Podcasts about Washington State Senate

On this Mastery Unleashed episode, Christie Ruffino welcomes Mona Das, a former Washington State Senator, policy trailblazer, and champion for women and diversity. Mona shares her incredible journey from immigrant roots to politics, how she passed 28 bills in just four years, and why she left the Senate to create a bigger impact globally.This conversation is a must-listen for change makers, entrepreneurs, and those looking to own their power!Key Takeaways:✅ How Mona flipped a Senate seat, defied expectations, and made history✅ The challenges of being a woman of color in politics and why representation matters✅ Why she left the Senate and how she's driving change through film, advocacy, and global leadership✅ The power of networking, visibility, and connection to create massive impact✅ Why women must step into leadership roles boldly and unapologetically

Will Trump save Washington from Climate Commitment Act gas tax? The Washington State Senate voted to cap rent increases at 10%. Scandalous allegations at Seattle City Light. REI issued an apology for endorsing Doug Burgum. // Brian Heywood announces two new initiatives, and details next week’s big protest against property tax increase. // MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough was very disappointed to hear that SCOTUS’s immigration ruling actually favored Donald Trump. ‘Shark Tank’ host Kevin O’Leary said he’s willing to live with the economic consequences of putting pressure on China.

The Washington State Senate expanded hate crime protections but left out some extra protections that Republicans had vouched for. An 11-year-old attempted to stab a fellow student at Alderwood Middle School in Lynnwood. No, ICE didn’t target 3rd graders. // LongForm: GUEST: Glen Morgan with WeTheGoverned.com breaks down an ethics complaint he filed against Sen. Emily Alvarado. // Quick Hit: Senator Eric Schmitt (R-MO) says that the judiciary is violating the separation of power in its efforts to thwart Donald Trump’s agenda. Mahmoud Khalil wrote an antisemitici op-ed. Brown University is losing federal funding.

(The Center Square) – Less than a week after the Washington State Senate adopted a rule change restricting credentialed members of the media from accessing “the wings” and adjacent rooms of the Senate, unless invited by a lawmaker or staff member, journalist Jonathan Choe received his credentials. He was denied access anyway. Choe, a journalist and senior fellow with Discovery Institute's Center on Wealth and Poverty, was denied access to Tuesday's weekly media availability event held by legislative Democratic leaders despite his newly issued one-week pass. The press rule change came after the Capitol Correspondents Association decided to return press credentialing authority to the Senate and House.

(The Center Square) – Less than a week after the Washington State Senate adopted a rule change restricting credentialed members of the media from accessing “the wings” and adjacent rooms of the Senate, unless invited by a lawmaker or staff member, journalist Jonathan Choe received his credentials. He was denied access anyway. Choe, a journalist and senior fellow with Discovery Institute's Center on Wealth and Poverty, was denied access to Tuesday's weekly media availability event held by legislative Democratic leaders despite his newly issued one-week pass. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx Read more: https://www.thecentersquare.com/washington/article_9b85d70a-e2e1-4986-91ae-f33aa8bb4e59.html

How do you talk to young children about a topic as complex and uncomfortable as pornography? In this powerful episode, Kristen Jenson, author of Good Pictures, Bad Pictures, shares how she turned a heartbreaking story into a mission to help families navigate this critical conversation. She explains why it's essential to start these discussions early, before curiosity and online access collide, and offers practical strategies to empower kids to respond safely if they encounter explicit content. This episode is a must-listen for any caregiver seeking to proactively safeguard their children in the digital age.Links Discussed in This Episode |Fight the New DrugConnect with Kristen:Website/Books: www.defendyoungminds.com/booksFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/DefendYM/Instagram: @defendyoungmindsX: @defendYMLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/defend-young-mindsAbout Kristen |Kristen A. Jenson is the author of the #1 best-selling GOOD PICTURES BAD PICTURES books and producer of the BRAIN DEFENSE: DIGITAL SAFETY curriculum. She founded DefendYoungMinds.com to help parents and professionals raise empowered, resilient, screen-smart kids. Kristen has testified before the Washington State Senate on the public health crisis of pornography and continues to raise her strong voice at international conferences such as the United Nations Civil Societies Conference and the National Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Global Summit. She is a trusted guest on a variety of media platforms as she speaks up for protecting children from all forms of sexual exploitation.Kristen is the lucky mom of three and grandmother of two, and currently lives with her husband and awfully cute dog in Washington State. She earned a B.A. in English Literature and an M.A. in Organizational Communication. In her spare time, she gardens, listens to books on Audible, and treasures sharing good food with family and friends. Episode Sponsors |The Minimalist Moms Podcast would not be possible without the support of weekly sponsors. Choosing brands that I believe in is important to me. I only want to recommend brands that I believe may help you in your daily life. As always, never feel pressured into buying anything. Remember: if you don't need it, it's not a good deal!Enjoy the Podcast?Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning into this podcast, then do not hesitate to write a review. You can also share this with your fellow mothers so that they can be inspired to think more and do with less. Order (or review) my book, Minimalist Moms: Living & Parenting With Simplicity.Questions |You can contact me through my website, find me on Instagram, Pinterest or like The Minimalist Moms Page on Facebook.Checkout the Minimalist Moms Podcast storefront for recommendations from Diane.If you've been struggling with motivation to declutter or work through bad habits that keep you stuck, I'd love to help you achieve your goals! We'll work together (locally or virtually) to discover what areas in your life are high priority to get you feeling less overwhelmed right away.  For more info on my processes, fees, and availability please contact!Our Sponsors:* Check out Acorns: https://acornsearly.com/MINIMALIST* Check out Armoire and use my code MINIMALIST for a great deal: https://www.armoire.style* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.com* Check out Happy Mammoth and use my code MINIMALIST for a great deal: https://happymammoth.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/minimalist-moms-podcast2093/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Washington State Senate has moved quickly to hear a bill upending parental rights. Threats ramp up against schools trying to protect girls' spaces. Meet the mean moms of Newcastle, Washington. Oregon governor claims Portland is “back on track.” 

Disasters like the wildfires in Southern California have destroyed homes, displaced people, and are costing the country hundreds of billions of dollars to recover. It raises the question: how can we proactively invest to protect our communities from the impacts of extreme weather and natural hazards? Washington State has looked to answer this question through its Climate Commitment Act (CCA). Passed in 2021, it has generated and reinvested $500 million across the state to reduce emissions and leverage technology to mitigate harmful and large-scale wildfires and other disasters. We speak to Joe Nguyen, one of the legislative proponents of the CCA, to discuss the program's impact across Washington State and how other states could adopt similar initiatives to keep their communities safe and resilient.Joe Nguyen is the director of Washington State's Department of Commerce. He was elected to the Washington State Senate in 2019 and was chair of the Environment, Energy, and Technology Committee. He also served as vice chair of the Ways and Means Committee.  More Links and Information Check out more Fors Marsh Media Connect or partner with Fors Marsh Learn more about the Climate Commitment Act 

Navy Veteran, first in family to graduate from college, worked as a communications officer for several organizations, Washington State Senate and Archdiocese of Seattle. Leads fitness app called DomumGym since 2021. DomumGym is the ultimate destination for your online gym experience. Connect with fellow enthusiasts, explore trainers and workouts to commit to. CONNECT WITH HIM https://www.domumgym.com/ Subscribe to this channel now!  https://www.youtube.com/user/lunidelouis/?sub_confirmation=1    ---------------------------------------------------- Join our exclusive Facebook group @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/339709559955223  --------------------------------------------------- Looking for accountability to do your morning routine -- join us tomorrow morning, it's FREE:   https://bestmorningroutineever.com/  ----------------------------------------­­­­­­­-------------

Senator Andy Billig is the Majority Leader in the Washington State Senate. In this episode, Sen. Billig discusses why Washington is home to so many world-leading aviation businesses. As a politician heavily involved in the development sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) policy, Sen. Billig sets out the state and federal-level policies designed to create a domestic SAF industry in the US and what impact the forthcoming US election may have on those policies going forward.

On this episode: A conversation with Joe Nguyen, a Democratic member of the Washington State Senate, representing District 34. Senator Nguyen sponsored WA SB 5838, which established an artificial intelligence task force that'll explore different use cases, think through how to address developments like deepfakes, and set the standard for where Washington state goes from here.  483 bills have been introduced in just the first six and a half months of this year. It's not only a huge jump from what we saw last year; it's more than all of the activity we've seen from 2019-2023. As the technology has advanced, lawmakers and advocates are seeking to balance concerns about deepfakes with First Amendment free speech considerations, and beneficial uses of the technology.  Our new Artificial Intelligence Deepfake Legislation Tracker seeks to be a home base for keeping up with the legislative explosion we've seen in states around the country. Launching today, you can use the tracker to follow the latest developments in all 50 states. Try the tracker for yourself: https://legislation.ballotpedia.org/ai-deepfakes/home  Read our report here: https://ballotpedia.org/Deepfake_policy_in_the_United_States,_2019_-_Present  Sign up for our Newsletters: https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia_Email_Updates  Stream "On the Ballot" on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. If you have questions, comments, or love for BP, feel free to reach out at ontheballot@ballotpedia.org or on X (formerly Twitter) @Ballotpedia. *On The Ballot is a conversational podcast featuring interviews with guests across the political spectrum. The views and opinions expressed by them are solely their own and are not representative of the views of the host or Ballotpedia as a whole.

Today Trae talks with Manka Dhingra, a member of Washington State Senate and a candidate for Attorney General. She shares the history of her legal career and her candidacy for Attorney General. Next, Trae sits with Boyah Farah, an Author. He discusses his journey into writing and his book, America Made Me Black.

Brad Benton has announced his intent to run as a Republican for the Washington State Senate in the 18th Legislative District. https://tinyurl.com/y69z9c4c #BradBenton #CandidateAnnouncement #Republican #Conservative #WashingtonStateSenate #18thLegislativeDistrict #WashingtonStateLegislature #LegislativePriorities #WashingtonState #VancouverWa #ClarkCountyWa #ClarkCountyNews #ClarkCountyToday

What’s Trending: The Supreme Court has made their decision in the case in Colorado against Donald Trump, they have sided in favor of Donald Trump. Democrats are not happy with this decision, some saying the Supreme Court is playing too large of a role in Presidential elections. A Seattle homeless encampment is scheduled to be cleared, the camp has blocked entrances to small businesses and is sending gas fumes and feces downhill to other businesses. // Hamas is refusing to agree to a ceasefire that Israel has agreed to and antisemitic progressives are choosing to attack Israel as a result. Kamala Harris is also calling for a ceasefire but also did not further condemn Hamas, most likely to ease the activists.  // The Washington State Senate has passed three initiatives that range from taxes, schools, and police pursuits. 

The Washington State Senate on Monday morning passed three of six initiatives to the Legislature. https://tinyurl.com/3xdhhzua #TheCenterSquareWashington #SixBallotInitiatives #LetsGoWashington #WashingtonSenate #WashingtonStateLegislature #2024LegislativeSession #IncomeTaxBan #SchoolCurriculum #PoliceChases #ParentalBillofRights #WashingtonState #VancouverWa #ClarkCountyWa #ClarkCountyNews #ClarkCountyToday

Three bipartisan bills from Rep. Kevin Waters are one step closer to becoming law after receiving approval from the Washington State Senate this week. https://tinyurl.com/25dz82t8 #WashingtonStateLegislature #2024LegislativeSession #RepKevinWaters #WashingtonStateSenate #HouseBill2204 #HouseBill2260 #HouseBill1982 #BeverageProducers #CommunityEconomicRevitalizationBoard #RuralBroadbandProgram #LiquorAndCannabisBoard #WashingtonState #VancouverWa #ClarkCountyWa #ClarkCountyNews #ClarkCountyToday

Mark Harmsworth of the Washington Policy Center believes HB 2114, and other rent control measures, would create a hostile environment for property owners. http://tinyurl.com/3jb7458b #Opinion #Columns #Commentary #MarkHarmsworth #WashingtonPolicyCenter #HouseBill2114 #WashingtonStateLegislature #2024LegislativeSession #RentControl #WashingtonStateSenate #PropertyOwners #VancouverWa #ClarkCountyWa #ClarkCountyNews #ClarkCountyToday

In this episode of the Shift AI podcast, Joe shares his unique journey from a tech-savvy business professional to a state senator in Washington, emphasizing his work on technology legislation, particularly around AI and facial recognition. The discussion covers the challenges and opportunities of regulating AI technology, balancing innovation with privacy and ethical considerations. They also explore Joe's personal use of AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance his legislative effectiveness, underscoring the potential of AI to transform governance and policy-making. Summary of topics covered: Joe Nguyen's Path to Politics: Nguyen discusses his journey from a tech professional to a state senator in Washington, emphasizing his focus on technology and AI legislation. Personal Origin Story: He shares the compelling story of his family's escape from Vietnam and their resettlement in the United States, highlighting the impact of this history on his career and public service. AI and Facial Recognition Legislation: Nguyen talks about his work on contentious facial recognition legislation, balancing the need for privacy with technological innovation. Utilizing AI in Governance: He reveals how he uses AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance legislative efficiency, particularly in budget discussions and policy formulation. Concerns and Regulation of AI: The conversation touches on the challenges of regulating AI technology, including biases and ethical considerations. Federal and State AI Policy: Nguyen gives his perspective on federal AI initiatives, including President Biden's executive order, and discusses Washington's role in AI leadership. Mentorship and Influences: He reflects on the influence of his family, mentors, and notable figures like Governor Gary Locke on his career. Future of Work and AI: Nguyen concludes with thoughts on basic income as a response to the transformative impact of AI and automation on jobs. Connect with Joe Nguyen Instagram ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Connect with Boaz Ashkenazy ⁠Twitter⁠ ⁠LinkedIn⁠ Email: ⁠shift@simplyaugmented.ai⁠ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/shift-ai/message

Washington State Senate passes clergy mandatory reporting bill...U.S. Secretary of State still hopeful for Israel-Hamas deal...and Las Vegas protest against abortion.

In this episode, we talk to Senator Andy Billig, Senate Majority Leader at Washington State Senate, on how he has spearheaded efforts to integrate environmental stewardship with legislative action in Washington State.Billig's journey in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) began in 2012, leading to pivotal legislation like Senate Bill 5447, which incentivises SAF production to complement Washington's aerospace and technological sectors. The bill, developed through extensive consultation with stakeholders and aimed at boosting local SAF production, has been well-received for its flexibility and environmental focus. Despite challenges in educating legislators and addressing misconceptions about SAF versus other green technologies, the bill passed with near-unanimous support.Post-passage, significant strides have been made, including SkyNRG's plant establishment and BP's exploration of a SAF production facility, marking progress in Washington State's SAF ecosystem. Billig addresses concerns about the bill's scope and the need for a balanced, data-informed approach to SAF development, emphasising the role of technology-neutral legislation and the importance of market dynamics in resource allocation. He highlights the need for continued education, collaboration, and ensuring the sustainability of feedstocks, reflecting on the complexities of advancing SAF within the broader context of environmental and economic sustainability.If you LOVED this episode you'll also love the conversation we had with Dr Susanne Becken, Professor of Sustainable Tourism at Griffith University, Australia, who discusses various aspects of sustainable travel and its relationship with climate change. Check it out here.Learn more about the innovators who are navigating the industry's challenges to make sustainable aviation a reality, in our new book ‘Sustainability in the Air'. Click here to learn more.Feel free to reach out via email to podcast@simpliflying.com. For more content on sustainable aviation, visit our website green.simpliflying.com and join the movement. It's about time.Links & More:Biography - Sen. Andy Billig New $800M sustainable aviation fuel plant planned for Washington state - The Seattle Times BP analyses SAF production at its Cherry Point refinery - The Daily DigestTwelve announces plans to scale production of SAF in Washington State - Biofuels International Magazine Billig bill to incentivize clean jet fuel, spur job creation clears Senate - Sen. Andy Billig How to rethink tourism and aviation for a greener future - SimpliFlying 

