News

The primary voting period in our state began July 19 and runs through Aug. 6.

Tens of thousands of voters across more than a quarter of Washington's legislative districts are being forced to cast their primary ballots in a different district than they were in just four months ago.

The change is due to a coordinated and outrageous Democratic political power play that began in 2021 and led to a controversial federal-court ruling in March.

While primary voters should choose Republican legislative candidates anyway, because our priorities are more in line with a majority of Washington residents, voters in those abruptly redrawn districts have another reason to reject Democrats on their ballots: To keep Democratic Party bosses from being rewarded for their scheme.

The boundaries of 13 legislative districts were changed eight years ahead of the constitutional schedule because Democrats who believe they are entitled to the support of Hispanic voters got tired of being shut out of the Yakima Valley's legislative positions.

That’s especially true about the 15th Legislative District, in the heart of the Yakima Valley. While our state’s bipartisan Redistricting Commission made it a majority-Hispanic district ahead of the 2012 election, 15th District voters have continued to choose Republicans as their legislators.

A poll conducted earlier this month suggests the level of Hispanic support for Democrats has nothing to do with legislative-district boundaries, which would cast serious doubt on a fundamental position taken by the federal court. I’ll get back to that.

As background, the drought for Democratic legislative candidates in the Yakima Valley goes way back. For more than 90 years the valley has been encompassed by the 14th and 15th legislative districts, yet no Democrat has been elected state senator from those districts since 1937 and 1939, respectively.

It's been almost as tough for Democrats seeking House positions in those districts. Only a handful won elections since World War II, and none have been elected in more than 30 years.

Considering how the Hispanic population in the Yakima Valley has grown over the decades, the Democrats’ continued inability to win legislative elections there must have become unbearably painful.

The state redistricting map adopted for 2022 kept it a majority-Hispanic district, but that wasn't good enough. Democratic operatives inside and outside our state mounted a full-bore effort to "gerrymander" the district to tilt it more in their direction.

After failing to get the state Supreme Court to override the work of the bipartisan Redistricting Commission, they filed suit at the federal level, claiming the 15th District boundaries violated the federal Voting Rights Act.

Specifically, they argued the Hispanic voting-age population in the Yakima Valley was “cracked” — meaning it was being split to dilute Hispanic voting power and therefore denied “equal opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.”

The unspoken but clear assertion was that Hispanics would choose Democrats. That was proven false, again, in the 2022 general election. In our state’s lone majority-Hispanic district, Republican Nikki Torres received twice as many votes as her female Democratic opponent.

That made her the first Hispanic and first woman to serve in the Senate from the 15th District. But rather than honor the choice made by Hispanic voters, and admit the “cracking” claim doesn’t hold up against such a large margin of victory, the Democratic machine pressed forward with its effort to gain an edge.

A Clinton-appointed federal judge in Seattle, Judge Robert Lasnik, eagerly adopted the argument. He ruled, nearly a year ago, that the 15th District boundaries needed to be redone.

Not only did Judge Lasnik’s decision assert Democratic candidates are “preferred by Latino voters,” he doubled down by concluding “the Democratic platform is apparently better aligned with the economic and social preferences of Latinos in the Yakima Valley region.”

Either way, the proper and legal response would have been to reconvene the bipartisan Redistricting Commission and let it do its constitutional duty. But this was a coordinated power play on the Democrats' part, so Jay Inslee refused to call legislators into a special session for a half-day so we could reconvene the commission.

The Legislature can call itself into session, but leaders of the Senate and House Democrats also refused to budge, so the question was thrown back to Judge Lasnik. Earlier this year he chose one of the most disruptive of the maps submitted by those who filed suit in the first place.

The changes to the 15th District rippled across 12 other districts in the heart of our state, from Clark and Klickitat counties in the south to King and Douglas counties to the north.

In all, the new map ultimately uprooted three Republican senators, including Senator Torres, and two Republican representatives. That means they no longer reside in the districts they serve and can’t seek re-election to the same position without changing addresses.

Lasnik himself admitted the district is “substantially more Democratic.”

Four months later, a Survey USA poll found — and this was before President Joe Biden was forced to drop his bid for re-election — both he and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell are losing among Hispanic voters.

A liberal Seattle columnist called that a “startling turn,” adding that former President Donald Trump’s 13-point lead “among Hispanic voters, here in a blue state, ought to be sounding warning sirens through Democratic Party headquarters.”

