Our message to Gov. Inslee: Stay home from Paris
Update: Inslee did not end up going to Paris
Gov. Jay Inslee is stuck in a tough spot. The first-term governor is taking the legislature into its second special session today to reach a final decision on the state budget.
And judging from Inslee's comments during a TVW press conference in Olympia this week, he's starting to feel the pressure.
He is apparently feeling frustrated because he's put some of his priorities on the back burner, so to speak, and the job of agreeing on a budget isn't quite done. All the while, the voters are awaiting a decision.
As a compromise with Republicans, Inslee claims he hasn't pushed the Dream Act (allowing undocumented students to apply for state scholarship funds) and the Reproductive Parity Act (making insurance plans cover abortions if maternity care is provided). He's also set aside working on the gun show loophole pertaining to customer background checks at gun shows.
While we applaud the governor for putting his priorities aside, we do have one suggestion during this contentious time. We believe the governor should strongly consider not attending the Paris Air Show that starts Monday.
We can see how he would want to attend, considering there will be 13 other governors there, as well as the opportunity to sell more Boeing jets around the world. But with our state government possibly facing a reduction in state services (what he termed as a "government shutdown" if the budget isn't passed by July 1), we believe the governor's leadership and presence at home are needed.
He told reporters this week during a TVW broadcast he would have to evaluate the status of his trip before his plane took off to Paris. With so many unanswered questions about Washington's future, we think he needs to make that decision sooner.
During an industry event for newspaper publishers and editors in April, Inslee said he would ask legislators to do some tough things during the legislative session. Legislators apparently need some direction and guidance on how best to do what Inslee wants. It's best if Inslee leads in person in Olympia.
This week, Inslee said a major point of contention between Democrats and Republicans is how best to fund the court-mandated requirements of the McCleary decision, which claimed the state wasn't adequately funding basic education.
Inslee claims basic education can be fully funded by stopping tax breaks (which some view as increasing taxes) for businesses. Senators argued they proposed $1 billion to fund the McCleary decision, but don't want to halt the tax breaks to do so.
He's accusing the Senate's Republican majority of using children as a leverage to fulfill their "ideological wish list," which includes workers compensation reforms, and changing pay day lending laws.
To reach a solution, Inslee said lawmakers need to find a consensus and "they" (likely Republicans) need to be pitching in more.
We believe it's not time for shaming or blaming anyone. If the issue is truly about children's education, we would encourage Inslee, his staff and fellow Democrats to keep exploring solutions that build consensus.
- Editorial Board