On this topical show, Crystal welcomes Andrew Villeneuve, founder of the Northwest Progressive Institute! Crystal learns about the Northwest Progressive Institute's (NPI) work to advance progressive policies through their focuses on research and advocacy, what's covered in NPI's long form blog The Cascadia Advocate, and the importance of reframing in progressive politics. Andrew then describes how six initiatives bankrolled by a disgruntled wealthy Republican are designed to cause a lot of damage to Washington, how NPI's careful approach to polling has led to successful results, and why NPI is advocating for even-year elections to improve voter engagement and participation. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Follow us on Twitter at @HacksWonks. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Twitter at @finchfrii and find Andrew Villeneuve and the Northwest Progressive Institute at @nwprogressive and https://www.nwprogressive.org/   Resources Northwest Progressive Institute   The Cascadia Advocate | Northwest Progressive Institute   Stop Greed   “Initiative 2113 (allowing dangerous police pursuits to resume) gets certified” by Andrew Villeneuve from The Cascadia Advocate   “Reject Initiative 2113 to keep reasonable safeguards on police pursuits in place” by Sonia Joseph and Martina Morris for The Cascadia Advocate   “Initiative 2117 (repealing Washington's Climate Commitment Act) gets certified” by Andrew Villeneuve from The Cascadia Advocate   “Initiative 2081 (jeopardizing student privacy) gets certified” by Andrew Villeneuve from The Cascadia Advocate   “Initiative 2109 (repealing billions of dollars in education funding) gets certified” by Andrew Villeneuve from The Cascadia Advocate   “Initiative 2111 (prohibiting fair taxation based on ability to pay) gets certified” by Andrew Villeneuve from The Cascadia Advocate   “Initiative 2124 (sabotaging the Washington Cares Fund) gets certified” by Andrew Villeneuve from The Cascadia Advocate   Coalition for Even-Year Elections   SB 5723 - Giving cities and towns the freedom to switch their general elections to even-numbered years.   HB 1932 - Shifting general elections for local governments to even-numbered years to increase voter participation.   Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington state through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get the full versions of our Friday week-in-review show and our Tuesday topical show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, the most helpful thing you can do is leave a review wherever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. Well, today I'm thrilled to be welcoming Andrew Villeneuve from Northwest Progressive Institute to the show. Welcome! [00:01:00] Andrew Villeneuve: Thanks, Crystal. [00:01:01] Crystal Fincher: Happy to have you here. For those who may not be aware, Andrew is the founder of the Northwest Progressive Institute and its sibling, the Northwest Progressive Foundation. He's worked to advance progressive causes for over two decades as a strategist, speaker, author, and organizer. A recent focus of his research and advocacy work has been electoral reform. With Senator Patty Kuderer, Andrew and the NPI team developed the legislation that successfully removed Tim Eyman's push polls from Washington ballots - I'm a huge fan of that legislation. And with Councilmember Claudia Balducci, Andrew and the NPI team developed the charter amendment that 69% of King County voters approved in 2022 to move elections for the Executive, Assessor, Elections Director, and Council to even-numbered years - here's to also doing that statewide for municipalities - when voter turnout is much higher in even-numbered years and more diverse. Andrew is also a cybersecurity expert, a veteran facilitator, a delegate to the Washington State Democratic Central Committee, and a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps. Welcome - really excited to have you on and talk about everything that you're doing. [00:02:15] Andrew Villeneuve: Well, thank you. I'm thrilled to be here and can't wait to dive into the conversation. [00:02:19] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. So starting off, what is the Northwest Progressive Institute and what do you do? [00:02:25] Andrew Villeneuve: Well, the Northwest Progressive Institute is a 501(c)(4) strategy center that works to lift up everybody. We try our hardest every day to advance progressive policies that will enable people to lead happier, healthier, more prosperous lives. We just celebrated our 20th anniversary last August, and we have had a lot of success moving policy over the last two decades. We're particularly adept at using research to show people why we need a particular policy - so that could be health care, it could be environmental protection, it could be more education funding. We're not confined to just one issue - we think across issues. But that does mean, of course, that we see all of the places where we're held back. So we look for areas where we can move issues forward simultaneously and that has led us to do a lot of work on tax reform, election reform, and media reform - because those three issues are connected to every other issue. So that's why you'll see us doing a lot of work on fair revenue. on trying to address media concentration, and trying to make sure that elections are fair. Because ultimately, those things do have results, impacts for environmental protection, healthcare, education, foreign policy, every other issue that we care about. I think we're all frustrated by sometimes the slow pace of progress, and so any area where we can link up with another area and make progress at the same time - that's a real opportunity for us. And there's actually a term for this - it's called "strategic initiatives" - comes from George Lakoff. We're big fans of his work. We also do a lot of efforts on reframing. We try to help people understand what frames are and how to use successful arguments so that you don't fall into the trap of debating the other side on their terms. Because we all know when that happens, the best you can do is lose an argument gracefully - you're not going to win the argument. Reframing is key, and we believe that everybody who works in progressive politics needs to understand how to do reframing. So we're always trying to help people figure out - okay, how do we use words that evoke our values and our policy directions and not the other sides'? So that's sort of a taste of what we do. Of course, we could talk for hours about all the specific projects we've worked on, but that is an overall view of what NPI does. [00:04:42] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. Also under the NPI umbrella is The Cascadia Advocate, a publication that I recommend everyone listening follow - very informative. What has been your approach with The Cascadia Advocate and what do you cover? [00:04:55] Andrew Villeneuve: The Cascadia Advocate is a long form blog. It was founded in 2004 in March, and so that means it's going to be celebrating its 20th anniversary itself this spring. And what it is - is it's a place where you can find progressive commentary, sometimes even breaking news, on a daily basis. So if you want to find out why we should pass a particular bill in the legislature, or you want to find out what's happening with Bob Ferguson's latest lawsuit - for example, he just sued Kroger and Albertsons because they're trying to merge and create a giant grocery store chain - we cover those things on The Cascadia Advocate. We publish guest essays. We cover a lot of things that the mass media cover - so we'll sometimes critique how they're covering things, but we'll also provide our own original commentary in addition to just critiquing others' coverage. There's a whole mix there. So you're going to find research findings, media criticism, you're going to find book reviews, you're going to find documentary reviews. You're going to find Last Week in Congress, which is our almost weekly recap - weekly when Congress is in session - of how our delegation voted. So this is a place where you can see Washington, Oregon, and Idaho's Congressional delegations' votes. And that's really helpful. If you're too busy to watch C-SPAN every day - I know I don't have that kind of time because I'm trying to move the ball forward on progressive policy - but I do want to know how our lawmakers voted, I want to be informed. And I imagine a lot of other people listening to Hacks & Wonks would also like to be informed about what our delegation is doing. And so Last Week in Congress is something you can read on Sunday morning - takes a few minutes of your time to skim it. And at the end of that skim, you're going to learn a lot more about how our delegation voted that week. So those are some of the things you're going to find on the Cascadia Advocate. I think it's a great publication. It's well-established and we have a superb code of ethics and style guide and commenting guidelines to make sure that we're putting out a professional product. So we're very proud of that. And the name is right there - Advocate, right? So we're not hiding what we're about. You're not going to have to worry - Well, what's their agenda? How will I know what it is? Because we're going to tell you what our agenda is. We're going to be very upfront about that. But we're also going to be fair, even to those that we criticize. So whether that's Tim Eyman - quoting his emails, letting people know what he said - we're going to tell people what the other side is saying. We're not just going to say what we're saying. But we're also going to be very clear - this is what we believe and this is what we're fighting for. And it's not going to be a mystery to any reader what that is. [00:07:11] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely - I appreciate it. And as many have seen, have shared links in our episode notes many times - recommend that as part of a healthy local media diet. Now, I want to talk about some issues that you've been engaged with since their inception. One of the big ones that we're going to be hearing about, voting on later on this year are the six statewide initiatives coming in 2024 in Washington state. Can you tell us about these and why they're so important to pay attention to? [00:07:42] Andrew Villeneuve: Definitely. So very early this year, a group called Let's Go Washington, which is funded by a hedge fund manager and millionaire named Brian Heywood - he lives not far from me out here on the Eastside in Redmond - east side of King County, that is. He decided that he was going to go all-in on trying to get the right wing back into the initiative business. For those who have been in Washington for a while, the name Tim Eyman is probably familiar to you - Tim Eyman, for years, has been running initiatives to cut taxes and wreck government in Washington state. His agenda is to drown government in a bathtub, so it's basically Grover Norquist at the state level. And Brian Heywood has come along here after several years of Tim Eyman being out of the initiative business. Eyman's last initiative qualified for the ballot in 2018, and it appeared on the ballot in 2019. And despite our best efforts - it had a really dishonest ballot title that it was hard to educate voters what that was, so even though we raised a lot of money and ran the best No campaign that we could - when I say we, I mean the coalition Keep Washington Rolling that formed - we weren't able to defeat that last Eyman initiative. But we were able to go to court after the election was over and get it struck down. So it never went into effect, - which averted a massive transit and transportation catastrophe, I might add. So fast forward a few years, Eyman has been in trouble with the law because he just blatantly disregards public disclosure law, doesn't care about following it. And he also was double-crossing his own supporters - they just weren't getting the truth from him. And so that's why his initiative factory fell apart - when you're lying and cheating all the time, eventually that's going to catch up with you, and that's what happened to Tim Eyman. So he had to declare bankruptcy. The state won a big judgment against him, and he's been out of the initiative business. But Brian Heywood has come in - and Brian Heywood, unlike Tim Eyman, has a lot of money. And he doesn't need to turn to anyone else unless he feels that he has to, but he hasn't done that yet - he's mainly relied on his own money. So he decided that not only was he going to try to qualify a tax-cutting initiative, but he was going to take aim at all these other laws that the Democratic majorities have passed that he doesn't like. So there's six initiatives that he wanted to get on the ballot this last year, so 2023, that are now we're going to be on the ballot in 2024. And that's because these are initiatives to the legislature, so they go to the House and the Senate first. That's something you can do in Washington - you can either submit initiatives directly to the people, or you can submit them to the legislature. And for those who don't know, an initiative is just a proposed law. So it's like a bill of the people - it goes before the legislature. If the legislature doesn't adopt it, then it goes to the people by default. So an initiative - again, just like a bill, but the people get to vote on it, and it comes from a citizen petition. So these initiatives - last year there was going to be 11, but they pared them down to 6. It's kind of like making up for lost time - We weren't on the ballot for several years, so now we're just going to do a whole bunch of initiatives. The first one that they're doing would repeal the Climate Commitment Act. The second one would repeal our capital gains tax on the wealthy, which is funding education and childcare. The third one would repeal the WA Cares Fund, partly by letting people opt out. Then they have one that would roll back our reasonable safeguards on police pursuits. They have one that would establish a parental notification scheme, which is intended, I think, to jeopardize the health of trans youth in part - which I don't like that at all. And then they have one to ban income taxes. And their definition of income tax is anything that falls under this really broad, adjusted gross income umbrella, which could potentially jeopardize the capital gains tax and other sources of funding for things that are really important in our state. So these six initiatives collectively would cause a lot of damage to Washington. We're talking about billions of dollars in lost revenue. We're talking about good policies being repealed. We're talking about a lot of destruction. And so we're working very hard to defeat these initiatives. We've created a PAC that will oppose all of them. And that joint effort is called Stop Greed - to oppose all six initiatives. We have a website - stopgreed.org - and the operation is already up and running. You can donate, you can sign up for the mailing list. If you want to get involved in stopping the six initiatives, we are ready to have your help because this is going to be a year-long effort. We're going to be working with a lot of other allies, organizations that also share our values to protect Washington. But these six initiatives - the legislature can't reject them and then just have them disappear, they're going to go to the ballots. So we have to be ready for that big fight in November. And they're going to appear at the top - so ahead of president, ahead of governor, ahead of everything else that we're thinking about as activists and civic leaders and whatnot. This is going to be the very first thing that people see underneath those instructions - is these six initiatives. So we're getting ready. And again, we invite others to join us in taking on this challenge so we can protect Washington. [00:12:31] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. And this is going to be one of the biggest battles that we've seen in quite some time in Washington state. Those six initiatives that you covered - for those who may not be familiar with Washington Cares, it's basically long-term care insurance that's state provided - trying to meet a need that is massive. Many studies have showed more than half of people over age 60 are going to need long-term care insurance at some point in time for the remainder of their lives. This often is not covered by health insurance, and it is something that has bankrupted people, has left people just in very precarious positions. As we age, as our parents age, this is something that is top of mind for a lot of people. And although no one loves an extra thing to worry about, having the confidence that when you or your family member or friend is in need of care, that they will have access to it is a very, very important thing. In addition to all these other ones - this is our landmark climate legislation, which I've definitely had some criticisms of, but do not support a repeal. I support fixing the areas that need to be fixed. And I think we can't ignore these things. These are some of the biggest pieces of legislation that we have passed that will equip us to deal with the challenges that we face today and that we're going to be facing tomorrow. So really appreciate the effort, the coordinated effort, to make sure that there is a vigorous defense against these. Now, looking at what's going to be involved to beat these - looking at what these ballot initiatives may serve, even beyond their individual goals, is that a lot of times people look to ballot initiatives to motivate a base and to turn out a base. And certainly in Washington state - statewide, Republicans have been not having a good time, have been reaping the consequences of being out-of-touch policy-wise - whether it's on abortion rights to privacy rights, to their views on taxation and things that serve to defund and dismantle our government. What do you see as threats beyond these initiatives individually, but the threat of a motivated conservative voting base here in Washington state in November 2024? [00:14:52] Andrew Villeneuve: Well, I think they're tired of Democratic rule. So they're going to be motivated to turnout because they probably will have Dave Reichert as their gubernatorial candidate - we can't really say nominee because Washington doesn't have a real primary, so we don't nominate people for the general election ballot like they would in other states. But they probably will have Reichert as their candidate, their standard bearer. And that is their best chance to get the governor's mansion since 2012 when Rob McKenna was their candidate in the general election - so I think they're going to be motivated for that reason. I also think the six initiatives are designed to turnout right-wing voters as much as possible - people who are disenchanted with Washington's direction, not happy that we're going a different way than Texas and Florida and Idaho and other states that are Republican-controlled. And so I think that that's an opportunity for them, but it's also an opportunity for us. There can be a backlash to a backlash. And I'm not sure if Brian Heywood and Jim Walsh, who's - by the way, Jim Walsh, the state Republican Party Chair, is the sponsor of all six initiatives. So you've got Heywood and Walsh together - Heywood's the funder, Walsh is the sponsor. I'm not sure if they realize that backlashes can have backlashes. We saw this after Trump came in - there was a backlash to Democratic rule, but then there was a backlash to Trump's electoral college victory. And we saw that play out over the course of four years. It was really, really strong. What happened? You had this mammoth effort to correct what was going on, to have Democrats respond, to say - Okay, well, we're no longer just going to sort of lay down, right? We're going to actually work to turn out people. So we had this huge effort to flip the Washington State Senate in 2017. Then we had this big effort to win the midterms, which saw Democrats get control of the House. And then there was the effort to get the White House back, which also allowed us to get the U.S. Senate back, too, with that runoff in Georgia. So you think about all those sequence of events - how much had to align in order for all those goals to be realized? Because in 2017, Republicans had complete control of the federal government - they had it all - they had the White House, they had the House, they had the Senate, they had the Supreme Court. Democrats had nothing. All we had was some resistance in the states, basically. And we went from that - in the span of three years, we were able to take back the two legislative houses and the White House. We don't have the Supreme Court, but we were able to get the others. And the majorities were narrow, but they were majorities, which meant that we could actually work on progressive policy again. So we were able to pass the American Rescue Plan, CHIPS and Science, we were able to do the infrastructure law. We were able to do a whole bunch of other policies as well - bipartisan postal reform. We did electoral reform to deal with election certification so that we wouldn't have another January 6th. We got marriage equality put in. I mean, there are so many things that happened - I don't know if people remember all those accomplishments. So you think about what we've done federally. And in Washington State, we've been doing the same thing - marching forward - all these laws that Heywood and Walsh want to repeal. So I think they're looking at this as an opportunity to say - It's time to roll back the clock. And that is an opportunity for them. But the opportunity for us is to say - Nope, we're not going to roll back the clock. We're going to keep moving forward. I think doing six initiatives is risky for them. Because one initiative, maybe people aren't going to - they're just not going to rouse themselves as much to care. But six seems like a four-alarm fire for those who are watching from our side. And so it's been really easy for me to - when I explain what's going on, when I make the pitch that we need to stop the initiatives, people are receptive right away. It's not difficult to get people roused and ready to go because they understand six initiatives targeting six progressive accomplishments, whether it's comprehensive sex ed or the climate law or the capital gains tax that's funding education - these are things that we've worked hard on that we're proud of. We don't want them all to be wiped away in the span of one election. So it's an organizing opportunity for us as much as it is for them. And that's the downside of deciding to do so much at one time - is that you're presenting your opponents with an opportunity to do organizing as well, that's sort of a banner opportunity. And they just have to live with that decision - that's the strategy they chose, and so we get to make the most of it from our side. [00:18:55] Crystal Fincher: We've been seeing a number of polls - certainly a lot of discourse and reaction - to whether it's the conflict between Israel and Palestine, whether it is the failure to address climate change, healthcare kind of globally, nationally, to a degree that seems is necessary to actually make a dent in these issues. Do you see motivation in the base, especially the younger progressive voters, as being an issue that may be problematic come November? Or do you think that there are things that can be done to mitigate that, or that it won't be an issue? [00:19:33] Andrew Villeneuve: Well, it's hard to know the future. I always tell people I don't do predictions because predictions are fraught with danger. It's just - you can easily be wrong, and people are convinced that they know what's going on. I take the view that it's hard to know what's going on and that's why we have to do research, so that we can try to understand it better. And I also warn people against the danger of drawing too many conclusions based on what you've seen on Twitter, which Elon Musk now calls X, or Facebook or TikTok or any of those platforms. Those are not representative of public opinion, not even young people's opinions. There are many people who just aren't there. So you can obviously follow some vocal voices and you can see what they're saying - there's nothing wrong with that, checking in - but don't sweep to conclusions about what those folks are saying and say - Oh, well, all Gen Zers are upset about what's happening here or there, because that's the prevailing sentiment on TikTok, right - that's a mistake. That can give you clues as to what people are thinking and feeling, but it's not where you want to draw your conclusions. And polling helps to get a little broader perspective, but it's still a sample. So we do a ton of polling at NPI. One of the things we're known for is our research. And I caution people - you can do enormous amounts of research and still only see a fraction of what you want to see. There's so much you could look at in terms of public opinion, like this issue, that issue, this race, that race - so many detailed, specific follow-up questions you could ask. And in a given survey, there's going to be limitations - you can only ask about so much. We try to do a lot of insightful research, but I'm mindful of the limitations of public opinion research. In the end, you come into every election somewhat unprepared because you don't exactly know what's out there, right? So that's why what I call big organizing, which is a term that comes out of the Sanders campaign and other efforts - big organizing is this idea that we're going to talk to everybody as often as we can, which is hard because how do you have all those conversations? Well, it involves canvassing, it involves actually going out there and doing neighborhood meetings and doing that organizing - having those discussions with people. It turns out even people who are unhappy with politics want to talk politics when they get the right settings - you got a canvasser, who's very understanding, going to somebody's door, having a half an hour long conversation. People actually feel better after they've had that conversation - they're very appreciative that somebody wants to hear from them. So as a movement, I think we need to go out there and have those conversations with folks. And we need to make sure that if people live in areas that are hard to doorbell, that we're finding other ways to reach them. But that all requires investment - primarily time. Money, too, but primarily time because someone's got to go do that organizing, that outreach work. And they've got to be able to go to the door or go to that other setting where they're going to have that conversation. So in terms of getting young people plugged in and engaged, I think it's going to be tough. I think there's a lot of distractions in our culture now, it's very hard to get people to decide - yes, I'm going to vote, I'm going to take the time to do that - especially if you live in a state where they've made voting hard, like Georgia. Washington - we're blessed, because voting is easier here than anywhere else in the country. But we see in odd years, it's still hard to get people to vote. That's why we're so big on even-year elections for local governments, because those even-numbered years, more young people come out. But we've just got to have a strategy for mobilizing people. It doesn't just happen on its own. You can't just sit back and go - Oh, well, we'll just hope that it works out. Nope. You don't let events shape you. You go out there and shape the events with a strategy. And so it's very important that as progressives, we don't just let the Biden campaign do the work. We don't just let the Democratic Party do the work and say - Well, they'll figure it out. We all have to be working together to figure out what the strategy is and then implement that strategy, to the extent that we can agree on what that strategy is going to be. So for those who are not involved in some kind of direct action organization, I would find one - I think that's worth doing. This is a year when democracy is on the line. So getting involved in some way - no matter what the outcome is in November, you're going to feel good that you invested some time in trying to mobilize and turn out young voters and get them to save democracy along with everybody else who's going to be voting. So that's my advice for folks who are listening - find an organization to plug into that's going to do something to help young voters get engaged in this election, turnout and vote, save democracy. Because there's only one way to do that - and that is to reelect President Biden and Vice President Harris, in my view - there's no other outcome that will allow us to make any progress on issues we care about, including trying to bring an end to the violence in the Middle East. What's happening in Gaza is terrible, but that's not going to get better if Donald Trump gets back in. [00:23:58] Crystal Fincher: Now, I want to talk about research - your polling. Local polling is hard - you hear that from a variety of polling organizations, we see it in results that have been really wonky in the past several years with surprising outcomes in several individual states. Polling on a smaller scale - smaller geographies, smaller communities - is a challenging thing. However, you've managed to do quite well at it. We've seen in your polling in the Seattle City Council elections, which looked straight on. You polled previously the Housing Levy, King County Conservation Futures Levy, Senate races, House races - were right on. And so I just want to talk a little bit about your approach and how you put those together, and why you feel like you're seeing better results locally than some other organizations. [00:24:54] Andrew Villeneuve: Well, thank you for that. It starts with a rigorous commitment to the scientific method. One of the things that I think people don't understand about public opinion research is anyone can do it. You don't have to be an objective organization to do objective research. You can be subjective - and we are - but your research has to follow the scientific method if it's going to have any value. And what that basically comes down to is neutral questions asked of representative samples - that's the key. And actually, it's very hard to ask neutral questions of representative samples. The question writing part is particularly fraught with difficulty because there are so many ways to write a question that is loaded or biased and to use language that favors the agenda of the asker. Basically, writing a push poll is easy, writing a neutral poll is hard. And we've seen that over and over again, especially when I look at the work of our Republican friends across the aisle - Moore Information, Trafalgar - these firms are just, I can see their work product and I have deep questions about especially what they're not releasing because I know that what they are releasing is only a fraction of what they're actually asking. But when you ask a question - and you look at a group that does put out all of their work, like Future 42, which uses Echelon Insights, you read through their questionnaire and it's - okay, after the first four questions, which are so simple it's hard to get them wrong. After that, you start going to the rest of the questionnaire and it's biased. It's loaded. The questions are favoring conservative frames. So you're not going to find out what people think if you tell them what to think first - that's one of the cardinal rules that I tell my team all the time - Whatever the topic is, we have to get this question right because we're not going to learn what people think if we don't. You don't want to have worthless data come back. And that really means that you've got to think about - Okay, well, how are we presenting the issue? What are we going to say in the question? And a lot of the times what we'll do is, we'll say - Proponents are saying this and opponents are saying that. So that's one way you can do it. And you have to really go out there and you have to find their words, their frames - so you have to be fair to their perspective. Even if you don't like it, it doesn't matter. As a question writer, you want that perspective represented to the best of its ability, right? So if Rob McKenna has said that the capital gains tax is an income tax - it's an illegal, unconstitutional income tax that will kill jobs and wreck the economy. We're putting that whole thing into our question, because we want people to hear what it is that they're saying. And then we're going to put that up against our best arguments and see what wins. So we've done that and we found that our frames, our arguments beat their arguments. And that's good news. But we only learned that because we actually did a fair question. If we had just said - Oh, well, this is why the capital gains tax is great. What do you think about the capital gains tax? People are going to say it's great. And so we haven't really learned anything other than - yes, people respond to our question prompts in the way that we would want them to. But that doesn't really tell us what people have brought to the table in terms of their own opinions. So that's part of how we've been successful is - when we do polling, we're not trying to gin up some numbers for a particular cause or a candidate. We're not looking to get numbers that just reinforce the conclusion that we already reached. And I think a lot of consultants jump to conclusions, like at the beginning of a race, they'll say - Well, let me tell you how it's going to be. And our approach is we don't know how it's going to be - let's go out and get some data and see what people are thinking and feeling. And of course, we understand that whatever that data is, it's a snapshot in time and that the race could change. So like with the governor's race, we've been polling that and we're seeing some changes - Bob Ferguson is consolidating support, he's not as well known as people who are on the inside of politics might think he is. Nor is Dave Reichart, for that matter. People know who Jay Inslee is. They know who Joe Biden is. They know the top names in politics, but the attorney general is not the governor, and people don't know the attorney general as well as they know the governor. And they don't know Dave Reichert, as well as they know Jay Inslee either. So we're seeing in our polling, the candidates have an opportunity to introduce themselves to voters. And we know that if we ask a neutral question about anything, again, whether it's the governor's race or another race, then we're going to have hopefully an opportunity to find out where people are. And then presenting that data in a way that's responsible, not just dumping the numbers out there and letting people jump to their own conclusions about what do the numbers mean. Even if they were responsibly collected, I think responsible publication includes context for those numbers. What do the numbers mean? Why are the numbers the way they are? What's the explanation for that? So when we release a poll finding, we never just put the numbers out there, we never just dump a poll file out there for people to read. We always provide analysis - this is what we think the numbers mean. And you can read the analysis on The Cascadia Advocate - that's the vehicle for all the poll findings to be released. People, when they want to see our polling, we're going to give them an opportunity to really understand what we're thinking when we saw the numbers - Okay, this is our take. And we always tell people in those analyses - We don't know the future, this is suggestive, it's not predictive. And you should expect that there's a possibility that the poll is off. But, I will say in the 10 years we've been doing research polling, we've yet to have our results be contradicted by an election result. And that's just because we write the neutral questions. And then our pollsters, who I haven't talked about yet, but we work with three different pollsters. And they've all got a strong commitment to responsible fielding - building samples that actually look like the electorate. That's how you get results, too. It's not just the questions are good, but the fielding is appropriate - you're building those representative samples. And then you can hopefully get data that reflects the actual dynamic that's out there. And so when the election then occurs - if the polling has correctly captured the public sentiment that's out there, you should expect to see a correlation. It won't line up exactly. I've had people tell me - Well, your poll was off. The margin was this and your poll said it would be that. I'm like - Polls don't predict, so you shouldn't expect the margins to line up one-to-one or anything like that. But if a poll says such-and-such is ahead of their rival and they then go on to win the election, that's an indication that the poll did understand something about what's going on out there. So that's basically validation in my book. You're never going to get perfect alignment, like the poll has 54% and the candidate gets 54%, and it's off by maybe just a fraction of a decimal or something - that's not going to happen in polling, you don't expect that alignment. So I think that's why we've been successful is that commitment to the scientific method. And we're not going to deviate from that - we're just full steam ahead with that same commitment to excellence. [00:31:12] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, I really appreciate you explaining that. I do think that is a big reason for why your polls have seemed to accurately capture public sentiment. And I appreciate you talking about - you can be a partisan organization and still poll accurately. In fact, it's really critical that the accuracy is there. I think there's this assumption that - Oh, it's a partisan organization - they just want something to confirm what they already believe, to tell them that what they want to happen is popular. And that is a recipe for disaster in the medium and long-term - that sets you up for thinking you're in a different situation than is realistic. And then you don't win campaigns, you don't win ballot initiatives - you have to accurately understand where the public is in order to do anything with that from a campaign perspective, which is really important. And I do see polls from the Chamber where reading through the poll - and I highly recommend every time there is a poll, especially from news organizations, I will say Cascadia Advocate does excellent poll analysis - but most articles and most publications that I see, I always find different things than are encapsulated in their poll write-up when I read the actual poll. Reading the actual poll is a really illuminating thing - and you can see questions asked in very leading ways, you can see one side's argument is presented and another isn't, or one is misrepresented. And those are really problematic things for a poll. Sometimes people do use polls - if they aren't really looking to get information - just as a marketing tactic. But that becomes pretty apparent when you're reading the poll, when you're seeing - they aren't really asking these questions to get informative answers about what the public believes and why. So I think that's been really illuminating. Looking forward, what do you plan on tracking? Are you going to be tracking the six initiatives? Are you going to be polling the statewide races? What is your plan for research? [00:33:13] Andrew Villeneuve: Yes, we're going to be doing all that. The governor's race - we have a commitment to the public that we're going to poll on the governor's race - and no matter what the data is, we're going to release it, that's our commitment. We've polled on the governor's race three times already this cycle. And we're going to do it three to four times again this year. At the end of the cycle, you're going to have gotten six to seven different findings from us - different seasons of data - which will tell the story of the governor's race. How did it start out and where does it kind of end up? When I say end up, I say "kind of" because - of course, the election happens after that last poll. So we're going to have election data soon after that final poll comes out in October and that data will tell us who wins the governor's race. And that's the final word. But until we have that election results, then polling will help us understand what could be happening out there - I say "could," because again, we don't know what is happening until people vote and the election data comes in and then tells us - Okay, this candidate's ahead of that candidate, this is the voices of millions of people. Polls can only give you a peek into what might be happening at the time - that's the best we can do because there's no real way - sometimes people will ask me about sample sizes. This is a fun inside bit of polling. So a lot of people are convinced that the larger a sample size, the better the poll is. Not so. A poll can be perfectly representative if the sample is just 300 or 400 voters - it's not the size of the sample that matters, it's how representative it is. If it reflects the electorate, then it's a good sample. If it is not representative of the electorate, you've got a problem. So you could have 10,000 voters in your sample, which would be huge, right? Nobody has samples that big. But if they're all progressive voters in Seattle, or if they're all Trump voters from somewhere in rural Washington - it's not representative of the electorate and the data's worthless. It can't tell you what's happening in a statewide race. So we'll be polling the governor's race. We'll be looking at Attorney General, we're going to look at U.S. President, we're going to look at U.S. Senate. We're going to look at basically all the competitive statewide races. In October, I expect that we'll have a poll result for every single statewide race. And there are so many that that's probably going to be the entire poll. We're not even going to be able to ask any policy questions because we're going to have six initiatives, possibly a few State Supreme Court races. We're going to have U.S. President. We're going to have U.S. Senate. We're going to have nine statewide executive department positions. Plus, we're going to have a generic question for Congress and legislature. So that's our poll - the whole poll is already written. I already know what's going to be in the poll because there's so much on the ballot this cycle that there's no room to ask about anything else. That's a lot of poll results to have to release. And it will take us some time to ship them all. We're not going to do it all in one day, that's for sure. Because I think what's responsible is to provide that analysis, as I said. So we're not going to do - Okay, here's the entire poll. Goodbye. Enjoy it. No, we're going to take the time to look at each of the results. And so that probably means it'll take us a whole week to talk about all the different poll results. And people are going to say - Why don't you release everything at once? I want to see it all. Well, because we want to give you the context. We want to give you our view on what's happening so that you understand the background, especially if you're not from here - if you're from another state, you're reading this polling, you want to know who are these people, what are the dynamics in this race, why is such-and-such ahead, what's the theory behind that. That context is going to be really helpful to you as a reader, so we're committed to providing it. [00:36:27] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. And what polling firms do you work with? [00:36:30] Andrew Villeneuve: So there are three we work with. Public Policy Polling out of North Carolina is the one we started working with first - our relationship goes back over 10 years, and they've done excellent work for us. I'm particularly proud of our 2020 and 2022 polling because those are the two most recent even-year cycles. But in 2020, this was the first time that we went up and down the entire statewide ballot, including State Supreme Court races. And we're the only ones polling on State Supreme Court races. Nobody else does that, I'm especially proud that we do that. Probably this year we're going to poll on them - any that are contested, we'll do at least two rounds of polling - probably May and October. And you mentioned earlier that polling can be tough, especially at the state and local level. And one of the reasons it can be tough is because a lot of people will tell you they're not sure who they're voting for. If the race isn't partisan, then you can have an enormous number of people who say they're not sure - sometimes over 80%. And that can make it very difficult. But you still learn something when you ask people about their opinions - because you'll find out people's familiarity with the candidates, and you will also discover if there's been a change. So like in 2020, we said - Okay, we've learned that no one else polls State Supreme Court races, so let's poll them repeatedly because then at least we'll have data of our own to compare to from different seasons. So in May, we polled them and then we polled them again in October. And that was really valuable to have that comparison and to see just little small changes. What we saw was the incumbent justices like Raquel Montoya-Lewis - they picked up a little bit of support, so that suggested they were actually getting some awareness of their candidacies before the voters. And that was illuminating - so there weren't many people who really knew much about these candidates, but still there were a small number who had heard something and had decided how they were going to vote. And that was an indicator. And that indicator proved to be accurate. It accurately foreshadowed what really did happen in the election. So we're committed to doing that again. And we believe that it's crucially important that people have some data in those races. If you're an observer, data that gives you some inkling of what's going to happen in a race that's so far down-ballot that nobody else is really, frankly, writing about it - I mean, that's gold. These are the things that I wanted back in the day when we weren't doing all this polling. So I've always been of the mind that if it doesn't exist and you really want it, you should create it if you think it's really needed. The other companies we work with - Change Research does a lot of our local polling. They've been working with us in Seattle and Spokane, and they've worked with us in Snohomish County and Pierce County. We've polled all the major counties with them, and we just love working with them. They're great. And then our third pollster is Civiqs. They are more recent on the scene. They're not as well-established as Public Policy Polling - they're a newer company, but they do great work. Their polling in the Senate race last cycle with Patty Murray and Tiffany Smiley - they were the ones who had Murray really way out there ahead and Smiley well behind. When I saw that work - they were dedicated to putting out this really great polling, said - Well, we need to add them to our group of trusted pollsters because they've proved they can do great work. So we've got those three now, and I'm not averse to working with other pollsters that have proved themselves as well. But every pollster we work with has to be committed to the scientific method. We will not accept any work that is done contrary to that method because that will yield worthless data. We don't want to pay for data that doesn't have any value, that isn't collected transparently and with integrity. We love working with all of our pollsters and we're excited to do good work with them this cycle. [00:39:50] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, I appreciate that breakdown. I appreciate something you said earlier, particularly as a political consultant. There are several consultants - lots industry-wide, it's an issue - where they have preconceived notions of what's going on and they are looking for confirmation, or they decide that they know what the dimensions of a race are and why people are aligned on certain sides and sometimes stick hard and fast to that. There's a different approach. You can wait and see what the information is. Certainly, we have our theories and ideas, but we learn so much more by actually looking at the data, waiting on the data, not being so devoted or tied to a specific theory or something that must happen. If you leave yourself open to say - I think this might be happening, I'm seeing something happen, I think these could be reasons why - test that, understand the data and research, and see how it turns out. And one thing you mentioned - I think it's particularly illuminating for people who do that - any race, most races, especially if it's not someone at the top of the ticket, is going to have a lot of people who are unfamiliar with the people involved. There are going to be a lot of people who are undecided - just not familiar with an issue, not familiar with a candidate. But when you do poll over time like you do, and when you do see how those people who were initially undecided then wind up making a decision, how they align on those - that can tell you a lot about why people are favoring something or another, who messages are landing with, what is effective and what's not effective. So even if you aren't getting specific data of someone saying - I don't know - polling over time and then once they do figure that out, or sometimes they just end up not voting, right? All of that information is valuable in putting together a picture for why people believe the things that they believe, why people are favoring certain candidates or policies, and how that might translate to other issues or races. So appreciate the repeated polling. Now, I do want to ask you - as someone who does work with polling organizations and hearing a number of nonprofits, other 501(c)(4)s, be interested in that space - what advice would you give to organizations who are potentially interested in working with a pollster to field polls of their own? [00:42:04] Andrew Villeneuve: Well, I guess the top advice I'd give is go seek out people who do it regularly. NPI is always happy to help people find out how we can answer our research objectives. Maybe you're trying to pass a bill in the legislature, maybe you'd like to get a ballot measure passed, maybe you're working on a policy that you think will come to fruition in 10 years and you want to get some initial data - we're happy to help. And of course, you can just go approach a pollster. But in our experience, most pollsters - their goal is to do the fielding and their goal is to get the project turned around and back to you. And then they move on to their next project because that's the polling business. Pollsters specialize in fielding and they do polls every week. They can't really linger on a project for six months and be - Well, we'll help you analyze that data. Their job is to give you the data, not necessarily to help you make sense of the data. Of course, they will try, in a basic sense, to help you make sense of it. If you are like - Well, I don't understand this crosstab, or I don't understand this results, or can you help me with this? - they'll do that. They'll answer all your questions to the best they can. But what is, I think, missing there is the guide. The pollster is going to do the fielding to the best of their ability. But can they actually guide you through all steps of the process? Some pollsters do specialize in providing more of that guidance, but they also charge a lot more. If you want that guidance, if you want that expert hand to assist you at all stages - not just writing the survey, but also deciphering what comes back - you're going to pay more. Lake Research Partners, FM3, other pollsters I can think of - that's their model. They do excellent work. I love them. We don't work with those pollsters as much because we're able to bring a lot of our own expertise to the table. So we work with pollsters that primarily do a really good job of fielding, but they're going to let us design the questionnaire because we want to do that. Of course, we'll take their input and counsel, but we'd like to write our own questionnaires. And so we work with pollsters that are comfortable with that arrangement. But if you're a nonprofit who needs help writing the questionnaire, then going with a firm like Lake Research Partners is going to be a great idea. But you are going to pay a minimum probably of $25,000 for that project. And you can expect to pay as much as $50,000 or more for that assistance and that data. Research - it's something that can be really expensive to collect. So for those who love our research, we do accept donations to keep it going. You can donate at NPI's website. We do put the money that people donate right into our polling, so people do have that ability to support our research budget directly. And we actually use a donation processing platform that has no credit card fees, so the processing platform eats the fees. And the reason they can do that is because people can leave tips for the processor. So regardless of whether you leave a tip or not, though, we get 100%. So it's not quite the same as - well, click here to pay the nonprofit's credit card fees. You can actually just donate. And whether or not you tip or not, we're going to get 100%. And that's very innovative - that's the kind of thing that NPI does. We look for ways to make sure that we're running the most fiscally responsible nonprofit that we can. We try to be very cost-conscious. So when we do an event, it's usually in a public space. We usually source the food ourselves - we find a restaurant that will do a really great job for us, a local restaurant that we want to do business with, and then we bring them in to do the food in a public space. And that allows us to keep the costs under control of that event. When we do a fundraiser, a lot of that money can then go right into our research polling. So if you come to our spring fundraising gala - you buy a ticket - most of your ticket's actually going to go into research and advocacy. It's not going to go into event costs. And that's not something that every nonprofit can say. So for those nonprofits that want to learn - how do we do it? How do we keep the costs in check? How do we practice research responsibly? We're happy to talk and provide advice and guidance. And whether or not you want to take advantage of what our expertise is and work with us on a project, or whether you want to do something yourself - we can help. We can provide you at least with the leads that you need to get started and do your work. But if you are going to be doing research and you haven't done it before, and you're going to work with a pollster and you're expecting them to provide a complete package for you - just be prepared to pay well out of the five figures. [00:46:04] Crystal Fincher: Right. That expertise is valuable. And that is reflected in some of those costs, as you mentioned. Now, I do want to talk about your work this legislative session. The session recently started and there's a lot on deck. I want to start off talking about the even-year elections bill. What is that and why does it matter? [00:46:27] Andrew Villeneuve: So this is a bill that would let localities switch their elections to even years when turnout is higher and more diverse. There's two versions of the bill - one that NPI wrote is in the Senate, and it just covers cities and towns. And the other one, which is based on the one we wrote and is sponsored by our friend Mia Gregerson - which we also support, we support them both - covers a lot more local government. So it's cities and towns, but then it's also ports and school boards and so on. And basically what we're trying to do is we're trying to liberate these important local elections from the curse of super low, not diverse turnout. So we know that in odd years, turnout's been declining - in fact, last year, 2023, we set a record for the worst voter turnout in Washington state history, around 36%. We're getting into special election territory with our odd year turnouts. So that means that in a special election, the turnout's going to be somewhere between like 25% and 35%. Well, regular election turnout in odd years is now approaching that special election average, which is not good. And so to liberate localities from that problem of having their leaders chosen by the few instead of the many, we want to let localities switch into even years - at their option. We're not making them. So we could propose a bill that would make it mandatory. And New York State is actually switching a lot of their localities to even years and it's not an option, as I understand their legislation. But our legislation makes it optional. So that way we could do some pilots to see how it would work here in Washington state. Because there's a lot of folks in the election community who are real skittish about this. Because we've had a system in place for 50 years where local governments go in odd-numbered years for the most part - there's some exceptions, which I'll mention in a second - and then the state and federal is in even years. And they're comfortable with this arrangement. It provides continuity and consistency - every year there's going to be work for our election staff to do. And people should get into the habit of voting every year - I think the auditors are in love with this bifurcated system. And the problem is the voters are not. And so the old saying is, You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink. Well, we can schedule the election in the odd-numbered year, but that doesn't mean people are going to vote then. And I think it's wrong to have - in my city, I look at Redmond's turnout percentages, and it's true for other cities too, like Seattle - you can look at the turnout and say, Well, 37% of the voters are picking who's the mayor of our city? I don't like that. I want the mayor being chosen by like 60% to 80% of the voters. And that's what would happen if that election was being held one year later or earlier. It just doesn't make sense that we're having these elections at times when most people aren't voting. We know that if we move them to an even-numbered year, people will vote in them. There are some folks who say - Well, they're down-ballot, so no one's going to vote in them. Not true. When you look at data from other states, or when you look at data from here - because sometimes we have a special election. One of the things you were talking about earlier is the governor's race. But Seattle's actually going to have a special city council election this year - it's an even-numbered year, and there's going to be a city council election right there on the ballot. And that election - you and I can go over the data after it comes back, but I'm willing to say right now, even though I told you I don't like predictions, but I'm willing to tell you, I think the turnout in that city council election is going to blow the doors off of the regular turnout for that same position three years ago. It's going to be like twice as much or something in that territory. And that's because it's a special election in an even-numbered year. And it will be way down the ballot. People will vote for it. So what that shows is that people are still going to keep voting, even after they get past president and governor and these higher-profile positions - they're going to keep going. They're going to keep voting. And that's the benefit of local elections moving over - is they get to ride the coattails of those state and federal offices. And we will hear, of course - people say, Well, you're going to kill local issues. You're going to bury local issues because you're having these elections at the same time as state and federal. So they're going to get drowned or swamped out. And actually, I love paradoxes. And one of the things that's a real paradox in politics is - you might think local issues just can't compete with state and federal. Oh, no. Local issues do very well when they're in the mix. Why is that? Because first of all - if people are not paying attention to begin with, it takes an enormous amount of energy just to get them to care about anything. So if you're a canvasser in Kent and nobody knows there's an election, nobody knows. So you're going door-to-door and you're like - Well, have you voted in the election? What election? What are you talking about? Okay. It's a lot harder to get people to care about the election when they don't know about it and they're not interested and they think it's an off-year. And I hate that term "off-year," by the way. Don't use it, but it's out there. It's used all the time, so people think - Oh, it doesn't matter. My vote doesn't matter. It's an off-year. Well, it's not. Every year is an on-year - but people hear that it's an off-year, so they think it doesn't matter. So they don't vote. And then they're told at the door maybe - if somebody comes to their door, which may or may not happen - but if someone does, they get told, Well, it does matter - but does that conversation actually move them to care? Whereas in an even year, that same person comes to their door - they already know there's going to be an election, they're already primed to vote. So now you're just trying to get them to take action in a race where they're already going to vote - they just need to make sure that when they get to that bottom of the ballot, they're going to check for a particular candidate. So as a canvasser, that makes your life so much easier. And people can still do - we've heard all about, Well, TV ads are going to cost more and radio is going to cost more. Well, that might be true. But local candidates need to be doorbelling anyway. So doorbelling is not going to cost more in an even-numbered year - it's going to be the same price. You're not going to have to worry about that. It might cost a little more to print your literature because you'll be competing with more campaigns. But there are trade-offs, which is if you're a local candidate, you're running for Teresa Mosqueda's council seat that she's given up because she went to the County Council - well, you can go out and campaign with other endorsed candidates, like your legislative candidates. You'll be able to doorbell with them if you want, because they're going to have to doorbell too. So there's opportunities to do joint campaigning that haven't existed before. And you mentioned earlier that King County is moving to even years as a result of our charter amendment. So even if our legislation doesn't pass at the state level for cities and towns and other local governments, we're still going to get data back from the county starting in 2026, because voters have signed off on that already. And I'm convinced that what we're going to see is that folks like Claudia Balducci are going to be running for a four-year term in 2026, and they're going to find all these opportunities to go out and campaign with people. And the turnout in their districts and countywide is going to be much bigger than what they've seen in the past. And this is an opportunity to get people connected to King County government who don't even know that it really is there. So it's very exciting - that's what our bill does is it gives localities the option. They can either do it through ballot measure or they can do it councilmanically if they want. If they do it councilmanically, they have to hold several hearings spaced 30 days apart so that people know that it's happening. So we don't want anybody being surprised by such a change. The way I see it - if this bill passes, let's say Seattle wanted to do it - if they were prepared, they could turn around a charter amendment to the people of Seattle in time for the November general election. Because they have to change their charter - they can't just pass an ordinance in Seattle, because that's a first-class city. So if we pass our bill, it gets signed into law in March or April, then by June it's in effect. And then the City of Seattle can use that law - they could propose a charter amendment and then submit it by August, turn it around. The vote happens in November. By 2025 - by this time next year - Seattle could, in a best case scenario, if they wanted, they could be starting their transition to even-year elections. But first, our bill would have to pass - either the Senate version or the House version, doesn't matter. One of them has to pass. And that has to get signed into law.

