Brandi Kruse
Politics • Culture • News
10 ways Washington state Democrats undermined democracy to remain in power – and got away with it
Our founding fathers, who understood the importance of press freedom, would be rolling in their graves
November 22, 2024
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When I quit my job at Seattle’s FOX affiliate three years ago, frustrated with new management and disillusioned with the state of the profession, my hope was always that legacy media could find its way back from the brink – and that I might make my way back to it someday.

In the last few months, I’ve come to the realization that old media may be too far gone to save.

Throughout the 2024 election cycle, unDivided covered numerous efforts from the Washington State Democratic Party and its allies to undermine and outright attack the democratic process. Many of these actions were carried out in the light of day, with little to no coverage from mainstream outlets. At the same time, Democrats and their friends in the press worked overtime to convince voters that the party out of power was the real “threat to democracy.”

As I reflect on the results of the election, which further solidified one-party control of state government, I am convinced that our state will remain on its current downward trajectory until local media either sheds its obedience to the party in control – or is rendered obsolete.

What might bring about such a change is unclear. Certainly, Washingtonians who are disappointed with the Fourth Estate should say as much. On social media, in letters to editors, in emails or phone calls to news stations. But ultimately, money is the driver of all decisions in corporate media. Ratings drive advertising buys. Subscriptions drive hiring and firing. Clicks add up to cash.

The solution? Demand changes or consider unplugging from the machine entirely.  

For example, The Seattle Times has no conservative columnists. Not one. While Seattle is certainly a blue city, 22% of King County voters cast their ballots for Donald Trump. 28% for Dave Reichert. Not to mention Seattle has a Republican city attorney. Does that not warrant at least one member of the editorial board who is a supporter of the president-elect, or at the very least a true conservative?  Should the board not have a single member, or the paper a single columnist, who strongly dissents from the prevailing political view? How can the newspaper of record hold the party in power accountable if every single one of them belong to it?

Certainly, The Times is not the only news agency in the state that’s forgotten what its function is supposed to be. As Bob Ferguson spewed falsehood after falsehood in TV ads this cycle, news stations were more than happy to take his campaign cash – and less eager to demand truthfulness.

Our founding fathers, who understood the importance of press freedom, would be rolling in their graves.

Just so we're all on the same page about how bad things got this cycle, here are 10 ways Democrats undermined democracy during the 2024 election – and got away with it.

10: Sanctioned harassment of lawful signature gatherers

As it became clear in late 2023 that Let's Go Washington could indeed qualify six initiatives to the legislature, the Washington State Democratic Party – along with the ACLU and progressive group FUSE Washington – encouraged harassment of lawful signature gatherers. An established tipline asked callers to provide the "location, time of day, and description of the circulator." It even recommended callers take pictures.

In the weeks that followed, signature gatherers were routinely subjected to harassment and even criminal conduct.

The ordeal prompted Republican lawmakers to craft a bill that would have implemented new protections for signature gatherers, which I personally testified in favor of. Unsurprisingly, the bill failed to gain traction with Democrats in the majority and received little attention in the news.

While a few media reports detailed the harassment hotline, journalists lacked the sort of rigorous questioning and follow up reporting that would have helped put an end to it. Instead, stories took a "both sides" approach that gave perpetrators a platform to paint their motives as righteous and necessary.

9: Secret lawsuit to keep initiatives off the ballot

Panic ensued in early August when initiative supporters learned that the State Supreme Court was about to decide on a Democrat-backed lawsuit that would have kept citizen initiatives off November's ballot.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson's office, which was tasked with defending the initiatives and the way in which signatures were validated by the Secretary of State, had inexplicably kept Let's Go Washington – and the public – in the dark about the hearing.

Thankfully, the state's high court rejected the initiative challenge. But legal experts were left stunned by the secrecy.