Cantwell’s Republican challenger, Dr. Raul Garcia, was supported by 52% of Hispanics polled, to her 44%.

While we should be cautious about placing too much meaning on one poll, the SurveyUSA results call into question whether legislative-district boundaries have any real bearing on Hispanic voting patterns.

The poll results also indicate Judge Lasnik’s foundational assumption in the redistricting case was wrong — and that the economic and social preferences of Hispanics in the Yakima Valley region are better aligned with the platform put forth by Republicans, rather than the policies and choices offered by Democrats.

By extension, it’s fair to also suggest Judge Lasnik did the Yakima Valley’s Hispanic voters, and the valley’s first Latina state senator, a disservice by acting as he did.

Numerous national polls confirm Hispanics — and this would include Hispanic voters in the Yakima Valley — don’t care about the letter behind a candidate’s name as much as they care about public safety, affordability and a better life for our children.

Those are priorities for Senator Torres and other Senate Republicans — including Sen. Curtis King of Yakima, who is on the ballot in the reconfigured 14th District this year.

Senator King also has distinguished himself as a leader on transportation, and an advocate for creating jobs for all Washingtonians, regardless of race. His challenger is a Democratic operative who has clearly been groomed by the party to run for office.

Our state can’t afford to lose Senator King’s knowledge and experience. He deserves another term.

This Democratic power play also has a Bob Ferguson angle. As attorney general he could and should have vigorously defended the district map as adopted by the state Redistricting Commission and a bipartisan vote of the Legislature.

Instead, Ferguson abdicated his duty by rolling over, allowing the scheme by his fellow Democrats to proceed. His shameful “defense” of the Redistricting Commission was to say its members violated the law but did so unintentionally. I’ll bet he would not have been so passive had Republicans been behind the challenge to the map.

While many voters are old enough to remember — and miss — the days when the primary was a single day instead of a “period” and meant going to the polls, here we are.

So vote your ballots and get them in the mail, sooner than later. Say yes to the four cost-saving initiatives and to Republicans, especially the legislative candidates in districts altered by the Democrats’ gerrymandering for more power.

•••

Sen. John Braun of Centralia serves the 20th Legislative District, which spans parts of four counties from Yelm to Vancouver. He became Senate Republican leader in 2020.

Expectant mothers with no place to turn now have a place they can call home. 

This month, the new Lewis County Maternity House opened its doors to their first resident, a 20-year-old mom-to-be who arrived with just the clothes on her back and a car that didn’t run. 

The home has been in the works for almost a year. It is a project of Cooks Hill Community Church in Centralia. 

Vicki Judd, one of the effort’s leaders, spoke about it Friday morning at a meeting of the Twin Cities Rotary. 

Her talk was both inspiring and sobering, occasionally heartbreaking but ultimately heartening in the most powerful way. 

The home has space for six new mothers to live for 18-24 months, with plenty of support, education and services to help these moms get a solid start once they head out on their own.

“The house is as cute as can be,” Judd said. “It’s a beautiful house — a warm, cozy, welcoming and safe place for our moms.”

While they don’t disclose the specific location, the house is on a corner lot with a fenced yard. It’s on bus lines within walking distance of Centralia College. 

Residents are offered housing, food and birthing classes.

“This is a truly pro-life program,” Judd said. Over the two years they can live in the home before and after their baby is born, experienced mothers and support staff provide tools and skills for these new mothers to succeed after they leave. 

It’s a wide-ranging and comprehensive list: classes on parenting, finance and budgeting, meal planning and preparation, and helping find state resources. These people who experienced a crisis in their lives are given help to create a crisis plan to avoid them in the future. Counseling is available, as many people have experienced trauma that led to their homelessness.

“We have no illusions that this will be a clean and easy story,” Judd said. “Homelessness is a messy business.”

The Christians who run the home are open about their faith, but it’s required of residents. Organizers call it “faith focused, not faith forced,” with the goal of building community that will extend beyond their time living in the home. 

Residents pay a nominal $250 fee each month to cover rent and food. Work and scholarships are offered to cover the cost if it’s a challenge for them. 

Residents are drug-tested before entering and while living in the clean-and-sober house. There are rules and structure. Doors are locked with thumb print sensors. All guests must be background checked and visiting hours are limited.

This is one of only two transitional programs in the state for pregnant women experiencing a crisis of housing. 

