Being a parent is nonstop hard work, which makes following all the news happening in city, state, and U.S. decision-making circles challenging. Here are highlights of Washington political news from last week (March 3-9) and a hint at what’s up this week.
I could start with yet another loooooong (at nearly an hour and 40 minutes) Donald Trump speech, this one delivered by the president to Congress last week. But why front-load a column aimed at raising awareness with an address loaded with falsehoods, misrepresentations, and chest-beating? We’ll get to it, briefly, at the end of this week’s round-up. First, let’s turn to an example of the very real impacts of the administration’s policies on families, kids and young people here in Washington.
ICE arrests: A WA teen’s courage
In the catastrophic month since the president took office, thousands of migrant families in Washington have lived in fear. Raul Gomez-Eudave’s family is one of them. He woke up last month to discover videos of his mother handcuffed and being led away on Feb. 8. Gomez-Eudave, a high school student, jumped into action, taking over his family’s food truck. Now he heads right from school to run the truck in his mother’s place. The Spokesman Review’s story about this family’s trauma is a sad illustration of today’s painful political reality. But it’s also a reminder of the resiliency of migrant communities. As Gomez-Eudave told a reporter: “My mom is my best friend. Me and my mom have always had each other’s backs through everything.”
Parental ‘Bill of Rights’ showdown?
Last Tuesday, a conservative political group filed an initiative to stop proposed changes to Washington’s parental “Bill of Rights” law, a piping hot topic in Washington political news. The initiative was filed by Let’s Go Washington and seeks to prevent the state legislature and governor from clarifying the current language in the law. Lawmakers say fixes to language, as spelled out in Senate Bill 5181, would help clear up parents’ confusion about their rights to review classroom materials, obtain medical records, and opt children out of assignments involving questions about a child’s sexual experiences or their family’s religious beliefs.
In passing the original “bill of rights” law, lawmakers acknowledged they would likely need to revise it to address confusing language and to bring it in line with similar laws in other states. And, since the law went into effect last year, the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction has fielded many calls from parents needing clarification.
In filing the petition to stop any language changes or clarifications, initiative authors said SB 5181 would “undermine” the 423,000 voters who signed the original petitions to put a parental “Bill of Rights” on the ballot. However, a Democratic leader of the state Senate blasted the move as “a publicity stunt.” I hope you’ll read the full story on this fight. In the meantime, where do you stand on the state’s parental “Bill of Rights”? I’d love to hear from you at Cheryl@Seattleschild.com
Washington AG continues to fight back
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, it’s hard not to be impressed by Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown’s tenacity in fighting back against the Trump administration’s gender edicts and broken funding promises.
Last week Brown made Washington political news by asking a federal judge to hold the Trump administration in contempt for allegedly canceling a grant to Seattle Children’s Hospital to research innovative gender-affirming care interventions. The motion was filed in the U.S. District Court in Seattle and says that despite a temporary restraining order blocking the implementation of President Trump’s executive order to halt federal funding for institutions that provide gender-affirming care for transgender youth, National Institutes of Health pulled the research funds from Seattle Children’s. According to a report in the Washington State Standard, researchers there received a letter from the NIH stating: “Research programs based on gender identity are often unscientific, have little identifiable return on investment, and do nothing to enhance the health of many Americans. Many such studies ignore, rather than seriously examine, biological realities.”
The restraining order to halt the administration from revoking grants came in response to a lawsuit filed by Washington and other states, along with physicians.
Gun control bills move forward
Here in the Evergreen State, it’s illegal to walk into zoos, transportation facilities, libraries or bars with a firearm. If a bill passed last week by the Washington Senate is approved by the Democrat-led House and Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson, it would become illegal to carry firearms in parks, government buildings, and on county fairgrounds when a fair is open to the public. Huge Washington political news.
“This bill is about keeping families — in particular, of course, where kids are gathering — safe,” Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, the sponsor of the measure, said in The Seattle Times. If Senate Bill 5098 becomes law, anyone who knowingly carried weapons into the named public spaces could be charged with a gross misdemeanor. A guilty verdict carries a maximum penalty of 364 days in jail and a fine up to $5,000.
Then on Saturday, gun control advocates saw another win: House Bill 1163, which would require a state permit to purchase firearms, was pass out of the House and sent to the Senate. The idea was floated in, but failed, last year’s legislative session. Supporters of this year’s bill say that several other states require a permit to purchase and that a law here would make Washington a safer place to live by keeping guns out the hands of dangerous people. In comments make on the House floor prior to the vote, Rep. Liz Berry, D-Seattle, stressed: “We know that this policy works. The bill now moves on the to Senate for consideration.”
Seattle punished Sanctuary City status
As a Sanctuary City, Seattle goes the extra mile to protect immigrants and their families. One example: Seattle police don’t assist the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in identifying, arresting or deporting undocumented immigrants, and city employees may not ask potential employees or service beneficiaries immigration status. Late last week, the U.S. Small Business Administration under the Trump administration retaliated against the city’s commitment to immigrants by closing down its Seattle regional office, saying in a news release it would “put American citizens first by ending taxpayer benefits for illegal aliens.”
The change may be a hit for small businesses, but it’s also a badge of honor for a city that has protected immigrants and their families under the sanctuary banner for more than 20 years.
A homeless resident’s bid for Seattle Mayor
There are currently more than 2,000 homeless students in Seattle Public Schools, a nearly 20 percent increase from 2024. And it’s not the first year that number has grown. The number of kids living in families without permanent housing also jumped in 2023. According to the Brookings Institute, the unhoused population in Seattle is one of the worst in the nation.
Which is why I am following Joe Molloy’s bid for Seattle Mayor with great interest. According to a KUOW report, Molloy came to Seattle in 2021. He told reporters he was evicted from his Ballard apartment last summer. Molloy is the definition of an underdog in this race, but as someone who is living the experience of trying to access services meant to help individuals and families out of poverty and into permanent housing, I am eager to hear what he has to say. “I fully admit that I am not the most qualified candidate under normal circumstances,” Molloy told KUOW. “But I don’t feel like this city is under normal circumstances. I decided to run because I don’t feel like we are treating this like the state of emergency that it is.”
With more and more unhoused kids in our schools, emergency seems too light a word.
Back to the Trump speech
Usually when presidents deliver their first addresses to Congress at the start of a new administration, they use the time to roll out their new plans for the nation. President Trump has been stating his plans for the nation since 2016, so he rolled out nothing new in his historically long-winded oration last week. Instead, he patted Elon Musk on the back for firing thousands of employees and ravaging federal programs and departments. Nothing new there. He rankled and taunted Democrats. Nope, not news. He touted tariffs, a favorite punishment for countries that don’t fall in line with his mandates. Another constant.
If you missed the event, the New York Times offers a good recap covering all the salient points of the address in far less than the nearly two hours the president took at the lectern. The speech wins the award for being the longest ever Congressional address. Watching presidential speeches is not my idea of a fun time. But in these chaotic and challenging times for so many sectors of the population, I believe staying abreast of Trump’s positions is crucial to the health, safety, and well-being of every family.