“In 22 years of legal practice, I’ve never seen a case progress this far without all necessary parties being before the court or at least being given the courtesy of a phone call about litigation as important as this," said Jackon Maynard of the Citizen Action Defense Fund. "Participation in the initiative process is a fundamental right, and the idea that the state Supreme Court with the stroke of a pen could’ve eliminated the voices of the millions who signed the petitions in this case without even hearing from all impacted parties is really troubling.” 

AG Ferguson has never provided – or been pressed by the media to provide – an adequate answer about his lack of transparency. If you expect his opaque ways to improve in the governor’s mansion, don’t hold your breath. He’s become quite accustomed to the press looking the other way.

8: Energy credit bribe

In truth, we could do an entire list just covering the lies Governor Jay Inslee spewed about the Climate Commitment Act – from lying about the impact it would have on gas prices, to lying about the impact of repealing it.

But the most egregious action Governor Inslee took was trying to influence the outcome of the November election by bribing voters … with their own money.

This past legislative session, with a potential repeal of the CCA on the horizon, Democrats in Olympia allotted millions in funds to give energy customers $200 credits. They didn’t even attempt to hide their motives – requiring that the credits be paid out to customers (AKA voters) right before the election. To make things even more obvious, customers receiving the credit were bombarded with emails reminding them that the credits were funded via the Climate Commitment Act.

Governor Inslee shamelessly suggested that proponents of repealing the CCA wanted to take that $200 out of the pocket of Washington’s working poor. Never mind that the CCA is costing the working poor far more than $200 a year in increased prices at the pump and increased energy costs.

Media coverage of what was an obvious bribe meant to influence voters was egregious. One article read like a press release from the State Department of Commerce. It was so bad that MyNorthwest.com was forced to issue an editor's note and add additional information after so many readers (and us) raised hell.

7: Selective transparency

The single biggest factor in the defeat of three citizen initiatives in November was a law passed by Democrats that had one obvious objective: Made it harder for anti-tax measures to be successful.

In 2022, Democrats in Olympia passed HB 1876. It requires that a "public investment impact disclosure appear on the ballot as part of the ballot title for state ballot measures that affect taxes or fees and cause a net change in state revenue."

Most media reports covered the bill as a simple effort to increase transparency on the ballot and provide important context to voters about what would happen if they repeal certain revenue streams.

Sounds innocent enough. But, as we know, political parties don't pass anything without an electoral upside.

With strong Democratic majorities in the House and Senate, and Democratic control of the governor's office, referendums and initiatives are the last remaining tool of those who dissent from the party in power.

So, it's no surprise Democrats would try to weaken it.

While the public investment disclosures may have added context to the ballot, that context was one-sided. For example, the ballot language for I-2117 to repeal the Climate Commitment Act read as follows:

Initiative Measure No. 2117 concerns carbon tax credit trading. This measure would prohibit state agencies from imposing any type of carbon tax credit trading, and repeal legislation establishing a cap and invest program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This measure would decrease funding for investments in transportation, clean air, renewable energy, conservation, and emissions-reduction. Should this measure be enacted into law?

So, voters were told what kind of funding would be lost by repealing the carbon markets, but were never told how much money they would keep in their own pockets. The same is true with the initiative to make the long-term care program optional.

If the goal was truly to increase transparency for voters, then disclosures would include the average cost savings for Washington families. But, of course, the goal wasn't transparency – the goal was always to tip the scales.

6: Harassment of capital gains opposition

Apparently, it wasn't enough to simply harass signature gatherers. Progressive groups that opposed the initiatives wanted to take their fight to people's doorsteps – literally.

Vijay Boyapati, a former Google engineer and tech entrepreneur who led a relatively private life before speaking out in favor of repealing the capital gains tax, found out the hard way what happens when you go against the party in power.

Posters were plastered all over Boyapati's Seattle neighborhood where he lives with his wife and young children.

They read: "Vijay Boyapati is pushing for a tax break for himself that will gut funding for schools. That's just greedy."

