Washington In Focus Daily | 4.09.26 | Ferguson Takes Shots At His Opponents & Sheriff Reform Lawsuit

April 9, 2026·23 min·1 clip

Former Attorney General Rob McKenna argues your income is property, challenging Washington's new tax as unconstitutional.

1. Washington In Focus Daily, hosted by Carlene Johnson of The Center Square, covers two new legal challenges to Washington State laws signed by Governor Bob Ferguson in April 2026. 2. Host Carlene Johnson, state government reporter for The Center Square, interviews former Attorney General Rob McKenna and former State Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge after their April 9 press conference. 3. The episode's core question is whether Washington State's new income tax and new sheriff decertification law will survive constitutional challenges filed by a coalition of Republicans, former Democrats, and small-business advocates. 4. The income tax lawsuit (SB 6346) was filed in Klickitat County Superior Court by Citizen Action Defense Fund and Executive Director Jackson Maynard, with McKenna as co-counsel; plaintiffs include the Ethnic Chamber of Commerce. 5. McKenna argues Washington's constitution defines income as property, capping any income tax at one percent and requiring uniformity — conditions SB 6346 does not meet. 6. McKenna says Governor Ferguson 'signed into law a bill that clearly violates the law today,' contrasting him with former Governor Dan Evans who built a coalition for a constitutional constitutional amendment. 7. Former state senator and State Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge, representing small-business clients from Hispanic and Asian Pacific communities, says the tax is 'a deterrent for them to do greater achievement.' 8. Let's Go Washington founder Brian Haywood is also challenging Secretary of State Steve Hobbs's refusal to process a referendum request, arguing Hobbs misread the constitution's 'emergency and necessary' threshold. 9. Let's Go Washington is additionally preparing two initiative campaigns — one going directly to the legislature and one to the voters — each requiring roughly twice as many signatures as a referendum. 10. Governor Ferguson told reporters he is 'very supportive of the initiative process' and 'confident' the Supreme Court will rule in the tax's favor. 11. Five Washington Supreme Court seats are up for election, meaning the court's ideological makeup could shift before the income tax challenge reaches it. 12. The second lawsuit, filed April 6 in Thurston County Superior Court, challenges SB 5974, which allows the Criminal Justice Training Commission to decertify a sitting sheriff and sets new candidate qualifications. 13. Kitsap County Sheriff candidate Rick Cuss, a 24-year Navy veteran and current King County Sheriff's deputy, is disqualified under the new law's five-year consecutive law enforcement experience requirement. 14. Cuss argues the legislature cannot constitutionally delegate candidate-qualification judgments — including social media reviews and polygraph results — to the WSP or the CJTC. 15. Cuss calls the idea that the CJTC could disqualify candidates based on social media content 'insane,' noting he is personally 'probably more vocal on social media' about crime. 16. A separate Eastern Washington suit filed in Ponderay County by four sheriffs — John Knowles, Glenn Blanksley, Brad Makey, and Ray Maycumber — has a hearing set for April 16 on a preliminary injunction. 17. The episode follows a Q&A format with Johnson reporting context and playing direct audio quotes from McKenna, Talmadge, and Cuss. 18. The tone is straight news-report style: Johnson summarizes developments, then lets subjects speak in extended quotes without significant editorial commentary. 19. Listeners following Washington State politics, income tax litigation, or law enforcement policy will find detailed sourcing and direct quotes from key legal players. 20. Listeners outside Washington State or uninterested in state legislative and constitutional law will find limited broader applicability.

As heard by us

A Washington policy segment that ties together tax, referendum, and sheriff decertification fights.

The segment threads together three Washington fights: a tax challenge, a referendum dispute, and a sheriff decertification case, all circling the same question of who gets to decide.

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