What's Trending: two separate shootings occurred on Thursday on King County highways within two hours of each hour.  A new bill has been proposed in the Washington State Senate by Democrats that would ban hostile architecture intended to prevent homeless from staying, another bill would impose harsher consequences for graffiti, and some travelers are becoming more dissatisfied as the Boeing 737 MAX-9 groundings create more delays at airports. // A Texas student was suspended for his dreadlock hairstyle and the principal is doubling down on the decision, and a teachers' union is advocating their withdrawal of support for Biden until he  brings about a "permanent cease-fire" in Gaza. // Several layoffs happened recently at big companies in Seattle like REI and Microsoft. 

On this week's episode of TheFallenState TV, host Jesse Lee Peterson is joined by Senator Karen Keiser—She is the distinguished President Pro Tempore of the Washington State Senate representing its 33rd Legislative District. With an illustrious career in public service, Senator Keiser joins Jesse to discuss her new book, 'Getting Elected is the Easy Part: Working and Winning in the State Legislature.' This engaging conversation unravels the intricacies of the legislative process, offering viewers a unique glimpse into the challenges and triumphs of state governance. Senator Keiser's wealth of experience and wisdom promises to provide valuable insights into the inner workings of the political landscape. Don't miss this episode, where faith, politics, and practical advice converge in a discussion that explores the journey beyond election campaigns. Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation that transcends party lines and delves into the heart of effective governance. They touch on faith, forgiveness, marriage, motherhood, mess, politics, and much more!

On this week's episode of TheFallenState TV, host Jesse Lee Peterson is joined by Senator Karen Keiser—She is the distinguished President Pro Tempore of the Washington State Senate representing its 33rd Legislative District. With an illustrious career in public service, Senator Keiser joins Jesse to discuss her new book, 'Getting Elected is the Easy Part: Working and Winning in the State Legislature.' This engaging conversation unravels the intricacies of the legislative process, offering viewers a unique glimpse into the challenges and triumphs of state governance. Senator Keiser's wealth of experience and wisdom promises to provide valuable insights into the inner workings of the political landscape. Don't miss this episode, where faith, politics, and practical advice converge in a discussion that explores the journey beyond election campaigns. Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation that transcends party lines and delves into the heart of effective governance. They touch on faith, forgiveness, marriage, motherhood, mess, politics, and much more!

Episode page with video, transcript, and more My guest for Episode #215 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA). I'm very honored to have him here. Rep. Smith represents the 9th District of the State of Washington. He was reelected to his 14th term in 2022 and has been the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee since 2011. He served as chair of the committee from 2018–2022 when the Democrats controlled the majority in the US House.  The Congressman is also the author of a new book, available now, Lost and Broken: My Journey Back from Chronic Pain and Crippling Anxiety. In this episode, Rep. Smith shares his favorite mistake story about his first-ever campaign and election, for Washington State Senate. What assumption did he make about what would make a successful campaign strategy? Did he adjust and recover in time? Mark's New Book - "The Mistakes That Make Us" We also discuss the journey described in his book, a journey back to physical and mental health. What mistakes did he make and what mistakes does Rep. Smith say are common in healthcare? How did he learn not to beat himself up for mistakes and why is sharing mistakes so important to him? How can the rest of us avoid similar mistakes related to health and healthcare? Mark's New Book – “The Mistakes That Make Us” Questions and Topics: Asked on June 1st: Is the U.S. avoiding the national mistake of a debt default? In the book, you share some mistakes… why is it helpful to do so? For readers to realize our elected leaders (like all people) make mistakes? How have you learned to not beat yourself up over mistakes? Is it a mistake to not want to see a psychotherapist? How do people know when they should seek help for mental health concerns?? Tell us about the perceived need for a politician to keep mental health problems quiet… going back to VP nominee Thomas Eagleton… a year before I was born, getting replaced as the nominee after past bouts of depression were revealed… Is the public getting more accepting of admissions of mental health issues? Doctors failed to get to the root cause of your problems by just pushing pills? You CAN get better — it was a long journey to find the right caregivers? Tell us about your book Lost and Broken — how did it come to be? Did it help you process that stress? From the book: “My own reelection campaign in 1994 presented challenges, as I have described, but I learned from them. I made mistakes.” — what were those? Did it get easier to run as the incumbent over time? --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/favorite-mistake/support

In this podcast episode I interview Candace Mercer a local Olympia, Washington journalist regarding the Washington State Senate passing of Bill 5599 virtually eliminating parental rights in that state. We also spoke about a teacher who had groomed, molested & raped a student! https://candacemercer.substack.com https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?Year=2023&BillNumber=5599 https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2023-24/Pdf/Bill%20Reports/Senate/5599%20SBA%20HS%2023.pdf https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/washington-bill-allowing-government-to-hide-your-kid-from-you-clears-house/ https://candacemercer.substack.com/p/olympia-school-district-refuses-to?utm_source=direct&r=18tqxb&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/conservativeatheist1970/message

The Washington State Senate and House of Representatives are at odds over a bill that would make possession of hard drugs a misdemeanor rather than a gross misdemeanor, with the Senate arguing that the stronger penalty is necessary to combat the opioid epidemic and save lives. https://bit.ly/3zTWazT #SenJohnBraun #WashingtonStateLegislativeDistrict #2023LegislativeSession #SenateBill5536 #SB5536 #WashingtonStateSenate #DrugPossessionLaw #WashingtonStateHouseOfRepresentatives #SupremeCourtsBlakeDecision #WashingtonState #ClarkCountyWa #ClarkCountyNews #ClarkCountyToday

Democrats in the Washington State Senate have proposed Senate Bill 5770, which would increase the limit on annual property tax increases without voter approval from 1% to 3%, drawing criticism from Republican lawmakers. http://bit.ly/41tvAt2 #SenateRepublicanCaucus #WashingtonStateLegislature #2023LegislativeSession #SenateBill5770 #SB5770 #SenLyndaWilson #SenJohnBraun #StateAndLocalPropertyTaxes #VoterApproval #MajorityDemocrats #TaxIncreaseProposal #WashingtonState #VancouverWa #ClarkCountyWa #ClarkcountyNews #ClarkCountyToday

The middle housing bill passed the Washington State Senate this week. It would allow duplexes and townhomes in neighborhoods now dominated by single-family homes. But where the density goes is still being negotiated.

On this episdoe of Legislative Review: Assault Weapons ban bill was debated in the Washington State Senate and a bill to maintain the use of Mifepristone (abortion pill). Lastly a bill regarding domestic violence cases.

The Washington State Senate is set to debate two Democrat-sponsored bills that would place new restrictions on gun ownership, but members of the Senate Freedom Caucus vow to defend Second Amendment rights, calling the bills an attack on constitutional rights. https://bit.ly/3Um80MM #WashingtonStateSenate #SenateFreedomCaucus #SencondAmendmentRights #2A #DemocratSponsoredBills #SevereNewRestrictions #GunOwnership #WashingtonStateLegislature #2023LegislativeSession #WashingtonState #ClarkCountyWa #ClarkCountyNews #ClarkCountyToday

Funding in the proposed budget continues the state's $1 billion commitment toward the bi-state project to replace the Interstate 5 Bridge over the Columbia River; $138 million would go to the project. https://bit.ly/40MYLa7 #TheCenterSquareWashington #WashingtonStateLegislature #WashingtonStateSEnate #TransportationBudget #Interstate5BridgeReplacement #GovJayInslee #MoveAheadWashington #WashingtonState #VancouverWa #ClarkCountyWa #ClarkCountyNews #ClarkCountyToday

The Washington State Senate has passed a bill that would boost criminal penalties for drug possession but allow people to avoid jail if they engage in treatment and services.

Washington State Senate passes bills on LGBTQ curricula, cost-sharing for abortion, and requiring clergy to report, with exceptions, abuse allegations...Mississippi says no to sex-change operations for minors...and Israeli police respond to street protests.

The Washington State Senate is considering a change to the legal blood alcohol limit, which could have big impacts; there are new laws that hospitality operators need to be aware of in 2023 so the Washington Hospitality Association held a webinar that covered what you need to know; This year, the legislature is considering a thirteen million dollar boost to tourism. For more information, go to: https://wahospitality.org/Subscribe to Washington Hospitality Industry Podcast on Soundwise

Bo Shuff serves as the Executive Director for DC Vote having been promoted from Director of Advocacy in June of 2017. Bo has spent the last twenty years on the front lines of both electoral and advocacy politics. From being a member of the Gore election team in Florida in 2000 to being on the staff of HRC from the Lawrence decision through the 2006 Marriage Amendments, Bo somehow finds himself engaged in some of the hottest political moments. In addition to organizational advocacy work his electoral efforts led to a progressive majority in the Washington State Senate and, as Campaign Manager, the election of Mayor Muriel Bowser. He joined DC Vote in 2016 with an eye to achieving full equality for the residents of the 51st State, Washington DC.https://www.dcvote.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this midweek show, Ryan Packer returns for a round-up of regional transportation issues with Crystal. Ryan's efforts to raise public awareness around traffic safety issues through in-the-minute reporting of cars hitting pedestrians and bicyclists sparks conversation about the Legislature's aim of changing driver behavior through bills currently under consideration and their funding of bike and pedestrian safety improvements in last year's transportation package. They then address the issue of the Columbia River Crossing Megaproject being pushed forward with a decades-old scope, an uncertain funding plan, and non-consideration of climate change or equity. Finally, Crystal and Ryan highlight the disconnect observed in two regional planning bodies with the Puget Sound Regional Council adopting a transportation plan unaligned with our 2030 climate goals and the Sound Transit Board making decisions uninformed by transit rider experience. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Follow us on Twitter at @HacksWonks. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Twitter at @finchfrii and find Ryan Packer at @typewriteralley.   Ryan Packer Ryan Packer has been covering transportation and land use at The Urbanist since 2015. Their work has also appeared in the Seattle Bike Blog, BikePortland, and PubliCola. They don't own a bike.   Resources “State Proposals Aim to Lower Traffic Deaths by Improving Driver Behavior” by Ryan Packer from PubliCola   “Navigating the Move Ahead Washington Transportation Package with Ryan Packer” from Hacks & Wonks   “Washington State Is Losing Control of the Columbia Interstate Bridge Replacement Megaproject” by Ryan Packer from The Urbanist   “Adopted Regional Transportation Plan Isn't Aligned With 2030 Climate Goals” by Ryan Packer from The Urbanist   “Elected Leaders Must Press Forward With Study of SR 99 and I-5 Everett Link Alternatives” by Stephen Fesler from The Urbanist   Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington state through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. Today, I am excited to be able to welcome Ryan Packer to the show, who's been covering transportation and land use at The Urbanist since 2015. Their work has also appeared in Seattle Bike Blog, Bike Portland, PubliCola. They don't own a bike, but they cover transportation and related issues as well or better than anyone else in the region - an absolute impactful reporter that we have here. Welcome to the show, Ryan. [00:01:07] Ryan Packer: Thanks so much for having me. [00:01:09] Crystal Fincher: So what got you interested in the first place in reporting on these issues in particular? [00:01:16] Ryan Packer: Basically it was being a transportation user in Seattle. I worked for a restaurant company close to downtown and lived in Capitol Hill, and basically all the ways to get to work that the City was trying to encourage people to use - walking or transit - were unpleasant or infeasible basically. And once you start picking at threads as to why that is, you quickly learn all the different elements of the transportation system that most people aren't aware of - what I like to call the government ecosystem around transportation - and all the ways that it's very broken. [00:01:59] Crystal Fincher: Definitely very broken. One of the things that you've become known for is the unique style of reporting that you have for pedestrian-involved collisions by cars and other vehicles. How did you get started doing that? And what is the kind of feedback that you've received about your reporting there? [00:02:22] Ryan Packer: Yeah, so I basically started noticing that there wasn't a lot of in-the-minute reporting on people getting hit by cars, basically - people walking or biking. Essentially The Seattle Times, or daily newspaper even - in Washington or elsewhere - is only going to cover someone getting hit when ultimately it leads to someone's death. And I started to think about how this leads to a disproportionate - started to think about how this leads to a wrong perception in public at large, in terms of how safe it is to walk around and bike around. Obviously it's not intended to scare people or make people not want to walk or bike, but just to give people an accurate read of how often this is happening. Because the information is out there and once I started pulling it out and realizing this is happening right around the corner from me - I might not have even known this had happened - the reception has been pretty positive in terms of people wanting this information, wanting to know what's happening particularly on their own neighborhood streets. [00:03:41] Crystal Fincher: And there's a lot of action being talked about in response to the crisis that is pedestrian and bike safety. What is being talked about - I guess we'll start off at the state level - just in terms of safety, and then we can talk about general, other transportation-related issues, but what's on the docket there? [00:04:04] Ryan Packer: This session is not a big transportation year, but the traffic safety crisis is the big transportation issue. And so there are a number of bills that are being considered and most of them are trying to directly go after driver behavior. And so we have a lot of bills that are aimed at, say, specific types of drivers. There's a bill to lower the blood alcohol content threshold for a DUI from 0.08 to 0.05 - making people think a little bit more closely about how much they're drinking when they get behind the wheel of a car. There's a bill to target 18 to 25-year old drivers who don't have to take a driver education course - 18-year old doesn't have to take a driver's education course that their 17-year old sibling does. It doesn't make a lot of sense and it shows in the data in terms of the crash rates for young adults like that don't end up taking that course. There's a bill to target older drivers - a little bit less prescriptive - but there's some data that suggests that once you hit a certain age, your capabilities behind the wheel should be assessed a little bit more frequently. A bill to give people a warning label on their car, before they purchase it, in terms of - This vehicle is large and more likely to severely hurt somebody walking or biking if you hit them. And that bill would also impose an additional fine if you were involved in a crash like that. And so all these bills are looking at individual behavior, what I would call bad driver targeting. Ultimately this is just one aspect of the sort of national best practices that everyone's moving toward in terms of what's called a safe systems approach. But the important thing to note - while everyone's talking about driver behavior this session - last session was the transportation investment year. And you actually had me on the program to talk about the Move Ahead Washington package last year. But just to go through what we know about it since then and what it's going to do, it includes a lot of money for cities to ask for for bike and pedestrian safety. The problem with that is it is relying on people to raise their hands and also doesn't require that the funds go to the most impactful areas. So for example, a city like Kent doesn't have to request funds for the intersection, say, that the most people are getting hurt at. They can say, Oh, we want to do a project over here. And there's not a lot that the state can say, Oh, you should do something different. They have to pick the projects people are asking for. But there's another very important provision in that bill, which is a new complete streets mandate for state highways. And so we're getting into a mandate - sort of a blanket change - it's going to be much more impactful. It basically says that any time that the State Department of Transportation goes out to fix, or repair, or maintain a state highway - they have to look at whether or not that state highway is up to current standards - whether or not it has sidewalks, bike lanes, and whether drivers are currently driving really the appropriate speeds on that highway. So the Legislature allocated $1.5 billion in Move Ahead Washington to overall highway maintenance, so it's a lot of money but it's also not a lot of money in terms of how much maintenance our state highways need. But since the passage of that law, the State Department of Transportation has announced that they expect to use about half of that amount to upgrade safety infrastructure for people walking and biking on state highways - about $750 million, which if it ends up coming to pass would be the biggest investment in safe infrastructure in statewide history - possibly in a lot of states. [00:08:42] Crystal Fincher: And that was some positive news, hedged positive news. Seems like we're making progress but there is so much to do that sometimes it feels like we're trying to mop up the ocean a little bit. You talked about some of the best practices and some of the bills going after one dimension of that, which is driver behavior. What are the other recommended best practices? What are things that legislators should be talking about? [00:09:12] Ryan Packer: One element that has not quite made it to the Legislature is vehicle design in terms of - I talked a little bit about that warning label - but in terms of actually requiring that cars not be designed to hurt people is one aspect of this sort of safe systems approach - the actual design of our vehicles. It's gotten larger over the past couple decades - the trend toward SUVs, which has led to negative direction in terms of the pedestrian and cyclist injuries and fatalities. And so when you're talking about that, you're talking about something that would impact everyone on the road as opposed to the so-called bad driver. Even if you're putting a warning label - that's putting the onus on individuals like - Oh, you bought this car so you should know what it's like, as opposed to this car is on the market and it's a systemic issue in terms of offering these for sale. And so, but once you start to get into sort of how many different drivers would be impacted, the political will to actually make the changes is diminishing. For example, in terms of driver's education - when you talk about making drivers age 18 to 25 do the driver's ed course, that's one change but a 24-year old who is tested in another state can also just go ahead and transfer their driver's license into Washington without having to do that driver's ed course. Or a driver who's 35 and maybe needs to have that driver course again. Roger Millar, the State Secretary of Transportation, likes to note that the last time that he was tested for his driver behavior was in the 1970s and that there's been a couple of changes in state laws since that time - and that's true for a lot of people on our roads. But once again, that would apply to a lot of people getting back in the queue for driver's testing. [00:11:10] Crystal Fincher: Does road design play a role in the safe systems approach? [00:11:15] Ryan Packer: Absolutely road design plays a role. It's a key component, and that's what I was getting at with the complete streets requirement doing a systemic look at whether our state highways are designed to standards. There's not really a requirement for local jurisdictions to do that - cities like Seattle have complete streets ordinances, but there's a lot of ways that they can get around those. But you're talking about the need to - number one, make sure that people are driving at the appropriate speeds - one of the biggest factors in terms of whether or not someone is likely to be hurt or even killed in a crash is the speed that they're going. And you often have cities lowering speed limits, but the design speed - the speed that drivers feel like they can appropriately go on a road - may still be a lot higher. And so you have a lot of streets where those speeds remain very high. And then you also have the issue of distance for crossings for pedestrians - whether or not someone is likely to be able to safely cross that street is a big determinant of how safe it is, and whether or not there's safe infrastructure for people to walk along it or bike along it. One thing I like to always notice is - one of the biggest impacts that adding protected bike lanes to urban cities is - is the impact on pedestrians. You're often - one, separating cars from pedestrians with another lane in between them which is always great and makes things safer, but you're also adding protected turns - making sure the drivers aren't turning across the bike lanes - also great for people walking. So these kind of have these compounding effect, where it improves everything for everyone on the street not just someone on a bike. [00:13:15] Crystal Fincher: Now there are a few other things going on in the Legislature, even besides some of these pedestrian-related and safety-related enhancements. One of those issues is one that they thought they dealt with and maybe mostly wrapped up last year, but that has come back with a vengeance - that a lot of people are looking at with concern - and that's the Columbia River Crossing Megaproject. Where does that stand, and what has happened that they need to tackle now? [00:13:48] Ryan Packer: So this project has been around for almost two decades - it's a needed project to replace the two spans of the I-5, between Washington and Oregon - one of which was built in the 1910s. The previous attempt to replace this bridge, which is called the Columbia River Crossing, included seven miles of highway expansion, five interchanges, light rail as a component - several sort of huge projects within projects - that made the project very expensive and expansive. Ultimately in 2013, it was the Washington State Senate that didn't want to pony up the money for that project - in part because of light rail's inclusion, in part because of a opposition to having tolls from the Washington side to go into Oregon. That project languished for several years until it was restarted by Governor Brown and Inslee in 2019, and has been moving forward - but the key thing to remember with this is that we're still using the federal approval from the Columbia River Crossing, even though we've now rebranded it with a very flashy campaign called the Interstate Bridge Replacement, or the IBR. It has the environmental approval of the Columbia River Crossing and that includes the scope - and so the seven miles of highway, five interchanges - it basically is still in there. And we went through a whole process to look at how we might tweak that, whether or not we might include climate change as an actual purpose and need to address with this project, or whether we might want to include equity as an actual thing to address. Ultimately they decided that that would disrupt the project schedule - they're very intent on replacing this, starting construction by 2025 - it's not entirely clear that's going to happen, it being 2023 already, but that's what they're aiming for. And at the end of last year they just came up with a new project cost estimate based on all the new tweaks that they want to do to this thing, and it could end up costing about - $7.5 billion is the high end estimate. It would ultimately be the most expensive single highway project in the Pacific Northwest and among the top 10 in the nation. And so the question is whether the scope is too wide and expansive for - what we're talking about is a very needed bridge, not a highway. [00:16:55] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. And with that expanded cost estimate and the now inflated cost that we've seen, that puts them at least a billion dollars under budget - and there's a question about where that billion dollars is coming from. Where does that stand? [00:17:11] Ryan Packer: So they have a financial concept plan that assumes that they're going to get a lot of money from the federal government - the bipartisan infrastructure bill included a mega-grant program, kind of orchestrated by Washington Senator Maria Cantwell, that kind of had the IBR in mind when they were looking at this grant program. And so they're counting on an incredible amount of money from the federal government - around $2-3 billion - which is wild. They've already gotten $1 billion from the State of Washington in last year's Move Ahead Washington package, but they're banking on Oregon chipping in another billion dollars this year - which would get them to have that matching funds for the federal grants. Interestingly enough, new governor of Oregon Tina Kotek released her budget very early this year and didn't actually have a billion dollars in it for that project, which is very interesting because it was a very big priority of her predecessor, a very big priority of sort of her old colleagues in the Oregon Legislature - and so she clearly sees it as not one of the top priorities. She's currently allocating a lot of money for housing and not highways. [00:18:41] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, an interesting conundrum which has definitely been scrutinized and continues to be challenged - because of the broadness of the scope - does it require that many lanes, that much impact on the local area? You talked about equity being put aside in terms of - because they wanted to stick to their timeline. And certainly people in that region who are familiar with the impacts of the type of pollution that's created by cars being spewed in the neighborhood and what those health impacts, like asthma and other things, are for local communities and schools there in that area. [00:19:25] Ryan Packer: So that also gets into the issue of tolls, which I mentioned were a sticking point with the old project. They're banking on a lot of money also coming in from tolls. The first point with that is obviously we don't quite know what the actual impact on traffic volume on the bridge is going to be from those tolls, and so it has a - do we need to have all that capacity to - if we're going to put the tolling on the bridge, what is that relationship going to look like? But also, as we've seen in Washington with the SR99 tunnel and some of the other tolling programs that the state has undergone in the past couple years, sort of banking on a high number of toll users to pay back your project is not necessarily the most sound financial plan. [00:20:20] Crystal Fincher: It is not, as we have learned in those other situations that you referenced. I also wanted to touch on one of our regional bodies at the moment - the Puget Sound Regional Council. And we have a number of bodies that are involved in transportation planning, a number of regional bodies - this is one of them - but a number of these have also talked about their commitment to addressing climate change, to reducing greenhouse gases, setting targets and we have a 2030 target that they're attempting to hit. And recently they announced that they are not on track to hit the 2030 climate goal. Where do they stand on that, and are they talking about anything that will put us back on track to meeting those targets? [00:21:09] Ryan Packer: Yeah, so this is a body that not a lot of people pay attention to - it's the four county - King, Snohomish, Pierce, and Kitsap County - regional planning body. Its biggest role is figuring out where to allocate federal funds, and so it's a conduit for a lot of federal money - and so that's how it's how it gets the power that it does. Ultimately they have to approve a regional transportation plan that kind of looks at the entire region's goals around transportation. They did that last year, and originally it was just looking at the climate impacts by 2050 - sort of the long term goals around reducing transportation emissions. Thanks to a lot of the leaders on the regional council, including the president - King County Councilmember Claudia Balducci - they were like, Hey, we should actually be looking at 2030 to see if we're on track or we have to do a lot more work. And that analysis just came back and shows a pretty big gap in terms of where we're expected to be - 13%, which is a huge emissions gap. It doesn't sound huge, but it's - when you talk about the emissions of the entire region. And they also looked at sort of some models around how to fill that gap. And that's the frustrating thing about their models - which is basically they showed that transit, expanding transit, is not really going to close the gap. And in terms of - because our growth strategy as a region is not quite going to catch up to where we need to be by 2030 in terms of having actual people close to transit. First of all, should give some direction to our local leaders in terms of what they should be doing around transit access and station planning. But also the model seems a little bit behind the times in terms of being able to actually account for sort of the actual behavior of people. It also noted that if we put a hold on sort of the roadway expansions - which add capacity, add cars, add emissions - that it would - their models are showing that that wouldn't have an impact. And a lot of people are questioning that, including Claudia Balducci [00:23:48] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, a lot of us questioning that - with some of the justification that they're giving essentially being we add lanes but that's gonna help traffic. And if people spend less time in traffic, then that's going to neutralize the emissions that come from the increased traffic somehow. [00:24:05] Ryan Packer: The same arguments that we've been hearing for a couple of decades - just haven't borne out. [00:24:09] Crystal Fincher: Yeah - kind of challenging there. Also Sound Transit, another regional body that is very involved in our regional transit system - they operate our light rail and heavy rail Sounder system. Where do they stand in terms of climate goals and their kind of overall operation? [00:24:33] Ryan Packer: Ultimately, Sound Transit isn't really charged with making sure that the region's holding to its climate goals. They're being asked to build a regional spine to our transit network, which is - it's very expensive. It's gonna be a lot of years of work to get that sort of spine from Everett to Tacoma. And ultimately, it's not going to be as impactful as it could be if regional government - cities, counties - don't do the maximum to ensure that people are living by the stations, people can access those stations. And so that's one way that the sort of siloed system of our transportation ecosystem in central Puget Sound is not optimizing outcomes in terms of climate and also just all those other more immediate impacts - livability, air quality, things like that. Sound Transit is tasked with building the system, and the way that its political board is structured - the incentives are basically to make sure that your community is getting some transit and not that the region as a whole is set up for success. One way that that's epitomized is the planned deviation over to Paine Field in Everett - that a lot of people are questioning the sort of utility of making a detour on light rail to go to an airport that not a lot of people are really going to be able to utilize by the time it's done - and so, it's adding a couple like 10 minutes to every trip to Everett, as opposed to other ways to serve that. But it's seen as - taking away that would be seen as bad for Everett. [00:26:30] Crystal Fincher: And this is a challenge that we see with this board overall and some of the confounding decisions that are made. What is the composition of this board, and what kind of investment do its members have in - personal investment - in public transit? [00:26:47] Ryan Packer: The board is made up of local leaders from around the region, so ultimately you have people whose investment in transit is tied directly to their own performance as an elected official, not necessarily their own experience as a transit rider. It's not clear how many of our transit board members are actual daily transit riders or, in terms of their ties to the overall transit community. And so, like I said, it's all about making sure that you're delivering the projects for your city. And so there's just a lot of sort of bartering and siloing. [00:27:26] Crystal Fincher: Overall, with your perspective on transportation and transit in the region, what do you think are the most important things, I guess, on the docket for people to address and ways to address them? What would your words of wisdom be for those involved in the policy making? [00:27:45] Ryan Packer: I think the first thing I would say is that people involved in transit decision making should get out and ride transit - see what it's like - use that experience to actually make decisions. And get away from the map on the screen, in terms of looking at the actual impacts. I think a lot of people are getting very cynical about the decision making processes in central Puget Sound at all levels of government - from the City of Seattle to the highest echelons at Sound Transit - in terms of where the priorities of the decision makers are. I do think we see that party shifting a little bit, possibly - even at the City of Seattle level - toward people-centered projects, but ultimately the status quo bias is so embedded into - a lot of these - I don't want to say infrastructure, but the actual decision making processes - that it's very hard to turn that ship very quickly at all. [00:29:05] Crystal Fincher: Thank you so much, Ryan, for your time today. Thank you for just enlightening us - and your coverage - it's just been so impactful. I know that even for people who follow these issues and like you talked about - looking at the data, seeing maps on the screen and this happening - it's just impactful in a different way to see it reported in live time. And just the way that you get around our region and connect the dots on how what we do across the region impacts each other, and how we should be addressing transit and transportation overall. So thank you very much. [00:29:48] Ryan Packer: Well, thanks so much for all that you do, Crystal. [00:29:50] Crystal Fincher: Thank you all for listening to Hacks & Wonks. The producer of Hacks & Wonks is Lisl Stadler, our assistant producer is Shannon Cheng, and our Post-Production Assistant is Bryce Cannatelli. You can find Hacks & Wonks on Twitter @HacksWonks, and you can follow me @finchfrii, spelled F-I-N-C-H-F-R-I-I. You can catch Hacks & Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts - just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to get our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered right to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave us a review wherever you listen. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time.

