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Millionaire Brian Heywood, the founder of the political action committee Let’s Go Washington, traveled to Bellingham to defend and promote four statewide initiatives voters will see on their ballots this election.
In front of a packed room of Bellingham City Club members and guests Wednesday, Oct. 16, Heywood sparred with state legislators and activists who spoke against the initiatives.
The conservative hedge fund executive from Redmond financed seven ballot initiatives in the last year, three of which have been adopted by the state Legislature. Heywood’s stated goal with the four measures that have come to a vote, I-2066, I-2109, I-2117 and I-2124, is to lower the cost of living for Washingtonians, allow for choice in energy and health care spending, and protect residents against a capital gains tax.
The initiatives have drawn ire from opponents, including Bellingham City Council, which symbolically voted to oppose all four initiatives during a Monday, Oct. 14 meeting. Speakers who rebutted Heywood on Wednesday and the coalitions opposing the initiatives say the proposals will strip funding from education, health care and infrastructure, and jeopardize the state’s transition to green energy.
I-2066 — Natural Gas
Heywood argued that I-2066 would “keep the state the hell out” of energy choices made by households, or, in other words, would prevent the state from ever banning natural gas. It came in response to House Bill 1589, which created a road map for Puget Sound Energy to provide energy to its natural gas customers, but also comes in response to the new state building code that requires more fuel-efficient appliances.
District 40 Rep. Alex Ramel, speaking against the initiative, said its passage would make energy bills more expensive for customers because utilities would have to keep natural gas infrastructure operating even as usage dwindles.
I-2109 — Capital Gains Tax
I-2109 would repeal the 7% tax on annual capital gains of over $262,000 for individuals, as of 2023. This revenue comes from profits on the sale of stocks and bonds, and does not apply to real estate or timber sales. Proponents of the initiative argue capital gains tax is a form of income tax, although the Washington State Supreme Court ruled it was constitutional in March 2023.
Treasure Mackley, the executive director of Invest in Washington Now, said during the Bellingham City Club meeting that the initiative would strip essential funding to public schools, higher education and child care. She cited the school construction projects and 170 child care/pre-K slots that were created as a result of the capital gains tax, and said child care is essential infrastructure that helps families and businesses.
Heywood blamed the state government for regulating home daycares operated by neighborhood moms “out of existence” and claimed billionaires like Jeff Bezos are fleeing Washington because of tax policy. Bezos said he moved to Florida in 2023 to be closer to his parents and to Cape Canaveral for his Blue Origin rocket company.
“You should come to [Washington] to start a business because we don’t punish the people that are successful,” Heywood said. Home and business sales are exempt from the capital gains tax.
Mackley cited the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy‘s finding that Washington has the 49th most regressive tax policy in the country, meaning lower-income households pay a higher percentage of tax than wealthy households. That rating improved from 50th after the capital gains tax was passed.
I-2117 — Cap-and-Invest Program
This initiative would repeal the Climate Commitment Act. Opponent and District 42 Sen. Sharon Shewmake, a professor of environmental economics, urban economics and energy policy at Western Washington University, told the audience the CCA is a “textbook A+ environmental policy” that provides important funding to grow the economy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, protect public health and support infrastructure.
Heywood blames the cap-and-invest program — in which the sale of allowances or pollution permits at state auctions goes to a wide range of climate-related investments — for high gas prices in the state. He also said the bill has no accountability for reducing carbon emissions because the Results Washington data dashboard for the CCA doesn’t have emissions reduction information. He called the CCA a “grift,” saying agencies and organizations benefitting from it have lined up to support it.
Shewmake said she didn’t believe infrastructure investments were a grift and called Heywood’s assertions “weird,” “deceptive” and “conspiratorial thinking.”
I-2124 — State Long-Term Care Insurance
Initiative I-2124 would make it optional for workers to pay into WA Cares, a statewide insurance program that allows Washingtonians to earn a long-term care benefit that could be used on expenses related to caretaking, medical equipment or meals. In an impassioned argument, Christina Keys, the founder of Keys for Caregiving, spoke about her 10-year experience caregiving for her mother and how expensive and painful the journey was. She said the $36,500 offered in lifetime benefits through WA Cares would have been a blessing.
Heywood said the legislation, passed in 2019, was flawed and exclusionary to some groups who most need it. He said not all who pay into the program are able to access the benefits and thus should be able to opt-out. The No On 2124 campaign, on the other hand, argues the initiative would effectively bankrupt the state’s long-term care insurance program.
The entire Bellingham City Club program was recorded and will be posted online at bellinghamcityclub.org.
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.