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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

Inslee sending proxy to Paris Air Show

OLYMPIA -- With the state looking at the prospect of wandering off a fiscal cliff without a budget, Gov. Jay Inslee today canceled a planned trip to the Paris Air Show next week to helpboost Boeing and the rest of the state's aviation industry.

The biannual international air show was the anchor for  European trade missions in 2011 and 2005 by Inslee's predecessor, and then-Gov. Chris Gregoire sandwiched the last trip between stops in Spain and Germany.

But the trip is always eyed skeptically by critics, and with the Legislature entering its second special session without a budget that would give the state the authority to continue many programs and policies after June 30, Inslee said earlier in the week he might not make the final decision until just before the plane left for Paris.

"I think it would be important for the governor to be there," he said, adding that the governors from other states with prominient aviaition industries are expected to attend.

This morning, however, Inslee's office announced he was asking U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, a fellow Democrat and a member of the House Aviation subcommittee, to take his place in the 52-person delegation. 



Jim Camden
Jim Camden joined The Spokesman-Review in 1981 and retired in 2021. He is currently the political and state government correspondent covering Washington state.

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