Reporter Asks Governor Inslee if the State Should Decide “Who is and Isn’t Media”

Washington Media is Waking Up

It’s evident, certain politicians hate transparency, accountability, and tough questions. In case you missed it, on Thursday one reporter point blank asked Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) if he thinks state agencies should determine “who is media and who isn’t media.” He was totally caught off guard. Is this an acceptable answer from the Governor of WA? Listen. BTW, I am still banned from Inslee’s press conferences. His media handlers say I’m not a “credentialed journalist” even though I have multiple media credentials from several news outlets outside of my media fellowship. I hope he allows me in one day.

Assault on Press Freedoms

Last month, I was nearly kicked out of a press conference in #Kirkland with Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) and King County Executive Dow Constantine (@kcexec), but was eventually allowed to stay after officials came to their senses. After doing some digging, multiple officials now say it was the Governor’s media handlers who tried to remove me, not the city of Kirkland. Stunning turn of events. “They should have their own people do that. They should not bully city staff into doing their dirty work for them.” -Toby Nixon, Kirkland City Council (@tobylnixon) Hey Brandi (@BrandiKruse) your sources were right! Thank you to everyone in #Seattle media who stood by me. @thehoffather @jasonrantz @KIRONewsradio @mattmarkovich @timgaydos etc. If this type of behavior is allowed to continue, it could have a chilling effect on our entire news gathering landscape. No wonder so many reporters are afraid to ask hard questions. They don’t want to lose access! #Seattle#KingCounty#Washington#WA#News#Journalism

Setting the Record Straight

I know politics is a dirty game, but I never ever imagined the elected officials in Washington state would be coming after me. Jay and Dow’s media handlers claimed I “misrepresented” myself. They wouldn’t get into specifics, but my sources say Chase Gallagher(Dow’s team) went so far as to call one of the local radio stations to see if I actually worked there. Problem for him, I never ever said I did. I had a press credential that day representing @millcreekview and said numerous times on the record that I was a contributor to multiple platforms. Bottom line, Jay and Dow’s media handlers fabricated this story to sow seeds of doubt to hurt my credibility or they simply misheard what I was saying. Here’s Kirkland Deputy City Manager Jim Lopez setting the record straight. He’s the one who was actually there(in the video)and allowed me to stay. Thank you Jim.

Admission of Guilt…Sort of

I point blank asked Gov. Inslee’s (@GovInslee) media handler if they orchestrated the move to kick me out. Here is the response below. I also challenged Mike Faulk to tell me exactly how I “misrepresented” myself or to provide audio or video proof. So far, nothing. That’s because I never ever misrepresented myself. #Kirkland @kcexec

Dow’s Guy

I also challenged Chase Gallagher to show me proof that I “misrepresented” myself. This is how he responds. #Kirkland

Looking Back

Now that I know Wolbrecht (@kirklandgov) was used and pressured by the Gov’s media team, I want to apologize to him for the call out. He was just doing his job. I hope other media handlers never allow this to happen in their City Halls. #Kirkland

We’ve Got History

@BrandiKruse took an incredible deep dive into how some elected officials in WA are trying to ice me out of press briefings and essentially control the narrative. Read below:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/youre-not-what-78054201

Common Denominator

Back in September, I confronted King County Executive Dow Constantine (@kcexec) over community concerns about his HOMELESS MEGAPLEX. His media handlers tried to block me but I chased him down. Things haven’t been the same between us.

Voice of the People

All I do is simply ask questions the community wants answered. At the height of the #Chinatown-ID battle, Dow Constantine refused to negotiate with the residents and was trying to RAM through his HOMELESS MEGAPLEX. #Seattle