Just recently, there have been a couple of local news stories involving politicians who are or have been law-breakers. Would you vote for a politician who had committed crimes and gone to prison for them in the past? Would you vote for a politician who was charged with drunk driving during her campaign? Well, there are voters in Washington State who seem to have no trouble casting their votes for criminals.
Bremerton State Legislator Tarra Simmons has been elected to the State House four times. She has a felony criminal record, spent time in Prison, and voters keep re-electing her. Here’s today’s story about the Felon Representative.
Washington State
Crime and Corruption
ETHICS VIOLATIONS AND CHUMP CHANGE
Legislative District LD-23
Washington State lawmaker hit with $15K fine in ethics case
Rep. Tarra Simmons says she plans to appeal.
August 15, 2026
Washington State Rep. Tarra Simmons, D-Bremerton, listens to testimony during a hearing on allegations she violated state ethics laws on June 8, 2026. Simmons denies the charges.
Washington State Rep. Tarra Simmons was fined $15,000 on Friday by a state ethics panel for improperly using her position to steer public funds to a nonprofit where she worked, and trying to retaliate against the person who initiated the investigation against her.
The Legislative Ethics Board concluded the Bremerton Democrat committed three violations of conflict of interest and special privilege laws, and levied the maximum $5,000 penalty for each. She also must pay the costs of state attorneys.
The board dismissed three other allegations stemming from efforts to help a friend get a job, donating unspent campaign funds to the non-profit to pay for the friend’s position and working for an organization that received state funding.
The nine-member board issued its 15-page decision Friday afternoon, roughly six weeks after conducting a trial-like proceeding into allegations against Simmons.
Simmons, who adamantly denies wrongdoing, said in a statement that the fine was unfair and excessive given that she had to pursue a hearing to prove three allegations were untrue. She also said she was better off compared to earlier in the case when she had a chance to settle.
“People shouldn’t be excessively punished when they actually prevail,” she said.
Simmons said she is planning to appeal in Thurston County Superior Court, where she can “finally be heard by a non-political entity lacking any personal interest in the outcome of her case, and where the repeated violations of her due process rights will finally be heard.”
The ruling arrives days after the primary election in which Simmons bested a fellow Democrat, Daria Ilgen, by a margin of 57.3% to 39%. The two will face off again in November.
Simmons is seeking a fourth term representing the 23rd Legislative District in Kitsap County that includes the communities of Hansville, Kingston, Poulsbo, Bremerton and Bainbridge Island.
She serves as deputy speaker pro tem, a highly visible role that requires frequently presiding over floor sessions. She’s also garnered national attention as the first formerly incarcerated person to serve in the Legislature.
A complaint filed in February 2025 triggered an investigation that led to Friday’s ruling, which hinged on whether Simmons violated the Ethics in Public Service Act.
Simmons has said she rejected settlement offers in order to defend herself against charges she felt were motivated by personal animus and politics.
The hearing took place in June. During three hours of hearing testimony, she insisted she’s been hypervigilant about complying with the rules since arriving in the Legislature in 2021. She said she was warned that, as the first formerly incarcerated person elected to state office, political foes would look for ways to derail her career.
Questions of improper influence
This case revolved around Simmons’ interactions with two nonprofit organizations: the American Equity and Justice Group and the Equity in Education Coalition.
Two violations are related to a $1 million grant Simmons helped secure in 2024 to support an expansion of a public dashboard of criminal justice data created by the American Equity and Justice Group.
The group was required to subcontract $500,000 of work with a non-profit organization “that advocates for equity in technology and education to provide the public with data on social determinants that impact education outcomes.”
Read more:
Washington State
Crime and Corruption
ETHICS VIOLATIONS AND CHUMP CHANGE
Legislative District LD-23
Washington State lawmaker hit with $15K fine in ethics case
So, Readers, would you believe her that she did NOT engage in ethics violations? With her prior criminal record? I just wonder about her Kitsap County voters. Are they really that stupid? Maybe some of us DO deserve the government we get.
The next story involves a candidate for a State legislative post. Krista Perez won her primary in the Tacoma area. She was recently arrested and charged with DUI, which is a serious matter, after she caused a five-car crash. Emphasis mine below.
DRUNK AS A SKUNK IN PIERCE COUNTY Legislative District LD-29 WA State House candidate accused of refusing breathalyzer, charged with DUI Police say Krista Perez caused a collision that damaged four other cars. August 14, 2026 Democratic state House candidate Krista Perez has been charged with impaired driving after a five-car crash in Tacoma.
Authorities charged a Washington state House candidate Thursday with impaired driving that resulted in a five-car crash in Tacoma earlier in the week. Krista Perez, 40, is accused of driving her pickup truck into a parked car, causing a chain reaction that left three other cars damaged in the 3700 block of South G Street in Tacoma near Lincoln High School, according to charging papers filed in Tacoma Municipal Court. She later failed to give an adequate breathalyzer sample, police say. She was scheduled to be arraigned on the driving under the influence charge Monday afternoon, according to her attorney.
Perez, a Democrat, is in the middle of an election campaign that could see her unseat Rep. Melanie Morgan, D-Parkland. She led Morgan in the primary by about two percentage points, running to the incumbent’s left, with heavy support from organized labor. Her campaign in the 29th Legislative District is one of several tests across Washington of whether a progressive challenger can unseat a more moderate Democrat.