What is the Legislature doing about the state's workforce shortage? On this episode of Inside Olympia Austin Jenkins sits down with members of the Washington State Senate and House of Representatives and discusses possible solutions to alleviate the issue.

The Washington State Senate has passed a bill that would eliminate advisory votes from the ballot. The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration. https://bit.ly/3JXiCOP #TheCenterSquareWashington #SB5082 #SenateBill5082 #WashingtonStateLegislature #NonBindingMeasures #VoterOpinion #TaxIncreases #Elections #WashingtonStateSenate #HouseOfRepresentatives #Legislation #AdvisoryVotes #WashingtonState #ClarkCountyWa #ClarkCountyNews #ClarkCountyToday

What's the latest with the State Senate's leadership. Austin Jenkins sits down with Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig (D-Spokane) and Senate Republican Leader John Braun (R-Centralia).

Join host Cole McNeely and The Center Square's Washington Reporters RaeLynn Ricarte and Brett Davis as they discuss the Washington State Supreme Court on Thursday morning heard from both sides on the question of whether or not the state's new capital gains tax passes constitutional muster. Several Republican lawmakers on Wednesday morning said Sen. Manka Dhingra, chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee and deputy majority leader of the Washington State Senate, should at least consider legislation that would lower the bar on when police officers in Washington state can engage in a vehicular pursuit of criminals. Spokane County is amending the contract with NaphCare, the private company that provides medical services to the jail, so more employees can be hired. --- Listen to Other ATN Productions: America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more! America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more. Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you. Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/washington-in-focus/support

Guests: Mark Moyar, Sally Pipes, Ken Calvert, and Daniel Himebaugh '04 Host Scot Bertram talks with Mark Moyar, William P. Harris Chair in Military History at Hillsdale College, about his new book Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965-1968, the second of his planned three-part series on the War. Sally Pipes, President, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy at the Pacific Research Institute, discusses what to expect in 2023 from the health care sector. Ken Calvert, Professor of Ancient History at Hillsdale, takes us back to talk about Cicero, Cato and the defense of the Roman Republic. And Hillsdale grad Daniel Himebaugh '04 tells us about his experiences at the College and working as Leadership Counsel for the Republican Caucus of the Washington State Senate.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On today's midweek show, Crystal welcomes Senator Manka Dhingra, Chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee, to preview the tough issues her committee will take on in the upcoming legislative session. Senator Dhingra walks through her data-driven and community-informed approach to legislating and how this lens guides her thinking on revisiting the Blake decision fix, a temporary solution put in place by the Legislature in 2021 when the Washington Supreme Court struck down the state's drug possession law as unconstitutional. Despite widespread recognition of the need for a public health approach to substance use disorder, Crystal and Senator Dhingra lament the unfortunate political truth that the public is often ahead of elected officials and that the Blake fix will likely not be based on best practices.  The two then discuss the pushback from some in law enforcement interests in response to bills that restricted their use of high-speed vehicle pursuits and sought to hold officers liable for taking wrong actions. Senator Dhingra stands by these policies that solve the issues of unnecessary bystander deaths and community demands for reduction in police violence. Finally, the show wraps up with what a trauma-informed criminal justice system could look like, where implementation of the 988 crisis system is, and Senator Dhingra's delightful tradition of introducing legislation from teenagers in her district. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Follow us on Twitter at @HacksWonks. Find the host, Crystal Fincher, on Twitter at @finchfrii and find Senator Manka Dhingra at @Dhingrama.   Senator Manka Dhingra Manka Dhingra is Deputy Majority Leader of the Washington State Senate. She brings two decades of experience as a prosecutor to her role as Chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee. She also serves on the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee and Senate Ways & Means Committee.  In November 2017, Dhingra was elected to the Senate by the constituents of the 45th Legislative District, the first Sikh legislator in the nation. Since then, she has sponsored and passed legislation addressing a wide range of issue areas, including: curbing domestic violence and sexual assault, preventing firearm violence, providing property tax relief for seniors and people with disabilities, prosecuting financial fraud, and reforming the criminal justice system with an evidence-based approach.  During her time in the Senate, Dhingra has helped pass legislation and funding to transform the Washington State behavioral health system, reorienting it around prevention rather than crisis response. She continues to strive to ensure that Washingtonians with behavioral health needs get the treatment they need and deserve. As a member of the Special Committee on Economic Recovery, she is helping the state craft an economic plan to lead an equitable recovery from the COVID economic downturn. She also serves on several task forces dedicated to reducing poverty, reforming the criminal justice system, improving equity in state government, and providing a sound and fair fiscal footing for the state.  Dhingra continues to serve as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. As Chair of the Therapeutic Alternative Unit, Manka helped develop and oversee the Regional Mental Health Court, the Veterans Court, and the Community Assessment and Referral for Diversion program. As a mental health and crisis intervention expert, she has also been an instructor at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission for the 40-hour Crisis Intervention Training for law enforcement officers to reduce the risk of tragedy and improve the response to people in crisis.  Outside the courtroom, Dhingra is a community leader and anti-domestic violence advocate on the Eastside. She co-founded Chaya, an organization that assists South Asian survivors of domestic violence and led the organization's work to end systemic violence through education and prevention. She also serves on the board of Hopelink.   Resources Senator Manka Dhingra | Washington Senate Democrats   “With Dhingra's Win, Democrats Take Control of the State Senate” by Hayat Norimine from SeattleMet   Q & A: The Blake Decision | ACLU of Washington   “In Last-Minute Move, Legislature Adopts New Approach to Drug Possession” by Paul Kiefer from PubliCola   “WA lawmakers try to thread needle on drug possession, to mixed reviews” by David Kroman from Crosscut   “Washington Voters Want to Decriminalize Drug Possession and Fund Substance Abuse Resources” by Anika Dandekar with Data For Progress   State v. Blake: ESB 5476 and behavioral health expansion | Washington Health Care Authority   “Not all crimes merit high-speed chases that risk bystanders' lives” by Manka Dhingra in The Seattle Times   “Pursuits and Fatalities in WA since 2015” by Martina Morris from Next Steps Washington and Washington Coalition for Police Accountability   2021-2022 Washington State Legislature Policing Bills Explainer | People Power Washington   “State leaders prepare for implementation of the 988 call line” by Shane Ersland from State of Reform   “Meet the students who fought for free menstrual products at Washington schools — and won” by Sara Gentzler from The Olympian   Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington State through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. So today I'm absolutely thrilled to have joining us the Deputy Majority Leader of the Washington State Senate, Manka Dhingra. Welcome. [00:00:47] Senator Manka Dhingra: Thank you so much. It is such a pleasure to be here with you. [00:00:50] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely a pleasure to have you - have followed your work and admired your work for quite some time. So you are also the Chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee, you've done a lot of work. I just wanted to start off with - what was your path to the State Senate and what have you been working on? [00:01:11] Senator Manka Dhingra: So I'll just say my path to the State Senate has been extremely unusual. I don't know anyone else who came into politics the way I did. I, as a young person, knew very early that I wanted to go to law school and that I wanted to be a prosecutor. I got involved in gender-based violence early on because my grandmother used to help survivors of domestic violence back in India. And so I went to law school, became a prosecutor with King County. I actually created and ran the first ever Therapeutic Alternative Unit where we really took a look at alternatives to incarceration, crisis intervention. I helped train law enforcement in the 40-hour crisis intervention training at the Criminal Justice Training Center. And I considered myself a good Democrat because I voted. And then we had our 2016 national election. And for the first time in my life, I was actually having an Election Night party at my house because I really wanted my children to see the face of the first U.S. woman president. Clearly the night did not go as I had planned. And so I went to my first Democratic Party meeting that December. And when I went there, I can tell you that the room was full - packed - with women. When I looked around that room, I recognized so many of the PTSA moms. And most of us were there, again, for the very first time because we felt we had to do something. And I didn't know what that something would look like. And a very good friend of mine who was on city council saw me there and she said, We have to have coffee. And so we sat down for coffee and her first question was, Do you want to run for office? And my response was, I don't think I'm qualified. And she literally fell off her chair laughing. And later I realized what a cliché my response was because apparently that's what all of us women say - we think we're not qualified. So she kind of worked on me and we had a Senate seat that was available. And February 14th, I announced I was running for the Senate. So my entire political engagement from the time from my first meeting to me announcing for Senate was two months. [00:03:25] Crystal Fincher: Wow. Well, and then you ran in a district where your victory was certainly not guaranteed - very competitive race - where you were successful and victorious and a first yourself, the first Sikh member of our state Senate. How did you use all of your lived experience in the Senate and how was your first term? [00:03:56] Senator Manka Dhingra: So the election was exciting because my seat actually flipped our State Senate. So our Senate was controlled by the Republicans and when I won, Democrats got in control. So the first session was actually pure chaos because we'd had gridlock in Olympia for so many years because we really couldn't pass meaningful bills. We had a session that would go into special session year after year because budgets couldn't be agreed upon. The year I was running, there were three special sessions and they still did not have all their budgets passed. And so when I won, normally people have orientation or some kind of onboarding. But when I won - because of the change - we had new Chairs, all this legislation that had been blocked for so many years like the flood gates had opened. So it was a very exciting time because I think we just passed such amazing progressive legislation and really were this beacon of light for the entire country on what a progressive legislation could look like or what a progressive state can look like. But I got to tell you, I was kind of lost in the mix there. But luckily I was able to hold my own and was very proud of the nine bills I passed my first session. [00:05:16] Crystal Fincher: And what were some of those bills? [00:05:17] Senator Manka Dhingra: So a lot of those bills were things that had really irked me for a very long time as an attorney and as a prosecutor. So there were a lot of bills around helping survivors of domestic violence, there were bills around sexual assault, around trafficking, and I had a Medicaid fraud unit bill, work around behavior health because I have been very concerned about mental illness and substance use disorder in our state. And normally when you're a first-time legislator, they do this thing on the Senate floor where your first bill - people actually kind of tease you a little about it or kind of give you a hard time. And when they looked at all my bills, they were all of such serious matters that they couldn't figure out which one should be my first bill. And so actually the Medicaid fraud unit was my first bill because that was the least serious about my other bills. But this was legislation that I knew that had to be fixed and we needed to do it. And frankly, I think the reason why I was so successful is because most of my bill ideas come from people who do the work and are able to really articulate what the problems are and then have the solutions because they're the experts in that field. And so I have maintained that manner of doing my work - is really making sure I hear from the people on the ground doing the work. [00:06:42] Crystal Fincher: And you have built that reputation of being very in touch with the community, of reaching out to stakeholders for your various bills, making sure that you speak with, inform, get feedback from people who are involved with and impacted by legislation you're proposing and the issues you're trying to address. One such issue was spurred by the Blake decision - that the Supreme Court found in our state - that essentially decriminalized personal use possession. And because of some challenges that that presented, like a potential patchwork of different laws passed by different cities all throughout the state, the Legislature decided to take action to try and pass one uniform policy all across the state. What was your approach to that and where did that end up? [00:07:30] Senator Manka Dhingra: Thank you. That is really the issue and the question that has been - people have been interested in for the last two years. Any time legislation is required, my question always is why? And what you gave in your question was really one of the reasons why we knew that legislation - is because we wanted a uniform way of making sure enforcement is the same for people, that they're not treated differently because they're using at a different intersection down the street. So that's why we wanted to make sure we had state legislation. This decision came out in the middle of session, so the timing was not optimal. And then it was very important to me to have a solution that is based on best practices and that is practical. So the original bill that I had was actually based on what the policy of the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office was, along with a lot of the other prosecuting attorney's offices around the state. Because what we found at that time is - a lot of people doing this work had realized - that dealing with substance use disorder, it's not a criminal justice issue, it's a public health issue. And treating it like a criminal justice issue is what has really led us to where we are today. But you have to make sure you're focused on getting people into the treatment that they need. And so I was really trying to come up with a solution that said you have to have public health lead. And you also have to understand that while using the substance shouldn't be illegal, if there's criminal activity around that - like theft, criminal trespass, possession of weapons - that is still a criminal offense, but really being able to focus on treatment. So after a lot of negotiations, because I'll tell you, elected officials are very nervous of criminal justice issues. And I come from it differently because I practiced for 17 years. And we unfortunately did not get a bill that was based on best practices. We came close, but not quite. So what became the law of the land is that law enforcement was going to offer diversion the first two times that they came into contact with an individual. And then only after that would they refer that for a criminal case. And we took this opportunity to really provide a lot of resources for treatment - so we ensured that we had substance use disorder navigators who can help get people into treatment, we provided funding for treatment like Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, to wraparound teams like HOST - Homeless Outreach Stabilization Teams, PACT - these assertive community treatment models. So really making sure that those resources go hand-in-hand, because if people have no place to go and they don't have treatment, nothing's going to really work. I also wanted to make sure that because we were creating this in the middle of session, that we had an expiration date. So I insisted that this law expire in three years. And we created a committee or task force made up of a wide variety of individuals - people with lived experience, people in the treatment community, housing people, law enforcement, prosecutors, defense - everyone who deals with this issue to come together to come up with recommendations. So those recommendations have officially been made. And our law expires this 2023, so we as the Legislature have to actually pass another substance use disorder law to make sure that we're, again, pushing ourselves to doing things that are based on - with best practices. [00:11:16] Crystal Fincher: Now the bill did not end up - at that time what passed - was not what you were ultimately happy with and didn't earn your vote at that time. But you did say that - because of some of those things that were funded, you really wanted to focus on getting those implemented and working across the state, because it's important to - if someone is going to make a referral for treatment or for services, that those services be available. And we were in a situation where those were not available in sufficient quantities around the state and people may not have been able to get their needs met. Where do those stand today? How far have we made it in terms of implementation and availability of services? [00:12:02] Senator Manka Dhingra: So I'll just say - on paper - the funding, the availability of services looked amazing. And then COVID hit. And one of the biggest barriers became COVID, because we weren't really able to implement everything that we wanted to. We had inpatient treatment services that had to be dramatically reduced because of social distancing - they had to limit their bed capacity. And so it's very challenging to talk about how successful or not successful this program could have been because it was greatly hampered by COVID. And we know from years and years of data and just knowing how humans behave - that when there is a huge incident like COVID - people do tend to self-medicate because of anxiety and depression. And we saw that. We saw use of alcohol and drugs go up exponentially because people were dealing with trauma. And so the combination of factors made it a lot more challenging. And so the resources weren't able to be deployed as timely as we would have liked. Now we're in a position - with this summer, we were able to do statewide deployment of the substance use navigators, so now they're around. We have funded a lot more options for law enforcement assisted diversions. So we have this program set up, but unfortunately we also had a lot of inpatient treatments that actually closed - because of COVID and their not being sustainable. The other issue also became is - there are a lot of individuals who really feel that there has to be an option for court-directed treatment - the court has to force you to do treatment. And so one of the things we had talked about is - if you want the option of that, you still have that through Drug Court, Mental Health Court, Veterans Court - if people engage in other criminal activity in addition to substance use disorder. We also have a civil commitment statute - we have Involuntary Treatment Act - we have assisted treatment where if you really want it to be court-ordered, you can do it through the civil system. And so we were really hoping to ramp up our civil system to do that. And again, due to COVID and what happened with our judicial system, we weren't really able to get there. So I would say where we are now from when the bill was passed - not as far along as we would have liked. And we simply haven't had the time to give these programs the setup that they actually needed. So in an ideal situation, I would have liked to see one more year of us working under this bill to really see what's working and what's not, and then come up with a different solution. But unfortunately we don't have that time and COVID did make things more challenging in terms of implementation. [00:15:00] Crystal Fincher: So in terms of these programs and what was funded and addressing the capacity and now increased staffing issues with a lot of these services, is there going to be a push for increased funding? Does the existing funding already cover the implementation? What action needs to be taken from the legislature to ensure that in another year's time we are where we do want to be? [00:15:24] Senator Manka Dhingra: So absolutely the funding needs to continue and it will. The cities and the counties that do have the programs up and running - because it was a gradual start - have actually shown really positive results. We are seeing individuals getting the help they need. We have had law enforcement in those areas actually appreciate the resources that have been provided to the community to do this work. We also have to take a look at - how do we staff inpatient units? The way we pay them for per bed usage doesn't really work when you have pandemics because a third of the beds can't be used. So if you're only paying them for the beds, they can't do full staffing if they're not allowed to use a third of their beds. So we really have to rethink what that payment for treatment looks like. And there've been some really interesting ideas on integration, and paying for the whole person, and paying for programs rather than for each beds. And that's what COVID really taught us - being really creative on how we are supporting some of our community clinics, so I think you're going to see some really exciting stuff coming in on more integrated community-led efforts. Our federal government, in the last two years under President Biden, has really made a lot of federal dollars available for us to do this work. And Washington is really set up very well to take advantage of these federal dollars. I think it's still an exciting time and - it always gets darkest before the light, but I do think we are going to be turning the corner on the opioid epidemic. [00:17:06] Crystal Fincher: I hope so. And so now you're going to be taking up this legislation again - you're forced to - and many people were supportive of the sunset and revisiting of this legislation this session. It looks like there, once again, is a mixed variety of opinions on the right way forward this session. And it looks like there are a growing amount of people, supported by what looks like changing public sentiment, or absolutely a number of polls in support of a public health approach as opposed to a criminalized approach to substance use disorder and possession of personal amounts. Is there the opportunity this session to move towards a full public health approach and move away from criminalization of personal possession of substances? [00:17:59] Senator Manka Dhingra: I wish I could tell you there was. This is unfortunately the truth in politics that I've learned - is that normally the public is way ahead of elected officials. Over and over again, I've heard from the public that when they see their loved one, their neighbor, their friend, or even the stranger struggling with substance use disorder, they want treatment. The first response isn't to send someone to prison. And so the recommendation out of this committee - it's actually called SURSAC [Substance Use Recovery Services Advisory Committee] - was for decriminalization of personal use. And so the bill that I will be sponsoring is based on the committee's recommendation, because I think it's really important to honor that work. That work and their conclusions are based on best practices, it's data driven through looking at what has worked around the world - not just in the United States - because we know this is a worldwide problem. We don't have the votes for that in the Senate or in the House. So I'll have my bill, which is based on best practices and data. We are going to have another bill by Senator Robinson, who is going to take a lot of the treatment recommendations coming out of that group, but it does make possession of personal use a gross misdemeanor. It encourages diversion, but that's where it's at. We're going to have other individuals who may want to make it back as a felony - I don't think there's appetite at all to have it be a felony because that has failed so miserably. And I know there's some interest in making it a misdemeanor. All of those have issues, right? No one is going to agree on one version of it, but I think the best decisions are always the decisions that are made when they're data-driven. I don't think our legislature is there. I don't think the Blake fix is going to be evidence-based or data-driven. It will criminalize personal drug use with a lot of options for diversion. And the hope really is that the prosecutors, the judges are in a position to make those referrals. The hope really is that community resources come in and are able to help people outside of the criminal justice system. I'm a little disappointed, but that's human nature. All you can do is continue to make the case on trying to do things that work. [00:20:40] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. [00:20:41] Senator Manka Dhingra: But people are driven by fear. [00:20:43] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. And appreciate your continued work to continue to make the case and for standing by that when it comes to voting. Is there the opportunity with this to implement another sunset - for as you said, as we get more infrastructure set up around the state, accounting for the COVID delays and challenges, that maybe we get to revisit this in another couple of years? [00:21:08] Senator Manka Dhingra: You know, I'm not sure about that - we'll have to see how it works. The reality is you can have whatever laws you want - it depends on what implementation looks like. So when the Blake decision came out, the current individuals who were charged with drug possession cases - all those cases had to be dismissed. And if they were in custody, they had to be released. Now, I was very curious to know how many of those individuals currently existed, because I had heard and know that most of these cases weren't being prosecuted - that they were actually being deferred. And that was actually true. People thought the Drug Courts would close - they didn't. There were very few Drug Courts that actually had individuals that were only there for drug possession cases, because the culture of enforcement has changed so much. Because the people that do that work know that having someone go through the court system or look at incarceration does not improve the substance use disorder. It actually makes it worse. And so practically, there were not people in Drug Court to any significant degree when this decision came out. And that's why I tried to tell people - that there was already that recognition in our criminal justice system that said, We're not prosecuting these individuals, they're being offered diversions at the time of booking. Or they end up pleading guilty to a reduced sentence and finish that time in jail and leave. So there is a disconnect between the laws on our book and what is being implemented. And I think all we can do is actually make that community treatment program really robust and provide those resources, and destigmatize substance use disorder so that people can actually feel comfortable going for treatment and acknowledging that they have a problem. [00:22:56] Crystal Fincher: That makes sense. Another issue that has been an issue that has been talked about throughout the community has been those surrounding police pursuits. High speed vehicle chases - I suppose some may not be at high speeds - but pursuing people who they suspect of fleeing because of some crime or being wanted for a reason. And lots of talk in the community and data and evidence about the injuries and deaths caused by police pursuits - and really weighing whether the risk of pursuit is worth it in cases where someone is not wanted for a violent crime and people's health and wellbeing seem to be in immediate jeopardy, as opposed to a property crime or something else like that. What is the work that you've done on that? And do you anticipate that being an issue? Where do you stand on that? [00:23:53] Senator Manka Dhingra: I go back to the way I deal with legislation - I start off with what is the problem you're trying to solve? So when it came to police pursuits, the question was - what is the problem we're trying to solve? And the problem we were trying to solve is data that came out that said 50% of the people that are killed during police chases are individuals that have nothing to do with the incident. These are innocent bystanders who get killed. And that number is at 50% in the state. That is an unacceptable number. So we took a look and said, OK, how can we reduce that number? And so the police pursuit bill that was passed by the Senate and the House and signed into law is one that's actually based in best practices. It was based on a policy that very closely mirrored what a lot of our cities were already doing. So we do have some cities that had very similar policies and others that frankly were not good partners in doing this work. And so we passed that. There were a few cities who didn't really have to change their policies because that is what their official policy was. And there were others that were forced to change their policy. And this is exactly what you mentioned, Crystal - it is about doing that analysis. We made sure that if it's a domestic violence case, you can pursue the vehicle. If it's a case involving violence, you can pursue the vehicle. If it's a DUI, you can pursue the vehicle. But when it comes to property, we said, No, you can't - because there are other ways to catch an individual in today's day and age. And guess what? We haven't had innocent people dying since this policy was enacted. So did we solve the problem of not having 50% of the fatalities be uninvolved? We absolutely did. We do not have innocent people dying in vehicle pursuits. And I've heard criticism that, Oh, people are just fleeing and not getting caught. And I've asked the question, Are they not getting caught in that instant? Are they getting arrested the next day or a few days later? Guess what? They're being arrested, they're just arrested a few days later. And now they're being charged with a felony - attempting to elude - because they fled. So I know that there are cities and law enforcement agencies that want us to go back on our vehicle pursuit bill. And I have asked them for data - because I do tend to be data-driven - and I've said, Show me how many people have not been caught because of this data. The only data they can show me is the number of pursuits is up. And I'm like, And what happens the day after? Because when they share the stories with me, they always end with, Oh, yes, and we caught the guy two days later or the next day. And so again, I think for those who want us to change our policy, I come back with what is the problem you're trying to solve and where is the data supporting that? And I have not seen the data that tells me that this is the wrong policy. [00:26:53] Crystal Fincher: Well, and I appreciate the approach you take in being very data-driven because really - there's a lot of conflicting information out there. There's a lot of people who sometimes are scared just by change. And so looking at what the situation actually is based on evidence makes a lot of sense. This was an issue with a number of bills around public safety in prior sessions where there - in 2020 - where a number of accountability bills passed. And then following that, some seeming cold feet amid pushback from some law enforcement officials and others saying, Well, you have prevented us from being able to do our jobs and you're putting public safety at risk by holding us more accountable. What was your take on that, and on some of the legislation that rolled back some of the accountability progress that was made? [00:27:53] Senator Manka Dhingra: When people started saying - Oh, the Legislature prevented us from doing our work, my question was - No, we made sure you can be held liable for taking wrong actions. If they choose not to act because they're afraid of liability, that is not the Legislature preventing them from doing their job. It's that they have to relearn how to do their job. Or go back to best practices that they were taught - but over time, those practices have kind of gone away because you just kind of start doing what everyone else does and not really focus on best practices. And the bottom line is this. We had to do all of that work because of George Floyd. And the years and years and years of Black people telling us that they're being killed at the hands of law enforcement and frankly, the world not listening - until we had COVID, was stuck in our house, didn't have any new Hollywood movies coming out or new TV shows coming out - and we had to watch the video that was captured. And finally acknowledge and say, Yes, what people have been saying is true and real. We, as elected officials, have to do something about it. So it comes down to, again, what is the problem that we were trying to solve? And the problem is that Black and Brown men and women are treated unfairly with law enforcement. And when you see that so blatantly and so starkly that you cannot make excuses for it anymore, like we have been for decades, you have to do something and you cannot do business as usual. There has to be accountability. And like you said, change is hard. People don't like making change. But unless they do it themselves, it is thrusted upon them and that is - the job of electeds and the Legislature is to make sure we are standing up for each and every human being. I represent cities like Duvall and Woodinville, Redmond, Kirkland - each and every one of these cities had a Black Lives Matter protest - down in Duvall, Woodinville, Redmond, Kirkland. I was there at all of them. This is something that our population demanded and the Legislature provided. And it's going to take a while for people to make the changes, but these are changes that are needed. We are an outlier in the United States when it comes to fatalities at the hand of law enforcement. No other country has that rate like the US does. And it's time we took it seriously and put in practices that are going to prevent it. [00:30:46] Crystal Fincher: Agreed. And as you talked about before, lots of times the public is more in tune with data and reality - because they're living it - than some of the elected officials. We just saw in these past elections in November where we had a county prosecutor race where people with two very different views were running. One focused on more punitive punishment measures, focused a lot on criminalization and focusing on that. Another one who's saying, Okay, we're not going to not follow the law, but we need to follow the evidence and start to pursue policies, or continue the path of pursuing policies like diversion that have been shown to be more successful in helping people get on a productive path to not commit any more crimes and to reduce the amount of people who are victimized. As you continue through this path of various legislation in this session, what is your message to people who do say that police accountability gets in the way of public safety? [00:31:54] Senator Manka Dhingra: And I just say that is absolutely not true. Holding someone responsible for bad actions has nothing to do with public safety. Public safety is about your perception of safety. You can talk about domestic violence and I can tell you, and I'm going to say mostly women - because we are talking mostly women who are victims or survivors - they have not felt safe in their house for decades. And people will not say that that is a public safety issue because they're thinking about what happens when they walk down the street, not what is happening in their own home. When we talk about sexual assault, it's a different concept of public safety. When we talk about trafficking, it's different. And so we have to - when we talk about public safety, it's not about property crimes. It's about individuals feeling safe - at home, in their school, or out in the street. And so we have to be focused on human safety and them feeling safe in whatever environment they're in. Right now when people talk about public safety, they're only talking about car thefts, and thefts from businesses, and graffiti, and seeing people using drugs on the street - that's not public safety. Those all tend to be public health issues and systems that aren't funded appropriately. And frankly, the systemic racism that has occurred in this country for generations that has allowed these wealth inequities. So we have to talk about public safety as the human feeling safe. And I can tell you - it is women, women of color who are most at risk of being victims of public safety, but we don't talk about that. I do. And that is how I frame these issues is - we have done a terrible job when it comes to investigating, reporting, prosecuting sexual assault. Same thing about domestic violence, same thing about trafficking. And when you take a look at the ills in our society, it comes down to gender-based violence. It comes down to our children being raised in households where they see domestic violence, the trauma that occurs through there. So public safety is a lot more complicated than seeing there's a rise in their concerns about public safety - because when you really take a look at the holistic concept of public safety, there isn't. And I'll just say for decades, crime in our country has been reducing. Then the last three years, because of the pandemic, you've seen a rise in violence and a rise in crimes, but overall, when you take a look at trend over decades, we are at a downward trend. It is still the best time to live in America right now than it ever has been. That is actually true. Technology is there to help us, we have more access to resources, there are more people being fed, and there are more people who are actually safe. So let's try to change that conversation on public safety because the sound bites are not based in reality. [00:34:55] Crystal Fincher: They really aren't. And it looks like by these - once again - most recent election results, the public recognizes that and wants to move towards more evidence-based solutions. I also want to talk about - you talk about who are most often victims of crime. And when we talk about victims, so often it's in the context of, Well, victims would want this person punished. And what are you going to say to the victims if this person doesn't spend a whole bunch of time in jail? But it seems like we engage less on - how do we actually best support victims? How do we do that? And how can we do better? [00:35:32] Senator Manka Dhingra: That is such a great question. Thank you so much for framing it the way you just did because that's absolutely true. People - because of TV shows - mostly have this image of this victim who's like this innocent, fragile, vulnerable person who has never done anything wrong in her life. That is not who the victim is. Victims are as complicated as any single human being. And many times when you take a look at a victim of crime, especially in our society, they're not strangers. You normally know the perpetrator of violence, and there's that connection. And so when you talk about what the victim wants, it isn't necessarily punishment or prison time for 20 years. It is much more nuanced and much more complicated. As I mentioned, I used to run the Therapeutic Alternative Unit, and we really used to make sure - we were the first in the country, actually, to not have any criminal history that's a bar to participate in this program. But I insisted that part of this program, we have a victim advocate. And that when there were crimes involving victims, that the victim's voice would be part of what the resolution is. And I cannot tell you - over and over again, when you provided victims the resources and the services and you explained the program, they wanted that defendant to go through that program. Because they want that person to get better, they want to make sure that what happened to them doesn't happen to anyone else. And when the victim feels supported and has resources on their own, they can actually deal with their own trauma and move on - because no one wants to hold on to that hurt and that anger. It is not good for anybody. But unless we as a society can provide those resources and that support, the victims aren't going to get better. And when they don't, you just have that cycle over and over again. And one of the bills that I'm really proud of - I passed a couple of years ago - and it was about making sure that if you are a survivor of domestic violence, sexual assault or trafficking, when you are on your path to recovery, you can get your criminal history, your convictions expunged. And the reason I really wanted that bill is because - trauma exerts itself as a reaction, not just as a memory. And so there are so many people in the criminal justice system who are survivors - they're survivors of violence. And they're engaging in the criminal justice system because of that trauma. And we don't have a criminal justice system that is trauma-informed. We're trying to get there. But being trauma-informed means you have to understand that anyone coming into that system may and most probably has suffered trauma. And unless you deal with that underlying trauma, you're going to continue on that cycle. So I think there's a lot more work we need to do in being trauma-informed throughout our criminal justice system. [00:38:31] Crystal Fincher: Well, I appreciate that and appreciate your work. And also, your work on the 988 system. Can you explain what that is and where that stands in terms of implementation? [00:38:43] Senator Manka Dhingra: Absolutely - you're asking about my favorite bills. I've been working with the mental health community for a very long time in my other job as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney. And one of the things people have wanted for a very, very long time is a mental health crisis line. Because it's not illegal to be mentally ill, yet we call 911 and have law enforcement show up. And so 988 is a national number that went live in July. And we took this opportunity in the state of Washington to create an entire crisis system around 988. So right now, if anyone who needs help - if they're suicidal or in crisis, that's a mental health substance use disorder crisis - they can call 988. The 988 phone number is actually staffed by mental health professionals - individuals who are trained in how to deescalate and help with situations. And so we made sure that we provided funding for the people responding to the calls - that they had the credentials needed to do this work. We made sure that these hubs of 988 are actually going to - in the next few years, they are going to have a mobile response team that is made up of community mental health professionals along with peers. We are connecting 911 and 988 in the sense that there's cross-training - because a lot of the calls that come to 911 are actually mental health calls. So we want them to be able to transfer those calls through 988. And there may be times when a call comes into 988, but there's a weapon involved or a gun involved, and they need that help from 911. So we're working on cross-training and some kind of cross-mobilization. But what we have found is - from other states that have done some of this work - is that when you have a mental health professional answering these calls, 90% of the calls are able to be resolved. The 10% that need someone to show up for them - 7% can be handled with a mental health professional going out along with a peer, and only 3% need law enforcement. And so being a lot smarter about how we are responding to people in crisis - because they don't need to go to jail, most of them don't even need to go to an emergency room. We also took this opportunity to set up a structure where we can have more technology and data. We would love to do a bed tracking system, so someone who needs help - the 988 operator can take a look and know that there is a bed available for them, that they can connect them to treatment. Come January, our state mandates next-day appointments. So if you call the crisis line, your insurance or Medicaid - whatever it can be - is mandated that the next day you are going to go see somebody. And that's going to be a game changer because you're making sure people get the treatment they need when they need it. So I am super excited about this system. More work to be done on it, but we are well on our path to do it. We - normally, in the state of Washington, while we can be proud of so much, we are not the state that is in the top 10 for mental health services, but our 988 bill is the national model in the country. And I have to say, I was very proud - with Representative Orwall who sponsored the bill, and I - both of us got an award, actually a national award, recognizing us for our 988 bill. So very, very exciting time and so much more to come on this. [00:42:20] Crystal Fincher: Excellent. And what do you say to people who are concerned that - who are trying to avoid a situation that may be escalated, especially with some of the challenges that law enforcement have in responding to and deescalation, deescalating situations - whether it's people of color, or disabled people, or people in crisis - that calling 988 could result in a law enforcement response or an involuntary confinement for behavioral health treatment. [00:42:53] Senator Manka Dhingra: When I said the numbers on the percentage of calls and the manner in which they're dealt with, what you find is when you have the right resources right at the beginning, you don't need law enforcement, you don't need civil commitment because you are able to, again, use your motivational interviewing skills. You're able to offer people services and support. That next-day appointment is critical. Because if they're willing to go see someone - a doctor, a nurse, a mental health specialist, whoever that person may be - they don't need to be involuntary treatment, ITA'ed as they call it, because they're going in for treatment. So you have to make early intervention options available as much as possible. There are always those individuals who may need a high level of care, so you have to make sure that you are able to meet them wherever they are - but you got to make sure you're providing early intervention. I will have a bill next session that actually sets up these facilities called 23-hour facilities. And so the hope really is that those individuals who can't wait for the next-day appointment, that we are actually able to take them to these 23-hour facilities where the hope really is that they're there for 23 hours - because they can't stay there longer than that - and then you have to have a transition plan on how you're going to get them connected to other services and support. And that's what we have found is that - the right intervention at the right time - really, people want help, that's why they're calling. They're not calling because they actually want to kill themselves. It's because they're like, Help me, I'm afraid I'm going to do this. And so you have to provide the help that they're asking for. [00:44:31] Crystal Fincher: Much appreciated. I appreciate you taking the time to go through all of this with us today. As we close, I wanted to talk about one of my favorite things that you, or any legislator does - and that is working with youth. How do you do that? And what were you able to accomplish? [00:44:49] Senator Manka Dhingra: I love working with our youth. When I first ran for office five years ago - at that time, my kids were 13 and 15. And I used to coach Destination Imagination, and Math Team, and a lot of teams. And so I had to tell them that, Hey, I'm going to run for office, so I'm going to have to step aside from coaching these teams. And the teens were like, Can we help? And I'm like, Yes. So I had 250 teenagers helping me on my first and second campaign - no one had heard, seen so many teenagers working on a campaign. And so my promise to them was - I will continue engaging with them. So I sponsor bills that have been brought to me by teens every year for the last five years. And my favorite bill for next session is going to be one - is one - that's been brought to me by teens in my district. And that's around eliminating gender-based pricing. They literally went to Target and Costco and took pictures of a bike helmet that's pink in color and the exact same helmet - same company, same everything - that's blue in color. And the blue helmet is for $20 and the pink helmet is for $25. And they even did that with adult diapers. I didn't know this, but apparently women's adult diapers are much more expensive than men adult diapers - no clue why. So I'm going to have that bill next session - I'm super excited about it. But these teens are the ones that made sure we now have menstrual products in all our schools and college bathrooms. We no longer, in Washington, pay taxes on menstrual products. And it's not just this stuff they care about - they care about access to mental health treatment and services, and substance use disorder, and criminal justice reform. You name it, and these teens want to make positive changes. And I cannot tell you how excited I feel looking at the next generation. [00:46:44] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. And this isn't even the first bill that they've brought to you. In fact, we have better access to menstrual products because of youth bringing up legislation, correct? [00:46:54] Senator Manka Dhingra: Absolutely. They really want to make sure that they can change the world. And that bill came about because of a conversation I was having with some of the teens. And the teens in the Redmond High School said they have menstrual products in their school. And I knew that teens in Kent and Moses Lake did not. And they started talking about how that's just not fair - that our school districts in more affluent communities are actually providing menstrual products than schools that are not in affluent areas. And guess who needs it more? And so just the fact that these teens think about access - and think about who is getting services and resources and who isn't - is just heartwarming for me. And the fact that they're willing to fight for others. So yes, all schools in Washington and colleges provide menstrual products in bathrooms now. [00:47:51] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely. And if people want to learn more about the work that you're doing or support legislation that you have, what's the best way for them to get engaged? [00:48:00] Senator Manka Dhingra: The best way is to email my office, or get a hold of me on social media, and subscribe to my newsletter. If anyone is interested in any particular bill or issue, my office can help you get connected to how to get more information. But check out our website, leg.wa.gov - they have a lot of resources on how you can follow a bill, how you can sign up to testify. Our hearings are all hybrid, so you can testify on an issue from the comfort of your home or your car - as long as you're not driving. And if you don't want to testify, you can send in written testimony or simply show your support for a bill or opposition to a bill - and all of that gets counted. And democracy is not an individual sport - it is a team sport. You got to play and you got to be part of a team - and that's the only way we make our world better. [00:48:56] Crystal Fincher: Well, thank you so much today, Senator Manka Dhingra, for joining us and for sharing all of the work that you're doing. [00:49:02] Senator Manka Dhingra: Thank you so much. This was a great conversation and I loved absolutely chatting about these tough issues with you. [00:49:09] Crystal Fincher: Well, thank you and we will stay in touch. Thank you all for listening to Hacks & Wonks. The producer of Hacks & Wonks is Lisl Stadler. Our assistant producer is Shannon Cheng, and our Post-Production Assistant is Bryce Cannatelli. You can find Hacks & Wonks on Twitter @HacksWonks, and you can follow me @finchfrii, spelled F-I-N-C-H-F-R-I-I. You can catch Hacks & Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts - just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to get our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered right to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave us a review wherever you listen. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - talk to you next time.

