part to his runner-up position for this same seat when he ran as the Republican and received 45.61% of the vote in 2016 (see here). Yes, he lost, but 1,424,277 voters have voted for him before, and this will carry some residual weight and statewide name familiarity. It should be noted that the 2016 Lt. Governor race was similar to the 2020 race in the crowded field and a small number of votes needed in some cases to squeeze through and get on the 2020 ballot (see 2016 primary results here). As the former chair of the Pierce County Republican Party, and a former talk show host in Seattle (full disclosure – I substituted for Marty a number of times on his show years ago, and we are friends). However, he has some political baggage to overcome after losing a hard fought State Senate race in the 26th Legislative District in 2018 (see here). This was a nail biter, well-funded campaign, and losing that race by less than 900 votes after losing other political races (6th Congressional race in 2014 (see results here), Pierce County Charter Commission in 2015 – losing in a crowded primary field (see results here), etc) eventually requires that a candidate demonstrates the ability to win a race. This history is a heavy weight to overcome for McClendon this time around. McClendon’s campaign website is linked here.
Ann Davidson Sattler
Ann Davidson Sattler – I first met Anne when she was running for the Seattle City Council in 2019, and I was impressed with her common sense approach to governing in Seattle and also her tenacious campaign effort in a very tough and challenging environment. She was a rare voice of sanity in a city which has politically gone completely CHAZ/CHOP insane. However, her very hard fought campaign in Seattle ended with a decisive defeat (see here). She was one of the first people to announce a run for the state Lt. Governor’s seat, before Cyrus Habib announced his surprise “retirement.”It isn’t every day that an incumbent politician like Habib retires to go into the priesthood. Sattler is easily the Republican front runner when it comes to fundraising with a war chest of over $102, 000 (see here), and she has received substantial and justified endorsements from many established Republican leaders. I have met Anne on numerous occasions in the past and I admire her willingness to take on this fight, even when it looked like a tough fight against a popular incumbent. Like all the Republicans on this list – coming off a political defeat, even in Seattle, you still have to demonstrate the ability to win an election eventually. Sattler has been attacked for being too “moderate” during this campaign, but some of these attacks are not completely fair. She is new to the political process, just like many Republicans running for office, and there should be no doubt she would be a far better choice for conservatives than any of the Democrats running for this office. Sattler’s campaign website is linked here.
Dick Muri
Dick Muri – A former State Legislator who only recently lost his re-election bid in the 28th LD in 2018 (see here) , and a former Pierce County Councilmember and a former school board member, Muri has the most electoral success and legislative experience of any Republican candidates on this list. However, he has raised an anemic $7,224 for this statewide race (see here), despite his past fundraising, campaign, and electoral experience. Jumping into the race late like so many others on this list didn’t give Muri much time to set up a statewide operation. Muri has faced off against Denny Heck before – in 2012, when he lost by 17 points running for the 10th Congressional seat (see here). I first met Dick Muri in 2010 when he was challenging Adam Smith for Congress in the 9th District, a race he lost by 10 points (see here) and have found him to be very approachable and supportive of most conservative causes. We have had disagreements on past votes and policies, but that is normal when someone has been in office taking votes in the legislature and the county council for years. Even when we disagree, I have found Muri to be agreeable, and Republican voters would far prefer him in office compared to any Democrats in this race. Muri’s campaign website is linked here.
Joseph Brumbles
Joseph Brumbles – A former challenger of Denny Heck in 2018, when Brumbles lost the 10th Congressional District race (see here), but still earned 38.4% of the vote (about 103,860 votes), something he points out in his voter’s guide (see here). Brumbles has not held public office before, but like all the Republicans on this list, he needs to demonstrate the ability to prevail in a political campaign. Similar to Muri, he has raised only about $7, 324 for this statewide office (see here). It is generally believed by political insiders that Brumbles and McClendon are splitting the conservative, liberty oriented Republican votes. I’ve only met Brumbles once in person, but he is younger guy running for political office and he clearly wants to make a difference. Running in a crowded field like this one makes it harder to stand out, although he filed early (December 2018 – according to his C1 filing with the PDC linked here) and has been running for this position for 21 months, which also makes the lack of fundraising a concern. However, after this article was originally posted, Joseph Brumbles provided this author with the King5 poll from last week (linked here), which indicates that Brumbles may be the true frontrunner in this race. If the King5 poll holds up with Tuesday’s first round of election results, then it will be a squeaker between Brumbles and Liias for the right to challenge Heck. According to the poll they are both currently tied at 14% of the vote returns. The Brumbles campaign website is linked here.
