John Braun commentary: Soft-on-crime legislators have blood on their hands, local prosecutor says
On the surface, a pair of murders in our state nearly two months ago don’t have anything in common except for each occurring in mid-October and resulting in the arrest of a young man. One occurred in north Seattle, the other in Spokane — far from our corner of the state. Yet it’s a local […]
John Braun commentary: The continuing insanity of the homelessness ‘emergency’
The line about “insanity” being defined as doing the same things over and over, and expecting a different result, is sometimes attributed to Albert Einstein. An online search indicates the saying more likely originated in a Narcotics Anonymous publication many years ago about the difficulty of overcoming a drug addiction. If so, insanity is an […]
Voters to decide if WA Cares tax dollars can be invested in stock market
OLYMPIA [Jerry Cornfield]—The first item on every Washington voter’s ballot is a proposal to add a few lines to the state constitution that would change how billions of taxpayer dollars are managed. Senate Joint Resolution 8201 seeks to let the state make stock market investments with payroll taxes collected for its long-term care program, known as WA […]
John Braun: Cost of Green Hill fentanyl overdose: $12M and a life changed forever
There’s a lot in common between the security and safety issues at Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families’ Green Hill School, the harm being done to our state’s children by fentanyl, and the staggering cost of financial judgments and settlements due to mismanagement by the executive branch of state government. Each is the […]
Tax-first Democrats desperate to blame feds for state’s budget trouble
One of the most enduring lines in conservative politics came from President Reagan’s campaign debates — the “there you go again” reply that so effectively called out his Democrat opponents when they made misleading or hypocritical claims. That came to mind when I read Gov. Bob Ferguson’s Sept. 23 statement about the state’s third quarterly […]
Commentary: To truly address violence, we must be Americans first
Charlie Kirk brought his formidable debating skills, love of country and strong faith in God to the University of Washington’s Seattle campus in May 2024. The popular young conservative leader did the same this past April at the Pullman campus of Washington State University. There was tension between supporters and detractors at those visits, like […]
John Braun: Majority’s massive expansion of sales tax is costly, chaotic and unnecessary
A colleague of mine was recently told by his teen’s drivers-education school to expect a larger bill this fall because of the “crazy tax hikes signed by the governor.” In this case it’s the new law that will force even more businesses in our state to collect sales tax, starting Oct. 1. The person who […]
State Senator John Braun announces congressional run
CHEHALIS—Republican State Senator John Braun, 58, Centralia, announces his candidacy for Congress in Southwest Washington’s 3rd Congressional District. A U.S. Navy veteran and president of Braun Northwest, a family-owned manufacturer of emergency vehicles that provides 350 jobs in the region, Braun brings decades of leadership experience in business, the military, and public service. “Whether in […]
Plan to raise cap on property tax growth collapses in WA Legislature
Democratic state lawmakers dropped their bid Monday to repeal a voter-approved limit on property tax growth in Washington, excising one of the most controversial revenue-raising ideas they’ve pursued in this year’s legislative session. The proposal, embedded in House Bill 2049, sought to allow an increase in the growth factor from the current 1% cap to as much […]
WA State Senate adopts new rule restricting press in chamber to ‘maintain decorum’
OLYMPIA—In a voice-only vote, the Washington State Senate on Wednesday, March 27, overwhelmingly adopted a rule within its last four weeks of the Legislative Session to restrict members of the press from “the wings” and adjacent areas of the of the Senate unless accompanied by a sitting senator or senator’s staff member. The members of […]
