Please Oppose SB 6239 — It Reduces Transparency and Harms Washington Residents

Message: Dear Democratic Legislators,

I am writing to urge you to oppose SB 6239. This bill would require mandatory arbitration for tort claims against state and local government entities, moving these cases out of public courts and into private proceedings.

Arbitration limits transparency, restricts discovery, and reduces the ability of ordinary people to hold government agencies accountable. When the government is the defendant, the public deserves more openness—not less. This bill would disproportionately harm families, students, seniors, and vulnerable individuals who rely on a fair legal process to seek justice.

Please stand with Washington residents and reject SB 6239.

Thank you for your service.

Sincerely, [Your Name] [City or ZIP]

This is just a sample … but this is NOT what WA state should support … This state has a lot of flaws; this bill is an outright violation of Transparency and seemingly puts the right to pursue accountability for families harmed fairly at risk!

Chinedu Okobi :

On October 3, 2018, San Mateo sheriff deputies tased Chinedu Okobi to death.

Chinedu was a 36-year-old Nigerian-American who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area California, a graduate of Morehouse College. He was a great father, a cherished son, a beloved brother, a trusted friend, a respected community member, and a gifted poet.
Sadly, Chinedu is part of a tragic trend of unarmed Black people who’ve been killed by police. He was walking in broad daylight and had committed no crime. Five sheriff deputies escalated the interaction when they approached Chinedu who was walking in and out of busy traffic. Rather than offer support to Chinedu, who unfortunately was struggling with mental health issues, the deputies viciously tased Chinedu to death.

We need your help to make sure that the sheriff deputies who killed Chinedu Okobi are held accountable for their crimes. The investigation has barely started and yet the District Attorney is already publicly trying to justify the deputies’ actions, by making the assumption that because Chinedu was ” 6’3 tall, and weighed 330 pounds, he was automatically deemed a threat and seen as dangerous. We know the deputies should not have killed Chinedu, and they must be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

We know that police are only held accountable when people come together to demand justice. Please join us as we come together with our comrades at Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), Chinedu’s family, friends, and community in demanding that San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe charge and prosecute every single officer involved in Chinedu’s murder.

Below is the letter we will send to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe:
Here is the Petition:
District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe,
We demand that you charge and prosecute San Mateo deputies John DeMartini, Alyssa Lorenzatti, Joshua Wang, Bryan Watt, and Sgt. David Weidner for the killing of Chinedu Okobi.

Chinedu Okobi was a great father, a cherished son, a beloved brother, a trusted friend, a respected community member, and a gifted poet. He was an unarmed man who did nothing to justify being tased to death.

We are concerned that you have already made public statements that suggest you have already decided the deputies who killed Chinedu should not be held accountable for their actions. Too often District Attorneys turn a blind eye to police murder against unarmed Black people. Police are not above the law. We demand transparency and accountability.

colorofchange.org

Statement from Governor Moore on National Governors Association Bipartisan Dinner

Published: 2/8/2026

​​“This week, I learned that I was uninvited to this year’s National Governors Association dinner — a decades-long annual tradition meant to bring governors from both parties together to build bonds and celebrate a shared service to our citizens with the President of the United States. My peers, both Democrats and Republicans, selected me to serve as the Vice Chair of the NGA, another reason why it’s hard not to see this decision as another example of blatant disrespect and a snub to the spirit of bipartisan federal-state partnership.

“As the nation’s only Black governor, I can’t ignore that being singled out for exclusion from this bipartisan tradition carries an added weight — whether that was the intent or not.

“What makes it especially confounding is that just weeks ago I was at the White House with a bipartisan group of governors, working with the administration on reforms to lower energy costs and strengthen grid reliability. We proved in that moment what’s possible when we stay focused on outcomes over politics.

“As Governor of Maryland and Vice Chair of the NGA, my approach will never change: I’m ready to work with the administration anywhere we can deliver results. Yet, I promised the people of my state I will work with anybody but will bow down to nobody. And I guess the President doesn’t like that.”​

On February 9, 1773, future President William Henry Harrison is born on the Berkeley Plantation in Virginia. Harrison went on to serve as the ninth U.S. president for a brief 32 days in 1841, the shortest term ever served. Harrison is also credited with the record for the

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