If you want the GOP’s help slowing COVID, Gov. Inslee, you need to let them in | Editorial

If Washington state is going to slow the winter surge of COVID-19 cases, then Gov. Jay Inslee must acknowledge that he needs Republican backup.

He has been going it alone for too long, and too many people are tuning him out — especially those who live in Red counties.

Inslee won re-election two weeks ago against Republican challenger Loren Culp, but that’s because Inslee carried the most populated areas of the state near Puget Sound.

Culp won the majority of votes in 27 of Washington’s 39 counties. In Benton and Franklin counties, it wasn’t even close. Culp, a political newcomer with no experience as an elected official, received over 60% of the vote in the Tri-Cities region.

So when Inslee tells people to forego large family gatherings for Thanksgiving this year, he needs to know there is a good chance his message is going to be dismissed — despite that the request makes good sense during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Senate Minority Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, told the Tri-City Herald he does not expect a high level of compliance.

A directive coming from one person doesn’t motivate people to help out, he said.

“There would likely be far more widespread support for safety measures if they weren’t being dictated by one man,” said Schoesler.

With COVID-19 cases exploding across the state and a threat that our hospitals could be overrun, Inlsee on Sunday ordered a four-week set of new statewide restrictions.

Indoor dining in restaurants is now prohibited. Movie theaters, bowling alleys, and fitness centers must close. Stores — including grocery stores — must be limited to 25 percent of capacity.

Indoor social gatherings also are prohibited unless people have quarantined for 14 days before they get together, or if they quarantine for seven days and have tested negative for COVID-19 for 48 hours before meeting up.

This is the piece that needs buy-in from the public, and that’s not going to happen if people don’t care to listen to the messenger.

Inslee needs the help of GOP legislators. It’s time for a bipartisan effort to manage COVID and the state’s economy.

Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, leader on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement Tuesday that the state’s COVID response would be “more effective and better received if the entire Legislature is involved, so that people in all 39 counties could have confidence that their perspectives are being considered.”

State legislators have been waiting in the wings for months, eager for a chance to represent their constituents during this horrible time of strife and uncertainty.

But Inslee has continued to shut them out. Legally, he has the power to do this in an emergency. But no one ever anticipated an emergency lasting for months on end.

Schoelser said Senate Republicans could be ready to convene an emergency special session with a days notice. With COVID-19, a virtual session would be practical and efficient.

And with the election over, grandstanding shouldn’t be as big a concern.

For the most part, Inslee has done a remarkable job guiding the state through the pandemic. But COVID-19 cases are surging to record levels now that the weather has turned colder and more people are staying indoors and letting their guard down.

In the Tri-Cities, the number of people testing positive for the disease has quadrupled in less than a month.

State health officials are very concerned that the infection rate will become even worse after the Thanksgiving holiday. That’s why they want people to celebrate this year only with people who live in the same household.

But unlike small businesses, which have the heavy hand of Labor & Industries to force compliance, limiting private social gatherings is tougher to enforce.

Inlsee needs Republican lawmakers to help him get his message out to the Red counties of our state. It’s time he invited the GOP in.

This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 11:45 AM.