Governor: Too much power in one person’s hands

Government authority under state of emergency powers for each state has been expanded exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is troubling for those of us who appreciate our First Amendment rights, in particular, but also for the other enumerated rights in our Constitution under the Bill of Rights.

No previous state of emergency has seen the broad use of power in the hands of one man, the state governor, utilized to the extent we are presently experiencing.

Should this be the case, no matter the nature of the emergency or its seemingly ever-decreasing danger?

Should this be the case as science and data support less and less the continuation of the response initially intended to protect the public health, when coronavirus fatality estimates were expected on a magnitude of as much as 22 times the present apparent estimate?

Quoting H.L. Mencken, “The urge to save humanity is almost always a false face for the urge to rule it.”

With insufficient laws in effect to curb the powers of Washington’s governor, we face unchecked power that is incongruous to a free society.

Our Legislature must step up and create statutory limitations to the power of the governor.

This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Governor: Too much power in one person’s hands."