Clark County resident Leah Anaya believes it's important and necessary for pro-lifers to step up and support women following their choosing of life. https://bit.ly/3HYNFJe #Opinion #Columns #Commentary #LeahAnaya #Abortion #WashingtonState #SenateDemocrats #ConstitutionalAmendment #SenateJointResolution8202 #RepublicanStateSenators #WashingtonStateConstitution #VancouverWa #ClarkCountyWa #ClarkCountyNews #ClarkCountyToday

KVI's John Carlson interviews Republican candidate for Washington State Senate, Ryika Hooshangi, (45th Legislative District in Redmond) about her campaign against incumbent Democrat, Manka Dhingra. Hooshangi cites the police pursuit reform law passed by Dhingra and Democrats in the 2021 Legislative session, Hooshangi says her three election priorites are public safety, education and affordability, Hooshangi says Dhingra and Legislative Democrats have neglected school kids and educational achievement after Gov. Inslee and Democrats caved to teachers unions and shut down schools during COVID, why "asynchronous" learning is "discriminating against working families". Her campaign website is www.ryika.com/

Bernard Moody, Candidate Washington State Senate, 38th LD 2022 2022-10-18 (Radio Date) World Ministries International Dr. Jonathan Hansen - Founder & President Rev. Adalia Hansen (360) 629-5248 WMI P.O. Box 277 Stanwood, WA 98292 warning@worldministries.org Visit our website http://www.worldministries.org/ and subscribe to Eagle Saving Nations https://www.worldministries.org/eagles-saving-nations-membership.aspx  Sign up for Dr. Hansen's FREE newsletters http://www.worldministries.org/newsletter-signup.html  Support Dr. Hansen through your financial gift https://www.worldministries.org/donate.aspx  Order Dr. Hansen's book “The Science of Judgment” https://www.store-worldministries.org/the-science-of-judgment.html

Desperate Democrats go after DeSantis on Hurricane Ian response. Kamala Harris says Hurricane Ian relief will be based on "equity" then ignores questions on what she meant. Buck says, "Kamala Harris sounds like someone who gives HR seminars." Bill Maher and guest want Democrats to dump Kamala, but think they can't because of identity politics. Go to VolunteerFlorida.org to help the citizens of Florida. Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis has announced more than $20 million raised. Every bit counts. Brazil polling was way off, going to runoff after media said leftist would win easily. C&B remind that polls just look at one snapshot in time. Seattle Times, Starbucks and the Seattle Seahawks send Washington State Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley cease and desist letters over recent ads. She has the Democrats rattled.Follow Clay & Buck on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/clayandbuckSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Desperate Democrats go after DeSantis on Hurricane Ian response. Kamala Harris says Hurricane Ian relief will be based on "equity" then ignores questions on what she meant. Buck says, "Kamala Harris sounds like someone who gives HR seminars." Bill Maher and guest want Democrats to dump Kamala, but think they can't because of identity politics. Go to VolunteerFlorida.org to help the citizens of Florida. Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis has announced more than $20 million raised. Every bit counts. Brazil polling was way off, going to runoff after media said leftist would win easily. C&B remind that polls just look at one snapshot in time. Seattle Times, Starbucks and the Seattle Seahawks send Washington State Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley cease and desist letters over recent ads. She has the Democrats rattled.Follow Clay & Buck on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/clayandbuckSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to EWM INSIGHTS where we celebrate on HUMAN CAPITAL!EWM Insights with special Special Guest Officer Mario Lotmore, Owner and Publisher of the Lynnwood TimesWelcome to Insights! In this episode of Insights Mario Lotmore is our guest. Mario Lotmore, Owner and Publisher of the Lynnwood Times, returns to share his insights regarding the importance of unbiased local news reporting, investigative reporting, highlighting public engagement, and why making a difference in the world around us can begin in our own backyard. We also discuss local citizens who have created valuable programs empowering people in our community such as:Red Tail Hawks Flying ClubProject Girl Nic's BarbershopCuts with CopsCops and BarbersLeadership Launch Lead the Way These local stories and more can be found in the Lynnwood Times at: https://lynnwoodtimes.com/The Lynnwood Times has recently been nominated for multiple journalistic awards at Washington Newspaper Publishers Association's (WNPA) 135th annual Convention this October! Born in the Bahamas, Mario Lotmore emigrated to the United States in 1995 with just a suitcase. Mario attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and The University of Central Florida where he majored in Industrial Engineering Upon graduation Mario worked for various defense contractors including Lockheed Martin, Triumph Aerospace, GKN, and Boeing. In 2018 Mario ran for Washington State Senate for District 21.As a candidate he personally met thousands of households while canvasing the cities of Edmonds, Lynnwood, and Mukilteo. It was during these intimate meetings and gatherings that Mario recognized the need for a local independent news publication. The Lynwood Times was launched in April of 2019. Follow the Lynnwood Times at:Website: www.lynwoodtimes.comSocial Media:Twitter: @LynnwoodTimes Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LynnwoodTimes/ Instagram: @LynnwoodTimesTruthSocial: @LynnwoodTimesMario Lotmore can be reached at: publisher@lynnwoodtimes.comIf you have a story or news tip please email:editorial@lynnwoodtimes.com Feel free to share this episode with those in your circle who are on a similar path of learning. We hope our conversations will help you acquire more knowledge, become even more curious about the gifts that are in and all around us, while supporting you to reach new heights as we grow together.You can subscribe and listen to EWM INSIGHTS on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, or the Ellis Wealth Management Homepage: https://elliswealthmanagement.net/podcasts/Above all, through EWM INSIGHTS we want to encourage you to:INVEST IN WHAT YOU LOVE!®-----------------------------------

An honor to interview a patriot who has been fighting for the people for nearly a decade. This is from his webpage .. HOMELESS AT A YOUNG AGE, JESSE YOUNG DIDN'T LET POVERTY GET IN THE WAY OF SUCCESS AND HELPING PEOPLEIt's an all-American story: a young boy grows up in poverty, seemingly destined to be a statistic, but instead fights the odds and achieves one accomplishment after another. Proctor and Gamble National Science award winner, Valedictorian, Washington State Scholar, and more. Now, he is our highly accomplished and respected State Representative who is seeking to serve us even more in the Washington State Senate.More info at http://jesseyoungforsenate.com https://www.facebook.com/RealJesseYoungMore info on Joe https://joerosaticollective.com

Shocking things are happening across the US and the world which are not being reported by the main stream. Patriot Radio wants you to be prepared and capable of being safe and effective during these biblical times. Mark Miloscia is the leader of the Family Policy Institute ( fpiw.org ). Mark has always fought against evil, such as abortion and many of the injustices that handicap the US and the world. He has serves as a politician as both a Democrat and a Republican. Mark Anthony Miloscia is an American politician who served as a member of the Washington State Senate from 2015 to 2019. A Democrat for more than twenty years, in 2014 he switched to the Republican Party and ran for election to represent the 30th Legislative District in the State Senate - winning by more than ten percentage points.[1] In 2012, Miloscia ran as a Democrat for Washington State Auditor; a race which he lost in the primary election. Miloscia ran again for State Auditor in 2016, this time as a Republican, lost the General Election to Democrat Pat McCarthy by 5 percentage points.[2] He had represented the 30th Legislative District for seven terms from 1999 to 2013 in the Washington House of Representatives as a Democrat.[3] 

This week on Navigating Politics with Navjot, I talk to Washington State Senator and Deputy Majority Leader Manka Dhingra who was the first Sikh elected to any office within the United States. We talk about the influence of cannabis legislation and legalization, hate crime prevention, and how to prevent heat crimes in addition to learning from incidences that have happened in the past we also talk about the power of telling your stories and the influence it can have on driving advocacy legislation forward. We also discussed how Senator Dhingra is building the political bench for Sikhs within Washington State with the recruitment of Kent City Councilmember Satwinder Kaur's run for Washington State Senate and hosting interns from the Sikh American Legal Defense Fund. Senator Dhingra is running for re-election this year and needs your support. Please donate and volunteer for her reelection through her website: https://www.electmanka.com/ You can also support the election of Satwinder Kaur here: https://www.electsatwinder.com/ Subscribe to Kaur Republic Media Group through our Substack for more Punjabi Perspectives on American Issues: https://kaurrep.substack.com/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/navjot-kaur46/support

Hugh covers the news of the morning in The Rundown. Today's guests: Rep. Mike Gallagher, Congressman from Wisconsin-08. Kathy Barnette, Pennsylvania Senate candidate. Carle Sands, Pennsylvania Senate candidate. Tiffany Smiley, Washington State Senate candidate. Josh Mandel, Ohio Senate candidate. Jonathan Swan, political reporter, Axios. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We opened the show with our favorite new segment with our chief engineer Dave. Then Tim spoke with Ron Muzzall. He is a member of the Washington State Senate, representing District 10. He is calling for an audit and investigation into the financial dealings of state housing funds considering the corruption allegations against former Speaker of the House Frank Chopp. Finally on the show, Alex Halverson. He is a Tech reporter at Puget Sound Business Journal. He and Tim discussed his latest article about the decline in the population in King County. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal suspend operations in Russia, the Washington State Senate passed a bill to classify gig workers as contractors with benefits, and leaked Nvidia source code is being used to sign malware. MP3 Please SUBSCRIBE HERE. You can get an ad-free feed of Daily Tech Headlines for $3 a month here. A specialContinue reading "Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal suspend operations in Russia – DTH"

The Washington State Senate debated HB 1725, relating to missing indigenous persons.

