Brandi Kruse
Politics • Culture • News
15 questions Bob Ferguson should answer before Election Day
We can only hope the news media will do enough to vet those who seek the highest office in our state.
July 07, 2024
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Given my endorsement of Dave Reichert in the race for governor, Bob Ferguson’s campaign informed us earlier this year that it will not respond to our questions. Fair enough. I can only hope others in the news media will do enough to vet those who seek the highest office in our state. Now is not the time to hold back.

In the spirit of trying to help inform voters, here are 15 fair and important questions the media should attempt to get Bob Ferguson to answer before Election Day.

1. Emergency powers

During the pandemic, Governor Jay Inslee maintained a state of emergency for 975 days – giving him broad authority to act without approval from the legislature. Would you support legislation limiting a governor’s emergency powers? If so, what type of limits do you propose adding?  

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2. Lowering costs

In the first TV ad of your campaign, you focused on lowering costs for families. Can you name one tax or tax increase passed during three-terms of the Inslee administration that you did not support?

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3. WA Cares

You do not support Initiative 2124 making the state's long-term care program optional. Why should Washingtonians be forced to pay into a program if they do not want to use it later in life?

4. Crime and disorder

In the summer of 2020, you did not speak out publicly during or after riots and looting in downtown Seattle, where police cars were lit on fire and high-powered police rifles were stolen. You also did not speak out during the month-long occupied protest zone on Seattle’s Capitol Hill, where several people died, and an entire police precinct was rendered inoperable. As the state's chief law enforcer, please explain why you chose to stay silent during such a profound period of lawlessness.

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5. Police staffing

In your first TV ad of the campaign, you pledged to hire more police officers to improve public safety. Washington state has the lowest number of police officers per capita of any state in the nation. Name one reason – excluding monetary reasons, such as bonuses and increased pay or benefits – that a police officer would choose to work in Washington under a Governor Bob Ferguson.

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6. Police pursuits

Earlier this year, you told King 5 News that you did not support a bill, passed by Democrats and signed into law by Governor Inslee in 2021, that dramatically limited police pursuits. There is no record of you voicing that opposition in 2021, 2022, or 2023. Given that you weighed in publicly on other legislation during those three years, why did you not take a public position on police pursuits until the law was fixed via initiative in 2024?

7. Prices at the pump

You do not support Initiative 2117 to repeal the Climate Commitment Act. Regardless of your stance on the initiative, do you believe the Climate Commitment Act has contributed to an increase in gas prices for Washington drivers, yes or no?  

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8. Homelessness

Both Governor Jay Inslee and King County Executive Dow Constanine have stated that the fundamental cause of our homeless crisis is a lack of affordable housing. Do you agree?

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9. Drug abuse

In an April 2021 interview on KUOW, you urged state lawmakers to "eliminate the criminal penalties associated with possessing a non-commercial amount of drugs." Given the extent of our state’s drug and overdose crisis, and the failure of a similar experiment in Oregon, do you still believe the legislature should move to decriminalize deadly drugs like fentanyl?

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10. Capital gains

Currently, Washington’s capital gains tax excludes profits from the sale of someone’s primary home. Would you veto any bill that seeks to include profits from the sale of a primary home as capital gains?

11. Energy choice 

Last week, Let's Go Washington turned in 546,000 signatures to send I-2066, which preserves energy choice, to the ballot. Would you sign a law restricting or banning the use of natural gas as an option for homes and businesses?

12. Fair play

As both a candidate for governor and as the father of a female athlete, do you believe biological boys should be able to compete against biological girls in state-sanctioned athletic competitions?

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13. Gun control

Despite gun control laws spearheaded by you and your office, gun-related crimes have spiked in Washington state in recent years – including shots fired, shootings on highways, and homicides committed with guns. With more gun control in Washington state than ever before, why do you believe it isn't having the desired effect on crime?

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14. Election interference?

