John Braun: Ferguson’s attempt to deny secrecy accusations sends up more red flags
Friday, August 16, 2024 4:31 pm
On top of Bob Ferguson’s known credibility problems, add these to the list: The Democratic candidate for governor clearly has trouble handling criticism, admitting when mistakes are made and figuring out how to do the right thing.
The attorney general recently began catching heat after failing to be as open as possible about three high-profile election-related cases.
The smart response would have been to acknowledge the lack of transparency, accept responsibility and vow to do better next time.
Instead, Ferguson went on social media to accuse critics of following “right-wing talking points,” trying to “create a fake conspiracy” and offering “wild, irresponsible theories.”
These disrespectful reactions stem from a little-publicized special conference conducted Aug. 9 by the state Supreme Court.
The court proceedings produced three rulings, all related to the four money-saving voter initiatives appearing on the November ballot.
The most significant ruling had the justices unanimously upholding a lower court's dismissal of a lawsuit aimed at invalidating Initiative 2117, to repeal the cap-and-tax law that has driven up gas and other energy prices; Initiative 2109, to repeal the capital-gains income tax that some Democrats already want to expand; and Initiative 2124, to end the mandatory payroll tax that funds a long-term care benefit for a certain group of Washingtonians.
Those seeking to scuttle the initiatives included some of our state’s wealthiest residents – Ferguson’s “billionaire friends,” in the words of one critic. While the suit named only Secretary of State Steve Hobbs as a defendant, it also made prominent mention of Let's Go Washington, which gathered many hundreds of thousands of voter signatures to qualify the initiatives.
Another ruling had the justices clearing the way for Ferguson and Hobbs to prepare “public investment impact disclosures” for I-2117, I-2109 and I-2124. It will be the first use of a 2022 law passed by Democrats and criticized by Republicans as the “warning label” law.
The third ruling denied a request for an injunction that would keep Initiative 2066 off the ballot. I-2066 is the measure to block the Democrats’ wrong-headed move toward banning natural gas in Washington.
The public heat Ferguson is taking has nothing to do with what happened inside the courtroom.
His office is responsible for defending state officials, like Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. All three rulings were in Hobbs’ favor, and the attorneys assigned to the cases performed admirably when it came to defending I-2117, I-2109 and I-2124.
Calling that case “a political fight dressed up as a legal one,” they successfully argued those who filed the suit were asking the justices to “needlessly disenfranchise Washington voters from the initiative process...” Unfortunately, Ferguson’s antics have distracted from that good work.
Let's Go Washington has rightfully questioned why Ferguson didn't recuse himself from the cases in the first place, considering his relationships with those behind the lawsuits.
That said, the larger issue – the reason Ferguson is being accused of keeping secrets – is that no one officially alerted Let's Go Washington or state Rep. Jim Walsh, who filed the three initiatives, that the justices’ special Aug. 9 conference would be happening.
It's easy to understand why they are unhappy about that. If you had put as much time and effort into a project as they have, and someone filed a lawsuit intended to derail your project, you would want to be kept in the official loop – especially when the lawsuit was going to be anywhere near a courtroom.
On top of that, the huge number of Washington voters who signed petitions in support of I-2117, I-2109 and I-2124 have an interest in knowing what's happening with those proposals.
The last thing many of these voters knew was that the initiatives were safely on their way to the ballot, after majority Democrats had refused to pass them while the Legislature was in session.
Because Let's Go Washington wasn’t notified soon enough about the Supreme Court's special conference, it couldn’t alert supporters about the highest-level effort yet to keep their voices from being heard.
The initial attempts at damage control by Ferguson's office included a staffer’s suggestion that responsibility for providing notice to interested parties more traditionally falls on those who file the lawsuits.
Maybe so. But even though Secretary Hobbs was the lone defendant, a quick email from Ferguson's office would have been all it took to notify Jim Walsh and Let's Go Washington ahead of Aug. 9.
Ferguson’s office repeatedly claimed it couldn’t possibly have been secretive about the special court conference because Supreme Court dockets are published. The implication is that anyone could have looked online and seen what was coming.
That may be technically accurate, but it’s completely unrealistic. State budget information is online as well, yet no lawmaker I know expects constituents to wade through all of it. Instead, we routinely call attention to items in the budget when we think they would be of interest to the people we serve.
Although Ferguson opposes the initiatives, he should been able to stop playing politics long enough to recognize a large segment of the public has an interest in their status. That includes when something as important as a Supreme Court proceeding is scheduled to take place.
Again, being transparent would have required nothing more than a simple email from his office to the people who deserved to know what was scheduled for Aug. 9.
Then Ferguson pivoted to an even weirder excuse: because staff members from the Republican and Democratic legislative caucuses had been briefed about the initiative-related lawsuits, Jim Walsh would have been aware as well.
This is beyond absurd, for reasons that should have been obvious to someone in Ferguson’s position.
To begin with, none of the three lawsuits involves the Legislature. Jim Walsh’s sponsorship of I-2117, I-2109 and I-2124 is independent of his position as a lawmaker.
If he had truly wanted to notify Jim Walsh directly about the Aug. 9 court conference, Ferguson could have easily found the appropriate phone number and email address with a few clicks on the secretary of state’s website.
The attorney general had absolutely no reason to presume information shared in a briefing for legislative staffers would somehow reach either Jim Walsh, as a private citizen, or Let’s Go Washington, as a private organization.
Besides, legislative staffers would be crossing an ethical line if they were to use state resources for a purpose unrelated to the Legislature. Considering the executive director and staff of the state’s executive ethics board work within the attorney general’s office, Ferguson should know better.
It isn’t a wild, irresponsible theory to conclude that Ferguson either doesn’t believe in the transparency he professes to support; can’t figure out how to communicate competently; is willing to bend ethics rules; or some combination of the above. Any of those is a major red flag about a candidate for governor.
Ferguson clearly doesn’t like the heat he’s getting, but this was self-inflicted.
If he had an email or other proof showing his office had directly notified Let's Go Washington and Jim Walsh that the initiatives were literally coming before the Supreme Court on Aug. 9, we would know it already.
The proof would be posted for all to see, instead of the smokescreen we’re getting about court dockets and legislative briefings.
One good thing did come out of the Aug. 9 court proceedings: The initiatives finally seem to have clear sailing to the ballot, where voters should absolutely approve each. Vote yes, pay less.
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Sen. John Braun of Centralia serves the 20th Legislative District, which spans parts of four counties from Yelm to Vancouver. He became Senate Republican leader in 2020.