Soundside

For the first time in 12 years, the Governor’s race in Washington is wide open, with no incumbent running. Three-term Governor Jay Inslee is stepping aside, and there are four clear frontrunners to replace him. This week we’ll hear from the men vying to replace Governor Inslee, and first up is Dave Reichert. Reichert formerly served as King County Sheriff and represented Washington’s 8th Congressional district for 14 years. Guests: Dave Reichert, former congressman representing Washington's 8th District Relevant Links: KUOW: Mainstream Republicans strike different tone than official state GOP at annual conference Seattle Times: Reichert emphasizes law-and-order agenda at Yakima GOP conference KUOW: It's official: Dave Reichert enters race for Washington governor  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Public opinion polling. It’s never been more consequential for the direction of our democracy – or more scrutinized. For weeks, journalists, pundits and politicians have debated the available data on the outcomes of a head-to-head rematch between President Joe Biden and former-President Donald Trump.  Those numbers had appeared increasingly troubling for Democrats. And the polling data, in the end, reportedly made the difference for Biden in deciding to step aside.  For more insight into the implications and challenges of polling, Soundside was joined by W. Joseph Campbell, professor emeritus of communications at American University and author of “Lost in a Gallup: Polling Failure in U.S. Presidential Elections.” Guests: W. Joseph Campbell, professor emeritus of communications at American University and author of "Lost in a Gallup: Polling Failure in U.S. Presidential Elections." Recommended Links: Homepage - Emerson Polling (emersoncollegepolling.com) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced he would not be running for re-election, and would instead endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. A lot of the news coverage in the last twenty four hours has focused on how party officials from both sides of the aisle are considering the President’s decision to step down from race.  But those aren’t the people who will ultimately be deciding the outcome of this race in November. The question is: will an influx in Democratic Party fundraising, institutional support – as well as a new narrative – be enough to engage the average American voter? Or does the seeming momentum of the Republican Party sweep former President Tump back into office? Guest:     Eric Liu: CEO and co-founder of Citizen University, a cross-partisan non-profit dedicated to reviving civic engagement. He’s also a former foreign policy speech writer and deputy domestic policy advisor under the Clinton Administration. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Vice President Kamala Harris is headed to visit campaign staff in Wilmington, Delaware this afternoon. This of course, comes as she works to consolidate Democratic support for her abbreviated campaign for the party’s presidential nomination.  It once seemed beyond the realm of possibility that President Biden would leave the campaign stage. For weeks he insisted he was up to the task of defeating Donald Trump. At one point Biden even said the “Lord Almighty” would have to tell him to quit.   Meanwhile, more and more Democratic members of congress felt he needed a “come to Jesus” moment to realize he should quit the race.  It looked like a stalemate.  But then, a remarkable thing happened over the past week or so. As the President was fighting COVID, he reportedly listened to arguments he didn’t want to hear.  Some close aides and longtime allies like Nancy Pelosi brought him data: evidence that showed he was likely headed for defeat. And Biden changed his mind. He was, as they say, "100 percent in, until he was 100 percent out."  He joins a small handful of sitting Presidents who have made such a decision.  And it’s worth saying: it is incredibly rare to willingly give up what is (arguably) the most powerful job in the world.  Now we’re all navigating this uncharted territory together. Soundside host Libby Denkmann sat down with the Chairs of both the WA State Democrats and WA State Republicans to see how they are navigating this momentous time. GUESTS:  Shasti Conrad: chair of the Washington State Democratic Party State Rep Jim Walsh: chair of the Washington State Republican Party RELATED LINKS: https://x.com/washdems/status/1815416981086257185 https://www.reuters.com/world/us/harris-campaign-allies-calling-delegates-lock-support-before-convention-sources-2024-07-21/ https://twitter.com/WAGOP/status/1815397774969778307  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last night in Milwaukee, Ohio senator J.D. Vance accepted the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States and took his place as former President Donald Trump’s running mate.  Vance’s first convention speech possibly - maybe - upstaged the cameo earlier in the night from Babydog, a rotund bulldog owned by West Virginia Governor Jim Justice. This was always going to be a big week for Republican politics – but I think it’s safe to say that there’s been even more eyes and attention on this convention, as it’s marking the first major event for former President Donald Trump since the attempt on his life last Saturday. Here to break down the Republican National Convention so far is Jim Brunner,  politics reporter for The Seattle Times.  