A group of Democrat legislators has urged Governor Inslee to reverse his recent order again closing restaurants and bars to indoor service. In a November 16, 2020 letter to the Governor they criticized his order for lacking a scientific justification and imposing needless hardship on 100,000 hospitality workers, who will join the 93,000 workers in that industry already without jobs.
The legislators point out that less than 1% of COVID cases have been traced to dining in restaurants. They also dispute the Governor’s other claims that he used to justify his order closing restaurants and bars until December 14.
The figure cited by the legislators may be far less than 1% over the last months as it likely includes cases from early in the pandemic before mitigation measures were widely adopted.
The Democrat legislators who signed the letter range from Senator Mark Mullett, who owns several restaurants and whose reelection Inslee opposd, to very liberal Senators Joe Nyuyen and Rebecca Saldana who are reliable Inslee allies.
The legislators representing the Olympic Peninsula, Senator Kevin Van De Wege, and Representatives Steve Tharinger and Michael Chapman, did not sign onto the letter. The latest unemployment figures from the Washington Employment Security Division for Jefferson, Clallam and Gray’s Harbor Counties are 7.8%, 8.4% and 10.0% respectively. Port Townsend’s economy is heavily dependent on the hospitality industry.
The Washington Hospitality Association and former Governor Christine Gregoire, now CEO of Challenge Seattle, sent their own letter to Inslee, raising similar points. This may the first time that Democrat leaders have disputed the Governor’s claims about COVID and pointed to conflicting medical evidence that undermines the way he is exercising his otherwise unchallenged and essentially dictatorial emergency powers.
To read the Democrats’ letter, simply click here.
Gregoire’s letter is at this link.
The Washington Hospitality Association letter is here.
[h/t Mynorthwest.com]
Jim Scarantino was the editor and founder of Port Townsend Free Press. He is happy in his new role as just a contributor writing on topics of concern to him. He spent the first 25 years of his professional life as a trial attorney, then launched an online investigative news website that broke several national stories. He is also the author of three crime novels. He resides in Jefferson County. See our “About” page for more information.
Inslee won’t see the letter anytime soon – I heard he’s in Maui. He can’t be bothered with details like this.