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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
In the opening days of this year’s 105-day legislative session, lawmakers witnessed a passing of the torch in the governor’s office. Jay Inslee delivered his farewell address, offering a cheery assessment of progress during his 12 years of leadership—while conveniently overlooking the problems that worsened under his watch.
Bob Ferguson, on the other hand, struck a different tone in his first address as governor. He acknowledged the failures of state government and pledged to work across party lines to find solutions. He even voiced support for specific Republican policies legislative Democrats and Inslee had long opposed. That was encouraging.
While I disagreed with many of Governor Ferguson’s actions as attorney general and expect to have frequent policy disagreements with him as governor, his speech gave us reason for cautious optimism. The real test, of course, will be whether or not he follows through on his promise to work across party lines. Time will tell.
In my own opening day speech, I highlighted the catalog of crises facing our state and made clear House Republicans are focused on one thing: fixing Washington.
In response to both Governor Ferguson’s address and my own, House Democrats moved to restrict access to the governor’s staff and eliminated a 132-year-old rule to limit our ability as Republicans to speak on the House floor. Since then, we’ve seen even more signs of how they intend to govern—pushing the same failed policies, proposing new taxes, attempting to gut the Parents’ Bill of Rights initiative we passed last year, and even working to change the initiative process itself for their own benefit.
I had hoped this session would be an opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to come together and fix Washington, but nearly one month in, it’s clear legislative Democrats are sticking to the same tired playbook. For our part, we will continue to hold them accountable and push for real solutions to move our state forward.
I invite you to join us in the fight this session and stay engaged. You can follow us on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, where we’re seeing explosive growth. I also encourage you to bookmark my legislative website, where you’ll find my latest press releases, video updates, radio interviews, and more.
It is an honor to serve you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any comments, questions or concerns.
Warmly,
Drew Stokesbary