In this Legislative Update the Washington State Senate convened floor action on SB 5942 regarding the Uniform College Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Act.

The Washington State Senate discusses a bill concerning high capacity magazines and Senate Transportation Committee holds a public hearing on its transportation budget.

35th District Representative Dan Griffey talked with Jeff Slakey about the halfway point of the Legislative session. Rep. Griffey talks about the bills he's sponsored and their progress and what he looks forward to debating when the Washington State Senate sends their bills over to the house. https://dangriffey.houserepublicans.wa.gov/

It's not uncommon for commentary about former president Trump's spending habits to be met with raised eyebrows and stifled chuckles; soundbites about golf resorts and hotel empires induce a special kind of side-eye when they pop in and out of the news. But beyond anecdotes, most Americans probably don't know the colossal extent of Trump's spending. How bad was it? Bad, argued Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David Cay Johnston. According to Johnston, Trump's self-beneficial money machine started churning less than 40 minutes after taking the oath of office and didn't slow down during his four years of presidency. Johnston's new book, The Big Cheat, layed out the flow of money in and out of hundreds of Trump's enterprises. He chronicled the conflicts of interest, the favors, and the entanglement of actions that benefited only the Trump family — but came at a great cost to the American people and jeopardized our national security. David Cay Johnston is a journalist, author, and winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting. He has been called “One of America's most important journalists” by The Washington Monthly, and he has acted as an uncredited source of documents and insight for major campaign reports by The Washington Post, The New York Times, Bloomberg, and network television. He has chronicled Donald Trump's conduct in two other books: Temples of Chance and the New York Times bestseller The Making of Donald Trump. Sarah Reyneveld is an attorney, community advocate, union member, and parent. Sarah currently serves as a Managing Assistant Attorney General (AAG) in the Washington Attorney General's Office's (AGO) Environmental Protection Division and previously served as an AAG representing the Department of Labor and Industries for nine years. Sarah is a proud 15-year state employee who feels blessed to have worked at the AGO, Washington State Governor's Office, Washington State Senate, and the University of Washington. She received a BA from Smith College, MPA from UW Evans School, and law degree from UW Law School. In 2016, she received the inaugural Evans School Young Alumni Award for her distinguished public service. Buy the Book: The Big Cheat: How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family (Hardcover) from Third Place Books Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

Today on the show, fellow political consultant Heather Weiner joins Crystal to preview the players in the upcoming state legislative session - who's stepping down, who's getting appointed, who's moving up in leadership positions - as well as a peek at next year's elections with announcements that several incumbents are resigning (and one who changed their mind). They discuss Inslee's supplemental budget announcement, an opportunity to address our upside-down tax system with a Wealth tax, and the need to fix the now-delayed WA Cares long-term care benefit system. Plus a reminder to get your booster! As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Find the host, Crystal on Twitter at @finchfrii, and find Heather at @hlweiner.   Resources “Historic vote: County Council appoints Lovick and Donaghy to state legislature” by Mario Lotmore from Lynnwood Times: https://lynnwoodtimes.com/2021/12/16/44th-legislative-district-211216/   “Yasmin Trudeau appointed to represent 27th LD in Senate” by Aaron Kunkler from Washington State Wire: https://washingtonstatewire.com/yasmin-trudeau-appointed-represent-27th-ld-in-senate/   “State Rep. Vicki Kraft announces run for 3rd Congressional District” by Lauren Ellenbecker from The Columbian: https://www.columbian.com/news/2021/dec/01/state-rep-vicki-kraft-announces-run-for-3rd-congressional-district/   “Washington state Sen. Ann Rivers changes course, plans to continue in politics” by Troy Brynelson from Oregon Public Broadcasting: https://www.opb.org/article/2021/12/14/washington-state-sen-ann-rivers-changes-course-plans-to-continue-in-politics/   “Marko Liias chosen to chair the Washington State Senate's Transportation Committee” by Andrew Villeneuve from The Cascadia Advocate: https://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2021/12/marko-liias-chosen-to-chair-the-washington-state-senates-transportation-committee.html   “Inslee's 2022 budget highlights poverty, climate, salmon recovery and transportation investments” from the Governor's Office: https://www.governor.wa.gov/news-media/inslee%E2%80%99s-2022-budget-highlights-poverty-climate-salmon-recovery-and-transportation   “Q&A: Rep. Noel Frame on her Washington State Wealth Tax” by Michael Goldberg from Washington State Wire: https://washingtonstatewire.com/qa-rep-noel-frame-on-a-wealth-tax-for-washington-state/   DuckTales theme song: https://youtu.be/p1I2HqXIMRo   WA Cares Fund: https://wacaresfund.wa.gov/   “I didn't think I would ever need WA Cares: I was wrong” by Dani Rice in The Spokesman Review: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/dec/14/i-didnt-think-i-would-ever-need-wa-cares-i-was-wro/   “Inslee, Washington state Democrats discuss delaying WA Cares long-term care payroll tax” by Joseph O'Sullivan from The Seattle Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/inslee-washington-state-democrats-discuss-delaying-wa-cares-long-term-care-payroll-tax/   “As scientists race to gauge omicron threat, here's what's known and what isn't” by Emily Anthes from The New York Times: https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/as-scientists-race-to-gauge-omicron-threat-heres-whats-known-and-what-isnt/   Seattle & King County Public Health - COVID-19 Vaccine - Getting vaccinated in King County: https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/vaccine/distribution.aspx   Washington State's Vaccine Locator: https://vaccinelocator.doh.wa.gov/   Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington state through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at OfficialHacksAndWonks.com and in our episode notes. Today we're continuing our Friday almost-live shows where we review the news of the week. Welcome back to the program friend of the show and today's co-host, political consultant and urban farmer, Heather Weiner. [00:00:51] Heather Weiner: Crystal Fincher, I'm so glad to see you! Good morning and so happy to be here, or afternoon depending... [00:00:57] Crystal Fincher: So happy. Yeah, I mean, people hear this in the afternoon. It's early in the morning - it's quite early in the morning. I'm always fighting morning voice on these things, but I'm delighted to see you and have you back on the program. Welcome, welcome. [00:01:10] Heather Weiner: I'm so glad to be here, and what a year it's been, and what a year it's going to be. I'm really excited about what we're going to talk about today. About Leg Session - what's happening next, who's retiring, who's getting moved up. We've got a lot of great things to talk about today. [00:01:24] Crystal Fincher: We do have a lot of great things to talk about, so let's dive in. I mean, to your point, there's a lot of turnover. We have folks who were just appointed. We have Senator John Lovick in the 44th. We have new Representative Brandy Donaghy in the 44th. We also have Senator Yasmin Trudeau in the 27th. A number of appointments - I think people would generally be surprised about how frequently we actually do appoint legislators, who then go on to run for - to retain their seat after that. [00:02:00] Heather Weiner: This is why people - this is the only real benefit of being a PCO within the Democrat - I mean, not real benefit, there's lots of benefits to being a PCO. But one of the great benefits of being a PCO is being able to appoint someone to fill an open seat. And that's what they did in LD44 - is they appointed John Lovick from Representative to Senator to fill Steve Hobbs' position. And then they nominated someone to fill his position. And the Snohomish County Council actually went against what the PCOs recommended and appointed Brandy Donaghy - who by the way is fantastic - she's a US Navy vet, she's a woman of color, she's amazing. But I've only seen this happen a couple of times where County Council will go against the recommendations of the PCOs and the legislative district. I think the last time I saw this happen was down in SeaTac when Mia Gregerson was appointed over the recommendations of the LD - and she's been great by the way. [00:03:11] Crystal Fincher: She has been great and - [00:03:13] Heather Weiner: Super interesting. [00:03:13] Crystal Fincher: - that was in my legislative district, the 33rd. I remember - [00:03:17] Heather Weiner: Oh, so you remember that? [00:03:17] Crystal Fincher: Very well, yes, and was happy to support Mia in that meeting - and certainly was a contentious time in the 33rd legislative district. But PCOs, or Precinct Committee Officers - to your point - that is one of the most consequential and impactful duties that they have. In Seattle LDs, you frequently have 100+ active PCOs. In a number of the suburbs, you're talking about 30 people who are getting together to decide, just by a majority vote, who is going to be the next legislator when there is a vacancy. That's a very important role to play. I've been involved in efforts to recruit and increase the number of PCOs, and how representative those PCOs are of their communities - and this is one of the biggest benefits that I consistently talk about is - Hey, you actually get to choose. We talk about all these elections and how important it is, but wow, sometimes you are one of 35 people who gets to choose who your next Representative or Senator is going to be, and there are plenty of close votes in those situations. PCOs pick three people to send to the County Council, and the County Council gets to pick one of those three. And to your point - usually, they pick the number one choice, but they don't have to and sometimes they don't. [00:04:45] Heather Weiner: They don't have to. Sometimes they don't. [00:04:47] Crystal Fincher: And now the 44th has a legislative delegation that is 100% Black. [00:04:52] Heather Weiner: Which is fantastic. And we have a new person of color in our mostly white State Senate, which is also fantastic. [00:05:02] Crystal Fincher: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. [00:05:03] Heather Weiner: I mean, all of it is great. But it's very interesting to watch - again, I have not seen this happen very often. And I think it's a great - I don't know, it's a lot of internal politics going on - but again to your point, 90% of this is showing up, so if you're a PCO and you happen to show up for that meeting, you're one of 30 votes that is setting somebody into a seat that they may hold for decades. [00:05:29] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. That they may hold for decades. And these days, I mean, we're talking about the turnover of one to two Senators. A vote composition change of one to two within the Democratic delegation makes the difference between progressive revenue or not - or that can impact policy just by switching one, two votes, one, two changes - particularly in the Senate. These are very, very consequential - and certainly we'll be talking about these new appointments, these new legislators - as we head further into the session - [00:06:07] Heather Weiner: Well, welcome. [00:06:07] Crystal Fincher: - which starts on January 10th. [00:06:09] Heather Weiner: Yeah, welcome. [00:06:09] Crystal Fincher: So yeah - I'm excited. [00:06:10] Heather Weiner: Welcome Senator Trudeau, welcome Senator Lovick, welcome Representative Donaghy - you'll be hearing from us. And then - [00:06:16] Crystal Fincher: Yes, absolutely. [00:06:17] Heather Weiner: And then there's a bunch of people who are also retiring from the Senate. I mean, from the Legislature, right? Kirby just announced yesterday that he's not running. [00:06:27] Crystal Fincher: Mm-hmm [affirmative], and that's in the 27th legislative district. [00:06:29] Heather Weiner: Also in the 27th, which is - [00:06:31] Crystal Fincher: South Tacoma, Lakewood, Spanaway. Certainly a big opportunity for people to run there - I know a lot of people were looking at Sharlett [Mena], who ran last time, be going "Hey! Are you still interested?" [00:06:45] Heather Weiner: mm-hmm [ [00:06:45] Crystal Fincher: affirmative]. So that'll be interesting to follow and see who is interested in running for that open seat. Certainly David Frockt has announced that he's not running for re-election. Representative Javier Valdez has announced his intention to run for that seat, so he's running there leaving his seat open. And so Melissa Taylor is running for his seat, and she's got $50,000 in the bank and a number of endorsements. I'm working with her, full disclosure - but very excited about that race. And she is an absolute force to be reckoned with and has done so much work in the community that - I'm excited. We also have Vicki Kraft down in the 17th legislative district, down in southwestern Washington who - that has been a purple district, with her winning by one to two percentage points in her last few races. She has announced that she's running for Congress against Jaime Herrera Beutler, leaving that seat open. [00:07:52] Heather Weiner: So she basically - she is primarying - [00:07:54] Crystal Fincher: mm-hmm [affirmative]. [00:07:56] Heather Weiner: A Republican. [00:07:57] Crystal Fincher: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. [00:07:57] Heather Weiner: She's a very conservative Republican, who is primarying a conservative Republican, in my view. I think that's really interesting - it could actually end up flipping the seat, because if Kraft wins that primary, it really opens it up for a more moderate Democrat to take the seat. Because Kraft is much more aligned with the Trump right-wing of the Republican party. [00:08:19] Crystal Fincher: I mean, she is - the disgraced former Representative Matt Shea, literally an extremist - Vicki Kraft introduced legislation to jail women and their doctors for having abortions or providing abortion services, denied coronavirus was a thing, denied climate change was a thing - really, really troubling - just the most extreme that there is. And so that's going to be really interesting - both to see how that Congressional race plays out, because there were a few challengers to Jaime Herrera Beutler from her right. And to see what opportunities that leaves for Democrats in that legislative district. [00:09:10] Heather Weiner: Super interesting. [00:09:11] Crystal Fincher: And I think it might get a little bit more slightly - we'll have to see what the district looks like post-redistricting, and get beyond these challenges to the redistricting maps that currently exist - but it's going to be real interesting to see how that shapes up. Lots of change, lots of turnover, lots of opportunity. [00:09:35] Heather Weiner: But Crystal, what do you think it means that Ann Rivers just took back her resignation? So here's what she says - she said she was stepping down because she had a new job and that was going to take up most of her time in Longview. Now, all of a sudden she takes back - she goes "Oh, actually, I think I'll have enough time." What? Don't you think, I mean, let me just go ahead and project on here - did they take a look at the poll and realize that that seat would flip if it was open? And that as someone who's held the seat since 2010, as an incumbent, she's going to keep it? What happened? What really happened there? I don't think her job description changed. [00:10:12] Crystal Fincher: Her job description definitely didn't change. I don't know what the polling shows in that district. I mean, certainly in many areas across the state things have become less beneficial for Republicans, but I also think that also given some - I mean, Republicans can't be feeling great within the state - nationally is a different story. But within the state, they aren't feeling that great - and so, some certainly are going to be departing. I'm wondering if she saw opportunities for increased power just within her caucus. [00:10:50] Heather Weiner: Yeah, maybe somebody traded something to her. [00:10:52] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. [00:10:52] Heather Weiner: Well, she has three more years, right? She doesn't have to run. [00:10:55] Crystal Fincher: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. [00:10:55] Heather Weiner: She has three more years there, which also helps save the state Republican caucus quite a bit of money. I think - super interesting - I didn't know you could take back your resignation. It's not like you're breaking up with somebody and then say "Oh, I had a good sleep and I changed my mind." [00:11:12] Crystal Fincher: Well, if you remember Pat Sullivan in the 47th legislative district - did that last - [00:11:16] Heather Weiner: Well, that's true. [00:11:18] Crystal Fincher: - cycle. [00:11:18] Heather Weiner: But he stepped down because he was tired, and then I think he just realized he wasn't really that tired and came back. But here, her excuse was my job is going to take up too much time and then suddenly it's not taking up a lot of time. I don't know. [00:11:31] Crystal Fincher: Suddenly it's not. Yeah, I - [00:11:33] Heather Weiner: Seems fishy. [00:11:34] Crystal Fincher: It is fishy, and also - wow, there are so many people who could take over. Certainly on the Democratic side we have plenty of conversations about - Hey, there should be space for new leaders within the party. Although, on the Republican side, this is a really interesting conversation, especially from folks coming from a left perspective, because a new Republican is probably one who is more extreme than the one who currently exists. [00:12:06] Heather Weiner: Exactly, which is another reason why they didn't want Ann Rivers to - [00:12:09] Crystal Fincher: Right. [00:12:09] Heather Weiner: - right - step down? I mean, she represent - the 10th is a - right? That's where she's from? The 10th is a tough place for Republicans and it's another purple district. Huh, all right. Well, let's talk about - there's so many things - it's a short session and they're going to try to put a whole bunch of things in there. Leadership has been changing also, as we're talking about elections. What's happening with the Democratic leadership? [00:12:33] Crystal Fincher: Well, probably the headline leadership change is with the Chair of the Transportation Committee. Steve Hobbs, who had been the Chair and had been certainly a moderate, some would even say conservative Democratic member of the caucus, was appointed to be Secretary of State - which created an opening for, not just for someone taking his seat and Senator Lovick filling that role, but also a new Chair of the Senate Democratic Transportation Committee, which is a very consequential and very powerful position to be holding in the Legislature. Especially at this time, where there are a lot of resource coming in federally - probably the time where they're dealing with some of the biggest budget opportunities that are going to be coming their way, that have come their way - and as we talk about the vision for what our transportation focus should be looking forward. Are we going to focus on expanding highways and doing things that have a track record of not just increasing traffic, but also making our climate crisis worse? Or are we going to focus on really giving people choices about how they're able to navigate through our communities? Whether it's commuting to work, whether it's having an option to bike, whether it's having sidewalks in their neighborhoods so that they and their families can travel safely. [00:14:06] Heather Weiner: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. [00:14:07] Crystal Fincher: Right now there really is a crisis because there's a lack of choice in how people can get around. We default to making it very comfortable for folks and cars, which is going to continue to be necessary and I don't know that anyone is saying that it's not necessary, but up to a quarter of the people in this state rely, in some degree, on a non-car mode of transportation. Some don't have any choice on their ability to drive, be it because of disability or lack of mobility or just how their community is situated, and so what kinds of investments are we putting in that, what kinds of investments are we making in reducing the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions? These are all at stake, and so the new head of the Transportation Committee, Marko Liias, is now holding that seat. That was an appointment that was announced at the State Legislature. [00:15:06] Heather Weiner: It's great news. That's great news - I mean, Marko is younger. [00:15:13] Crystal Fincher: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. [00:15:15] Heather Weiner: Definitely more urban focused, and also definitely more transportation and future transit focused, so I think it's great news. And I think that transportation advocates are probably breathing a sigh of relief - and happy - [00:15:32] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. [00:15:32] Heather Weiner: - to move forward. Because I mean, bless Steve Hobbs, he's got a lot of great things about him, but one thing was that he was definitely a roadblock to some of the more progressive things that the transit advocates wanted. [00:15:44] Crystal Fincher: Yes. A roadblock and a road lover. [laughter] A road lover and expanding that - yeah. [00:15:50] Heather Weiner: All right, there's your quote for Twitter. Well, I'm very excited about that and I'm really excited about what Inslee came out with in his supplemental budget announcement yesterday. [00:16:01] Crystal Fincher: What did he come out with? [00:16:02] Heather Weiner: He said, Look, the state is not out of the Covid crisis yet and we need to put more money back into the economy, and we also need to make sure that we are proposing significant funding to address poverty that - which means the child tax credit. [00:16:21] Crystal Fincher: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. [00:16:21] Heather Weiner: Which means, as you said, investing well over $160 million into more housing and resources, expanding K-12 learning, investing in the green economy - which means more jobs, but also helping to combat climate change, and of course his favorite, which is protecting salmon habitat. He even went out and had a press conference a couple days ago - out by a salmon stream. That - he also is talking about rebuilding the rainy day fund, and of course what's happening is the conservatives are wanting to use an anti-tax message to both attack the governor and to also shore up some of their swing folks in the next coming election. We're going to see a lot of fighting over - do we have the money to do all of these things? Why don't we cut taxes for people instead? Why are we raising taxes? It's going to be a really interesting discussion for the budget geeks out there over the next couple of days. [00:17:30] Crystal Fincher: And I mean, next couple of days, weeks, months? [00:17:35] Heather Weiner: Through April. [00:17:35] Crystal Fincher: Yes, there's going to be a lot to continually talk about. One question I had, looking at a number of these proposals, are two issues in particular - the Wealth Tax, and might be most appropriate to say wealth taxes, and there're some different configurations of those. And then the longterm care payroll tax. [00:18:00] Heather Weiner: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. [00:18:01] Crystal Fincher: And that looking at a potential delay. What is happening with those? [00:18:05] Heather Weiner: Well, first on the Wealth Tax, last year, or this year, the Legislature passed a modest tax on extraordinary profits that people, extraordinarily wealthy people, make when they sell their stocks and bonds on the stock market. They passed a small tax on that. That was the first step in fixing our upside down regressive tax system, and also raising half a billion dollars a year for childcare, early learning, and other things that we need to invest in - in education - but that's just the first step. Our tax code is so regressive, and before we can start cutting sales taxes, cutting property taxes, providing more tax credits to people who are in the lower incomes - we have to make sure that we first know where that money's going to be coming from. And Noel Frame has been pushing for a Wealth Tax, which is on billionaires - people who have so much wealth that they're sitting on - that's sitting in bank accounts, it's sitting in third houses, it's sitting in off-shore accounts. People who are just hoarding this amount of money - it's not circulating through the economy - she is proposing to do a tax on that wealth. It's not an income tax, it's not a sales tax, it's a tax on the wealth that you're just sitting on - and to get it back into the economy, get it back into jobs, invest it back into businesses. Very excited about that - we know that Senator Warren, Senator Sanders have all been pushing on a Wealth Tax in Congress. I think we need to take the bull by the horns and do one here. [00:19:48] Crystal Fincher: Absolutely, and wow, the public support behind this has just been skyrocketing - north of 60%. [00:19:53] Heather Weiner: Yes, and it is bipartisan. Yeah, it is a bipartisan support. Everybody agrees that the super wealthy need to be paying what they owe in taxes, that we need to stop them from dodging their responsibilities, and get more money into the hands of working people - so that we can pay our bills. [00:20:14] Crystal Fincher: So we can pay our bills, and I think a lot of it has been - we used to hear a lot of rhetoric of, Well, we can't tax job creators. And then there was the recognition that wow, this money that's being hoarded isn't being used to create jobs. It isn't being used to do anything. These billionaires have so much money that they cannot spend this money. It is literally just sitting there collecting interest in amounts that are more than any of us are seeing in a lifetime. [00:20:46] Heather Weiner: In a lifetime! In a lifetime! They're collecting more interest in a minute than any of us will be seeing in a lifetime. And what are they wasting it on? They're wasting it on frivolous rocket trips into - 30 second trips into space. I mean, they're not putting it back into the economy. And of course they do - people point to when Bezos, or Gates particularly, fund couple hundred million dollars in philanthropy projects - but those are one offs, and they're things that they control. They control the outcomes of that. The public doesn't control the outcomes of that. They get to choose where the money goes to and who the money goes to. Often that's inequitable, and often it doesn't actually work. And what we need is the public to be controlling that money and deciding where it goes. We are still a democracy, last I checked. [00:21:36] Crystal Fincher: Particularly because the infrastructure that is funded by the public is what is enabling their wealth. It is not like they had nothing to do with it, but certainly it is not like they had everything to do with it. And that public investments, that subsidies - have not played a great role in their ability to grow and continue to profit in the amounts that they have been, while also creating challenges in communities. Seattle is a perfect example of the impact of massive growth and scale - from primarily Amazon, and that radically shifting the whole composition of our housing market, that completely directly impacting the homelessness and affordability problems that we're seeing. And then to not play a role, and to not pay their fair share in mitigating these issues, has been repeatedly found to be unacceptable. [00:22:38] Heather Weiner: It's like a cartoon. It's like a cartoon that we used to watch as kids, where there's this greedy duck sitting on top of a huge pile of money and jewels, and just laughing but not being able to do anything with it, right? And pointing at everybody else while they're just working in the mine. I mean, I just made up that cartoon - I don't know if it actually exists - but that's the image that I have in my mind. [00:22:58] Crystal Fincher: I mean, and now I'm picturing Scrooge McDuck, but - [00:23:01] Heather Weiner: It's probably Scrooge McDuck - that's probably where I got that image from. [00:23:04] Crystal Fincher: And also now I have the DuckTales theme song in my head, which - [00:23:07] Heather Weiner: Well, how's it go? [00:23:08] Crystal Fincher: It's one of the best theme songs ever created. Look, we do not need me singing - [00:23:13] Heather Weiner: No, please, will you just sing it for one second? [00:23:19] Crystal Fincher: Life is like a hurricane - what am I even doing? Okay, anyway - [00:23:25] Heather Weiner: Use that mic for good, Crystal. [00:23:27] Crystal Fincher: And it is not me singing, let's - let's put a period on that right now. [00:23:32] Heather Weiner: All right, we have a couple more minutes, but let's talk about this really controversial, but really important, Long-term care - Washington Cares - that this tax. So Inslee is expected to announce today, along with the House and Senate leadership, that they're going to delay implementation of the payroll tax for a year while they figure out how to make some improvements to it. For people who are listening - you're shaking your head, Crystal, I'm not really sure why - are you still, you still got the Duck... [00:24:04] Crystal Fincher: I'm just thinking about how the hell did I end up attempting to sing on my podcast. Anyway, go ahead, sorry. But yes, it's a very important issue. [00:24:18] Heather Weiner: Yeah, so let's remind people what Long-term care is. Long-term care - I'll give you a story - Dani, actual real woman, she's actually now Ms. Wheelchair USA of 2020 - 30 years old, has a son, goes in for a routine medical appointment, medical procedure - comes out paralyzed. Not expecting, of course, nobody expects to be paralyzed, but comes out paralyzed. She's going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Health insurance does not cover Long-term care, which is help around the house - so that she can pick up things, move, clean. Health insurance doesn't cover it. And Medicare, if she somehow was older, does not cover help around the house - or if you're elderly, if you're seriously injured, if you have long-term Covid - who's going to help make your meals? Who's going to help you get to appointments? Who is going to help you get dressed, go to the bathroom? Medicare and health insurance do not pay for that, so who does pay for it? Well, Medicaid does help with that in-home care, but in order to qualify for Medicaid, you have to sell everything - you have to have no assets. [00:25:37] Crystal Fincher: Yes. [00:25:37] Heather Weiner: Zero. You have to spend down. [00:25:38] Crystal Fincher: You have to live in poverty. Yes. [00:25:39] Heather Weiner: And at the age of 30, she and her husband don't have any - they're just starting to build a life, so she does not have access to this. WA Cares, the Long-term care payroll tax, would fund help for people like Dani, or people like - people's grandparents, me in 20 years - who need help around the house so that we don't have to go to a nursing home or rehab facility. Everybody pays into it, just like they do for Medicare, just like you do for Social Security - everybody pays a small amount from your paycheck. It goes into this fund, and then it's there when you need it. And 70% of us are going to need some kind of Long-term care at some point in our lives. 70% of us. Controversy is - number one, somebody added, I'm not going to name names - somebody added an opt-out provision to it last year or the year before. That then, the Long-term care insurance industry then swooped into Washington state and told everybody that they didn't want to pay a payroll tax, a small payroll tax, that ends when you retire. Instead they want to pay thousands a year into a Long-term care insurance, which is often a scam, and that they have to continue paying and cannot miss one payment for the rest of their lives. So Long-term care insurance companies are in there now - and people got really upset because number one, now they know that they're being taxed. And number two, they can't buy Long-term care insurance because a lot of people have pre-existing conditions and so now they're not being able to buy it. People are upset, there's a lot of confusion - the Democrats and the Republicans are upset about this. So now they're going to delay it and see if they can make some fixes to it, and then restart it in a year - is my understanding. Now, what do you have to say, Crystal? I know, you're not very happy with this program. [00:27:33] Crystal Fincher: I mean, I'm not very happy with how it ended up. I mean, it is absolutely a fact that we have a problem that has to be addressed. That the longer we do not address it, the more people are going to be needlessly suffering many of the same types of issues that we've been facing with healthcare. The private market has become predatory and is not serving peoples needs - it's not primarily concerned with taking care of people. It is primarily concerned with profit. And we have put safeguards in place for people during retirement - care in our state. We certainly have more healthcare choices, but we still don't have many options for people who find themselves unable to work because of a disability - who are in need of Long-term care, or who are not able to live independently for a variety of reasons. And especially, we're still in the middle of a pandemic - we have a lot of people suffering with long Covid. Disability is a fact of life for an increasing percentage of our population and we have to contend with that, but we make it - we basically tie disability to poverty. To your point - to be covered, someone has to basically have no assets and no income, and as soon as they do they stop qualifying for assistance. [00:29:04] Heather Weiner: Yup. [00:29:05] Crystal Fincher: And so what do we do? Are we allowing people to fall back into poverty? As we know and as we - [00:29:11] Heather Weiner: Forcing them. Forcing them into poverty. [00:29:14] Crystal Fincher: Yes, forcing them into poverty - and as we've seen, that hurts everyone. That doesn't just hurt the people who are directly involved - that weakens our communities, that affects our economy. [00:29:24] Heather Weiner: And it actually affects the tax payers, because the tax payers - we as tax payers are responsible through Medicaid. We pay Apple Health, DSHS - we pay for this support. Either we pay for it for others, or we pay for it for ourselves - and that is what we're trying to do - is to shift that from being a Medicaid burden where people have to go into poverty, to where people have access to this. [00:29:48] Crystal Fincher: Yes. [00:29:49] Heather Weiner: Now - [00:29:49] Crystal Fincher: So the need to fix it is there? [00:29:51] Heather Weiner: Yes. [00:29:51] Crystal Fincher: The challenge is as soon as they made this an opt-out situation. [00:29:55] Heather Weiner: Yeah. [00:29:56] Crystal Fincher: Insurance works because everyone pays in and then it takes care of the people who need it, but it takes everyone paying in in the first place. Otherwise it is untenable for a variety of situations. We went through this whole discussion with Obamacare - we understand how this works, we understand the necessity of it - and there are also a billion court challenges against it that were unsuccessful because this is how this works in society and it is beneficial for us all. [00:30:28] Heather Weiner: Right. You are 100% right. Everybody has to pay into it or else it doesn't work. [00:30:33] Crystal Fincher: Yes. And one, the policy choice to make it optional was a poor one, and really set this program up to fail - and all of the messaging against it that is disingenuous. And somehow as if it doesn't matter - and this messaging against it is, to be clear, funded by very conservative forces - big corporate forces who just want to maintain their ability to extract profits from people in healthcare crises. And in its current constitution, it's unworkable. It is a problem. [00:31:16] Heather Weiner: Yeah. [00:31:17] Crystal Fincher: And everyone has acknowledged that. There's a bipartisan acknowledgement that there is a problem. But I hope we also understand that there is an urgency to actually fix this problem and not just to sit there, as we heard so many people attempt to do in the healthcare conversations overall. Hey, everyone loves their insurance - when in fact no one loves dealing with insurance, right? And trying to paint the status quo as somehow okay, and that's why it's okay not to make any changes - when the status quo isn't working for anyone. We're having this conversation because the status quo is so incredibly broken. [00:31:54] Heather Weiner: And there's so many people who are going to be - we're going to see a 40% increase in 2025, 2026 - in our Medicaid rolls if we do not deal with this, because so many boomers are becoming older and are going to need help. And so that means they're going to be filing for Medicaid for Long-term care, and who's going to be paying for that? We the tax payers are, so this needs to be fixed quickly and not delayed too long, because those people are going to need help. [00:32:26] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. It has to be fixed. I just hope people see through all of the messaging of - everybody who is against everything just tries to call something a tax when - yes, we collectively pay for things that benefit us all, and it is much more expensive to not handle this in a way that reliably provides Long-term care for those who need it, and to try and place the burden on the individual. We've seen how poorly that has turned out with our healthcare system, we see how poorly it's turning out with the current way we handle Long-term care - and it's just unsustainable. That's the bottom line - what we're doing now is unsustainable. [00:33:07] Heather Weiner: Yeah. [00:33:07] Crystal Fincher: So I'm looking forward to a bipartisan fix to provide people with reliable, affordable Long-term care. [00:33:17] Heather Weiner: Me too. I am too, and I just think about this woman, Dani, who went in for routine surgery and came out paralyzed - and she and her husband have been financially really struggling to figure out how to get her some help. [00:33:30] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. Absolutely. [00:33:30] Heather Weiner: And it could happen to you. It could happen to me. [00:33:31] Crystal Fincher: It can happen. It can and will happen to many, if not most of us, so we better prepare for it. It's coming and we better make it possible for people to prepare for it, and not have it so expensive that it's inaccessible to people, and then we force people into poverty to access any kind of care. [00:33:55] Heather Weiner: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. [00:33:56] Crystal Fincher: It's bad. We've seen how bad that is in so many different scenarios. Let's not continue to go down this bad path. On a different subject, I just want to encourage everyone to get boosted, number one. But I also feel like we need to continue to have this conversation about the need for Paid Time Off for employees - especially wage based employees, service employees - to have time to deal with the side effects that are part of vaccinations. This is what happens. [00:34:28] Heather Weiner: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. [00:34:30] Crystal Fincher: And as we see that we are so reliant on community vaccination and people getting this - that we have to understand that this - people are going to need a day or two to deal with their flu-like symptoms that result from the flu shot, from the Coronavirus booster, from all of these. And that people, when they're forced to make a choice between being able to come in for a shift and pay their rent, and somehow maybe fit in something that's going to make them sick, they're going to say look, my rent is coming whether or not I get boosted. I have to earn this money to pay my rent, to pay my bills. And we need to make sure that there is a way for them to continue to pay their bills and be healthy. And so that there is a responsibility that we all have to not just get boosted ourselves, but also to hold companies in our community responsible and accountable for allowing their employees to have time off to get this and to deal with this. I am saying this because I personally know a number of people, there have been a number of stories about people who really are looking at the choice between being able to work and earn money versus fitting in a booster shot. And we need to make this not a hard decision for someone. People shouldn't have to chose between their bills or their health. [00:36:04] Heather Weiner: Mm-hmm [affirmative]. [00:36:07] Crystal Fincher: Yeah. It is a challenge. [00:36:12] Heather Weiner: Agreed. I'm looking at the time, my love. [00:36:14] Crystal Fincher: Yup, and we are there. I appreciate everyone listening today to Hacks & Wonks on this Friday, December 17th. The producer of Hacks & Wonks is Lisl Stadler with assistance from Shannon Cheng. And our wonderful co-host today is Seattle political consultant extraordinaire, Heather Weiner. You can find Heather on Twitter @hlweiner. That's H-L-W-E-I-N-E-R. You can find me on Twitter @finchfrii, spelled F-I-N-C-H-F-R-I-I. And now you can follow Hacks & Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, wherever else you get your podcasts - just type "Hacks & Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to get our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. While you're there leave a review, it really helps us out. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced to the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the podcast episode notes. Thanks for tuning in. We'll talk to you next time.