The other has operated for decades in Puyallup. It has had expectant mothers as young as 12 years old and as old as 40, Judd said. 

Taylor McLain is the live-in program manager for the home. She and her husband live on the first floor; the three bedrooms for the residents are all upstairs. 

“It’s a wonderful feeling to be a bright light in dark places for those who really need it,” McLain said, noting that the first resident has been eager to learn about the Christian faith of her hosts.

Pastor Emily Faley, who is expecting her second child in two weeks, said Cooks Hill Community Church is committed to a holistic approach to support families in Lewis County. It has launched the Lewis County Diaper Bank, safe and clean soft play centers for toddlers, increased childcare enrollment, and now the Lewis County Maternity House. 

“We believe that our love for Jesus as a church is best explored and shared through a practical approach to care for our community,” said Faley, who has pastored the church for four years.

Providing a home for six new mothers and their babies will change the world for them, but the need in our community and nation is obviously so much bigger. 

Judd said she hopes this work will inspire other churches and groups to think about how they can use their creativity and compassion to help our neighbors in crisis. One big example and need: a place to help expectant mothers who already have children (a mission for which the Maternity House is not equipped).

The brokenness we see around us is devastating. It can make us feel hopeless. But we now have a powerful new living example of how people are coming together to help with thoughtful effectiveness. 

“It just seems,” Judd said, “like what Jesus would do.”

Learn more and donate

Find out more about the Lewis County Maternity House at www.lcmaternity.org. Contact Cooks Hill Community Church’s office at 2400 Cooks Hill Rd, Centralia, office@cookshillcc.org or call 360-736-6133.

They accept donations, including:

• Bus passes/tickets 
• Arts and crafts supplies 
• New water bottles
• Gently used or new maternity clothing 
• Cleaning and toiletry supplies 
• Target/Walmart cards
• Infant toys 
• Financial donations

There are also some volunteer opportunities and they welcome hand-crafted blankets and quilts. Guidelines are at www.lcmaternity.org/get-involved .

Brian Mittge can be reached at brianmittge@hotmail.com.

The Board of Lewis County Commissioners has approved a budget amendment to the 2024 budget after expenditures in the county increased by $3.2 million and revenue decreased by nearly $250,000.

During Tuesday’s business meeting, Becky Butler, county budget administrator, said the amendment will result in an estimated $3,456,000 decrease in the county’s ending fund balance. In the hearing, Butler said the “majority” of the amendment will fund capital projects through revenue received in previous periods.

As part of the amendment, the county’s general fund will decrease by $24,350.

According to Butler, $2.4 million of the expenditure increase resulted from the county’s distressed counties .09 sales and use tax. The county receives the funding throughout the year, which is then awarded to public utility projects.

“That was the majority of the amendment,” Butler said.

Additionally, Lewis County’s capital maintenance fund increased by $182,000, which will add “budget capacity for furniture at the new Community Development building, Senior Centers grant expenditures and software licenses,” according to county budget documents.

The amendment also includes $377,550 in real estate excise tax funds for the new Community Development Building.

Located at 125 NW Chehalis Ave. in downtown Chehalis, the new central campus will be the home of Lewis County’s community development offices and the environmental, health and information technology offices.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the building is scheduled for Aug. 21 at noon.

The jail capital improvements account will receive an additional $325,000, which will increase “the repair and maintenance budget for the jail video, door control and Jail intercom upgrade projects,” according to county budget documents.

The commissioners also approved an additional $33,750 for increased “salaries for construction at the new night by night homeless shelter,” according to county budget documents.

In June, County Manager Ryan Barrett said the shelter is on track to open by the end of the year.

“So those were the majority of the large projects included,” Butler said.

Ahead of the August primary, candidates for federal, state and county offices gathered in Mossyrock Thursday to share their visions for the future.

Hosted by the Lewis County Republican Party, the forum drew roughly 200 attendees to the Mossyrock Community Center for a panel that included candidate for the Third Congressional District Joe Kent, gubernatorial candidate Misipati “Semi” Bird, candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction David Olson and State Rep. Peter Abbarno.

Semi Bird

Bird, who won the straw poll at the Lewis County Republican Convention in February, doubled down on his campaign promises, which include a third-party audit of state programs and offices. During his remarks, Bird said both young and old residents of Washington struggle to make ends meet.

