Ferguson Vetoes Retail Crime Funding, Despite Community Concerns

0:00It's April 2nd. You're listening to Vancouver News today, AI-powered local news. I'm Cory with the story. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson just vetoed $500,000, set aside to fight organized retail crime, even as he signed the states, supplemental operating budget into law. Rep. Marie Leavitt, a Democrat from University Place, hit up his office with an urgent email and a post on X, wanting that cutting this would ignore. Several dangers like trafficking and drugs hitting neighborhoods. Business groups like the Washington Retail Association, plus chambers of commerce and hospitality folks, sent their own letter pushing back hard. Saying the pilot program delivered big results in just five months last year with over 400 law enforcement responses, nearly 5,870 crime reports, and 154 diversions. Ferguson explained it as tough budget math in an $80 billion package that already slashed a billion from state agencies, adding he gets the frustration but fairness matters.

1:04Leavitt called it incredibly short-sighted for such a small slice that packs major community payoffs, leaving everyone wondering how local efforts stack up against the Attorney General's high-end task force now.