Man in the middle: Ferguson tries to strike a balance on policing
When a candidate is running for election, they’ll often seize on an issue when they sense they have the upper hand. Or they might go on the offensive in an area where they think they’re vulnerable. Other times a subject looms so large they want to be quick to confront it.
Which scenario best characterizes Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s first major policy proposals in the 2024 governor’s race may depend on one’s political views but should become clearer as this year’s election unfolds. Ferguson, a Democrat and frontrunner in the contest, released his “plan to improve community safety” last week.
He proposes spending $100 million on grants to help local governments recruit more officers, hiring additional state troopers and ramping up Department of Corrections efforts to track down at-large offenders with active arrest warrants.
The plan has other elements as well, like increasing state funding for drug task forces to fight fentanyl trafficking and establishing a firearm buy-back program. But the “cornerstone,” as his campaign tells it, is hiring more police officers.
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/03/25/man-in-the-middle-ferguson-tries-to-strike-a-balance-on-policing/