Never mind that schools were required by law to be fully funded long before the capital gains tax was passed. 

The message to Boyapati and others who oppose lucrative taxes was clear: Fall in line, or we'll make you feel unsafe.

5. Public schools chief ignores the law  

In March, the legislature passed a voter initiative into law that codifies parental rights. While Democrats certainly had a strategy in mind when passing the measure (likely out of fear it would drive conservative turnout if they let it go to the ballot), I-2081 became law and promised to keep parents informed about what's happening with their kids in school.

Unless it has to do with their gender identity, apparently.

A couple months after I-2081 was passed, Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal announced he planned to ignore it.

Despite hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians signing the initiative, and a bipartisan vote to pass it, Reykdal decided that he alone would be the arbitrator of its constitutionality.

Specifically, Reykdal claimed that letting parents know their child may be experiencing gender dysphoria would be a violation of the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act.

“In Washington state, we recognize that LGBTQ+ youth often face barriers and challenges at higher rates than their peers, and we have worked hard to create learning environments where all students feel welcomed and included,” Reykdal said. “However, we are seeing a disturbing trend of some policymakers implementing state and local policies that aim to undo these protections.”

We also see a disturbing trend of elected officials undermining the will of voters and, in Reykdal's case, getting key endorsements from the media anyway. 

4: Attempts to keep Trump and RFK Jr. off the ballot

Even in a deep blue state like Washington, Democrats don't take anything for granted.

Not only did they seek to keep Donald Trump off the ballot here (twice), but the state party also pushed to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. off the ballot. And that was even before he threw his support behind Donald Trump. 

Apparently, the only acceptable opponent for the Washington State Democratic Party is no opponent.

Yay, democracy!

3: 30-day voter registration

Just prior to the primary election, Washington state abolished its requirement that voters establish residency here for 30 days before becoming eligible to cast a ballot.

The story got little traction outside of conservative media.

The change, which voids language in our state constitution that's been in place since 1889, was implemented by Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and Attorney General Bob Ferguson to settle a lawsuit challenging the validity of the 30-day provision.

Hobbs' office said the agreement "saved the state a costly and likely losing court fight."

Kittitas County Auditor Bryan Elliot was among those who expressed concern about the sudden change in the midst of a critical election year.

"Our offices are agile," he said, "but this action has the potential to create further mistrust of the voter registration system, especially when state law and the state constitution both still contain language that is contrary to the consent decree."

2: Inslee pledges to sue “miscreants”

Despite millions of dollars spent to defeat it, Washington voters passed I-2066, which protects natural gas for homes and businesses.

Rather than accept the will of voters, Governor Jay Inslee promptly promised that there would be a lawsuit to challenge the initiative's constitutionality.

“I think there is a very good chance that a court will find that it was defective by violating the single subject rule and therefore will not actually go into effect,” he said.

And just to make sure voters who dared to challenge his climate agenda know exactly how he feels about them, Inslee flew across the planet to tell a United Nations climate forum that half his constituents are "climate deniers" and "miscreants."

1: Bob Ferguson directs SOS to break the law

The most corrupt act of the 2024 election cycle came from our governor-elect, Bob Ferguson. It was also the act that made clear there was little Ferguson could do to elicit criticism from the press.

When citizen sleuth Glen Morgan recruited two other Bob Fergusons to run for governor, threatening to dilute AG Ferguson's share of the vote, the "real" Fergie showed his true colors.

In a press conference, and in a subsequent phone call and letter, Ferguson directed Secretary of State Steve Hobbs to break election law by changing the order on the primary ballot. He wanted his name to appear above the other Bobs.

Had a Republican candidate for governor done the same, no doubt the media would still be talking about it. But when the perpetrator is Ferguson? The story disappeared in a matter of days.

If you can publicly call on fellow elected officials to break the law to benefit your political campaign and still win by double digits, what motivation is there to act with integrity?

The answer: None. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the problem. 

 

 

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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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