Responding to the allegations of party division, Washington State Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh released a statement last week saying the party has investigated the allegations against the gubernatorial candidate

Carleen Johnson
The Center Square Washington

The Washington State Democratic Convention was held in Bellevue over the weekend, with the party adopting resolutions and a progressive platform touted as “rooted in human rights and dignity.”

Stephen Reed, communications director for Washington State Democrats, told The Center Square, “We really saw the unity and strength of the party.”

He went on to say, “More than 1,000 delegates took part. This was the first year we’ve done a hybrid convention where folks could choose to attend in person or participate virtually from their homes.”

For weeks, Evergreen State Democrats have been promoting an agenda of unity, capitalizing on division within the Washington State Republican Party over its endorsement of Semi Bird for governor.

Bird, who was officially endorsed by the Washington State Republican Party at its convention earlier this year, is up against fellow Republican candidate Dave Reichert, a former congressman and former King County sheriff, in the upcoming primary. 

Conservative Seattle talk show host Jason Rantz recently published letters pertaining to Bird’s time in the U.S. Army. Those letters include a brigadier general reprimanding Bird for wearing medals he did not earn and submitting false performance evaluation documents. 

Those documents may have been illegally released, Bird said.

“I received a call last week that the Department of Defense referred the case to the Army inspector general,” Bird said. “It’s a violation of criminal law.”

Responding to the allegations of party division, Washington State Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh released a statement last week saying the party has investigated the allegations, including contacting and interviewing relevant people, including Bird himself.

Bird told The Center Square he was taken aback to see Walsh release a statement even as the Army is continuing to look into the matter. 

“It’s a disappointment that the party would be that reckless to do that and compromise a person’s legal and lawful privacy,” Bird said.

Among the state GOP’s conclusions based on its investigation:

• Bird did wear certain ribbons and badges that were the subject of a 2009 General Officer Memorandum of Reprimand (GOMR).
  
• The 2009 Reprimand memo sent to Bird is real and legitimate.
  
• Bird’s written response to the 2009 Reprimand memo is also real and legitimate.
  
• Bird’s claim that the 2009 Reprimand memo and his response were obtained illegally from a restricted personnel file is unresolved.

Walsh told The Center Square that reports of the party rescinding or revoking its endorsement for Bird are entirely untrue.

“There’s no method or mechanism in our bylaws or separate rules for caucuses and conventions to rescind an endorsement or overturn an endorsement,” Walsh explained. “Ultimately it’s voters who will decide and they can take the endorsement into consideration and use that information and make up their minds.”

The final minutes of the Democrats’ convention made clear the party’s visions of unity may be exaggerated, according to Walsh.

He was referring to several resolutions concerning the war in Gaza in the final minutes of the convention, including one that called for an immediate ceasefire and for U.S. aid to Israel to end.

As reported by Seattle Times, not all delegates were in support of the proposals.

“That can lead to hate crimes against Washingtonians of the Jewish faith, while doing little to actually end the conflict 1,000 miles away,” Karol Brown of Bellevue said.

Reed said those resolutions were important.

“It’s what the delegates wanted,” he said. “This document is a testament to our ideals as a party.”

Bird disagreed, saying Washington Democrats are out of touch.

“We have a broken education system, crime is out of control, insurance costs are skyrocketing,” Bird noted.

The primary is Aug. 6. The general election is Nov. 5.

This report was first published by The Center Square Washington.