Andrew Barkis

The most important election in Washington state this November is one most voters don't even know about. Five seats on the Supreme Court are on the ballot. That court is currently deciding your gas vote, your income tax vote, and 93 years of constitutional law. For the past several weeks I have been documenting what has happened to Washington voters. You voted no on an income tax eleven times. They stopped asking and passed one anyway. You voted to protect your natural gas access. A King County judge overturned it. You tried to file a referendum on the income tax. The Secretary of State blocked it the day after it was signed. Every one of these fights ends at the same place. The Washington State Supreme Court. Here is what almost nobody is talking about. Five of the nine seats on that court are on the November 3 ballot. Primary August 4. The filing deadline for anyone who wants to run is May 8, 2026. The five seats, per Ballotpedia and Wikipedia: Position 1: Justice Colleen Melody, appointed by Ferguson in November 2025. Running for the first time. Position 3: Open seat. Justice Montoya-Lewis not seeking re-election. Position 4: Open seat. Justice Johnson hit mandatory retirement age. Position 5: Justice Theo Angelis, appointed by Ferguson in March 2026. Running for the first time. Position 7: Chief Justice Debra Stephens. Running for re-election. Per Ballotpedia, five of the nine current justices were appointed by Democratic governors, not directly elected by voters. The last sitting justice to lose re-election was in 2010. Most of these races run without serious challengers because most voters do not know judicial elections exist. Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen said publicly that one purpose of passing the income tax bill was to get it in front of the state Supreme Court for review, per OPB. That is not my characterization. That is what he told reporters. The court deciding your gas vote, your income tax, and 93 years of constitutional precedent is elected by the people of Washington state. I am not telling you who to vote for. Judicial elections are nonpartisan and every candidate deserves to be evaluated on their merits. Most Washington voters will not know these seats exist. The democrats hope that remains the case. Now you know. What do you do with that?

Worth the read!!

@BrandiKruse Sad news!! Always enjoyed working with Steve! Great visits when he interviewed me!! Condolences!

Steve cared deeply about the real people at the center of the stories he covered – more than any journalist I’ve ever known. He used to swing by my desk when he wanted to vent about life or argue politics. There was no one better to share a laugh with. fox13seattle.com/news/steve-kig…

@EssexJP_TV @TomLayson @NorthwestNow @stevekigginstv @fox13seattle Very sad to hear this news! Steve interviewed me many times at the Capital. Always great to work with. Condolences!

@TomLayson @NorthwestNow @stevekigginstv @fox13seattle I saw him many times in the field. Will always remember his dedication to telling the important stories. Condolences to his family and friends.

I am sorry to report that our freelance ace here @NorthwestNow, @stevekigginstv has passed away. He will be greatly missed. I'm sure his friends at @fox13seattle can help let those who loved him know about this unfortunate news.

@NEWSGUYSULLY Thanks Chris!! I’m all over this.

Too bad a truck didn’t take out the Fairfax Bridge, then it would have been considered an emergency mynorthwest.com/chokepoints/fa…

New Youtube video alert! This video starts more fun and silly and gets more serious. They want to destroy our beautiful European history. I am going to talk about it and spread the word!!!

Worth watching! Unbelievable fraud. Remember a few weeks ago Gov Ferguson hosted an event with his good friend Gov Walz!

@KevinWallace425 @bkheywood Hi Kevin! He propose we put the state in Debt and using bonding to pay for the work. The new gas taxes makes the payment! Let’s us CCA $ and forget new taxes and debt

@bkheywood Ask @AKB1968, but I assume the $2b comes from the gas tax increase the legislature enacted in April. He doesn’t need to raise new taxes because they just did.

Wait so you know it is your party that has controlled all of this for the past 4 decades right? And if you had $2billion lying around to spend on this with no need for new taxes, why in the heck did you raise taxes by $9 billion this year? Makes no sense

NEW: WA AG Nick Brown is clueless. I challenge him to leave the comfort and safety of his office to experience the horrors inside the Permanent Supportive Housing hell holes in Seattle. Trump’s plan will save lives. Why is Brown protecting the Homeless Industrial Complex? 🧵👇🏽

@GovBobFerguson Oh for the Love of God ! Why don’t you focus on our State! Your constant obsession with President Trump is nothing more than a deflection and represents a lack of Leadership on your part! Focus on leading and correcting the massive mistakes of your party!

Donald Trump is once more playing politics with people’s most basic needs. This $120 million in annual funding supports data-driven programs that are proven to help stabilize people so they can have the best chance to secure permanent housing. Ripping it away is yet another cruel attack by the Trump Administration on our most vulnerable Washingtonians. I appreciate Attorney General Brown and his team fighting this illegal action.

When are the voters who all eat at these restaurants going to step up and say Enough!!!!!! We are heading in the wrong direction! Seattle just voted in a Mayor that will only make it worse! In January wait until you see what the Majority in the Legislature has in store!

Dear @GovBobFerguson, @WAComDirector & @EcologyWA Please, please, please...listen to Bill Gates and start prioritizing state climate spending based on impact. Washington has wasted too much money on failed projects that do nothing for the planet. Love, Todd #waleg

I agree 100% with my colleague Rep Couture! We have been questioning this broken system for years! A full investigation and audit is overdue.

Whistleblower: A state equity program promised to “uplift communities disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs." Instead, it enriched those with ties to the BIPOC nonprofits that control its purse strings: Patreon.com/posts/whistleb…

@GovBobFerguson You really need to hire a new person for your posts!! Not the right issue you should be touting as a success!

This summer, we added 4,000 sailings on our ferries. Washingtonians in our island communities need service they can count on. That’s why we delayed conversion to restore full domestic service. We’re also now building 3 new hybrid-electric boats.

"You are hereby notified that your jurisdiction has been identified as one that engages in sanctuary policies and practices that thwart federal immigration enforcement to the detriment of the interests of the United States," Bondi wrote. "This ends now." bit.ly/4oEOw4o

@GovBobFerguson Killing the rental market one day at a time! You will realize him going after housing providers trying to comply will just do more harm! This is a bad policy! There are so many other things we could do! You and the majority are just unwilling to really fix the problem!

Many families are one large rent increase away from potentially finding themselves on the street. In one case in Walla Walla, rent in a manufactured home park was going to go up by 29%. Most Washingtonians can’t afford that. Grateful for Attorney General Nick Brown’s enforcement of the rent stabilization bill I signed earlier this year. It’s allowing Washingtonians to plan, budget, and stay in their homes.

Words vs. Actions | Gov. Bob Ferguson #waleg

@GovBobFerguson Yea not really!!! Most of the policy you support will diminish supply instead of creating the housing we need!

We must put Washington on a path to build 1 million homes over the next 20 years. State investments in affordable housing are a critical piece to that effort — and we're doing more than ever before.