Last month's statewide November General Election results are already giving us collateral consequences. Most Skagit County races went as predicted; congrats to the winners and thank you for your public service! Voters to the north for the Whatcom County Executive race chose Satpal S. Sidhu. Sidhu ran on the platform of no more fossil fuels, at a County Council meeting spoke in favor of $500 a barrel oil (forcing people off of fossil fuels) and at his campaign event at lake Samish Sidhu indicated he wants no more power boats on lakes, saying if you want on the water recreation use a canoe. As a result of the election hundred of workers at Phillips 66 and the BP refineries may eventually lose their jobs.
In the Snohomish County Executive race voters to the south elected Democrat Dave Somers who decided to transfer the responsibility of the Snohomish County Jail oversight from the Sheriff’s Office to the County Executive’s Office just one week after his election. This was a direct attack on the new Snohomish Sheriff elect, Adam Fortney and the county residents. And for the Snohomish Council District 2 seat voters picked liberal Megan Dunn over the more Conservative Anna Rohrbough. Megan advocated for Safe Heroin Injection sites and will be bringing this and other Liberal Progressive ideas and policies to the Snohomish County resident neighborhoods.
Even though voters passed I-976 ($30 car tabs) in the General Election, the city of Seattle and King County immediately filed lawsuits to overturn the vote. Then last week a King County Superior Court Judge allowed an injunction saying "The I-976 Ballot Title language was misleading and likely unconstitutional," and there is likely to be harm if I-976 is implemented, saying "If the collection of vehicle license fees and taxes stops on Dec 5th, there will be no way to retroactively collect those revenues." Also the judge said the plaintiffs were likely to win their case and ordered Washington State to cease efforts to implement the initiative on Dec. 5, when it was due to take effect, pending further orders; a textbook example of "legislating from the bench."
IMPORTANT NOTE: Attorney General Bob Feguson's office wrote the Ballot Title on Initiative 976 and Ferguson refused to recuse himself from the lawsuit, thwarting the majority will of the voters.
This is the 3rd time a $30 license fee initiative has been passed by voters in recent years, this time 53 % of statewide's voters approved I-976. Also the voters overwhelmingly rejected 9 of the 12 Tax Advisory votes showing voters are tired of the ever-increasing Democrat taxes while major problems in Washington state only seem to worsen (transportation, homelessness, housing, opioids, etc.). I-976 was to repeal authority to impose certain vehicle taxes and fees, and was to limit annual motor-vehicle license fees to $30. Perhaps if the NO I-976 campaign would not have misrepresented that the WA State Patrol was endorsing their efforts and the Skagit river bridge was in need of repair leading to its collapse (an oversize truck hitting the upper level bridge supports was the cause) they may have fared better in the statewide vote.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, King County Executive Dow Constantine, Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Governor Jay Inslee and their allies are suing, saying the initiative was deceptive and poorly written, making it unconstitutional -- however we know it is simply because they did not like the outcome of the I-976 vote. When WA State imposed the massive 53.8 billion dollar Sound Transit 3 tax increase and lawsuits were filed to stop it, they were struck down in court because it was "The will of the people." But last week for this case a judge had no problem allowing an injunction.
Plaintiffs attorneys are arguing that I‑976 violates the "single subject" rule (the same issue that has resulted in the eventual death of several Eyman written initiatives); I‑976 violates the subject-in-title rule because the Ballot Title incorrectly states that voter-approved fees are not affected and does not disclose all of the initiative’s additional subjects; I‑976 violates Article II, Section 37 of the Washington State Constitution because it does not fully set forth all amendments to existing statutes; I‑976 violates separation of powers principles by intruding on administrative matters properly left for the executive branch and I‑976 impairs existing contracts in violation of the contracts clause.
The Reject-88 Campaign needs to be congratulated as they came out victorious in last months general election (Link). R-88 won most every county in WA State as the voters rejected the 2019 Washington State Legislature's Democrat imposed I-1000 which would have forced discrimination upon all of us by an unelected board, and would have created a massive government agency to enforce the use of race in all aspects of government employment, college admissions and public contracting.
