A joint presentation of Post Alley and Folio Seattle
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025, 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM PDT
Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum, 93 Pike St #307, Seattle
Admission is Free but you must Register Here to Attend
This spring’s legislative session was a bumpy, contentious ride, to put it mildly. After 12 years under Jay Inslee, incoming Governor Bob Ferguson took the reins of power in Olympia just as the state was grappling with a difficult budget shortfall. Complicating matters, as the session got going, Ferguson’s attempt to dial back some of the deeply tribal partisanship that characterized the Inslee era combined with his resistance to some of the tax proposals offered up by progressive Democrats, resulted in several high-profile clashes with fellow Dems in both houses.
In the end, Ferguson signed off on several billion dollars in cuts along with more than $9 billion in new revenue, the largest tax increases in state history but far short of the increases progressives were advocating, leaving them unhappy. Intra-party tensions also flared among legislative Democrats over how far to go in their adoption of a groundbreaking rent stabilization law.
The big increases to the B&O tax and the (failed) attempt to adopt a precedent-setting wealth tax left business leaders fuming and hungry for revenge. Meanwhile, sidelined Republicans plotted to seek reversals at the ballot box after Democrats took action on some hot button cultural issues like parental rights. The session ended on time with a new, supposedly balanced budget in place, but bruised feelings and unresolved ideological debates and policy disputes remain.
So, what now? What should the public expect going forward on taxes and spending? On education and transportation funding? On the ongoing culture war battles? How will the political chaos in the Other Washington and the deep funding cuts to Medicaid and other programs pushed through Congress by Trump and MAGA Republicans impact lawmaking here? How will the special elections for open Senate and House seats shape the political landscape heading into next year’s session?
We’ll be taking up all of these questions and more in a timely conversation Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm with state lawmakers Sen. Marko Liias and Rep. Julia Reed, moderated by political consultant Sandeep Kaushik. The event is jointly sponsored by Post Alley and Folio Seattle, and all are welcome. Please join if you are interested.
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