As opponents get louder, Inslee stands his ground on stay-at-home order

With resistance becoming more vocal to his stay-at-home order and partial closure of businesses, Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday said the decisions he has made are “designed to protect the health of Washingtonians” from the new coronavirus pandemic that has ravaged the state.

“So our office will not be guided by irrational forces that would really gamble with our health. And if we placed that bet and lost, we would be giving up the hard-won gains that we’ve already made,” Inslee said.

Last month, the governor ordered all “non-essential businesses” to shut down and for residents to stay home, unless they are deemed “essential” workers. In a speech Tuesday evening, Inslee said the state won’t be able to lift many of the restrictions by the current end of the order — which is May 4 — but said he was hopeful that elective surgeries, outdoor recreation, and private-sector construction could resume soon.

But as Inslee answered questions Wednesday, the top Republican in the state House said the governor was in danger of losing his “mandate of the people,” a GOP candidate for governor sued Inslee in federal court over restrictions on religious activity, one county defied his order by declaring that businesses could re-open, and sheriffs in at least two counties said they wouldn’t enforce Inslee’s proclamations.

On Wednesday, House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox of Yelm expressed disappointment in the speech that Inslee delivered Tuesday.

The governor outlined a roadmap for a “safe return to public life” from the pandemic, but he did not say when the stay-at-home order and partial business closures will end.

“He refuses to be specific about anything,” Wilcox said in an interview Wednesday. “I’m just so concerned that we’re going to experience the worst health result and the worst economic result because he’s going to lose the mandate of the people.”

In a statement posted on Facebook, Wilcox said: “People all over Washington who depend on the private sector for their livelihood and for their sense of belonging are generous, but it is too much to expect them to see public construction found essential and private not so.

“For public spaces to enjoy landscaping service and private citizens doing without … for parks to be open and fishing and hunting and vast stretches of public lands shut tight,” Wilcox said.

Wilcox said Inslee may be able to “retrieve his mandate” by being more transparent, responsive and far more fair.

“I hope that more segments of local government make their position plain, as is already happening. It is essential that those businesses that can function safely and those recreation opportunities that can be enjoyed safely open immediately and a safe path back quickly for other segments,” Wilcox stated.

Also on Wednesday, GOP gubernatorial candidate Joshua Freed filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that Inslee’s March 23 proclamation violates several clauses of the First Amendment, including free speech and the right to assemble.

Part of the proclamation stated: “All people in Washington state shall immediately cease participating in all public and private gatherings and multi-person activities for social, spiritual and recreational purposes, regardless of the number of people involved,” with exceptions.

The lawsuit, which names Inslee as a defendant in his capacity as governor, said Inslee’s proclamation “carves out broad exemptions for 162 types of secular commercial and recreational activities from this ban, including `cannabis retailers’…”

But according to Freed’s lawsuit, Inslee’s order “singled out to expressly prohibit any `spiritual gathering of two or more, regardless of whether it is indoors or outdoors, whether it is on private property, or whether the participants employ social distancing, hygiene, and other efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.”

The lawsuit requests an injunction so that spiritual gatherings can be allowed with social distancing, as well as a judgment that Inslee’s proclamation is unconstitutional.

In an interview, Freed, a former Bothell mayor, said he’s been studying Inslee’s proclamations over the past month.

“He’s really been arbitrary in picking between essential and non-essential winners and losers. One of the things that was most offensive is preventing people from participating in religious activity.

“For instance, if you’re an imam and you have a Muslim parishioner who wants to pray with you, he’s preventing that from happening or a Jewish rabbi can’t pray with someone or a Christian. Yet, he’s allowing people to go to pot shops where there may be 50 to 100 who have been there that day,” added Freed, who said he has hosted a Bible study with his wife at their home in Bothell for the past two and a half years.

On Tuesday, the Franklin County commissioners voted to reopen all businesses, defying Inslee’s order that “non-essential” businesses remain closed. The three commissioners are Republicans.

In a Wednesday letter to the commissioners and the county administrator, Inslee’s general counsel Kathyrn Leathers said the board’s action violates state law.

“…the Governor directs you to immediately retract or rescind the resolution adopted on April 21, 2020 that declares the County to be ‘open for business’…” Leathers wrote.

In a Facebook posting after Inslee’s Tuesday speech, Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney said he would not enforce Inslee’s proclamations that “non-essential” workers stay home. He joined Franklin County Sheriff J.D. Raymond, who said Monday he would not enforce the governor’s directives and “guidelines that infringe on your constitutional rights.”

Referring to the governor, Fortney wrote: “He has no plan. He has no details. This simply is not good enough.”

The Snohomish County sheriff is a nonpartisan office. The county’s Republican Central Committee endorsed Fortney when he ran last year.

Inslee said Wednesday that individual law enforcement officers cannot “arbitrarily decide which laws they are going to enforce and which laws they’re not going to enforce.”

The governor read part of a statement from Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Adam Cornell, who said: “We are elected to serve under the laws, not to act above them. An earnest desire to change the law is much different than refusing to enforce it.”

Attorney General Bob Ferguson tweeted: “Sheriff Fortney does not get to decide what is constitutional. That is up to the courts.”

Lori Shavlik, a Snohomish County resident, said Thursday that a petition to recall Fortney has been filed with the county’s auditor.

“This is not about politics, this is about law and order. As long as he is wearing the badge and uniform of a County Sheriff, Mr. Fortney

has a duty to enforce all the Laws, not just the ones he personally agrees with,” she said in a written statement.

Inslee noted that the city of Lynden, along with Chelan and Douglas counties, issued resolutions or guidance to allow for private-sector construction to resume.

“When my office contacted them to express concerns about their interpretation, they were willing to rescind their orders and work with our office, and I appreciate their cooperation and good-faith efforts. These are examples of strong leadership,” he said.

Inslee began Wednesday’s news conference by “honoring the millions of Washingtonians who are honoring en masse our ‘Stay Home, Stay Healthy’ “ initiative.

“People are staying home because they want to protect their own health. They want to protect the health of their loved one, which is only common sense, and they want to follow the law of the state of Washington,” he said.

This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 7:15 AM.