OLYMPIA, Wash. — Unlike the other top fundraising candidates for Washington governor, Republican Semi Bird does not have a long history of serving in elected office.
Voters recalled him from the one public office he held, a Richland School Board position, in 2023.
But Bird, who received the Washington State Republican Party endorsement for governor last month, noted that he’s served his country for most of his life.
This, he said, is what made him ready to serve the state of Washington.
Bird dropped out of high school and joined the Marines when he was 17. He later joined the U.S. Army and received a Purple Heart and Bronze Medal for his combat service in Iraq.
If elected, Bird said on his first day in office, he would order independent audits of all state agencies.
”To find out and take accountability for how we spend our money. How are all of our programs and offices performing? Are we getting the best bang of our taxpayer dollar? I assert that we're not,” said Bird.
He said the state would no longer be considered a sanctuary state.
Bird said he would end the state’s support of undocumented residents.
”It's the stress on our economy. It's the stress on our systems, that costs us a lot of money, and I have compassion, but should we not put our own citizens who are struggling, first?” said Bird.
He wants to declare an emergency on homelessness in the state and activate the Washington National Guard to establish field hospitals in rural areas to offer housing and counseling to those without homes.
“Let's bring those resources, to bring those infrastructure and services to our own family members who are dying slowly in the streets and the misery of addiction, to where they cannot make those decisions for themselves, and give them an opportunity,” said Bird.
Bird served as a Richland School Board member before voters recalled him in 2023.
In 2021, he voted to make COVID-19 masks optional in schools for students and staff. He said he does not regret that move.
“Because children were dying. We had the highest suicide rate. Giving parents the option to be parents in light of a mandate versus a law," said Bird. “I took a stand to preserve the lives of our children.”
Bird does have a criminal history.
In 1993, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor bank larceny charge after he used his father’s personal information to apply for a credit application.
He hopes voters won’t hold something that happened 31 years against him.
“People make mistakes, we're imperfect. I myself as governor, I'm not going to do that to people. Because we have people that have fallen, and I wouldn't be there to lift them up,” said Bird.
Bird said he will vote for Donald Trump for president in the November general election.
“I don't agree with President Trump's leadership style. I don't agree with President Trump's communication style, but I'm voting for him because he is the better candidate to get the job done,” said Bird.
While Bird said he is pro-life, he said he would not sign a statewide ban on the procedure without voter approval.