In order for the Republican voter to have any option for this position on the general election ballot in November, one of these Republicans will need to get more votes than Liias. Heck is clearly the front runner, and the “chosen one” by Jay Inslee, Dean Foster, and others for this position. In a separate article, I will discuss Washington State’s own Game of Thrones and the backroom politicking that produces these schemes and dreams. Heck is definitely the insider, and he stepped down from Congress to run for this seat to become far more than the 17th Lieutenant Governor in Olympia. While the odds of a Republican prevailing in the fall may seem distant now, those odds will drop to zero if a Republican can’t survive the jungle primary in a few days.
Yes, your vote does count in races like this. It seems likely if not certain that a small number of votes could make a difference here as well.
For my thoughts on the Governor’s race – see here – and some of the lesser known State wide offices – see here.
Don’t forget to vote, and as I discussed here and here – it might be a good idea if you deliver your ballot (or all your ballots if you live in King County) to one of the drop boxes or directly to your auditor’s office to ensure it is counted and actually shows up.
While this is true, it might be more effective for the Republicans if they had a more effective plan for some of these races
OUR CONSTITUTION BEGINS WITH THE PHRASE “WE THE PEOPLE.” IT WAS THE FOUNDER’S INTENT THAT GOVERNMENT BE CREATED BY THE PEOPLE, TO SERVE THE PEOPLE. IT WASN’T THEIR INTENTION FOR THE PEOPLE TO SERVE THE GOVERNMENT. IT WAS ALWAYS INTENDED THAT GOVERNMENT WHICH FAILED TO SERVE THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE “ALTERED OR ABOLISHED.” UNTIL WE RETURN TO THE FOUNDER’S INTENT, WE REMAIN WE THE GOVERNED…
This is a video about a recent case in Whatcom County where a local politician bragged about the postal workers union endorsement and how they were assisting her campaign while posting Facebook posts (see below) showing her brochure wrapped around and attached to the ballot itself. Others in her district received the ballots the same way. The video also discusses other ways dishonest USPS employees can (and have) interfered with political communications and can influence vote-by-mail election results. Watch the video and see what you think.
OUR CONSTITUTION BEGINS WITH THE PHRASE “WE THE PEOPLE.” IT WAS THE FOUNDER’S INTENT THAT GOVERNMENT BE CREATED BY THE PEOPLE, TO SERVE THE PEOPLE. IT WASN’T THEIR INTENTION FOR THE PEOPLE TO SERVE THE GOVERNMENT. IT WAS ALWAYS INTENDED THAT GOVERNMENT WHICH FAILED TO SERVE THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE “ALTERED OR ABOLISHED.” UNTIL WE RETURN TO THE FOUNDER’S INTENT, WE REMAIN WE THE GOVERNED…
Businesses closing forever due to Jay Inslee's lockdown orders know who to blame
Driving through Rochester, Washington State just south of the capital City of Olympia – not every business is shutting down and folding in silence. This one knows who to blame, and is clearly blaming Washington State Governor Inslee for their demise. It is bad enough that the “emergency” never ends for Governor Inslee and he is enjoying the process of inflicting his brand of pain on the little people of the state. However, he also has overseen the biggest government corruption event in recent Washington State history by having the Employment Security Department send almost $1 billion to Nigerian fraudsters – which means tends of thousands of Washingtonians are not getting their unemployment. Inslee holds no bureaucrat accountable, of course, these are his supporters and there is no level of corruption or incompetence which will be punished. Inslee takes his pay raise and just laughs at the rest of the state as they suffer under his “leadership.”
Governor Inslee has apparently outsourced his decision making to California Governor Newsom and Oregon Governor Brown, because nobody believes he can come up with this stuff on his own (and he didn’t want to be Governor again anyway, which is why he tried to run for President). How many regular people blame him directly for their misery?
It has been four months now. The financial impacts are starting to seriously hit, and many of these will impact the community long after Covid19 becomes a distant memory. The massive disruption in plans, dreams, and hopes for so many is being actively destroyed by government policy. Not by the virus. By the governments reaction to the virus that might harm less than 1% of the population. Maybe. Ok, so let’s see if we can destroy the financial future of everyone else (unless they want to go riot, break windows, commit arson, take over city blocks, throw bricks, loot, and commit other violence during their “peaceful protests.” Yeah, that is okay and will be encouraged by Inslee).
It is hard to measure exactly how angry, frustrated, and pissed off the general population is becoming. For sure, the politicos, bureaucrats, and insiders making these decisions are entirely out of touch and clueless. Willfully harming people by government policy while the political leadership tells everyone to wear masks, binge on Netflix, stock up on toilet paper, and “eat cake” is not going to produce a positive result. People are more than angry. They are disgusted. They are disgusted with their political “leadership.” They are disgusted with the government’s incompetence and corruption. They are disgusted that government workers get paid while they are “furloughed” yet the people who lose their jobs solely because of a government lockdown policy can’t get their unemployment checks because their money was sent to Nigeria. They are disgusted that few political leaders appear to have the spine to do more than just wring their hands in fear.