Also on Nov. 5, Spokane residents made their voices heard with a landslide vote to make their city the 11th jurisdiction in Washington since 2016 to embrace government transparency when they voted to amend its charter to require that public employee union contract negotiations be more open to the public. Recently Spokane County passed a similar resolution making it a policy that collective bargaining negotiations be done in a meetings observable to the public.
Lets hope government officials don't give in to the pressure of the union attorneys who will be fighting to take more and more taxpayers money in meetings hidden from the public. In 2014, residents of Sequim, Shelton, Blaine, and Chelan gathered enough signatures to place a collective bargaining transparency measure on their local ballots. In each case, however, the city councils denied the public a say in the matter after caving to union pressure.
The City of Camas had a voter tax revolt on election night. A $78 million aquatics center, park, community center, and general empire building project was crushed, losing by a margin of 89.43% to 10.57%. To cap the defeat, Camas Mayor Shannon Turk (who championed the tax scheme) was running uncontested for re-election, yet only garnered 39.15 % of the vote, and lost the Mayor race to write-in candidate Barry McDonnell who received 51.11 % and led the local campaign in opposition to the $78 million tax measure.
The Washington State Supreme Court recently ruled to require landlords from choosing their own tenants in Seattle city limits. A “first in time” ordinance requires landlords to rent to the first financially-qualified tenant who applies. And the Seattle City Socialist Council's “Fair Chance Housing Ordinance” also forbids landlords from considering applicants’ criminal histories. The ordinances are to curb "subconscious racial bias among the city’s landlords." However in doing so, the city and the court have taken away constitutionally protected rights of landlords to rent their property—in a nondiscriminatory manner, to whomever they like and at freely negotiated price. Also Freedom of Association, The Essentials of Human Rights, is now gone.
The court rulings mean that a property owner has no discretion on any new tenants if they meet the minimum income requirements, and owners cannot base a rental decision on factors like personal safety or concerns about any past crimes. And even would be forced to rent their property to convicted criminals, rapists, etc. if they are first with an application. This is a disastrous ruling that may very well put property owners and neighbors in serious danger. You can also expect large corporations to take over many Seattle apartments because they are the ones with the resources to deal with the inevitable tenant problems that will result from these horrible laws. Government should not be deciding what property owners are allowed to know about potential tenants living in their premises. And landlords who enter into a long-term rental relationships should be allowed to protect themselves and their livelihoods by asking basic questions about an applicant’s criminal history.
Democrat Presidential Candidates are advocating for open borders, more specifically when illegal aliens cross the southern border (breaking our law) to reward them with U.S. citizenship. In fact Bernie Sanders and others have a plan to make it easier for illegal aliens to come here by decriminalizing border crossings altogether, so the illegals suffer no consequences like being detained, etc. Also Elizabeth Warren says she is "Open" to suspending deportations of illegal aliens. Allowing convicted criminals to vote from their jail cells is also on on the Democrat agenda. If these radical ideas get implemented it will just be another example how corrupt socialism subverts the rule-of-law and the Constitution. But for Democrats it does not matter, just as long as they register new voters.
Judicial Watch recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of three California taxpayers to prevent the State Democrats from implementing a 2018 law that requires publicly-held corporations headquartered in California to have at least one director “who self-identifies her gender as a woman” on their boards by December 31, 2019. SB 826 made California the first state in the country to require gender quotas for private companies. The lawsuit says the mandate is an unconstitutional gender-based quota. There are currently 761 publicly-traded corporations headquartered in California so lets hope Judicial Watch is successful. What ever happened to hiring the most qualified person for the job? Mandating companies to make gender the primary qualification for board membership is a huge government overreach, sets a terrible precedence and will inevitably lead to less qualified private sector boards; exactly what happened when Norway adopted a nationwide corporate gender quota.
As the absurd impeachment saga continues, fundraising totals for the Trump 2020 campaign have been skyrocketing. The third-quarter contributions for the President’s re-election campaign and the Republican National Committee exceeded $125 million. At the end of October, the RNC had $61 M in the bank, compared to only $8.7 M for the Democrats, who also had a debt of $7 M.
