Facing the facts about the damage caused by one-party control

It was my honor this year to deliver the opposing party's response to the "state of the state" address from the governor.

In his final such speech to the Senate and House of Representatives on day two of our 2024 legislative session, Gov. Jay Inslee painted a rosy picture. Reflecting on his 12 years as chief executive, he claimed our state is stronger than ever.

Unfortunately, the facts say otherwise. When it was my turn, I shot straight about how many in our state are likely to remember Governor Inslee and his policies once he's out the door, and the real harm to Washingtonians caused by years of single-party rule in Olympia.

Afterward I and other Republicans met with members of the news media, and it led to this unexpected and revealing question from a veteran statehouse reporter.

"You guys are painting a pretty depressing picture of life in Washington... Is there anything positive in Washington? Why are you guys so depressing?"

The question elicited a few chuckles, but the answer couldn't be clearer.

There are many positive things about Washington, and the state of our state is indeed strong – thanks not to Governor Inslee but to the hard work, heart and spirit of our people.

But on many important issues, Washington's Democrat-controlled government has let the people of our great state down.

Republicans have no desire to paint a depressing picture of Washington, but we can't ignore the facts.

Senate Republican Leader John Braun summed it up well:

"What you've heard us talk about is the stats, whether it's the increase in homicides in our state, or the increase in property crimes, or the failure of two out of three of our children to pass reading and arithmetic at grade level. We're simply sharing with the public that the state is going in the wrong direction. Our belief is that we are going in the wrong direction because of policies put in place by the Democrat majorities. That's our jobs as the loyal minority – to point out when they've got it wrong. And we think they've gotten it wrong nearly across the board. What else would you expect us to do?

"Now let's be clear, in most of these cases we are also proposing policies to make things better."

Senator Braun is right. Under one-party rule in Olympia, our state has become less safe, less affordable, and in far too many ways, legislators are failing our children.

First, let's increase public safety. Our communities do not feel safe, due largely to policies pushed by Governor Inslee, the Democratic majority in the Legislature and Seattle-driven special interests.

The news is like a running indictment of the majority's failed policies: Record drug overdoses and fentanyl deaths; juveniles inspired by internet trends and weak police-pursuit laws bringing lawlessness to our streets; unprecedented violent crime, including murders, in our neighborhoods; retail stores being driven out of urban areas due to mass, organized theft; and our fellow humans struggling with drug addiction and mental illness left to fend for themselves on our streets and along our highways -- becoming a danger to themselves and others.

Well-intentioned but dead-wrong policies from the left have robbed Washingtonians of any sense of public safety.

The second area to address is affordability. Everyday life in our state is less affordable, with the price of fuel artificially higher than our neighboring states due to the governor's risky cap-and-tax scheme. The so-called Climate Commitment Act is raising a tremendous amount of money for government while doing nearly nothing to improve the environment or fix our roads.

High gas prices are harming low-income families the most, especially those in rural areas like I represent.

Meanwhile, affordable medical care, childcare and housing seem more and more out of reach for the average Washingtonian.

Everything is more expensive thanks to inflation. But another culprit is government regulation. Democrats have burdened various industries with costs that get passed along to consumers.

Unnecessarily complicated permitting processes, for example, add delay and cost to homebuilding, depressing the supply. Consequently, home prices have skyrocketed, as have rents.

We must find ways to provide a meaningful leg up so people can afford to heat their homes, feed their families and ensure their children are safe while they're at work.

Lastly, state government is failing our youth.

Students today face significant learning loss, dangerous school environments, easy access to hard drugs such as heroin, meth and fentanyl, and poor mental-health support.

To address this, we need to fund intense tutoring and other programs to help children get back up to grade level. The Senate operating budget proposal included $70 million for this. However, the final budget adopted in 2023 did not include any of this funding.

We must also deal squarely with the drug and mental health crises affecting our children and their future.

Legislators must set politics and the influence of special interests aside to do what is right for the health, safety and happiness of children around our state.

In all of these areas, the people of Washington are demanding results, they are demanding action, they are demanding better. They deserve leaders who don't simply look the other way and pretend that the state of state has never been stronger, when we know damn well that there is a lot of work to do.

These facts and more, when laid out plainly for all to see, can be somewhat depressing. But they don't have to be.

No. These challenges are best faced with optimism that brighter days are not out of reach. Most of the problems I've described were created by lawmakers who failed to listen to the people. Fixing them means hearing the concerns of the public and working together to get the job done.

Republicans stand ready to lead, putting people before politics, and offering common-sense solutions to deliver better results. That's good news, and there is nothing depressing about it. Let's get to work.

- Sen. Nikki Torres represents the 15th Legislative District and serves as the Senate Republican Deputy Floor Leader.