Disgust, resentment, and simmering anger at the double standards can explode in unexpected ways, and the aloof political class appear clueless and blissfully unaware about this fact.
TH THE PHRASE “WE THE PEOPLE.” IT WAS THE FOUNDER’S INTENT THAT GOVERNMENT BE CREATED BY THE PEOPLE, TO SERVE THE PEOPLE. IT WASN’T THEIR INTENTION FOR THE PEOPLE TO SERVE THE GOVERNMENT. IT WAS ALWAYS INTENDED THAT GOVERNMENT WHICH FAILED TO SERVE THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE “ALTERED OR ABOLISHED.” UNTIL WE RETURN TO THE FOUNDER’S INTENT, WE REMAIN WE THE GOVERNED…
They can steal your vote if you vote by mail, but they can't steal your voice yet
The debate about Vote by Mail during the Covid19 pandemic has been in the news lately. It has been called “cheat by mail” by those concerned about the increased potential for fraud. Supporters, on the other hand, suggest Vote by Mail is necessary in the Covid19 lockdown era. However, some recent examples of postal workers in Washington State apparently using their unique job handling ballots as a way to directly influence elections has raised some serious concerns and a whole new dimension of the vote by mail debate.
Republican Rep. Luanne Van Werven (42nd Dist)
Washington State has been entirely vote by mail since 2011, but most of the 39 counties started vote by mail in 2005, which was different than the absentee voter process, which had been allowed for some voters. The 2005 transition to vote by mail became legal due to changes enacted by the legislature after the 2004 Rossi/Gregoire voting fiasco and multiple recounts which were originally won by Republican Dino Rossi until a final “misplaced” box of ballots was discovered in King County and suddenly Democrat Christine Gregoire won and then re-counting was stopped, of course. Washington State’s primary election this year is held on August 4th. However, since the state is entirely vote by mail, the ballots were mailed last week to all registered voters weeks in advance (in King County, sometimes voters get 3 or more bonus ballots – but nobody knows why).
Democrat candidate brags about postal workers attaching her campaign literature to ballots
Many state legislative seats are contested this year. In the 42nd Legislative District located in Whatcom County, which is the county located furthest to the North, bordering Canada, incumbent Republican State Legislator Luanne Van Werven is defending her seat from Democrat challenger Alicia Rule. A few days ago, Alica Rule made the nearby post on her Facebook account bragging about how she appreciated the endorsement she had received from the postal workers union and how they helpfully wrapped the ballots with her campaign literature and delivered the ballots with just her campaign literature attached. Nice.
Think about that and the work and coordination that went into this little project. The postal workers had to sort out the ballots, match them to the Democratic campaign literature, fold it around the ballot and attach it to the ballot itself. Then they had to deliver this. They had to do this to tens of thousands of ballots. It took multiple people to do this. Someone in the post office (or at the Democratic Party? Is there a difference anymore?) had to suggest they do this. Could you even imagine the volcanic display of outrage, riots, arson, broken windows, and self-destructive insanity that would “spontaneously” erupt at all the “peaceful” protests throughout America if this was done with Trump literature? This is just absurd, biased, and corrupt behavior by Federal public employees. What’s worse is the fact that Democratic Party politicians brag about it and post it on their Facebook because they expect it and believe it is their right.
There are no limits because the ends justify the means
Based on reports throughout Whatcom County (see just a few posted on the same politicians Facebook page below), it appears the postal workers did this with a large number of these ballots – only with the Democrat’s campaign literature. Let’s consider this for a moment. The very government employees we are supposed to trust with our ballots and votes, are using their unique government paid position to assist, promote, and “endorse” their preferred Democratic Party candidate. If you were a Republican would you trust these guys to not conveniently “lose” your ballot? Or perhaps just delay it, so that it arrives too late to count (they can just use this Postmaster General suggestion to “leave mail behind” in the area of quarantine and lockdown)? How often does THAT happen? Who knows? The insiders apparently think this is just how the game is played.
Not the first time Postal Workers have interfered in elections
Supposedly it is illegal, but is it tampering if you help Democrats?
This exact scenario occurred just a few months ago in King County (where the City of Seattle is located) last November when a political mailer destined for the voters of the City of SeaTac was mysteriously “delayed” 7-9 days so that it arrived AFTER election day, rather than before. Conveniently, it was a “conservative” flier that the Democratic Party would not like. The Postmaster Inspector General was contacted about that incident. I referenced it in an article (linked here) at the time. It appears that some mystery postal employees at the Seattle Post Office Distribution Center somehow conveniently “misplaced” just this entire batch of mail and delayed it. Just for a week. Just until the election was over. The investigation by the Postal Inspector couldn’t explain how this happened.
