Since this is our first-ever blog post, let me start by introducing myself. My name is Sam Spiegelman. I am a litigator specializing in constitutional and administrative law, based out of Seattle. Yes, that overpriced, underserved, overtaxed, and chronically underhoused Seattle. Then again, if you’re a resident of Bellingham, Benton City, Everett, Walla Walla, Vancouver, Spokane—really anywhere in the Evergreen State—(and are reading this blog) then you too are probably at least moderately fed up with the way things run in your neck of the woods. Well, so is the Citizen Action Defense Fund (“CADF”), our humble public interest litigation nonprofit for which I am Associate Counsel, serving under the sophic auspices of Executive Director Jackson Maynard, and both of us with the indispensable help of paralegal extraordinaire, Paige Jaramillo.
Going forward, through this blog and elsewhere, you will be hearing a lot about our work standing up for taxpayers and pushing back against unconstitutional shenanigans at every level of Washington government — against Olympia, wayward counties, and local officials — really anyone in positions of public trust who believe they can trample Washingtonians’ constitutional rights without consequence. (In fairness, our courts in recent decades have been far too deferential to official claims of authority.) Boy, do we have our work cut out for us. But we are happy warriors, I assure you! If we didn’t want a hard fight, we’d be practicing in Florida, where the government tends to leave people alone and courts actually enforce laws as written.
In the last year we have sued the state government for, among other things, cramming a wishlist of unconstitutional environmental measures into Department of Transportation regulations, directing the Department of Ecology to follow California rule-making standards (yes, you read that right), and keeping the public’s prying eyes from billion-dollar negotiations with public-sector unions. Combine this with a slate of amicus briefs CADF filed in key Washington and national cases, and we are off to the races! Outside of litigation, look out for our opinion pieces, policy papers, and public testimony on all things Evergreen. Courtroom battles alone are not enough to fight Goliaths like Governor Inslee, or his county and municipal copycats. To secure and preserve our freedoms, we have to face them on all fronts—from the state halls of power to the ledes of local opinion pages.
With Thanksgiving on the docket (I promise an at least partly turkey-centric post next week), now is the perfect time to reflect on what we Washingtonians can be thankful for . . . and those things that deserve our measured but proactive scorn. We are thankful for this beautiful state in all its natural and human splendor. From the Hoh Rainforest and snowcapped Cascades to the tempestuous Puget and mediterranean Columbia River Basin. From the San Juan Straits to Spokane’s Inland Empire and everywhere in between. As a New Jersey transplant, the contrasts between Washington’s diverse and splendid landscapes and my home state’s endless sea of suburbs could not be more wonderfully unalike. Ditto the Pacific Northwest’s outdoorsy camaraderie—What Seattle freeze? Quite different from the fuhgeddaboudit Sopranos-style belligerence for which New Jersey is more rightfully than wrongfully famous. But our beloved Washington does share at least one downside with the Garden State. It is home to an entrenched political class that consistently advances its own interests, and those of its allies, at the expense of the people’s will.
Like New Jersey’s, Washington’s politerati simply do not know how—or more likely do not want—to get out of the private sector’s way. To stick to the “people’s business” instead of our private business. This is where CADF comes in. Of course, we are not the first lawyers to take on Olympia, Seattle, etc. . . . But we are among the most indefatigable (if I may say so myself). And it isn’t just our dangerously unhealthy coffee intake! What really drives us is an enduring commitment to the Evergreen State’s rugged and pioneering spirit. An abiding determination to “protect it, and ever keep it free,” as Helen Davis wrote in our state anthem. We will never stop fighting for our fellow Washingtonians. It’s going to be a long and hard-won fight. And there are plenty of battlefronts on which to wage this war.
Stories from just the past few weeks show how lawless the streets have become, while state and local governments spend more energy than ever squeezing small businesses and hard-working homeowners. In Vancouver, authorities have (finally) declared a state of emergency over their homelessness epidemic—which has increased at least 54% since 2022. In Tacoma, pro-Palestinian protesters stalled port operations for hours in their unverified belief that some cargo was bound for Israel. Just ten of the over 300 attending were arrested. In Seattle, more than half of business owners surveyed believe the city is on the “wrong track” and more than two-thirds of residents do not trust city officials to spend their tax dollars responsibly. The City Council’s vote to defund the police, resulting in a reduction of officers to 1991 levels, probably has not helped boost sentiments. Meanwhile, the state’s new 7% capital gains tax has driven Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to Florida, with many more wealthy individuals likely to follow—taking with them ferry-loads of dollars they would have spent locally. Hopefully, the U.S. Supreme Court takes up the issue—in a case for which CADF offered amicus support. All this as Washington, alongside Oregon, continues to lead the nation in fentanyl deaths. And what has Olympia offered to help solve these and other simmering crises across Washington? Nothing serious, it seems. Meanwhile, of all things, Governor Inslee’s administration has been busy killing salmon in droves.
In short, policy priorities in Washington are way, way, way (way) out of whack, and those who hold the reins of power are not at all eager to change course anytime soon. That’s where we and likeminded groups and individuals come in. We have the power to move the rock up the hill but, unlike Sisyphus, we’ll keep it there. We invite every freedom-loving Washingtonian to join us in the struggle to return a semblance of sanity to Olympia and beyond. Donations are always welcome, and you can track our weekly progress by signing up for future blogpost alerts.
Alki,
Sam Spiegelman