By Bill Lucia | Editor
Seattle’s democratic socialist mayor, Katie Wilson, revealed a pair of bombshell endorsements in legislative races over the weekend, backing challengers running to the left of Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen and Rep. Gerry Pollet, a veteran Democratic legislator representing the northeast corner of the city. Wilson’s move comes after the democratic socialist mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, rattled the Democratic Party establishment by backing a successful slate of candidates on the party’s left flank in primaries in New York.
Also in today’s edition…
Wildfires and wildfire prevention work.
Rep. Michael Baumgartner mans Washington’s Great American State Fair booth.
And, some progress on the college sports bill in Congress.
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By Bill Lucia
Wilson said she would back Hannah Sabio-Howell, the progressive activist challenging Pedersen in Seattle’s 43rd Legislative District and Ron Davis, one of two Democrats running against Pollet in the 46th District. Pedersen was first elected to the Legislature in 2006, and Pollet has held his seat since 2011.
“There is strong pressure for elected officials to endorse fellow incumbents. It’s a way of maintaining relationships, part of the quid pro quo of governing. I understand this, but it’s not the way I want to do politics,” Wilson said in the statement.
“We’re at an inflection point in our city and our region. Voters are feeling a warranted frustration with the status quo,” she added.
Yesterday, after the Standard broke the news late Saturday that Wilson would make the endorsements, Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO President April Sims issued a statement affirming the group’s support for Pedersen and Pollet. Organized labor is among the more powerful forces in Democratic politics in the state.
“Our unions and community allies should be united in fighting back against a right-wing authoritarian government, not divided against legislators like Jamie Pedersen and Gerry Pollet, who have strong progressive voting records,” Sims said.
Living with wildfire
Workers with the Kittitas County Fuels Crew throw vegetation into a wood chipper near Roslyn, Wash. (Photo by Aspen Ford/Washington State Standard)
By Aspen Ford
The state’s Department of Natural Resources says that 2 million to 2.9 million acres in Washington need to be treated to reduce wildfire risks. Some of that work is taking place on public and private land around Kittitas County, where crews are thinning forests, clearing brush and undergrowth, and removing vegetation near structures.
The idea is to give firefighters a better shot at controlling fires before they become catastrophic. “We’re building a good buffer around the communities through hardening the landscape,” said Beau Foster, lieutenant with Kittitas County Fire Protection District 6.
The Kittitas County work is part of a collaborative effort involving the Department of Natural Resources, the Kittitas County Conservation District, local fire departments, and homeowner associations, all working under the Kittitas Fire Adapted Communities Coalition. Around 300 private lots are in the queue for treatment.
A wind-driven wildfire burning in grass and brush on the western edge of Winthrop led to evacuation orders in and around the town yesterday. An update from Okanogan County Sunday night, around 9:30 p.m., said forward progression of the Hamilton Fire had been stopped. “Strong winds are predicted throughout the night; Fire crews will remain on the fire overnight and will be working on securing lines and working on hot spots,” the notification said. At one point, the fire was estimated to be around 300 acres. Later reports indicated 50-100 acres.
Fire retardant and burnt grass and brush from the Hamilton Fire, just west of Winthrop. (Photo courtesy of Okanogan County Emergency Management)
On the Utah-Colorado border, three wildland firefighters were killed and two others were injured as they battled fires on Saturday. The Department of the Interior said the firefighters deployed a fire shelter as flames moved in around them and that the two firefighters who survived sustained burn injuries.
Baumgartner at the Great American State Fair
U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner at the Great American State Fair. (Photo courtesy of Baumgartner)
The Great American State Fair kicked off on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. last week, part of America’s 250th birthday celebration. Washington is among about a half dozen states, mostly with Democratic governors, that had declined to participate. Over the weekend, U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, the Republican who represents eastern Washington, made a show of manning the state’s booth at the fair.
“Unlike states such as Idaho, which proudly showcased the best of what their state has to offer, and Arizona, whose exhibit drew a line of visitors waiting to get in, Washington's display was noticeably bare bones,” said a press release from the congressman’s office. “It featured only two rocking chairs, which were provided by the America250 organization rather than the state itself.”
Lt. Gov. Denny Heck told The Seattle Times earlier this month that the state planned to focus on commemorative events here in Washington, citing the state’s strained finances. Critics have raised concerns about President Donald Trump exercising partisan influence over the 250th anniversary events in D.C.
Baumgartner seized on the situation to take his latest political jabs at Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson, blaming him for the state’s lack of participation. “I couldn’t let this stand, so I came down to man the nearly empty booth and show that not everyone in our state puts politics before celebrating our country,” he wrote on social media.
By Shauneen Miranda
A bill to set national standards for college athletes’ compensation has cleared a major legislative hurdle but still faces roadblocks, including opposition from the largest college sports conferences, to becoming law. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is a main backer of the bill. Supporters say it would “restore order in college athletics” after a chaotic few years following an explosion of payments to athletes. The legislation advanced 19-9 out of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in mid-June and can now proceed to the Senate floor.
ICYMI
Capital gains tax surge eases but doesn’t solve WA budget woes | by Jerry Cornfield
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