Gov. Inslee says data will direct reopening Washington, not ‘irrational forces’

“Not everyone agrees with decisions I have made, and that’s fine in a democracy,” Inslee said. “But every decision that I have made has been designed to protect the health of Washingtonians.”

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The governor said that the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order remains in effect until May 4, as previously announced. Any changes will be made based on data, not “irrational forces,” the governor said.

Inslee said on Wednesday that law enforcement has not been necessary so far to enforce the order. He said only one action has been filed for non-compliance and it involved a California landlord operating in Tacoma. The landlord was not adhering to eviction rules.

The order will be enforced, if necessary, Inslee said. He outlined the three-tier process that he first announced on March 30.

Inslee went on to address Snohomish County Adam Fortney’s Facebook post published Tuesday night.

“We cannot have individual law enforcement arbitrarily decide which laws they’re going to enforce and which laws they’re not going to enforce,” Inslee said. “If people have a disagreement with the law, that can be decided by the courts, not by any individual law enforcement officer.”

The governor explained that Fortney’s statements are not supported by the prosecuting attorney in Snohomish County, Adam Cornell. The Snohomish Health District also reiterated the importance of Inslee’s order.

Inslee said that the order does not contradict the Constitution and he promised to reach out to different local jurisdictions to make sure there’s clarity about the order. He added that encouraging illegal activity jeopardizes the health of Washingtonians.

“This is working. This is saving lives,” Inslee said of the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order. “Now is not the time to give up.”

Fortney on Wednesday said the position of the Snohomish County Sheriff Office’s has not changed from the first day of the governor’s stay-at-home order. He added that residents will not be arrested for violating the order.

The sheriff said he is taking the threat of COVID-19 seriously, and has complied with everything the governor has said this far. He is not calling for open defiance of the Stay Home, Stay Healthy initiative.

“If we can safely, cautiously get people back to work, … we should be talking about that today,” he added.

When asked if he had reached out to the governor directly, Fortney said he had not.

“People are entitled to their opinions,” Inslee said. “Law enforcement officers, who I have huge respect for, who thousands of them today are not going off half-cocked saying they’re not going to enforce the law, they’re enforcing the law. There are just two of them that I know of that want to make a political statement. For whatever talent they have they just are not given that right in our democracy to make a decision about the Constitution. That is a decision we leave to the courts and that system has worked for us very well for a couple hundred years now.”

The governor’s office also sent a letter to Franklin County commissioners Wednesday morning. In it, the governor said he’s making clear that actions on Tuesday do not change that businesses and residents must follow the order to keep everyone healthy.

Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond said on Tuesday he won’t be enforcing Inslee’s order and called it fear mongering. He joined KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson on Wednesday to explain a letter that he sent to his constituents.

Read more from Raymond here.