U.S. House Intelligence Committee Ranking Republican Member Devin Nunes exposed the Democrat and the Democrat Operative media smear campaign during last months public impeachment charade on Capitol Hill. Nunes did not hold anything back (opening statement video) and slammed Democrats with facts for damaging the country. He also went after the media and again called on Hunter Biden to testify about allegations of criminal activity and corruption in Ukraine (Video).
Not surprisingly in an attempt to deflect, CNN and the Daily Beast then reported a fake news story saying Nunez had met with Ukranian prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, in Vienna in 2018 to push for an investigation into Hunter and Joe Biden. Nunez responded saying, "None of this fake news story is true. We are going to take both CNN and the Daily Beast likely into federal court -- the only way to hold the corrupt media accountable is to challenge them in federal court. We will get to all the facts, you're talking about third and fourth hand hearsay, I've been used to this for the last three years, House Intelligence Committee Republicans continue to expose Democrat corruption over and over again. And what always happens is right when we expose them, they go out to kill the messenger. The problem for them is -- we actually caught them, and we caught them badly and it also involves criminal activity."
Thank you to President Donald Trump, Mitch McConnerll and Republican U.S. Senators who have put nearly 150 of their picks on federal benches from coast to coast. The Senate has confirmed 72 Trump judicial nominees this year, the most of his term. Overall the Senate Republicans have put 112 justices on the federal district courts, 43 to circuit courts and two to the Supreme Court.
President Trump showed his support for U.S. troops by personally wishing them a Happy Thanksgiving at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner with the troops. Trump thanked the troops and told them the Taliban is ready to make a deal because the troops are doing such a great job. He also thanked the Afghan troops and said he was impressed with how hard they were fighting; he then met with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to discuss the progress made in the region.
“I’d like to pay tribute to American soldiers, officers and civilians, particularly those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. That sacrifice can now result in a stable Afghanistan. I want to thank you, on behalf of the people of Afghanistan, for making a decision that is historic.” – President Ashraf Ghani
“We thank God for your help and all of the things you have done. You are very special people. You don’t even know how much the people of our country love and respect you. And they do. That’s why I’m here, I’m just bringing the message.” – President Donald Trump
Later on Thanksgiving Eve, Hong Kong protesters waved U.S. flags and sang the American national anthem as a gesture of thanks for President Trump signing two bills into law last week that condemned China. When they were done with "The Star-Spangled Banner," they then chanted "USA, USA, USA." Video
The first of the two bills supporting pro-democracy and human rights signed into law by Trump requires the State Department to certify once a year that Hong Kong is sufficiently autonomous to retain its special U.S. trading consideration. The second bill, makes it illegal to sell munitions like tear gas and rubber bullets to Hong Kong police.
To the Hong Kong citizens these bills are proof that the United States has their back. America offers them the example of freedom and moral support, and they are truly grateful for it.
Congratulations to 14th LD State House Rep Gina Mosbrucker as the Washington Hospitality Association named Gina their “2019 Legislative Hero” recipient" for her work in the state Legislature supporting the hospitality industry. Gina was chosen for many reasons, including sponsorship bills, support in committees, on the house floor, in caucus, and voting on critical hospitality issues. WHA's Government Affairs Committee Co-Chair Ron Oh said Mosbrucker's understanding of the hospitality industry and the perspective of a small business owner proved invaluable during the 2019 session.
Congratulations to Republican 12th District State Representatives Keith Goehner and Brad Hawkins who were recently honored with awards. House Rep Goehner was given the Association of Washington Cities “City Champion Award", saying "I did go to the legislature with the idea that we want to make sure people were understanding how important local government is in carrying out the functions of government." Senator Brad Hawkins was the recipient of the “Legislative Champion” Award from the Washington PUD Association. Hawkins says he’s pleased with the work he did with state PUDs on legislation that was passed last session in Olympia.
A Big Congratulations to the Whatcom County Republican Party Chair Kathy Kershner who was elected to the Whatcom County Council in last months general election. Kathy garnered 75.45% of the vote in District 4 (which includes the greater part of Lynden).
Great job to SCRP members Julia Johnson and Dani Hoskinson and their 2019 Campaign Teams. Both Julia and Dani won their elections convincingly. Julia was retained as the Mayor of Sedro-Woolley and Dani was elected as the new fire commissioner for Fire District 5 Position .
