"Bellevue, WA... A news story from this week told of a plumbing company that sends convicted child rapists, molesters, and burglars into unsuspecting customers' homes to do work. The story also revealed that the state is an accomplice in this unnerving business practice; all of these felons are licensed by the State of Washington.

Yep, you got it--the same Gregoire Administration that releases more than 3,000 felons early from jail every year doesn't check before it hands out licenses for convicted felons to work in private homes. In other words, on a daily basis people unknowingly hire violent criminals to work in their homes because, after all, they're state certified professionals.

Other states like Texas conduct criminal background checks before issuing licenses to contractors and employees who do work in homes. They also have the power to deny or revoke licenses in Texas. Licensing officials from that state estimate that 20 percent of applicants have felony records. Washington, on the other hand, does not do any screening before handing out licenses.

Wondering how many licensees really are felons? King 5 News reported almost a third of the company's employees it checked had felony records of manslaughter, child rape and molestation, child luring, forgery, theft and drugs. The story focused on one such employee who served jail time for his involvement in a notorious killing. A recent customer who was interviewed had no idea of the man's background. They had kicked the man out of their home for angrily screaming at them after they had questioned his work.

Checking the criminal backgrounds before authorizing people to work in homes is a good business practice. But good business practices and public safety don't appear to be Christine Gregoire's strong suit. When Gov. Gregoire's shoddy practices like this stack up with placing sex offenders under bridges and releasing felons early from prison, a pattern of the governor's willingness to put citizens at risk quickly emerges. Gov. Gregoire has the power to change these practices, but so far she hasn't.

The risks are much too great to keep licensing violent felons, governor, and that's why we're giving you an "F"."