You have been criticized for directing Secretary of State Steve Hobbs to alter the order on the primary ballot, placing two other candidates beneath you. Hobbs has since stated that he informed you such an action would have violated state election laws. In hindsight, do you regret this request?

15. Status quo

In a recent campaign ad, you said you "have never been satisfied with the status quo." In what way would a Bob Ferguson administration be fundamentally different than the Jay Inslee administration?

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We have given these questions to the Ferguson campaign and will update this story in the unlikely event we hear back.

Join the conversation: If you could ask Bob Ferguson one question face-to-face, what would it be? Comment below.

 

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EXCLUSIVE: When being a social media troll comes back to bite you – hard
If you simply can’t help but poke the hornet’s nest, at least make sure your own hive is in order first.
 

 

 

This story has it all. Politics. Conservative infighting. Social media trolls. Lawsuits. A fugitive from justice. Charges of sodomy. And a side of karma, served cold.

Let’s start with the basics.

On March 26, a 24-year-old named Tyler James Crowl was arrested at his dad’s house in Lakewood, Washington, for a warrant out of Oregon. The arrest didn’t make the news in Washington, which isn’t a surprise considering the alleged crimes weren’t perpetrated in our state.

Crowl was wanted out of Yamhill County, Oregon, on three counts of Sexual Abuse in the First Degree and three counts of Sodomy in the First Degree. Both crimes are felonies. According to court records from September 2024, prosecutors allege Crowl “unlawfully and knowingly engaged in oral sexual intercourse with a child under 12 years of age” on multiple occasions and “did unlawfully and knowingly subject a child under 14 years of age to sexual contact by touching her vaginal area and/or upper/inner thighs” on multiple occasions.

While Tyler Crowl would have been a teenager himself at the time of the alleged crimes, Oregon state law says minors under 12 years old cannot consent to oral sex. And minors under the age of 14 cannot consent to sexual intercourse.

The details of Tyler Crowl’s alleged crimes are disturbing. But the way he came to be arrested in Lakewood is the stuff movie scripts are made of.

For those who frequent the bowels of political social media in Washington state, the last name Crowl might look familiar. Eric Crowl, known by the X handle @OutragePNW, is a well-known social media troll in conservative circles. His schtick is attacking Republicans who he deems not conservative enough. In full disclosure, I’ve been a favorite target of his for my reporting on former gubernational candidate Semi Bird. Bird, a Republican, was accused of stolen valor, on top of other documented criminal cases from his past. I found the accusations credible and important enough to discuss on my show.

OutragePNW didn’t like that one bit.

His online posts became so unhinged, not to mention defamatory, I informed my local police department that I was worried for my safety. We had officers at our home a couple times to check in.

1.png?token-time=1744848000&token-hash=08A8qzwyNh1P_xGdASRiY-hEB_Fkn0epz6V44aQtwaU%3DWhile I’ve had my share of social media trolls rile their followers up into a rabid mob, Eric Crowl presented a different kind of security concern – one worth taking seriously.

In 2016, Eric Crowl, then 39-years-old, was arrested in Portland with a cache of weapons including a rifle, shotgun, camouflage, police scanner, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Police there had been investigating Crowl for months, after they “noticed him videotaping police outside the bureau's east precinct, often showing up during shift changes and leaving after hearing his name over the police scanner he carried,” according to Portland station KGW.

Crowl was arrested and charged with attempted assault of an officer and unlawful use of a weapon. 

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While out on house arrest, he was accused of violating the conditions of his release by allegedly showing up – with his wife and son in tow – to the home of a federal inspector.

“Crowl and his family were described as ‘aggressively’ staring into the inspector’s open garage and duty vehicle,” according to Portland station KOIN. The federal employee said Crowl was wearing shorts and did not have his court-mandated GPS monitor on.

“The inspector believed the Crowl’s were acting suspiciously and/or conducting surveillance on his home,” according to court documents.

Crowl was rearrested and had his bail set at $1 million. In November 2016, he agreed to a deal with prosecutors and pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of unlawful possession of a firearm in exchange for three years of probation, KOIN reported.

