Washington Camshaft Maker to Leave State After 47 Years Over Crime, Taxes

A Washington manufacturer is relocating out of state after nearly five decades, with its owner pointing to rising crime, taxes and a deteriorating political climate.

Jon Bodwell, whose family started Delta Camshaft in 1977, said costs in Washington have grown too high. He has taken to living inside the business.

"A majority of it is the constant battle with the city over the graffiti and the crime stuff here, the constant massive tax increase, everything is increasing," Bodwell told Fox News Digital in an interview Tuesday.

"The cost of power, the cost of insurance, everything is increasing by large increments. It's not like one or two percent, it's like, my insurance went up 20%," he added. "My power bill is going up. The claim is supposed to be going up another 13%. But just last month, it almost doubled."

Delta Camshaft makes and repairs camshafts, parts that regulate air and fuel intake and exhaust expulsion in engines.

The company's website states it "is not closing," but plans to relocate and keep serving customers for years.

"Because crime is running rampant, my insurance policy on the building is skyrocketed," Bodwell said. "You know, quite a substantial amount in the past three to five years. And then, officers that I do speak with about the graffiti stuff like that they'll say it takes longer for them to write the report than it does if they arrest the person." He added that "the criminals basically have more protective rights than I do as the building owner."

An FBI crime report for 2024, released in August, ranked Seattle fourth-worst for total crime among the 30 largest U.S. cities.

Bodwell said moving Delta Camshaft out of Washington could cost more than $100,000, but he expects to recover the expense after the relocation.

"A few years ago, I should have sold it, sold the building when people were buying and moving into the downtown Tacoma," he told Fox News Digital. "And now there's just a ton of buildings for sale in the market because everyone's leaving."

Bodwell and Delta Camshaft are not alone. A recent Association of Washington Business survey, reported by The Center Square, found 44% of business leaders considering moving their personal residence out of state. Businesses said they are now more than twice as likely to expand outside Washington than inside it.

In March, Washington Democrats passed a "millionaires tax," which Gov. Bob Ferguson signed on March 30. The measure marks the state's first income tax; progressives backed it while conservatives opposed it.

If younger, Bodwell said, he would run for office to change course.