The Washington Supreme Court unanimously rejected an effort to recall Governor Jay Inslee in 2022.
So now what?
I ask because though the state’s justices felt keeping Inslee in office was the best of the options, it’s undeniable that Washingtonians are frustrated with the lack of solutions coming out of Olympia, which is overwhelmingly Democratic.
And because it’s overwhelmingly Democratic, criticism of Olympia might seem partisan, but it’s not. It’s important that everyone, no matter their partisan affiliation, ask themselves: “How has an overwhelmingly Democratic ruling class addressed the problems in my life?”
The state is running out of energy, the cost of living continues to rise, the housing crisis remains a crisis, homelessness seems to be getting worse, the public education system is failing students and the negative societal effects of COVID-19 restrictions are really starting to show. This is not an exhaustive list of the persistent problems plaguing the state; it’s just the first few that came to mind.
While the legislature is now currently out of session, the Democratic supermajority has found the time to ban natural gas and vote in three of the initiatives that repudiate their legacy.
It goes to show that, while there are countless actual problems for the legislature to tackle, political gamesmanship is the top priority of legislative leaders.
Inslee, meanwhile, is peak Inslee while becoming the first state to commit to a Sister State Agreement with a region in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the people entrusted with educating children have clearly run out of ideas. Schools are struggling with chronic absenteeism and the tremendous learning loss thrust upon students. Most Washington students are not proficient in math and science and only around half meet English standards — and that’s by Washington’s own testing. Nationally, Washington’s students rank near the bottom in most measurements of proficiency.
Instead of responding to a call to action to help struggling students improve, some of the state’s largest school districts have decided on “equity grading” to simply get rid of F grades and limit Ds.
It’s true that you can’t fail if F is not an option.
Again, this isn’t about Democrats as a party. This is about a complacent ruling class throughout the state that happens to be overwhelmingly Democratic.
For those who might be already typing a “What about?” email to me pointing to states run by a Republican supermajority where there’s a lack of improvement, my universal response is that you’re only proving my point about this not being partisan. It’s about a complacent ruling class that feels no threat of political competition.
It’s not the party that matters, it’s the policymakers and their priorities. Washington needs leaders who will bring real change, not more of the same.