So, what’s the link between Eric Crowl (@OutragePNW) and alleged sodomizer turned fugitive Tyler James Crowl?

Tyler is Eric’s son.

Usually, the misdeeds of family members of social media figures wouldn’t be something I’d jump to report on (regardless of how I felt about that particular person).

But in this case, it was Crowl’s obsession with trolling his perceived political enemies that led to his son’s capture. And that’s a tale too interesting not to tell.

On March 4, Eric Crowl registered a nonprofit with the state of Washington named the Pierce County Republican Party. He immediately started a Facebook page using the name and even held live virtual events on X titled “Pierce County Republican Pary – Media Availability.”

If that sounds weird to you, it is.

There is, of course, already a Pierce County Republican Party. It’s the Pierce County branch of the State GOP and has been active in local politics since at least the 1960’s.

So why would Eric Crowl want to troll his local GOP?

The Pierce County Republican Party and its chairman, Dave McMullan, have been favorite targets of Crowl’s social media attacks. McMullan was an early and unapologetic supporter of Republican Gubernatorial candidate Dave Reichert, earning him the ire of the party’s right flank – and of diehard Semi Bird supporters like Crowl. Furthermore, the county party voted unanimously to ban Crowl from its biennial organizational meeting back in November – in part because of his conduct online.

What better way to make sure you're included than to register an imposter Pierce County Republican Party and put yourself in charge of it?

In response to Crowl’s filing, the legitimate Pierce County Republican Party made a filing of its own – in United States District Court.

On March 23, the PCRP filed a lawsuit against Crowl and his new nonprofit, accusing him of violating the Federal Trademark Act.

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The only thing left was to serve Eric Crowl with the papers at his home in Lakewood.

That job fell to Robert Parker, a local Republican who offered to help.

In advance of doing so, Parker told unDivided he thought it would be wise to see who else was living at the home. He knew of Crowl’s criminal history in Oregon and wanted to be prepared for what he might encounter.

A search of public records from the address showed a Tyler James Crowl was registered to vote there. Parker went into amateur detective mode. He put Tyler Crowl’s name into Google. Up popped a January 6, 2025, blog post from a small news outlet in Oregon. It was a list of outstanding warrants.

“Area law enforcement agencies are looking for the following people who have absconded from the law.”

On the list was “Tyler James Crowl, 23, wanted on warrants for first-degree sodomy and sexual abuse.”

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Unsure whether Tyler would be at his dad’s house, but armed with the information anyway, Parker went to serve the papers.

Sure enough, Tyler Crowl was the one to come to the door. Parker caught the whole thing on camera.

“Mr. Crowl?”

“That should be my father, but yeah, what’s this regarding?”

“That’s for him,” Parker said, handing over the notice of service in a manilla envelope.

“Ok … what’s it regarding if you don’t mind me asking?”

“It’s legal paperwork for him.”

A woman can be heard in the background saying “Tyler, don’t accept that.”

Parker leaves the documents with Tyler and walks away – only to promptly contact the Lakewood Police Department to inform them of the whereabouts of a fugitive from justice.

Within hours, Tyler Crowl was in custody and being held at the Pierce County Jail, where he is still awaiting extradition to Yamhill County, Oregon.

It is unclear whether the elder Crowl knew his son was a fugitive from justice. unDivided has reached out to prosecutors in Oregon to inquire whether they are investigating whether Eric Crowl knowingly concealed his son’s whereabouts.

A text message and email to Eric Crowl seeking comment went unanswered Tuesday. Crowl protected his X account (@OutragePNW) shortly after unDivided reached out for comment about his son’s arrest, limiting his posts to approved followers.

So, what lessons can be taken from this sordid tale?

For starters, don’t engage in sex acts with a pre-teen. That’s good advice for anyone.

Second, don’t be a social media troll. Also good advice for anyone. But if you simply can’t help but poke the hornet’s nest, at least make sure your own hive is in order first.

 

 

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