Brinnon Fire Chief Tim Manly, who has dedicated decades of his life and career to the fire service, joined John Curley on KIRO Newsradio this week to discuss why he is voting yes on I-645 to repeal Washington’s income tax. He says he feels betrayed after learning that the income tax law removed a protection that shielded first responders’ retirement benefits from taxes.
Key Quotes and Excerpts:
Why Speak Out Now?
Manly: “I’m getting close to retirement, so I pay attention to these kinds of things. As I saw this one unfolding, I examined it pretty closely and just made myself more educated on it.”
Asked by Curley whether he felt betrayed by Olympia, Manly said “Absolutely, absolutely.”
Addressing Critics Head On
Chief Manly addresses critics, like union boss April Sims who supports the removal of pension protections for public workers and says firefighters and teachers will never earn $1 million.
Manly: “They’re answering a question that was never asked, and that’s not the point. The point is they removed that protection.”
Why Remove a Lock That Has Protected Our Pensions for Decades?
Manly pointed directly to lawmakers who have discussed lowering the threshold as evidence of their intent, including Rep. Cindy Ryu, who has called for it to be lowered to households making $250,000 a year.
Manly: “Why remove a lock if you have no intentions of doing that? A lot of us have pension plans and our personal IRAs and so on. They’re going to touch it. It’s just a matter of time.”
Did Union Leadership Give Their Members Any Warning?
Chief Manly was also asked whether union leadership warned rank-and-file firefighters about the change. Manly said no, and that he learned of it from his fire district’s board chair.
Manly: “I do find it strange, and I’m saddened by it. … But either that, or they just didn’t know it was that well hidden.”
Union leadership has pushed for this tax from the start, strongly backing the bill and rallying for it in the lead up to November. Public-sector unions are the largest funders of the campaign to keep the tax, even though the bill stripped protections for their own members’ retirement checks. The No campaign has raised $13.1 million so far, largely from these unions.
Chief Manly’s story is one of many from teachers, firefighters, and other public workers across the state who feel Olympia broke its promise. Voting yes on Initiative 645 restores the retirement protections that lawmakers and union leaders willingly removed.