Conservatives Speak Out Against "Unhinged" Progressive Judge
Yesterday, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Chris Lanese presided over a hearing that quickly moved from a narrow legal dispute over ballot language into something far crazier. The case involved Initiative IP26-645, a citizen measure seeking to repeal the Democrats’ newly enacted 9.9 % WA State tax on individual and household income above $1 million. Signed into law earlier in 2026, the tax is scheduled to apply to 2028 income, with collections beginning in 2029.
The Let’s Go WA (LGW) initiative aims to eliminate that tax. However, at issue was not the merits of the tax itself but a short “Public Investment Impact Disclosure” (PIID) required by state law. Under RCW 29A.72.027, enacted by Democrats in 2022, the Attorney General gets to prepare a brief statement for certain ballot measures that repeal, levy, or modify taxes or fees in ways that affect state revenue. Their statement appears on the ballot between the measure’s description and the yes/no question.
For IP26-645, the AG’s office produced deceptive language stating that the measure “would decrease funding for public K-12 education, higher education (including universities and community colleges), and human services (primarily healthcare).”
Open-government activist Arthur West (totally unrelated to LGW), appearing pro se, challenged the PIID as “Unconstitutional” and “politically charged propaganda.” He sought to amend or remove it by making the legal argument that adding government-written language to a citizen initiative after voters signed the petitions necessary to place it on the ballot is unconstitutional. Lanese denied West’s requests. West says he will appeal.
But what elevated the hearing from routine election-law litigation into widespread controversy was Judge Lanese’s incredibly strange conduct and the reasoning he offered from the bench.
Video clips circulated rapidly on social media and among political commentators. Many observers, including many respected lawyers and policy advisors who pushed back and contacted media outlets, described the judge’s demeanor as highly animated: raised voice, emphatic gestures, and what critics called “screeching” or “flailing.”
Podcaster and former Fox TV Reporter Brandi Kruse said on social media: WILL WASHINGTON STATE MEDIA EVER F*CKING DO THEIR JOB AND CALL OUT THE UNHINGED JUDICIAL ACTIVISM GOING ON? WHO DO YOU WORK FOR??? “We’re supposed to believe this guy is a neutral arbitrator while using the sentence “continue the downward regressive spiral of the tax scheme in Washington state and ranting about people who don’t want to pay taxes?”
KVI Radio’s Ari Hoffman called it “the most blatantly biased display I have ever seen from a judge. Unhinged Judge Chris Lanese loses it and says that the Washington Democrats' biased language against the income tax repeal has to stay because otherwise people might actually vote to repeal it.”
Radio host and TV personality Jason Rantz said, “the process is rigged and system corrupt. The only way to overcome it is to turn out the vote in enormous numbers. These people don’t play by rules.”
LD 35 State Representative Travis Couture said on X, “The bias and illogical nature of how this judge dismisses the clear and obvious facts about the budget process and the initiative is nearly beyond explanation. Point blank, he came in with a political opinion and his mind already made up. You can’t cut what you haven’t spent, Judge.
It’s ridiculous lawfare against the citizens of Washington. True Soviet stuff going on here, and this is a true kangaroo court.”
What’s even more troubling is that the judge canceled the LGW legal challenge hearing, where their arguments were also supposed to be made yesterday.
LGW issued a Press Release: JUDGE ALLOWS UNRELATED, CITIZEN LITIGANT TO ARGUE LGW’S OBJECTIONS BEFORE DENYING REQUEST PIID REWRITE; and condemned the handling of its legal challenge after LGW’s attorneys were denied the opportunity to present the arguments they had prepared for the scheduled hearing.
Last month, LGW formally challenged the AG’s PIID for I-645, arguing that the government-written statement gives voters a misleading description of the initiative’s fiscal impact. LGW expected to make that case in court today; instead, according to LGW’s legal counsel, Judge Chris Lanese took up issues surrounding LGW’s challenge during a separate case brought by Arthur West.
During that proceeding, Judge Lanese claimed that because West was arguing a case generally about PIIDs, he was required to make a ruling on I-645’s PIID at that moment. West, who is not an attorney for LGW, is not affiliated with LGW and did not bring LGW’s challenge, offered his own personal arguments about the language of I-645’s PIID. Ultimately, LGW’s counsel was not permitted to argue the case because Judge Lanese threw out the PIID hearing, thus canceling the scheduled hearing in which LGW’s arguments would be made.
LGW’s counsel characterized the procedure as unprecedented and objected to having an unrelated, non-lawyer litigant effectively address arguments LGW’s own attorneys had prepared to make. Rather than subsequently allowing LGW’s scheduled arguments to proceed, the court concluded the matter without granting LGW’s requested rewrite.
“This was a disgraceful way to handle a case involving the information millions of Washington voters will see on their ballots,” said Brian Heywood, LGW founder. “We came prepared to make our case. We had attorneys ready to argue specifically why the Attorney General’s statement is misleading and fails the neutrality voters are entitled to expect. Instead, a civilian who does not represent us was invited to argue issues from our challenge, and then the court shut the door without giving our legal team the opportunity to argue the case for the people.”
Why we should not be surprised at any of this: Lanese previously spent years working at the WA State AG’s Office. His former boss is now Governor Ferguson; current AG staff include former colleagues who draft the very ballot language under review. Also, the judge’s political donation history is exclusively progressive. While none of these facts automatically disqualifies a judge, they amplify the perception problem when combined with his shameful courtroom performance now being seen worldwide on video.
Of Note: The Wall Street Journal editorial board recently slammed the WA AG, accusing him of writing deliberately misleading ballot language designed to sink the voter initiative that would repeal the state’s new income tax! “Democrats are trying to deceive voters because they know that raising income taxes isn’t popular. Many voters for good reason don’t buy their promises that their ‘millionaire’s tax’ won’t be extended to them. That’s the history of income taxes. Democrats inevitably seek to soak the middle class because that’s where the money is,” the editorial wrote.
July 2, LGW turned in over 511,000 signatures to repeal the Democrats’ unconstitutional income tax. The effort far surpassed the required threshold of 308,911 valid signatures needed to qualify the citizens’ initiative for the Nov 2026 ballot. It is even more impressive that the feat was accomplished in only 51 days!
Remember to vote YES in November on Initiative IP26-645! Also, please do your research, it is common sense vs crazy! Each ballot measure and each race is unique and distinctly different. Please support and vote for the most qualified candidate for the job who can win the respective race!
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