Sen. Ann Rivers recently announced her intention to vacate her Washington State Senate seat. https://loom.ly/N_uI0BM #18thLegislativeDistrict #WashingtonStateLegislature #WashingtonStateSenate #AnnRivers #Replacement #RepublicanDistrictCommittee #Process #RecruitPotentialNominees #VancouverWa #ClarkCountyWa #ClarkCountyNews #ClarkCountyToday

Washington State Senate Cripples Policing - The most radical anti-law enforcement laws in America have now been put into effect in the State of Washington even as crime soars. Show Host Randy Sutton breaks it all down on Blue Lives Radio. Image: Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Washington State Senate Cripples Policing - The most radical anti-law enforcement laws in America have now been put into effect in the State of Washington even as crime soars. Show Host Randy Sutton breaks it all down on Blue Lives Radio. Image: Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Pooja and Senator Dhingra touch on the social stigmas and conceptions of mental wellbeing versus physical wellbeing, finding a career that's aligned with your inner true self, using nature as a medium for finding calm, and defining success in ones life and career.About Washington State Senator Manka Dhingra:Manka Dhingra is Deputy Majority Leader of the Washington State Senate. She brings two decades of experience as a prosecutor and behavioral health expert to her roles as chair of the Senate Behavioral Health Subcommittee and vice chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee. She also serves on the Ways & Means Committee.Dhingra was first elected to the Senate by the constituents of the 45th Legislative District in November 2017, the first Sikh legislator elected in the nation. Since then, she has sponsored and passed legislation addressing a wide range of issue areas, including: curbing domestic violence and sexual assault, preventing firearm violence, providing property tax relief for seniors and people with disabilities, prosecuting financial fraud, and reforming the criminal justice system with an evidence-based approach.During her time in the Senate, Dhingra has helped pass legislation and funding to transform the Washington State behavioral health system, reorienting it around prevention rather than crisis response. She continues to strive to ensure that Washingtonians with behavioral health needs get the treatment they need and deserve.As a member of the Special Committee on Economic Recovery, she is helping the state craft an economic plan to lead an equitable recovery from the COVID economic downturn. She also serves on several task forces dedicated to reducing poverty, reforming the criminal justice system, improving equity in state government, and providing a sound and fair fiscal footing for the state.Dhingra continues to serve as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. As Chair of the Therapeutic Alternative Unit, she helped develop and oversee the Regional Mental Health Court, the Veterans Court, and the Community Assessment and Referral for Diversion program. As a mental health and crisis intervention expert, she has also been an instructor at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission for the 40-hour Crisis Intervention Training for law enforcement officers to reduce the risk of tragedy and improve the response to people in crisis.Outside the courtroom, Dhingra is a community leader and anti-domestic violence advocate on the Eastside. She co-founded Chaya, an organization that assists South Asian survivors of domestic violence and led the organization's work toward ending systemic violence through education and prevention. She also serves on the board of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Eastside.Keep up with  Senator Dhingra:Website: https://senatedemocrats.wa.gov/dhingra/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SenatorDhingra--For more from Host Pooja Mottl:  www.PoojaMottl.comPodcast Producer: www.Go-ToProductions.comTwitter: @PoojaMottlInstagram: @TheCalmandFreePodcast and @PoojaMottl  LinkedIn: @PoojaMottlSpecial Thanks to Kris Kosach of the TPR Podcast for lending her VO for our Podcast Intro! 

Washington State Senate Cripples Policing:  The most radical anti-law enforcement laws in America have now been put into effect in the State of Washington even as crime soars. Show Host Randy Sutton breaks it all down on Blue Lives Radio. Image: AP

Washington State Senate Cripples Policing:  The most radical anti-law enforcement laws in America have now been put into effect in the State of Washington even as crime soars. Show Host Randy Sutton breaks it all down on Blue Lives Radio. Image: AP

As communities examine the way that traditional policing is currently done, we see more and more questions on how police respond to people in mental and behavioral health crises. How and where is this current model coming up short? And what are some alternative approaches that could be more effective, less expensive, could result in better outcomes, and most importantly, could save lives? We've convened an expert panel to talk these models, their benefits, costs, and implementation. 

 This was recorded live on the evening of May 4th. Panel: Dr. Amy Watson is a professor in the Social Work Department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her research has focused on police encounters with persons with mental illnesses and the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model. She has also conducted research on mental health courts and prison re-entry programs. Her current work is looking at models to reduce/eliminate the role of law enforcement in mental health crisis response.  Tim Black is Director of Consulting for White Bird Clinic in Eugene, OR. White Bird Clinic launched CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) as a community policing initiative in 1989. Tim has an extensive background in direct service, harm reduction, and mobile crisis intervention. He is currently focused on assisting communities and municipal governments in the development and implementation of programming based on the CAHOOTS model of behavioral health first response service. Senator Manka Dhingra is the Deputy Majority Leader of the Washington State Senate. She is also Chair of the Senate Behavioral Health Subcommittee, and Vice chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee. She was selected as one of one of the Washington branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness's 2019 Behavioral Health Champions, for her commitment to improving the entirety of Washington's behavioral health system. She serves as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. As Chair of the Therapeutic Alternative Unit, she helped develop and oversee the Regional Mental Health Court. She is also a former instructor at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission for the 40-hour Crisis Intervention Training for law enforcement officers. Theme music from filmmusic.io "Pure Joy" by Otis Galloway License: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

As communities examine the way that traditional policing is currently done, we see more and more questions on how police respond to people in mental and behavioral health crises. How and where is this current model coming up short? And what are some alternative approaches that could be more effective, less expensive, could result in better outcomes, and most importantly, could save lives? We've convened an expert panel to talk these models, their benefits, costs, and implementation. This was recorded live on the evening of May 4th. Panel: Dr. Amy Watson is a professor in the Social Work Department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her research has focused on police encounters with persons with mental illnesses and the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model. She has also conducted research on mental health courts and prison re-entry programs. Her current work is looking at models to reduce/eliminate the role of law enforcement in mental health crisis response. Tim Black is Director of Consulting for White Bird Clinic in Eugene, OR. White Bird Clinic launched CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) as a community policing initiative in 1989. Tim has an extensive background in direct service, harm reduction, and mobile crisis intervention. He is currently focused on assisting communities and municipal governments in the development and implementation of programming based on the CAHOOTS model of behavioral health first response service. Senator Manka Dhingra is the Deputy Majority Leader of the Washington State Senate. She is also Chair of the Senate Behavioral Health Subcommittee, and Vice chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee. She was selected as one of one of the Washington branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness's 2019 Behavioral Health Champions, for her commitment to improving the entirety of Washington's behavioral health system. She serves as a Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. As Chair of the Therapeutic Alternative Unit, she helped develop and oversee the Regional Mental Health Court. She is also a former instructor at the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission for the 40-hour Crisis Intervention Training for law enforcement officers. Theme music from filmmusic.io "Pure Joy" by Otis Galloway License: CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

This week Crystal and co-host Heather Weiner, local political consultant, dissect the news of the week, including: The Washington State Senate's passage of a capital gains tax;  Mayor Durkan refusing FEMA funding for Seattle to support the city's efforts to house homeless folks;  Kroger's closing of grocery stores in response to the hazard pay requirement by Seattle (and now King County); Our city's ongoing vaccination efforts; AND The record number of women of color running for office this year in our region! As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Find the host, Crystal Fincher on Twitter at @finchfrii. Find today's co-host, Heather Weiner at @hlweiner. More information is available at officialhacksandwonks.com.   Resources: Find out how to engage in Monday's hearing on capital gains tax here: https://app.leg.wa.gov/CSIRemote/Testimony/Form?chamber=House&meetingFamilyId=28825&agendaItemFamilyId=141418&remoteLocationId=52&testify=False Learn more about this week's passage of capital gain's taxes in the senate: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/after-fierce-debate-washington-senate-approves-new-tax-on-capital-gains-by-one-vote/  Read Publicola's coverage of tech bros advocating against capital gains, while receiving taxpayer funded paychecks: https://publicola.com/2021/03/02/capital-gains-tax-opponents-received-taxpayer-funded-aid/  Get into our state's current upside down tax code here: https://crosscut.com/opinion/2021/02/can-wa-lawmakers-finally-flip-states-upside-down-tax-system  Learn more about Mayor Durkan's rejection of FEMA funding here: https://www.realchangenews.org/news/2021/03/03/mayor-durkan-rejects-federal-funding-hotel-shelters-city-opening-new-permanent-vaccine  Read about King County expanding hazard pay to unincorporated areas here: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/king-county-approves-hazard-pay-for-grocery-workers-in-unincorporated-areas/  Follow continued vaccination efforts at the Washington State Department of Health website: https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/COVID19/vaccine  Support women of color running for office at https://www.persistpacwa.org/, or https://www.opportunity-pac.com/  Learn about National Women's Political Caucus of Washington trainings, including an upcoming training specifically for women of color running for office, here: https://www.nwpcwa.org/events   Transcript: Crystal Fincher: [00:00:00] Welcome to Hacks and Wonks. I'm your host Crystal Fincher. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspective on politics in our state. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show were always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. Today we're continuing our Friday almost-live shows where we review the news of the week with a cohost. Welcome back to the program friend of the show and today's cohost, local political consultant and wonderful, incredible woman, Heather Weiner.  Heather Weiner: [00:00:45] Hi, Crystal. So excited to see you. So much to talk about today.  Crystal Fincher: [00:00:50] Lots to talk about. There has been a lot happening and I guess we can start off by talking about - Hey! Capital gains passed through the Senate, it's moving through the Legislature, it's over to the House. This is a big deal.  Heather Weiner: [00:01:07] This is a really big deal. I mean, okay. Taxes - not that sexy, but boy is this exciting! Okay.  Crystal Fincher: [00:01:13] Taxes are hot.  Heather Weiner: [00:01:14] All right. Taxes are so hot. You want to, you want to get my attention, baby? Come over here and talk to me a little bit about progressive revenue. Look - here's what's happening. We have got probably the most movement that we have had in the last eight years from the State Legislature. They are finally finally listening when we say that Washington State is the worst - #50 in the country - when it comes to how we tax ourselves. We let the richest people get away with paying the least and we make the lowest income people pay the most - the highest percentage of their income in sales, property, and other taxes. So it is time to fix that. And it's also time to jumpstart our economy by putting a bunch more money in.  And here's how the Legislature says they want to do it. They want to tax the extraordinary profits that are being made on the stock market by the uber-rich - not your real estate, not your mom and pop small business, not even selling your yacht. If you sell a bunch of Amazon stock and you make - for every dollar over quarter million dollars. So quarter million dollars free. But when you start making money over a quarter million dollars, you've got to pay a modest tax of 7%. You would think though, that we were ripping people's eyelashes out because the amount of opposition that's coming out about this and hysteria has just been shocking. Nevertheless, State Senate just passed it 25-24, over the last weekend. It was a very long Saturday for me. And there's going to be a hearing on it in the House on Monday.  Crystal Fincher: [00:02:50] Yes, there is. Lots of people organizing and planning on attending the hearing on Monday. We will include information in the show notes about - if you want to make your voice heard - now is as easy a time as it's ever been to participate in the legislative process from home. And you don't even have to testify. You can just say, you know what? I just want noted on the record that I agree with this. I'm holding a pro position. Really simple and easy to do. We'll include links for how to do that. Meanwhile, we've got a hundred billionaires in the state who are just coasting and literally paying nothing. There is no income tax and so it is just letting people skate by.  Heather Weiner: [00:03:29] No, and right - and so they will tell you, Oh, well, we're going to move. We're going to go somewhere else. But that's not true. The data shows, I mean, look, 40 other states in the country already have capital gains tax, so where are you going to go? Idaho has a capital gains tax, people. Come on, we're letting Idaho beat us on this? So people saying that they might leave? No, not true.  So listen to this. The Washington Tech Industry Association, which is all the founders of all the big tech startups, they sent a letter signed by more than a hundred of these CEOs of these tech startups. I mean, these are companies that do really interesting things. Although some of them do things like trade Bitcoin. And what they said is, Ahh! You don't put a capital gains tax on us for childcare and early learning. It's gonna, it's gonna - we won't be able to bring smart people to Washington State for this. But it turns out PubliCola reports that over half of those CEOs scooped up federal taxpayer subsidies and money over the last year to subsidize their own freaking salaries. So here's what they're saying. No, no, no, no, no. We don't want to pay our share, but we'll be happy to take it.  Crystal Fincher: [00:04:34] As it has always been and using some of the old tired talking points that we're used to hearing whenever someone talks about raising the minimum wage, paying workers a living wage - that has been debunked and proven false every time it has happened. Seattle is actually the perfect place to look at, to see how the economy grows and expands when you pay workers more and you make sure people at the bottom are not neglected by people at the top - that we all have to pay our fair share. Heather Weiner: [00:05:06] As studies show that you - for every dollar that the government invests back into the economy, pays off $3 for our communities, for small businesses, to keep people employed, and to keep consumers with money in their pockets. It's so much better than having that money being hoarded in - up at the top. When - where do they put it? They put it into, you know, real estate in other countries, they put it into REITs, they put it all kinds of places. No, that money needs to be flowing through the economy and helping us rebound from this recession. So how's it - is it going to pass? What do you think Crystal? Crystal Fincher: [00:05:37] It is definitely gonna pass. They have the votes for it in the House. The big issue was the Senate, with capital gains. The House is more progressive than the Senate is. And it definitely took last election to get the Senate in the place, with a composition, to pass it. And it wasn't clear that it was going to pass until - really the last minute. This was not a vote that people knew which way it was going to go. Heather Weiner: [00:06:03] It was a tough Saturday for me. I definitely had a bottle of wine out by about 9:00 PM after watching all that Senate debate. But let me just give a shout out to my friend, Crystal Fincher. Because Crystal, one of the campaigns that you worked on actually ended up being key. I mean, elections matter people. Crystal, you worked on Senator Nobles' campaign. And because we elected Senator Nobles and replaced a conservative, Steve O'Ban , that helped change the makeup of the Senate where we finally did have enough votes to overcome and get that through.  This is the first step though. Look, it raises half a billion dollars a year from these extraordinary stock market profits. That's only 7% of extraordinary stock market profits - is a half a billion. So raises half a billion dollars a year for childcare, early learning, and taxpayer assistance - low-income taxpayer assistance. And that's just the first step. We need at least another $2-3 billion a year before we can start doing things like really helping low-income taxpayers and small businesses by reducing B&O and sales taxes and other things. First, we got to get the money into the system. Very excited about this. This is groundbreaking stuff. Elections matter. Let's do it.  Crystal Fincher: [00:07:16] Elections matter. And I'm so thrilled to have Senator Nobles in our Legislature and to just watch her leadership - and make a difference on a very consequential vote that is going to help people who needed the most. Moving over to the City and contrasting legislators and leaders coming through. One who has not been - who we've talked about on this program many times - Mayor Durkan. And this week and in "What is Mayor Durkan doing to antagonize people in the city and not meet basic needs of people? " Heather Weiner: [00:07:52] WTFMD. Crystal Fincher: [00:07:55] Is you know - we talk about funding being such a major problem. We talk about homelessness being such a major problem. She's talked about that and has talked about how we definitely need more funding. So it turns out FEMA's like, Hey, we have more funding over here. And Durkan was like, Nah.  Heather Weiner: [00:08:15] Doesn't want it.  Crystal Fincher: [00:08:16] Yeah. What is the deal? Heather Weiner: [00:08:17] Has been making a ton of excuses - really just putting up a bunch of roadblocks to not taking this money for non-congregate shelter. That means for people who are homeless, who would normally go to be offered shelter where there's many, many, many, many people in the room that's not COVID safe. And so what we've been trying to do for the last year is to try to get some FEMA money in, to pay for motel rooms where people could have some shelter and still be safe from COVID. San Francisco has taken in this money. Other cities are taking this money. But for some reason, this mayor has been really highly, highly resistant.  And so I was really pleased to see that Council President González - now full disclosure, I do a little bit of work with her on her campaign - but in her official capacity, called BS on this, and I'm just not going to wait around anymore and just went ahead and went over her head. Whatever the Mayor said, and just went right to FEMA and had her own meeting with FEMA, and then released a statement saying, I'm not going to accept these excuses anymore. We can and should do this. We have got to do it. So let's see if that gets the gates open and that's going to be a lot of fun.  Crystal Fincher: [00:09:26] Yeah, certainly. And her other colleagues on the Council have signaled that they certainly intend to pursue this funding and that that's something that we should be doing. We just recently talked with Erica Barnett about this, of PubliCola, and she's done a lot of reporting. There's a lot of great information you can find on this subject there, but it really is confusing. I mean, Mayor Durkan seems to make these decisions that don't have a connection to the people of Seattle. And I just wonder, who is she listening to for this advice where she thought it would be a good idea to not get additional funding to address what she has called the top problem facing the city she is in charge of governing.  Heather Weiner: [00:10:09] Yeah, we have this double emergency problem of the pandemic, which is, you know, I know that we're all feeling very optimistic, but we are still in the middle of a massive pandemic. And the massive emergency crisis of the lack of housing for everyone who needs it in the City of Seattle. So how do we address that issue? Eh, ignore it. Don't accept money from the federal government. I just don't get it.  Crystal Fincher: [00:10:34] Yeah. I mean, it's really confusing. And it's infuriating because this is a problem that we all should be invested in solving. We have to get people off the street and into shelter, and then we have to get people into permanent stable housing. And funding is certainly an issue for this. And you know, a lot of it comes down to priorities, but we do need more money. And if someone is willing to say, FEMA is willing to say, Hey, we can help out with this. We have a national interest in solving this problem , as we do at all levels of government, then we should take that. For no other reason than that gives us more money to address this problem or other problems. Heather Weiner: [00:11:17] Well, and you save lives. You're literally saving lives and saving money in terms of all the health care that needs to be done when people are outside, exposed to the elements, or exposed to COVID. Speaking of outside and being exposed, the other big news that's happening right now in the City of Seattle is the City Council passed a requirement that grocery stores like QFC pay their workers hazard pay. Just an extra $4 an hour, because they're having to pay for childcare while they're continuing to work. They themselves are under a lot of stress and they have been the frontline heroes - the grocery store workers have.  And Kroger, QFC's owner, instead of actually paying - not only do they sue to stop having to pay their own employees hazard pay. But then in retaliation, they close two stores in Seattle. They announced they're closing two stores in Seattle and blame hazard pay. They didn't just do that in Seattle. They just did it in LA this week - threatened to close two more stores. What a bunch of whiny bullies. What's going on there?  Crystal Fincher: [00:12:23] Whiny bullies and extremely disingenuous because this is happening in a backdrop of them being more profitable than they have been in quite some time during the pandemic. This has driven people to grocery stores because dining out is not as much of an option as it has been. People are buying more groceries. They're buying more at home, they're getting groceries delivered. And so they have seen windfall profits. This is not a situation where, as they've tried to spin it, our margins are razor thin and this is going to make the prices go up. They have been reaping profits during the pandemic. That's one of the dynamics - that the rich have gotten richer during the pandemic. And people who were hurting are hurting worse. And so all we're saying is that it is not possible for you to reap these profits without the risks that these people are taking on the front lines, to secure all that profit for you. They deserve a portion of that. What you're doing is not possible without that. They are putting themselves and anyone else in their households at greater risk in order to provide a service to the public. You're reaping windfall profits - a tiny percentage of that can go to the workers who made this possible. Heather Weiner: [00:13:36] Temporarily. Crystal Fincher: [00:13:37] And they've said, yeah, and it's not even permanent. It's temporary. And they said, I know I am receiving a multi-million dollar salary. And I know that we are letting our shareholders profit from this. But we must draw the line at the workers who were on the front lines. We cannot give them just a few more dollars, but we just can't, we can't afford it. We can't do it. It's a slippery slope, all of those arguments. It's ridiculous. And so they have decided that they're going to try and play hardball and say, Well, we're just going to close.  Heather Weiner: [00:14:13] Yeah. And so they, you know, look, Kroger made a billion dollars more in profits last year. They doubled the profits they made during so far during the pandemic. They made so much money that they then did a stock buyback, which means they bought a bunch of their shares back at massive increase in price from their shareholders. And the CEO, this guy, McMullen - Rodney McMullen - just made - makes $21 million a year in salary alone. And yet does not want to pay hardworking QFC workers an extra $4.  Now despite this kind of intimidation and bullying tactics, the King County Council voted to extend hazard pay to stores in the unincorporated parts of King County this week, which is great. So that's like White Center, um, and some of the other unincorporated -  Crystal Fincher: [00:15:04] Skyway yeah.  Heather Weiner: [00:15:05] Right. And Burien has already passed this. I hear that Auburn is thinking about passing it. Bainbridge is thinking about passing it. Bellingham. So there's lots of other places that will continue to do this. What's QFC going to do? Close every single one of its Fred Meyer and QFC stores? Come on. This kind of corporate bullying is really going to weaken their brand and in the long run hurts communities that need these grocery stores. Crystal Fincher: [00:15:29] Absolutely. And also we've seen PCC decide to make the $4 nationwide for all of their workers - and we can afford this right now, we've done quite well.  Heather Weiner: [00:15:44] Trader Joe's, which is a non-union grocery store has gone ahead and just given everybody across the country - all of their staff - hazard pay increases. I mean, come on. Crystal Fincher: [00:15:58] You're listening to Hacks and Wonks with your host Crystal Fincher on KVRU 105.7 FM. Heather Weiner: [00:16:08] All right. Well, which leads us now to vaccinations. I mean, so grocery store workers have been saying, we're on the front lines, we need to be vaccinated. Teachers are saying we have to be vaccinated before we go back to schools. But people haven't been talking very much about the people who've already been out there around customers without their masks on. And that's - restaurant workers.  Crystal Fincher: [00:16:28] It's restaurant workers. And we recently had some updates and guidance in eligibility.   It was recently announced by Governor Inslee that all teachers and childcare workers are now eligible to receive the vaccine. They announced that coming up in the next, I don't even have the exact date, but couple of weeks that frontline workers are going to be eligible for that. So grocery store workers and others, and they will deserve to be. But one group that is left out are restaurant workers. And restaurants are one of the only areas where even when masks are required, it's acceptable for people to take them off as they eat, because you can't eat with a mask on. And they're expanding now - the capacity in restaurants for reopening. So we still have a large percentage of the population unvaccinated. The risk is very present and real. And there are areas where people can congregate in even greater numbers now without wearing a mask. Why are restaurant workers not considered essential frontline workers? I hope that changes fairly soon.  Heather Weiner: [00:17:35] Yeah, I sure do too. As someone who lives with two people in the industry - I have, my best friend is a chef. And her wife is a somm. And the somm lost her job in March - last March, has been unemployed for a year. And my friend Becky continues to go to work and is exposed on a daily basis. Yeah. Very important. Let's go to some good news.  Crystal Fincher: [00:18:00] Good news. Good news is good. There is a lot happening in terms of elections. And we've certainly seen calls and demands and the necessity to broaden the voices who represent us in public office. We just talked about Senator Nobles, the only Black woman in the Senate right now. There was not one before she came in - immediately prior. So having more representation, broader representation, and empowering more people - sharing power with a more diverse set of people is - just helps us to be better represented across the board. And we are certainly seeing, a greater percentage, in particular, women of color, running for office across the board, which is really exciting. Heather Weiner: [00:18:52] Super exciting. It's amazing. I can't believe how many women of color are running for office in this year. And these are in municipal level elections - county and city level elections. But those are the jumping off places for a lot of people who then go on to run for Legislature or Congress. Here's where it gets hard - is when they start running against each other. Do you want to talk about some of the women of color who are running? Can we gossip about them?  Crystal Fincher: [00:19:17] We can, um, you know, lots of people are familiar with the women running in the City of Seattle. Certainly for Mayor, we have Lorena González, who's the sitting Seattle City Council President, who's running for mayor. Colleen Echohawk - also running for mayor.  Heather Weiner: [00:19:35] Smart, great woman.  Crystal Fincher: [00:19:36] Yeah. Teresa Mosqueda - running for her city-wide position for reelection. And then we have Brianna Thomas and Nikkita Oliver, who are running for the other city-wide seat, the one being vacated by Lorena González.  Heather Weiner: [00:19:53] So how do you - let's - how do you think this is going to play out with Brianna and Nikkita? Crystal Fincher: [00:19:59] I don't know.  Heather Weiner: [00:20:00] Oh my gosh. Listeners, you should have seen her face - the way she just threw her hands up in the air. Oh my gosh.  Crystal Fincher: [00:20:06] You know, it is - I have deep respect for both of them, and have known Brianna for quite some time, have worked alongside Brianna. Have admired and respected Nikkita for quite some time. But as we said before, it is not a bad thing for people to run against each other. And as I talk about a lot of times, if you are in political spaces in Seattle, which is, you know - basically elects Democrats and people to the left of Democrats. If you have friends in that space, it is inevitable that you are going to have friends or people that you respect and admire run against each other.  But certainly with Brianna, she has a lot of experience within the system. But she very much came from outside. She was instrumental to getting the first $15 an hour - Heather Weiner: [00:21:01] In SeaTac Crystal Fincher: [00:21:02] - ordinance passed, in the country. In SeaTac, before there was the 15 Now campaign that I think people think about. Before it happened in Seattle, it happened in SeaTac.  Heather Weiner: [00:21:14] Yup. I worked with her on that campaign.  Crystal Fincher: [00:21:16] Yes, you did.  Heather Weiner: [00:21:18] She was ah-mazing. She was the grassroots person and she just organized the heck out of that. Door knocking - I mean, there's really only 7,000 voters in SeaTac and I think every single one of them knows Brianna.  Crystal Fincher: [00:21:29] I think so.  Heather Weiner: [00:21:31] Oh gosh, here she is at my door again. That's true. The other thing that Brianna did, has done, I mean there's so many things. She also worked on the Democracy Voucher campaign and now - which is one of the reasons why Nikkita , and Colleen Echohawk, and Lorena, and Teresa are all able to run - is because Brianna helped to pass the Democracy Voucher campaign, by working on the campaign before she ever ran for office.  Crystal Fincher: [00:21:53] Yeah. And you know, I think it's an example of people working often in service of the same policy and with the same goal, but working in and using different methodsand different tracks. Because, you know, Nikkita certainly has been a voice of moral clarity. They have been instrumental in the push to defund the Seattle Police - to reduce the funding. And that, that is a critical piece. We cannot maintain funding or increase funding and expect things to change. But also in not stopping the conversation at defund or not, which a lot of the opponents like to just put that as, Would you believe in defunding? And that's not, that's not even - like that's just the start of the conversation. I think this is going to be a spirited and exciting time. And I also think the mayoral race is going to be really interesting and have some real substantive conversations. And two people who've done a lot of positive work.  Heather Weiner: [00:22:53] It sounds to me like what you're saying a little bit is , if you were to say what the main policy issues are that are going to be focused on during these campaigns.It almost sounds to me like you're saying, the big - the issue around police reform and the different ways to address police reform, are kind of symbolized by Brianna's - uh, you know, Nikkita has an abolitionist perspective and Brianna has a change the system, work within the system perspective. Uh, I'm probably misstating that. And then I would say between Colleen and Lorena, probably the biggest issue is going to be how to deal with homelessness. It's going to be really interesting policy debates. I can't wait to watch them.  Crystal Fincher: [00:23:31] Really interesting policy debates. And I am really wanting to hear - that there is, there is a lot of conversation to talk about how do you turn activism into policy? And that is not a simple and easy thing. And I think what we have seen in recent years is people who have been activists , and who have been on the front lines organizing and moving policy and campaigns elsewhere being elected into government, or being hired onto staff.  Heather Weiner: [00:24:01] Well, let's talk about some other cities, where there are people of - women of color running. Um, where else are they running?  Crystal Fincher: [00:24:07] Well, I mean, I will talk about the city of Kent where, there was a great South Seattle Emerald article, I think from this past Monday, about Dawn Bennett, who's running for mayor.  Running as a challenger against an incumbent mayor. Satwinder Kaur running for reelection on the City Council and another familiar name, Brenda Fincher, running for reelection on the Kent City Council.  Heather Weiner: [00:24:31] Do you - is there any relation?   Crystal Fincher: [00:24:33] She is my mom. She is a wonderful, kind woman. She's much more kind and compassionate than I am.  I am a fan of hers. But the progressives on that council are a minority. Um, and so it is notable and novel that we have three women of color running in the city of Kent. And  races in the suburbs oftentimes solidify later than races in big cities. So we've seen like tons of announcements in the city of Seattle. A lot of times in the suburbs that - we don't have a firm idea of exactly who's going to be in until filing week in mid May.  Hamdi Mohamed is running for the Port of Seattle. Lots of excitement about her. Shukri Olow is running for King County Council District 5. In Tacoma, there are a number of candidates - Kiara Daniels and Anne Artman for City Council, Chelsea McElroy for the School Board. There - just a lot of wonderful women of color running across the board. A lot of great Black women running. So I'm excited to continue to see women who have been leaders in their spaces to grow their power, and to grow power within their communities.  Heather Weiner: [00:25:47] Amazing. This is great. And is there any kind of group that people can go to if they want to support all of these women at once? Like, is there - are there any PACs or anything like that they could contribute to?  Crystal Fincher: [00:25:57] That's a great question. I don't necessarily know that - there are a whole slew of PACs, obviously. Persist PAC, who I've done some work with, who supported Black women running for office last year and SeaTac City Council candidates running for office the year before - is going to be involved in these races. So certainly keep an eye on Persist. Opportunity PAC is another PAC that has been in the space. If people are interested in running for office, supporting people for office, there is a training with the Northwest Women's Political - National Women's Political Caucus of Washington for that, that I would highly encourage people to attend. That link will be on the website and in the show notes, so absolutely.  And just a really exciting time. So I'm really excited to see how these continue to unfold. You know, it is sometimes an uncomfortable feeling when two people you like and respect, or more sometimes, run against each other. But really it's a sign that power is becoming more accessible and more attainable and that we can have these debates. We, as you pointed out, I've talked a lot about us not being a monolith. Um, you can't lump communities of color together. You can't lump the Black community together as if we all have the same opinion. But our varied opinions are important and it's important for that to be part of the national discourse , because we are. We are here, we exist and that's an important element, as it is with all communities.  So, and that's pretty much our time for today. But thank you once again for joining us today. I always love when you're on the show, Heather.  Heather Weiner: [00:27:36] Aww, I love chatting with you and gossiping with you. It's just - I always bring myself a cup of tea for this cup of tea.  Crystal Fincher: [00:27:44] Always fun. And the gossip is top notch with you always.  Thank you to everyone for listening to Hacks and Wonks on KVRU 105.7 FM on this Friday, March 12th, 2021. Our chief audio engineer at KVRU is Maurice Jones Jr. The producer of Hacks and Wonks is Lisl Stadler. And our wonderful co-host today was Seattle political consultant, Heather Weiner. You can find Heather on Twitter @ hlweiner - that's W E I N E R. You can find me on Twitter @finchfrii - that's F I N C H F R I I. And now you can follow Hacks and Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts. Just type "Hacks and Wonks" into the search bar, be sure to subscribe to get our Friday almost-live show and our mid-week show delivered to your podcast feed. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the podcast episode notes. Thanks for tuning in. Talk to you next time.