GUEST: Jim Brunner, Seattle Times politics reporter RELATED LINKS: Top WA Republicans absent from Trump-centered RNC in Milwaukee - The Seattle Times WA union leader welcomes Teamsters president's Amazon-bashing RNC speech - The Seattle Times Tree hats worn by WA Republican delegates get the ax at RNC - The Seattle Times See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Washington’s 3rd Congressional District covers the southwest corner of the state, from Long Beach to Mount Adams, and from Yelm down to Vancouver.  It’s also the home of one of the most fiercely contested congressional seats in the entire country. In 2022, Republican challenger Joe Kent defeated incumbent Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler in the Primary, but lost to Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in the General election by roughly 2600 votes. This time around, Gluesenkamp Perez is the incumbent. The way this primary race is shaping up, she will likely be facing either Kent or his Republican Party competition, Camas city council member Leslie Lewallen, in November. This week, we’ve invited the leading candidates in the race on the show for interviews, to get a sense of their policy positions and vision for the future. GUEST: Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat in her first term representing the 3rd district of Washington State. RELATED LINKS: The Identity Crisis of Marie Gluesenkamp Perez - Politico The Blue-Collar Democrat Who Wants to Fix the Party’s Other Big Problem - New York Times  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To round out today's show, we're going to meet someone who spends nearly all of his time proudly showing off our little corner of the Pacific Northwest. As the lead naturalist for the Seward Park Audubon Center, Ed Domiguez teaches park visitors about local birds, and animals, along with plants and everything in between. Soundside producer Jason Burrows joined Ed on one of his early bird treks back in 2022, and brings us this story of enjoying nature. Ed is still leading guided tours today -- you can learn more about upcoming tours and other programs by going to sewardpark.audubon.org. Guests:  Ed Dominguez, Seward Park Audubon Environmental Learning Center  Related Links: KUOW - Sharing 'a life-sustaining energy,' exploring Seward Park with naturalist Ed Dominguez Seward Park Audubon Center See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

King County is in the midst of a coordinated effort to confront gun violence. Late last week, the county announced a 100-day initiative to combat shootings in the area.   Gun violence is a national issue, and it’s the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States, surpassing traffic collisions in 2020, and last month U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, declared gun violence a public health crisis. Guests: Eleuthera Lisch - Director of Public Health - Seattle and King County’s Regional Office of Gun Violence Prevention Celia Jackson - Director of Criminal Legal System Transformation in the King County Executive’s Office Relevant Links: King County Regional Office of Gun Violence Prevention: Community-based Resource Guide Axios: Seattle launches initiative to reduce gun violence See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A few months ago, Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz was demoted following numerous HR complaints – and legal filings – during his time at the helm of the SPD. Those complaints include claims of discriminatory behavior by Diaz toward women and people of color. There were also rumors of a relationship with an employee. Diaz has denied those allegations, but in May, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced that Diaz would no longer lead the department and appointed former-King County Sheriff Sue Rahr to replace him as interim police chief.  But in a recent unsigned letter sent to the Seattle City Council, a whistleblower has alleged that the department’s issues could continue even after Diaz -- because the agency tasked with holding SPD accountable hasn’t been doing its job.  KUOW’s Ashley Hiruko has been reporting on all of these developments and joined Soundside to discuss a letter confirmed to be written by a whistleblower within the Office of Police Accountability.  Guests:  Ashley Hiruko, KUOW investigative reporter Recommended Links: KUOW - Seattle Police watchdog heads ignored complaints against former Chief Adrian Diaz: letter to council KUOW - Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz is being dismissed KUOW - Interim SPD Chief talks SPD culture, school safety, and whether to bring officers back to campuses See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where do you put juvenile offenders when correctional facilities won’t take them? That’s the question many county judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials are facing after Washington’s Department of Children, Youth and Families closed both of the state’s youth correctional facilities to new inmates until further notice. To explain what’s happening and what it means for youth who are convicted of serious crimes, Soundside was joined by KUOW investigative reporter Ann Dornfeld. Guests: Ann Dornfeld, KUOW investigative reporter Related Links: KUOW - Conflict and confusion after state suspends intake for convicted juveniles WA suspends taking in sentenced youth at two detention centers | The Seattle Times See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.