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NEWS ADVISORY September 13, 2004 EFF files ethics complaint against Governor
Locke OLYMPIA – The Evergreen Freedom Foundation filed an ethics complaint against Governor Gary Locke last Friday for his role in soliciting contributions from businesses with state contracts for July's National Governors Association (NGA) meeting in Seattle. The Ethics Board previously warned Governor Locke in a February 2003 staff analysis not to directly solicit contributions from business and to entirely avoid any soliciting of companies with state contracts. As reported by the News Tribune (Tacoma), Governor Locke ignored the Ethics Board's warning. Eighteen companies, holding 155 state contracts worth about $206 million, contributed at least $720,000 to the NGA meeting. Since it is unclear which of these companies Governor Locke directly called for solicitations, EFF has requested the Ethics Board to fully investigate the governor's actions. Additional Information Contact: Jason Mercier | Budget Research Analyst | 360.956.3482
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1 Part Honesty; 2 Parts Arrogance At a March 23, 2005, House Appropriations hearing on a bill to gut the voter-approved I-601 spending limit, Rep. Jim McIntire (D) asked a supporter of I-601’s two-third supermajority requirement for the legislature to raise taxes the following question: "Can you name a time when we [legislators] have actually not just set it [supermajority requirement] aside by majority vote? I mean, this is in many respects a procedural motion that has no bearing. It’s a statutory constraint that cannot constrain any legislature that chooses as a majority to set it aside . . . have we ever used a supermajority [to raise taxes]?" - Rep. Jim McIntire (D - 46) Despite the arrogance of some state officials, Washington's constitution is clear: "All political power is inherent in the people..." |