On this episode friend the show and returning guest, Joe A. Kunzler aka TransitGeekJoe talks to us about HB 1329. A bill currently in the Washington State Senate concerning public meeting accessibility and participation. Checkout Joe's book Tackling Tsimerman. Music Lobby Time by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3986-lobby-time License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

The Washington State Senate debated a capital gains tax bill on Saturday, March 6, 2021.

3PM - Hanna Scott: After fierce debate, Washington State Senate approves new tax on capital gains by one vote // Behind Costco's Treasure-Hunt Shopping Strategy // Race in Fife, lose your car? City is considering it as street racing proliferates See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This EWM INSIGHTS podcast is with special guest Mario Lotmore Mario Lotmore was born in the Bahamas and emigrated to the United States in 1995 with just a suitcase. Mario attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and The University of Central Florida where he majored in Industrial Engineering Upon graduation Mario worked for various defense contractors including Lockheed Martin, Triumph Aerospace, GKN, and Boeing. In 2018 Mario ran for Washington State Senate for District 21.As a candidate he personally met thousands of households while canvasing the cities of Edmonds, Lynnwood, and Mukilteo. It was during these intimate meetings and gatherings that Mario recognized the need for a local independent news publication. The Lynwood Times was launched in April of 2019. Follow the Lynnwood Times at: Website: www.lynwoodtimes.com Twitter: @LynnwoodTimes Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LynnwoodTimes/ Mario Lotmore can be reached at; publisher@lynnwoodtimes.com If you have a story or news tip please email editorial@lynnwoodtimes.com

Hugo Black, Glen Taylor, George McGovern, Robert F. Kennedy, Herbert Lehman, Theodore Francis Green, Al Gore, William Proxmire, Sherrod Brown. Did you know the common thread is a desk? Current desk occupant and Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown joined us to share stories of those who preceded him. Utilizing anecdotes and history from his book Desk 88: Eight Progressive Senators Who Changed America, he presented eight portraits of political courage that tell the triumphs and failures of the Progressive idea over the past century. He argued that despite their flaws and frequent setbacks, each made a decisive contribution to the creation of a more just America. With recollections from his own career, Brown asserted that the Progressive idea is not dead—that we can renew the social contract and create a new era in which Americans of all backgrounds can thrive. Sherrod Brown is Ohio’s senior US senator. He has dedicated his life in public service to fighting for what he calls “the dignity of work”—the belief that hard work should pay off for everyone. He has been a strong advocate for health care reform measures and is a leading advocate of education. You can follow the Senator on Twitter and Facebook. Dow Constantine is serving his third term as King County Executive. A former member of the King County Council and the Washington State Senate and House of Representatives, and a three-time graduate of the University of Washington, Dow is focused on meeting two of our greatest generational challenges: building equity and opportunity, and confronting climate change. Buy the Book: https://www.thirdplacebooks.com/book/9781250758101  Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here or text TOWN HALL to 44321. 

This week, Vee and Jay survive the #SeattleSmoke to talk with Sherae Lascelles, candidate for Washington State Senate to discuss harm reduction, community activism, and being a good neighbor! Learn more about Sherae here: https://www.sheraeforstate.com and follow them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SheraeForState Special thank you to FCON for loaning us their song Liquid Fury for our intro! Their bandcamp: https://fcon206.bandcamp.com/track/fcon. Vote, stay safe, and we'll see you next week!

The CDC recently indicated that a new record was established in 2019, with 71,000 Americans dying of drug overdoses. Since then, social distancing, unemployment, and the subsequent depression and anxiety have lead to a spike in substance use disorder and overdoses. Listen as we discuss what can be done to address the rise in substance use disorder in the wake of COVID-19. Guests: Anne Zink, MD, FACEP and Chief Medical Officer for the State of Alaska Anne grew up in Colorado and moved through her training from College in Philadelphia to Medical School at Stanford and then Residency at University at Utah. She then decided to take a leap of faith to try a job in Alaska for a few years. She fell in love with the people and the place, but also the medicine. Alaska is a small isolated microcosm on the US health care market where certain forces like the distance, lack of referral centers, and no managed care challenge individual providers to help create better systems of care that are directly related to bedside care. In 2016, she helped Alaska pass legislation similar to Washington state's "Seven Best Practices" and has been working closely with state and federal agencies since then to expand and extend its work to include VA, DOD, and IHS facilities (and more!). What she has loved about Alaska is that it matters more if you catch your own fish than which school you went to—which helps keep her love for the mountains, her family, and her friends a top priority.Hon. Nathaniel Schlicher, MD, JD, MBA, FACEP, St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Regional Director of Quality Assurance for Franciscan Health System and Associate Director of the TeamHealth Litigation Support Department.Nathan attended Law School and then Medical School at the University of Washington before completing an EM residency at Wright State in Dayton, Ohio, with board certification in Emergency Medicine. He recently completed his Masters in Business Administration with an emphasis in Health Care.As Legislative Affairs Chairman of the Washington State Chapter of Emergency Physicians, Dr. Schlicher spearheaded the “ER for Emergencies” program to replace the State’s plan to deny ER services to Medicaid patients. He created and has edited five editions of a textbook on the importance of advocacy by physicians, “The Emergency Medicine Advocacy Handbook.” He currently serves as President Elect of the Washington State Medical Association and is a Past President of the Washington Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians. He has previously served as the Legislative Advisor on the Board of Directors of the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Association. He also spent a year in the Washington State Senate, representing the 26th District, where he continued his work on healthcare advocacy. He continues to work with interested parties on health policy topics, including renewed focus on the opiate and mental health crises affecting the state.

Hey guys! Couple announcements and an incredible guest interview! Once again, we are in voting season! For those of us who have mail in ballots, no excuses. Time to get out out vote! And if you are looking for an incredible candidate who will be a fierce advocate for Washington... T'wina Nobles is running for State Senate in the 28th district. Nobles is an advocate for representing, empowering, and elevating women and girls, especially young women of color. She is the founder of Ladies First (@Ladies1stOrg) and if elected, will be the sole Black voice in the Washington State Senate. We discuss her work with Ladies First, her reaction to the recent Black Lives Matter protests, and her thoughts around ¨Defund the Police.¨ Check out her website https://twinanobles.com/ and Twitter: @TwinaNobles If you want to join the Discussion please write in. Email us at thedvdiscussion@gmail.com or connect on Facebook, Instagram , Twitter, and Tik Tok @theDVDiscussion. We all have our stories. And they deserve to be heard.

0:00 - Episode Introduction0:50 - Hosts Checking In 1:45 - Conversation with Marcus Harrison Green & Patty Murray12:28 - Host Recap15:51 - Tribute to John Lewis____________________________________________________________Patricia Lynn Murray  is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Washington, since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Murray previously served in the Washington State Senate and is Washington's first female U.S. Senator.  ____________________________________________________________Produced In Partnership With :Town Hall Seattle  (https://townhallseattle.org/)The South Seattle Emerald  (https://southseattleemerald.com/)_____________________________________________________________Executive Producer + Host  // Marcus Harrison GreenExecutive Producer + Host // Enrique CernaAdditional Production Support Provided By // Hans Anderson & JEFFSCOTTSHAWMusic Provided By // Draze "The Hood Ain't The Same" // http://www.thedrazeexperience.com/about-draze/

Ann Marie Danimus is an Independent running for Washington State Senate in the Fourth Legislative District.  We discuss police reform, medical reform, green energy, small business, and what it is like to run a campaign in the middle of a pandemic.

Washington State Senate candidates to debate in online forum The Washington State Primary election will be held August 4th. Southwest Washington candidates and voters are connecting online. More from Kathleen Morgain: (:10) Note: information on how to join this forum online or by phone is at the end of the script. Script below, Scroll down...

In an economic downturn the Seattle City Council passes a jobs killing tax on business. Activists claim a driver who struck protesters on I-5 is a white supremacist, only one problem: he isn't white. I interview Amber Krabach who is running for Washington State Senate. BLM inc. is a Marxist, anti Semitic organization so why do so many Jews support it? Enjoy the finale of Season 1 of Canary In A Coal Mine! Check out the video version on my Youtube page! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/ari-hoffman/support

In this week's episode, we talk with Dr. Nathan Schlicher about advocating for healthcare to both the state and federal governments. Dr. Schlicher's, in addition to being an emergency physician, served on the Washington State Senate. Dr. Schlicher's experience gives him unique insights into what we need to do to influence our legislators.

Rosa Franklin is a local icon. She was the first black woman elected to the Washington State Senate, serving the 29th Legislative District in the Tacoma area. Born in the Jim Crow era South, Franklin moved to Tacoma in the 1950s. Franklin holds bachelor's degrees in biology and English and a master's in social science and human relations. She worked as a nurse for 40 years before joining the Washington State Legislature in 1990. Franklin recently teamed up with local historian Tamiko Nimura on a new book, an oral history called: Rosa Franklin — A Life in Health Care, Public Service, and Social Justice. In this episode we'll talk with Franklin and Nimura. We'll discuss Franklin's life growing up with her aunt and uncle in South Carolina as well as her career in nursing and why she decided to run for office. We'll also talk about the housing discrimination Franklin faced when she first moved to Tacoma. Finally, Nimura tells us about what drew her to this project and why oral histories are so important.

Writer Tamiko Nimura joins the podcast today to talk about her life as a writer, writing the biography of State Senator Rosa Franklin, the first African-American woman to serve in the Washington State Senate. We...

With a presidential election looming in 2020, what are the progressives in Congress doing to build political power and move their agenda forward? As the elected co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus—representing nearly 40 percent of the House Democratic majority, Representative Pramila Jayapal is on the forefront of the national progressive movement. In February 2019, Jayapal introduced the most comprehensive and progressive Medicare-for-all bill in history and has since secured four hearings on the bill—the first four hearings on Medicare for all in the history of Congress—and the support of more than half of the House Democratic Caucus. Prior to her election to Congress, Jayapal worked for two decades as an advocate for immigrant rights and racial justice and served in the Washington State Senate from 2015–2017. Jayapal serves on the House Judiciary, Budget, and Education and Labor committees and has been an outspoken leader on expanding access to college, fighting for climate justice, taking on corporate greed and holding the administration accountable for its immigration policies. Join us for a conversation with one of the Democratic Party's rising stars as she discusses the path ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Fain is the President and CEO of the Bellevue Chamber. He previously served two terms in the Washington State Senate where he worked extensively on economic development, transportation, and education issues.He was a leading negotiator of Washington’s 2015 statewide transportation package. He also led the negotiations and prime-sponsored Washington’s Paid Family Leave legislation, which passed in 2017.Joe has also worked managing a boutique law and consulting firm in Seattle specializing in technology and healthcare; at the University of Washington office of technology transfer and commercialization; as a prosecutor for King County; and as Chief of Staff to a member of the King County Council.Joe was selected in 2012 as one Puget Sound Business Journal’s 40 under 40 and was a 2017 Rodel Fellow with the Aspen Institute.He has a Joint JD/MBA from Seattle University and an undergraduate degree from the University of Washington.Support the show (https://talkourmayberry.com)

Two Microsoft employees sat opposite one another in a Washington State Senate hearing room last Wednesday. Ryan Harkins, the company's senior director of public policy, spoke in support of a proposed law that would regulate government use of facial recognition. “We would applaud the committee and all of the bill sponsors for all of their work to tackle this important issue,” he said.

It happened! Self-proclaimed super fan, CJ, has finally joined Jake and Geoff! On this episode, CJ shares his experience as an intern with the Washington State Senate. CJ provides excellent insight into how necessary and intricate the local governments can be and how there are avenues to participate, learn, and do our part. The three discuss media, journalism, and the role of comedy in news. Also, Jake and CJ had matching outfits. Enjoy! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/saywhatyoumeanpodcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/saywhatyoumeanpodcast/support

Hans Zeiger left Grad-School to take on a State House incumbent in his home district. His 29-vote win margin set him on a course that now puts him in the center of important debates within the Washington State Senate. Millennials are having a growing impact within state legislatures and Hans joins us today to talk […] The post Senate Service as a Millennial – Hans Zeiger appeared first on My Campaign Coach.

What's Next Washington's Host, Sue Mason, interviews Attorney Christopher Poulos was appointed Executive Director of the Washington Statewide Reentry Council (Council) on October 1, 2017 by Department of Commerce Director Brian Bonlender and the Council. On March 8, 2018 he was unanimously confirmed in this role by the Washington State Senate. Previously, Christopher served as Executive Director of Life of Purpose Treatment at the University of North Texas, where he was also an adjunct professor of criminal justice. During law school, he served at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, The Sentencing Project, and was selected as law student of the year by National Jurist magazine. While at the Office of National Drug Control Policy, he worked to reduce discrimination by reframing stigmatizing language used by the federal government regarding addiction and justice system involvement. Christopher also served as an advisor to U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) on addiction and justice policy, and served on several task forces related to criminal justice policy and reentry. He graduated cum laude from the University of Maine School of Law, where he was president of the American Constitution Society and represented children facing criminal charges as a student attorney in the Juvenile Justice Clinic.   Christopher openly identifies as a person in long-term recovery from addiction who has also been incarcerated. Over a decade ago, he made a decision to seek help and has maintained his recovery since. The U.S. Department of Justice selected him to consult for a project documenting the nation’s most successful people to have reentered society following incarceration. His work and story have been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, The Hill, and other outlets. He also gave a TED talk on reentry and his personal journey in 2015.   WA Statewide Reentry Council Facebook Twitter Instagram   Produced and edited by ZipBangWow! Productions - Jonnie Wilder http://zipbangwow.com/ Song credit Marker Beacon. Song “Free".   Marker Beacon Website

Hello everyone and welcome back to CJ Evolution. Thank you all for the continued support. We continue to grow because of you! A special thanks to all the brave men and women who work in the Criminal Justice field. You all are doing a fantastic job, keep up the good work. In this episode, Patrick welcomes Christopher Poulos. He is an attorney who was appointed Executive Director of the Washington Statewide Reentry Council (Council) on October 1, 2017 by Department of Commerce Director Brian Bonlender and the Council. He was confirmed unanimously in this role by the Washington State Senate. Previoulsy, Christopher served as Executive Director of Life of Purpose Treatment at the University of North Texas, where was also an adjunct professor of criminal justice. During law school, he served at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Christopher openly identifies as a person in long-term recovery from addiction who has also been incarcerated. Over a decade ago, he made a decision to seek help and has maintained his recovery since. The U.S Department of Justice selected him to consult for a project documenting the nation's first most successful people to have reentered society following incarceration. His work and story have been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, The Hill, and other media outlets. He also gave a TED Talk on reentry and his personal journey in 2015. Christopher is also very involved in sentencing solutions and alternatives, and you can find information here: https://www.sentencingproject.org/stories/christopher-poulos/ Patrick and Christopher talk about a wide variety of issues in the criminal justice system and possible solutions, as well as suggestions on how to create better relationships with the community and law enforcement. A great interview! Find Christopher here: https://www.commerce.wa.gov/about-us/boards-and-commissions/statewide-reentry-council/   Find Christopher's TED Talk here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_dtkXAQq3k   Do you like coffee? The you will love the products from Four Sigmatic. Get 15% off of their stuff using promo code CJEVO.   www.cjevolution.com   Patrick    

Listen to this discussion with Washington State Senate candidate Manka Dhingra. She talks about her background as a lawyer and why immigrant rights are important to her too. Below is the blogpost from her appearance. http://immigrationlawyersinseattle.com/2017/08/13/tahmina-talks-immigration-manka-dhingra-wa-state-senate-candidate-august-15th-10am-pst-desi-1250am/

One day, Emily will stop fawning all over the guests. Today is not that day. Jinyoung Lee Englund is running in a special election for Washington State Senate, is incredibly determined, and believes in the power of bipartisanship. Come on, what's not to love?

A scientist, having worked for NASA, the TSA, the Department of Justice, the United States Postal Service, Lockheed Martin, and the Washington State Senate, Jason Luxon is also a magician par excellence.  Jason talked about his early life, having been raised by magickal practitioner parents, and his subsequent training in the hermetic tradition, and then Sean Ciall druidry.  Jason went on to discuss various scientific disciplines and projects and how science and magick can dovetail with fascinating results.  Among these topics were faster-than-light travel, time travel, the energy body, building a device to measure magickal energy, the Luxon Engine, and a whole lot more.  He also talked about a project that he has in the works to develop "Lab Manuals" to help occultists take a structured approach to their esoteric development.  Jason Luxon has the mind of a scientist, but the heart of a poet and I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with him.  There was far too much material to cram into one episode, so look for the conclusion to this interview next week!  Jason has consented to be the official science advisor to the Ancient Wisdom Salvage Yard, so expect to hear from him frequently in the future!

Washington State Senator David Frockt sat down with us just after the 2017 regular session ended. Senator Frockt represents the 46th District, which mostly encompasses North Seattle. He walks us through how he got into politics, what he's been focused on this past session, and where he might go next. David Frockt represents the Washington State Senate’s 46th Legislative District, which comprises North Seattle, Lake Forest Park and Kenmore. Elected to the House of Representatives in 2010, David was chosen early on by his Democratic Caucus colleagues as Assistant Floor Leader. He is in his third term in the Senate, and has represented the 46th District in the Senate since the untimely passing of Sen. Scott White. David has served in caucus leadership as Democratic Floor Leader, as Deputy Democratic Leader, and as the top Democrat on the Higher Education Committee. He now serves as the Democrats’ lead writer for the state’s capital construction budget responsible for building and maintaining public buildings and parks.