Seattle isn’t exactly a friendly place to Republicans or conservative causes. Most of the workers in the post office there probably reflect that political climate, so it doesn’t take a lot of imagination to realize that their politics could very well interfere with how they do their job. This is particularly true when they know there will be no consequences, and there were none for them in that case. How many times has this happened before and nobody even noticed?
The current situation in Whatcom County where ballot tampering and manipulating the ballots being mailed by wrapping select campaign literature around them and attaching select campaign material to the ballots is probably a bit more serious. This raises obvious concerns that the fix is in. The postal workers have made their endorsement, and they will use their position to game the vote. Maybe lose or conveniently delay or misplace a few key ballots from known Republican districts and voters? Multiple elections in this same legislative district in 2018 were decided by just a handful of votes and an incumbent Republican state legislator was replaced by a Democrat in a closely fought race (see results here). That achievement is made much easier when you have the postal workers in your partisan pocket.
Fraud is easier when the postal service does your dirty work for you
Does anyone NOT see the obvious problem here? How can we trust the mail-in-voting/ballot system at all if the government workers we rely on to handle the ballots are gaming the system for their preferred candidates? Or Party? Who cares why they are doing it? It appears they are and they are so bold that the Democratic Party’s legislative candidate is openly bragging about it on Facebook and proud of the manipulation.
Forget about the traditional vote fraud games. You don’t need to waste the energy for that if you can control the mail and manipulate the results from the inside. It is far easier if you can just sort the ballots with your friendly partisan postal workers and rig the vote before the ballots even get to the auditor’s office. No sweat and a lot easier.
It didn’t count if the Postal worker got to it
Until we can confirm otherwise, it would seem prudent to presume the postal service is politically corrupt. At least in Washington State, where it matters. Probably not all of it, but it obviously doesn’t require everyone to be in on the con game. Even a handful of key partisan employees can make a huge difference. It would be nearly impossible to effectively audit, it would never be transparent, and it is close to impossible to prevent. Certainly it can’t be stopped before this primary election.
Steps you can take to protect your vote – because the post office won’t
Obviously, this case will initiate some Federal investigations to flounder forward. I’m filing a formal complaint with the Postal Service, just like what happened in SeaTac, but I’m skeptical they can do anything before the primary election. In the meantime, here are some practical suggestions for voters in Washington State:
It’s more broken than we thought…
Hand deliver your ballots directly to your auditor’s office or one of the designated drop boxes. Yes, I know the employees who work in some of these departments may be partisan too, but at least there is a slight chance that you’ve removed one point of risk.
Contact your elected officials (state and Federal), and express your concern about election integrity when Federal employees are clearly showing their willingness to tamper with ballots and influence elections. Encourage the Feds to station election-observer monitors in the mail sorting facilities at the post office – we need a 3rd party to watch what happens to the ballots when nobody is watching.
Get your ballots in early – it really seems more convenient and efficient for corrupt partisan postal workers to just “delay” your ballot and ensure it won’t count (something we’ve seen happen before in other states). Funny how most of the “delayed” ballots will probably be Republican. So, don’t wait, make it harder to do this to your ballot.
Volunteer to observe at your local auditor’s office. It isn’t perfect, and the Democrats in the legislature have been pushing for polices that reduce the integrity, transparency, and auditability of the ballot process, but you can still make a difference putting more eyes on the process. Remember some counties are worse than others (King County, for example).
For those who live in a state where you don’t have all mail in voting – don’t go down this ugly road. This is just one more weakness of the system and when it comes to politics and the political process, we must have an election system without so many critical points of failure and potential corruption. The mail-in voting system is based, to a large extent, on the trust we place in the postal system. When that becomes corrupted and untrustworthy, mail in voting can’t honestly work at all.
OUR CONSTITUTION BEGINS WITH THE PHRASE “WE THE PEOPLE.” IT WAS THE FOUNDER’S INTENT THAT GOVERNMENT BE CREATED BY THE PEOPLE, TO SERVE THE PEOPLE. IT WASN’T THEIR INTENTION FOR THE PEOPLE TO SERVE THE GOVERNMENT. IT WAS ALWAYS INTENDED THAT GOVERNMENT WHICH FAILED TO SERVE THE PEOPLE SHOULD BE “ALTERED OR ABOLISHED.” UNTIL WE RETURN TO THE FOUNDER’S INTENT, WE REMAIN WE THE GOVERNED…
