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Defending Washington’s election system against cyberthreats and misinformation campaigns has been a dominant theme in this year’s contest for secretary of state. This was the case again Oct. 1 when Democrat Steve Hobbs, the incumbent and Republican Dale Whitaker, the challenger, debated in Edmonds. Hobbs, of Lake Stevens, was serving as a state senator when, in 2021, Gov. Jay Inslee tapped him to be secretary of state after Republican Kim Wyman left to work for an election security post in President Joe Biden’s Administration. At that momen...
SEATTLE – Washington gubernatorial candidates Bob Ferguson and Dave Reichert clashed over public safety, abortion rights, and Donald Trump throughout an acrimonious hour-long debate Sept. 10, starting after the Harris-Trump debate ended.. The first face-to-face meeting between the two men in the election was marked by sharp exchanges in which Ferguson, a Democrat and the state’s attorney general, and Reichert, a Republican and former congressman, accused one another of lying about their respective records. Reichert jabbed first, throwing sha...
Gubernatorial candidates Bob Ferguson and Dave Reichert will face off in two, hour-long debates this month. Ferguson, the Democratic state attorney general and Reichert, a Republican former congressman, will meet Sept. 10 in Seattle and then eight days later in Spokane. These will be the first and possibly only, opportunities for the state’s nearly five million voters to see and hear the candidates discuss their policies side by side ahead of the Nov. 5 election. Ferguson, a former member of the King County Council, was first elected a...
Let the battle over the future of natural gas in Washington begin. State election officials certified an initiative for the November ballot that seeks to reverse Washington’s controversial tactics to phase out natural gas use in homes and other buildings on July 24. Supporters of Initiative 2066 began gathering signatures in mid-May and turned in 533,005 signatures earlier this month. State law required at least 324,516 be from registered voters. “We knew the people of Washington opposed the idea of banning natural gas, but the support for thi...
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee outlined a plan to boost state spending by nearly $2.5 billion in the next 18 months with the largest sums devoted to increasing behavioral health services, reducing homelessness, and combating climate change in mid-December. His proposal relies on higher-than-expected tax collections and robust proceeds from the sale of pollution allowances. It would supplement spending in the operating, capital and transportation budgets adopted by the Legislature in 2023. Washington runs on two-year budget cycles with the current...
The Washington Supreme Court ruled Sept. 7 the state is not required to fully cover school construction costs, dealing a blow to districts unable to raise the local tax dollars they need for new buildings and other facility upgrades. In its unanimous decision, the court said Washington’s constitutional mandate for the state to amply fund basic education does not extend to capital project expenses. Rather, it envisions the state and local school districts will “share the responsibility.” “It is certainly true that students need buildin...
As students return to Washington classrooms, state education officials are closely monitoring how three cash-strapped public school districts are spending money. La Conner, Marysville and Mount Baker districts, all located in Western Washington and part of Northwest Educational Service District 189, are in this position because they are beginning the school year without a balanced budget as the state requires. In August, each inked an agreement with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction requiring the districts to regularly file bud...
