Thank you

Posted

Gov. Jay Inslee’s office was inundated with calls and emails last week after newspapers around the state, including the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader, called upon him to veto Senate Bill 6617, which would have allowed state legislators to exempt many of their communications from the state Open Public Records Act.

Inslee did veto that wrongheaded piece of legislation last Thursday within a few hours of a deadline to do so.

So, our thanks to Inslee for doing the right thing.

And thanks also to the thousands of citizens, many of whom live in Jefferson County, who called or wrote Inslee to share their concerns about lawmakers trying to exclude themselves from complying with a law that the people of the state voted for decades ago.

Inslee went a little further than one might have expected. He brokered a deal between the media and lawmakers.

Lawmakers agreed to stand down, according to The Seattle Times, and not override the governor’s veto. There’s a backroom deal related to a separate lawsuit filed by newspapers over the Legislature. See how this came about on page A13 of this edition.

It’s likely you haven’t heard the last of this story yet.

Why?

Of the six questions journalists are trained to ask about any subject or event – who, what, when, where, why and how – it’s the “why” question that usually is the most difficult for anyone to answer.

Why did legislators want to exempt themselves from the law in the first place? Do they have something to hide? If so, what?

So, thank you, Gov. Inslee. And thank you, all the Joe and Jane Publics who called and wrote.

Laws made by the people should not be undone by public officials elected to serve the people.

– Allison Arthur