Why is a Florida Realtor so invested in the political battles of Longview, Washington?
When people move across the country, they usually leave local politics behind. They find a new job, become involved in their new community, and gradually lose touch with the day-to-day issues of the place they left.
Bill Josh appears to be the exception.
Public records and Bill's own social media activity paint a clear picture of someone who has built a life in Florida. He holds an active Florida real estate license, works as a Realtor there, has discussed finding doctors in Central Florida because it's where he lives, and his wife has publicly acknowledged that they moved to Florida years ago. Friends regularly wish him happy birthday while referencing his life there. By every indication, Florida is home.
Despite that, Bill remains deeply immersed in the political battles of Longview and Cowlitz County, Washington.
His Facebook activity reads less like someone who moved away years ago and more like someone attending every city council meeting from the front row. He comments on local elections, criticizes candidates, weighs in on city issues, discusses school board controversies, hosts Facebook Live broadcasts about local disputes, and routinely inserts himself into political conversations taking place nearly 3,000 miles from where he now lives.
One local group, however, appears to attract more of his attention than any other.
Longview Resistance has become a recurring subject of Bill's posts. He has shared photographs of demonstrations, shared pictures of the person behind it, accused another person of being a co-creator (which is false), did a records search on the group owner and posted a big "gotcha" post on Cowlitz County News like he really did a thing...even though that incident had happened two months prior, criticized activities, accused Longview Resistance of violating election laws, referred to people who follow the page as communists, and devoted countless posts to discussing nearly everything single thing that the page does. Whether the issue involves chalk art, protests, campaign signs, or political messaging, Longview Resistance seems to occupy an extraordinary amount of his attention.
Disagreeing with a political group is one thing. Dedicating innumerous days of attention to documenting nearly everything they do while living across the country is something else entirely.
That raises an obvious question.
Why?
What motivates someone living in Florida to spend so much time attempting to influence political conversations in Longview?
This isn't a recent development, either. Years before relocating, Bill regularly attended Longview City Council meetings and publicly described himself as someone who had attended nearly every meeting for four years. He criticized candidates, questioned whether they were qualified for office, and frequently involved himself in local political debates. Moving to Florida didn't end that involvement. It simply shifted it online. He has been accused of being mixed up in the whole OPMA violation thing that the Longview City Council just went through and settled out of court on.
Another interesting contradiction emerges when looking at Bill's complaints about civility.
Facebook recently removed a Longview Resistance post directed at Bill after determining it violated the platform's bullying and harassment policies. Nobody should be subjected to personal attacks, and Facebook made its decision based on its own standards. At the same time, Bill has repeatedly published posts labeling political opponents as communists, accusing local activists of criminal conduct, singling out private citizens by name, doing in depth checks and naming their children and place of employment and encouraging discussions that often become increasingly hostile in the comments.
Criticism appears to be acceptable when it flows in one direction but unacceptable when it comes back the other way.
Taken individually, none of these posts would necessarily stand out. Viewed together, however, they reveal a consistent pattern. Bill lives in Florida. He works in Florida. His professional license is in Florida. His medical discussions revolve around Florida. His wife publicly says they live in Florida.
His political focus, however, remains firmly planted in Longview, Washington.
Nobody is suggesting Bill doesn't have the right to express his opinions. He absolutely does. Living in another state doesn't prevent anyone from following politics elsewhere.
The real mystery isn't whether Bill can involve himself in Longview politics.
It's why he continues to devote so much of his time to doing so. Is he still registered to vote in Washington?
Public records answer many questions about where people live and what they do for a living. Social media often answers the questions public records can't.
One question still remains unanswered.
Why are you so pressed about Democrats in Cowlitz County, Bill?
It seems like you can dish it out but you can't take it.
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