Perez’s defense attorney, Bryan G. Hershman, said Friday that he hopes “we can stay focused on an important campaign.” “We’re talking about a DUI,” he said. “It’s not like we’re talking about felony murder here.” “No matter what happens in this DUI case, there’s still homeless people we need to get off the streets,” Hershman added. “I hope we can stay focused on what’s relevant.” Hershman said just after noon Friday that he hadn’t yet read the charges filed by the Tacoma city attorney’s office. Perez hasn’t responded to direct requests for comment.
Morgan couldn’t be reached either. After the crash Tuesday, an officer noted Perez smelled of alcohol and appeared confused, according to the court documents. She confirmed she was driving, but reported she didn’t know what had happened. Her Chevy Silverado was nearly on top of another car and her driver’s airbag had been deployed. Perez told investigators she’d had a glass of wine at a local winery, according to court papers. When they asked how much, the papers said she told them to ask winery staff and appeared offended by the question. She reportedly rated her level of intoxication at a four on a scale of one to 10. She also seemed offended at an officer asking if she believed her drinking had contributed to the crash, according to police.
An officer asked her to perform field sobriety tests to see how impaired she was, the court documents say. She repeatedly told authorities she didn’t understand, according to the charges. Perez said she wanted to go home before taking the tests, but officers told her that wasn’t an option. She eventually declined to participate in the sobriety tests, police said. Due to Perez’s odor of alcohol, noticeable mood swings, slurred speech, red eyes and unsteady gait, Tacoma police arrested her, according to the police report. At Tacoma police headquarters, she reportedly agreed to provide breath samples after speaking with her attorney. But despite several attempts to explain to Perez how to use a breathalyzer, she failed to give a breath sample, according to police. She reportedly tucked her lips in and pulled away from the mouthpiece, resulting in weak breaths that were insufficient. Police labeled her as refusing a breathalyzer test. If convicted, her sentence could be worsened because of her alleged refusal to take a breath test. She was booked into Pierce County jail, where she spent six hours before being released. Perez works for the state as a strategic partnerships manager for the Department of Commerce.
Washington State
DRUNK AS A SKUNK IN PIERCE COUNTY
Legislative District LD-29
WA State House candidate accused of refusing breathalyzer, charged with DUI
Police say Krista Perez caused a collision that damaged four other cars.
Please also note that this Democrat political candidate is already a State Employee. The Washington Legislature is ostensibly a part-time gig, and most lawmakers have day jobs. So if this little criminal gets elected to the Legislature, she not only gets a handsome pension from the State for her day job, she will have a legislative pension and perks if she gets elected. Seeing as the voters of Kitsap County have already shown that they are comfortable with a representative who is a Felon, maybe the Pierce County voters won’t have a problem electing a convicted criminal either. Perez’s case will be interesting to watch, as most judges in Washington are Leftist and tend to release all sorts of criminals to offend over and over. Stay tuned for further developments.
In case you were thinking that Washington State is rare in its criminal politicians, here are a couple of cases from other states that were in the news this week.
🚨 MORE FRAUD IN GEORGIA 🚨
Former Democratic Georgia State Rep. Sharon Henderson has pleaded guilty to fraudulently collecting nearly $18,000 in COVID-era unemployment benefits she wasn’t entitled to receive.
2026 so far: Named elected officials & candidates charged with crimes
Democrats (11): Brian DePeña (Mayor, Lawrence MA) – wire fraud + money laundering (COVID loans). Dominican national with limited English who has required Spanish translators in court.
Philip LeVota (Interim Jackson County Exec, MO) – honest services fraud, bribery, false statements. Carol Ammons (IL State Rep) – multiple wire fraud counts + obstruction.
Sonya Jaquez Lewis (former CO State Sen) – forgery conviction in 2026.
Cecil Brockman (former NC State Rep) – sex-offense indictment returned in 2026.
Republicans (5): Travis Ismay (SD State Rep) – felony intentional damage to a public road.
Tom Pischke (SD State Sen) – felony fraudulent election/nominating forms.
Austin McCollum (AR State Rep / Benton County Judge nominee) – domestic battering, aggravated assault, false imprisonment.
Fred Anthony Burton (Mayor, Arcola TX) – illegal voting, misuse of official information, tampering with government records.
Shaun Larry Adams (Mayor, Robbinsville NC) – multiple felony drug charges including meth trafficking.
Predominant patterns among these named cases:
Fraud-related charges (wire fraud, money laundering, unemployment fraud, petition fraud, election-form fraud, illegal voting) dominate the Democratic list. Assault/domestic-violence and DUI appear as well.
The Republican cases are more mixed: election/voting irregularities, domestic violence, property damage, and drug trafficking.
Charges are allegations.
Presumption of innocence applies until proven otherwise.
Just thought you might wanna know…
LIARS, CHEATERS & SENIOR CITIZEN, BEATERS.
2026 so far: Named elected officials & candidates charged with crimes
Democrats (11): Brian DePeña (Mayor, Lawrence MA) – wire fraud + money laundering (COVID loans). Dominican national with limited English who has required Spanish… pic.twitter.com/0q7kef5t9t
Obviously, Character doesn’t matter as much as it used to for politicians. What a shame that is. Those who supposedly represent us should be held to account high standard of behavior. Voters seem to be able to overlook a lot of bad behavior, and maybe that’s why the quality of our governance has plunged in the 21st Century.
Calling-all-RushBabes 