A Huge Thank You to the 50+ people that attended the Elect Bill Bruch for State House Pre- Campaign Kick-off last month. We had a special time and a ton of fun! I am also very grateful to Bob and Claire Ebere for hosting such a successful event. The Legislative District 10 State House Position 2 is a race we can all win together in 2020. If you would like to help or in any way support the campaign please call (360) 820-1700, email: bruch4house@gmail.com or visit billbruchforhouse.com.
Thanks so much to the the Island County Conservative Grassroots group for hosting, and the sell out crowd that attended the Night Out at the Oak Harbor Yacht Club last Saturday. The event was a big success that featured newly appointed LD 10 State Senator Ron Muzzall, myself for State House, Joseph Brumbles for Lt Governor, Brett Rogers for WA State AG, Anthony Welti for State Insurance Commissioner and Josh Culp spoke on behalf of his Uncle Loren Culp (Governor Candidate).
You're invited to an Elect Bill Bruch for State House Meet and Greet event which will be held on Saturday, December 7th from Noon - 2:00 PM. Enjoy Smoked Salmon, Hot Apple Cider and other festive treats! Join Republican State House Legislative District 10 (Pos 2) Candidate Bill Bruch and his campaign team for this fun Christmas event. If you would like to attend and/or are interested in supporting the campaign please call (360) 820-1700, email: bruch4house@gmail.com or visit billbruchforhouse.com. Event is located at 14455 Gibraltar Road Anacortes 98221 (Map).
Legislative District 10 State Senator Ron Muzzall will be doing four Town Halls this weekend. Saturday, Dec 7th 11:00 am -12:00 at the Langley South Whidbey Community Center, 723 Camano Drive, and from 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm at the Oak Harbor School Admin Center, 350 S. Oak Harbor Street. Then on Sunday, Dec 8th 1 pm - 2 pm at the Mount Vernon High School, 314 N. 9th St and from 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm at the Stanwood High School, 7400 272nd St. NW.
On Sunday, Dec 8th there will be a "Retain Ron Muzzall for State Senate" campaign planning meeting immediately following the Stanwood Hgh School Town Hall (approximately 4:45 pm). Meeting will be held at the Island County GOP Stanwood office in Viking Village. If you would like to support Senator Ron Muzzall with his 2020 campaign please attend. For more info call (360) 820-1700.
ONE MORE MONTH FOR SPECIAL EARLY BIRD PRICES! The 2020 Skagit County Republican Party Lincoln / Reagan Day Gala is set for Saturday, May 2nd at the Corporate Air Center in Burlington. The event will include a delicious catered dinner by The La Conner Seafood & Prime Rib House, and will feature One America News TV Talk Show Host Superstar and Fearless Conservative Liz Wheeler, and other surprises! Early RSVP discounts before December 31st are $60 per person, $110 per couple. In 2020 prices are $70 per person and $120 per couple. To RSVP and/or for more info please click here.
There will be no SCRP Central Committee meeting this month because of the holidays, however next month our meeting will be held on Thursday, January 16th at 7 PM, and will focus on the Feb 29th, 2020 Republican Precinct Caucuses. Helping to coordinate Precinct Caucuses are important PCO and Precinct Captain functions. Precinct caucuses are held every 4 years in the individual Precinct Voting Districts (also known as Political Subdivisions). These caucuses are where the resident voters meet to discuss many important Republican business issues, including choosing the Presidential candidate and electing Delegates and Alternates to the County Convention.
Also we will have a Skagit County GOP Precinct Caucus planning meeting at noon on Monday, December 9th at the SCRP Office Suite #200; all SCRP PCO's and volunteers interested in helping with the 2020 caucuses are encouraged to attend.
The Skagit County Republican Women's group is hosting a Very Special Christmas Event on Tuesday, December 3rd from 5:30 to 7 pm at the La Conner Civic Garden Club, 622 Second Street. This will be a fun family event, all are invited! For more information click here and/or contact SCRP Committeewoman Judy Billings @ (206) 550-1836 or Kim Kimmy Tomczak @ 425-445-3355.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Respect and Blessings,
Bill Bruch, SCRP Chairman
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