More public officials are now asking Washington state Representative Matt Shea (R-Spokane Valley) to resign.
The calls follow reporting by the Spokesman-Review that Shea compiled dossiers on progressive leaders in Spokane.
Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart, along with councilmembers Lori Kinnear and Breean Beggs are calling for Shea to step down.
Monday, the union representing the rank and file of the Spokane Police Department joined that chorus.
In a Facebook post, the Police Guild said, “It is clear by Mr. Shea’s conduct he is more interested in promoting his own ideology than upholding the rights afforded to all citizens under the Constitution.”
Ben Stuckart says he was told that Shea had been compiling information on several progressive leaders in the community. He says that information has not made him fear Shea, since in fact, he had a more threatening incident take place with the lawmaker and some cohorts in the past at a city council meeting.
“He showed up at a community town hall council meeting in 2015," Stuckart said. "It wasn’t reported very widely but there were 50 of them outside the council meeting with rifles and guns. And as I walked into the council meeting Matt Shea was on the microphone, and when he saw me he said, 'there he is now, the one who invited the Council on American Islamic Relations, which is a peaceful group we were giving a salutation to.”
Mayoral candidate Nadine Woodward and council president candidate Cindy Wendle also criticized Shea, but stopped short of calling for his resignation.
Shea is also under investigation by the state House for his actions related to an online conversation with others who called for violence against progressives, and directions for a biblical government in our region if society breaks down.
