Gov. Bob Ferguson drew unexpected praise from Republicans last year and an icy response among some Democrats for an inaugural address suggesting Washington was suffering from a litany of problems after years of one-party rule.
On Tuesday, Ferguson signaled his early maverick moment has passed.
Delivering his first State of the State speech to a joint session of the Legislature, Ferguson slammed the Trump administration and embraced Democrats' efforts to impose an income tax on the wealthy, while boasting of the state's response to historic flooding and new spending on road maintenance and housing.
With Trump's aggressive actions, many ruled illegal, dominating the news, Ferguson made it clear he is aligned with the anger felt by Democrats in a blue state.
He got his biggest standing ovation from Democratic lawmakers — and silence and a few walkouts from Republicans — when he condemned the aggressive conduct of ICE agents in U.S. cities like Minneapolis.
"It is horrific, it is unjust and it needs to stop now," Ferguson said. "As an American, I never thought I would see federal agents in masks jumping out of unmarked cars and grabbing people off our streets."
The moment will be remembered as "a shameful period" in history, he said, pledging to quickly sign a bill sponsored by Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, which would prohibit law enforcement from wearing masks.
Ferguson repeated his support for a Democratic plan to create a state income tax on people earning more than $1 million a year, but insisted he wants to see it paired with tax cuts for less well-off Washingtonians.
He said the money should be used to expand the state's Working Families Tax Credit, which sends annual rebates of up to $1,330 to lower-income families.
And Ferguson said he wants to devote some income tax proceeds to exempt businesses earning less than $1 million a year from the state's business and occupation tax, calling it "the biggest tax break for small business owners in state history."
Republicans who offered cautious praise to the governor last year criticized him on Tuesday.
State House Minority Leader Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn, said a year ago Ferguson was acting like a centrist government reformer, but is now "singing a very different tune."
"It looked like he wanted to be a Democrat Dan Evans that Washingtonians remember for generations, and now he looks like a governor desperate to shore up his base before he's primaried," Stokesbary said, referring to Washington's three-term Republican governor.
Despite the shift in tone, there were some familiar omissions in Ferguson's inaugural address.
Once again, Ferguson didn't mention his predecessor, Gov. Jay Inslee, or talk about Inslee's signature issue of climate change. (He did shout out former Gov. Christine Gregoire, who watched from the gallery.)
Inslee, who did not attend Tuesday's speech, has criticized Ferguson's proposal to divert $559 million from the state's Climate Commitment Act funds raised from charges paid by greenhouse gas emitters, to pay for the Working Families Tax Credit.
As he did last year, Ferguson also spent a portion of Tuesday's speech name-checking Republican and Democratic lawmakers for proposals he said he supports.
He said he supports a bill sponsored by Sen. Ron Muzzall, R-Oak Harbor, and Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek that would expand the definition of reckless driving to include people who drive 30 miles per hour over the speed limit.
But Stokesbary and other Republicans said the bipartisan bills Ferguson is backing are comparatively less controversial and would likely pass whether the governor backed them or not.
Last year, Ferguson listed an array of woes for the state and said he was "not here to defend government" but "to reform it." He noted Washington ranked last among states in law-enforcement officers per capita, said it had a "broken" ferry system and a state government "bogged down by too much bureaucracy."
But on Tuesday, Ferguson bragged about progress after a year in which he has been leading the state. He said state agencies have started to cut the time it takes for them to issue licenses for behavioral health workers, security guards and cosmetologists.
Ferguson also praised Washington's response to December's historic flooding, while recognizing the damage done to families and businesses. He pointed to an invited couple of guests, Mike Khazak and Sarah Hansen, whose entire home was swept away by the Nooksack River, "representing many Washingtonians who lost so much."
Ferguson said he'd heard from local leaders and community members that state government had stepped up with everything they needed during the flooding.
"Government gets its share of criticism. But it’s only fair to stop and notice when government delivers, especially under the most challenging and stressful circumstances, he said.
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