Opinion: A troubling end to a disruptive session

Let’s Go Washington and Founder Brian Heywood offer several of the most flagrant examples from this legislative session

Let’s Go Washington

As the 2026 legislative session ends, thousands of Let’s Go Washington (LGW) supporters are trying to understand what many are calling one of the most dismissive legislative sessions in recent memory.

Across Washington, citizens participated in their civic privilege and responsibility in record numbers. Voters submitted testimony, attended hearings, signed initiatives, and joined public listening sessions. Yet time and again, those voices were ignored as the majority party advanced dangerous policy decisions with little regard for overwhelming public feedback.

Here are several of the most flagrant examples from this legislative session:

Ignoring historic initiative participation: more than 861,388 Washingtonians signed onto IL26-001 and IL26-638, ranking them among the most widely supported initiatives in state history. Despite this extraordinary participation, the majority party declined to hold meaningful hearings and ignored the public listening sessions.
Creating an income tax despite decades of voter rejection: Senator Jamie Pedersen and Governor Ferguson advanced an income tax proposal despite repeated statewide votes rejecting the policy.
Refusing to address soaring gas prices: Washington residents continue to face the second highest gas prices in the nation, linked to the Climate Commitment Act (CCA). Despite growing public frustration, lawmakers refused to meaningfully address transportation costs or even acknowledge the impact of the successless policy.
Passing the largest tax increase in Washington history: after promising not to tax Washingtonians out of the state’s budget deficit, Governor Ferguson signed the largest tax increase in state history.
Mocking voter opposition: Senator Jamie Pedersen openly referred to the legislature’s vote to maintain the state’s ban on an income tax as a “pie crust promise: easily made, easily broken.”
Lack of professionalism in the legislature: House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon was drunk during a budget hearing and acknowledged he had consumed alcohol before the meeting. Senator Manka Dhingra openly laughed at the idea that legislators would listen to the opinions of their constituents.
Expanding the power of the Attorney General: SB 5925 grants the Attorney General broader unilateral authority to initiate investigations into whatever his own office deems is appropriate.
Weakening elected sheriffs: SB 5974 allows an unelected board to remove county sheriffs that were elected by voters.
Policy reversals affecting law enforcement: SB 5855 now requires officers to unmask after previously being required to wear masks during COVID-19 under threat of losing their jobs.
Efforts to restrict the initiative process: lawmakers again introduced proposals to make Washington’s initiative process more restrictive and harder for ordinary citizens to qualify measures.

Each of these actions and responses prove that the majority party in Olympia do not take the concerns, voices, or opinions of their constituents seriously. Even a cursory glance over this partial list paints a disturbing picture of how pretentiously lawmakers approach the work they do.

Let’s Go Washington Founder Brian Heywood issued the following statement on this year’s session.

“No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the Legislature is in session. Nowhere is that more true than in Washington State. As the 2026 legislative session closes, it’s obvious to voters that we have been treated with the most blatant disrespect in the history of our state. The disdain that Jamie Pedersen, Laurie Jinkins, Manka Dhingra and Bob Ferguson hold for Washingtonians was in full display with the bills that were passed to make life more difficult and more expensive for every single resident. It’s impossible to determine how many people will leave our state, but hundreds already have and thousands have begun the process. We know because they write to us and tell us in no uncertain terms. Washingtonians are not background noise to be muted or ignored, yet that’s exactly how the majority party treated us this year.

“The attitude in Olympia seems to be: voters can participate as long as they don’t expect to be taken seriously. When citizens show up, speak out, and follow the rules of the legislative process, the response from the majority party’s politicians is to dismiss them, mock them, or find procedural tricks to get around them. Jamie Pedersen and his class of SEIU sock puppets are more interested in playing voters than using their position to strengthen our economy and make Washington a better place to live. Democrat legislators even banned us from running a referendum on the income tax. It is time to run a referendum on every politician who voted to take your voice away…More than half of those lawmakers are up for re-election this year. We’ve got no problem reminding voters who stabbed them in the back and dared us to do something about it.”

Visit letsgowashington.com for more information.

Let’s Go Washington and Founder Brian Heywood offer several of the most flagrant examples from this legislative session

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