‘Last governor was a wet noodle’: WA Rep. Jim Walsh praises Bob Ferguson’s budget rejection

Not agreeing or aligning with budget proposals from Washington’s representatives or its senators, Governor Bob Ferguson rejected both ideas Tuesday. He said neither budget “is close to one that I can sign,” citing two reasons: Far too much in taxes, and too much reliance on the novel wealth tax.

“Are we getting a better idea of how Ferguson wants to govern the state of Washington?” John Curley, host of “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio, asked Washington Representative Jim Walsh (R-Aberdeen).

“We are getting a better idea. Here’s the significant difference between Ferguson as governor and his predecessor, whatever his name was, the last governor was a zero when it came to anything involving heavy negotiation,” Walsh responded. “The last governor cared about one thing: Stupid green future mumbo jumbo, and that’s all he cared about. He didn’t care about paying for roads and bridges. He didn’t care about schools. He didn’t care about cops. So when it came to these budget negotiations, he was a complete wet noodle.”

Walsh said Ferguson is approaching the budget much differently.

“What we’re seeing with Ferguson, and this is not a surprise, is he’s a smarter guy than that, and he does have some opinions about the budgets and roads and bridges and schools and cops and all the things, so he’s trying to assert himself more into the negotiations than the previous governor ever did,” Walsh explained.

Gov. Bob Ferguson receiving praise from Republican reps

Ferguson’s decision earned support from Republicans, who have been pushing a budget that avoids taxes with strategic cuts. But Walsh has been urging them to be cautious.

“I’m counseling some of my colleagues not to fall in love too fast,” Walsh, who’s also the chairman of the Washington State Republican Party, said. “They need to be careful when they deal with this governor because I’m as or more concerned about the property taxes.”

With the 2025 legislative session approximately two-thirds of the way done, it remains to be seen if a special session will be needed to find a resolution. State Rep. Travis Couture claimed there is a multi-billion-dollar chasm between what Ferguson wants and what lawmakers produced, according to The Olympian.

How much more will Washingtonians have to pay in taxes?

“Let’s get you on the record on this, how much taxes, not dollars, taxes, will we be paying more this time next year?” Curley asked.

“I will not vote for any, but you’re asking me to step aside from that,” Walsh replied. “The current Democrat proposals add about $15 billion in new taxes. I would estimate they will do everything they can to increase taxes by $3-5 billion.”

Listen to the full interview below.

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