“We have a gas tax, a liquor tax, a marijuana tax, a gambling tax. We have tolls everywhere, and more taxes than I can actually, well, I’d run out of time,” Bird said. “But yet our roads aren’t better. Our schools certainly aren’t better. The cost of living continues to rise but the standard of living continues to fall. We must do something about it, and it starts with our vote.”

During his stump speech, Bird highlighted his time on the Richland School Board, the only elected office he has held. Bird was later recalled from the position, along with two other board members, after the trio passed an ordinance to make the wearing of masks optional despite a state mandate calling for indoor masking to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

According to the Tri-City Herald, the state Supreme Court ruled the trio “knowingly” violated state law.

“When you have a government that shuts down your state, shuts down your schools, shuts down your places of worship, and anyone who supports that nonsense is on the wrong side of the constitution,” Bird said. “A mandate is not constitutional, it’s unconstitutional, and neither is it a law, can I get an amen on that?”

Bird faces a long list of other candidates in the August primary, including Dave Reichert, the former Republican sheriff of King County, Democrat Bob Ferguson, the state’s attorney general, and state Sen. Mark Mullet, a Democrat.

During the Washington State Republican Party Convention earlier this year, Bird received the formal endorsement of the state party.

Joe Kent

Kent, who is making his second attempt at representing the Third Congressional District in the nation’s capital, again squarely focused his attention on Democratic incumbent Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who narrowly defeated Kent in the 2022 general election.

“It’s very, very simple what’s taking place. Democrats, and their policies, are destroying America,” Kent said. “Regardless of what personality they roll out up front, Democrat policies are destroying this country.”

Days after Vice President Kamala Harris replaced President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Kent said Democrats continue to enable America’s problems “regardless of who they run at the top of the ticket.”

“They’re trying to pin all of their failures right now on Joe Biden, and sending him off down the river, and saying whether it’s Kamala or somebody else, it’s going to be completely different this time,” Kent said. “There’s no difference in the Democratic policies.”

While on the campaign trail, Kent has attacked Gluesenkamp Perez over the rise in overdose deaths, inflation and the economic woes felt by many, among other issues.

“That’s the big difference between the last time I ran against her in 2022 and this time,” Kent said. “Last time, she could say whatever she wanted to. She’s a lumberjack, she’s a mechanic, whatever. She could create stories because she didn’t have a voting record. This time, she has a voting record, and it’s the last thing she wants to talk about.”

One other Republican, Camas City Councilor Leslie Lewallen, is filed to represent the Third District. During the state Republican Convention, Kent received the formal backing of the state party.

David Olson

While the position is officially nonpartisan, Davis Olson received the formal endorsement of the state Republican Party earlier this year. A member of the Peninsula School Board, Olson focused his remarks on a series of cultural hot topics, including whether transgender athletes should be able to compete in interscholastic athletics.

Olson also defended charter schools, and said that parents lack trust in public education.

“The reason students have fled, parents have pulled their kids, is there’s no trust in our public education system,” Olson said.

If elected, Olson said he would respect the local control of elected school boards in Washington.

“School boards should all be allowed to do their job, based on what the local community would support,” Olson said. “So I support local control of school boards.”

During his closing remarks, Olson again focused on gender identity and sexuality in the public education system.

“How many of you are aware that there are parents that allow their children to go to school, and are identified as a furry?” Olson said to scoffs and laughter in the room. “This is true. This is true. There are children in our schools in this state that go to school and identify as a fury. It can be a cat or a dog or whatever, and the school is required to put litter boxes in the school?”

“Are they going to use it in front of everybody in the classroom?” an audience member shouted to Olson.

As evidence, Olson cited his nephew, who he said transferred schools after “a school district he won’t name” allowed a student to use a litter box during school.

The claim has been falsely repeated by elected officials and candidates throughout the country, and has been routinely debunked. Scott Ellis, executive director of Great Lakes Bay Pride, which services the Midland LGBTQ community, told the Michigan Advance the claim can be harmful.

“We’ve gotten to a place where in order to put down those who are either exploring their gender identity or identify maybe differently than their sex assigned at birth, we start equating these things — like in this particular case, ‘furries’ being a role-play versus somebody’s identity. Those are not the same thing,” Ellis said in an article published in February 2022.

PERTH AMBOY, N.J. — The federal government is giving more than a half-billion dollars to coastal communities to help them use nature-based preventive measures to address climate-related flooding and other disasters.

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