VANCOUVER…Sen. Lynda Wilson said Gov. Jay Inslee’s announcement of new restrictions on Washington employers, workers and families has her questioning whether he truly understands the depth of the economic and personal damage they will cause.
Wilson, R-Vancouver, is Republican leader of the Senate committee on economic development and trade. She also served on the governor’s pandemic-related business-recovery task force until it was abruptly disbanded in May, after just five weeks. With the food-service industry being one of Washington’s key economic sectors, her work to address the pandemic in Clark County has included many months of weekly meetings with up to 150 local restaurant owners.
Wilson offered this response regarding the restrictions on social gatherings and a variety of employers, which were made public over the weekend and began taking effect today. Indoor service at restaurants and bars statewide will again be prohibited starting tomorrow.
“It’s disheartening how the governor’s words and actions don’t match up. He claims the ‘science’ is driving this new round of restrictions when the data simply don’t support it. If the statistics from his own Department of Health say people are at the greatest risk in their own homes, and the hospitality industry is connected to only 1 percent of the COVID infections, why is he going after the restaurants again? The governor declares ‘inaction isn’t an option’ yet behind the scenes it took his office more than a month to decide that our local restaurant and bar owners will be allowed to put up tents to increase their outdoor seating capacity. And unbelievably, these business owners learned just yesterday that the tents can only have two sides and part of a third side, which is no help during the rainy season and winter for an industry that depends on occupancy. Many of these employers could go under for good at any moment, and this is the ‘action’ they get?
“Since Governor Inslee unilaterally rolled out this new round of restrictions many people have asked again why the Legislature doesn’t intervene. The answer is the same now as it was in the spring – we have to be called into a special session. That can only be done by the governor or with a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and House, which means the majority Democrats would have to allow such a vote. If it was up to me we would be in a special session right now, because there are many things the Legislature could do to help employers get through this latest setback, and our state needs every job it can get.
“The governor calls these new restrictions a ‘bold’ step, but it’s November, not March or May when so much less was known about the virus and how to limit the spread. There is nothing bold about him forcing employers to shut their doors again, or causing people to see their incomes disappear again. Even if it’s temporary, the pain goes far deeper than just the employee – it hits every child and spouse in that household. Besides, there’s no reason to trust his new edict will only last four weeks, and the people who can’t work for at least the next month have no reason to trust in the Employment Security Department, considering its atrocious response to unemployment claims earlier this year.
“When the governor puts his hand over his heart and says he has a ‘real feeling of empathy’ for those who will be hurt by his actions, I’d like for him to see the social-media posts from my constituents whose jobs are disappearing overnight. Their inability to control their own fate has sent them into tailspins of despair and anxiety that will be hard if not impossible to reverse. Maybe they can live without a Thanksgiving gathering or a birthday party or a football afternoon a lot easier than they can live without a paycheck, but the governor isn’t giving them any choice.”