The ‘black hole’ that’s about to eat local politics

March 10, 2024

Will this finally be the year for a Republican revival in Washington state?That’s suddenly the question of the hour, as the dominant Democrats stumbled and bumbled their way through a state legislative session in Olympia that somehow granted big victories to the party with no power.“It’s an enormous win for us,” was how Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, described the political shifts. The Democrats were forced to grit their teeth and vote in three out of six conservative initiative measures, including undoing one of their own police reforms as well as banning state income taxes.“Democratic leaders totally lost the plot,” fumed Robert Cruickshank, a Democratic activist and organizer. “Huge failure by Dems.”Among other things,