Lawmakers can dress down for Super Bowl

OLYMPIA – The Washington Legislature’s fashion police will relax the usual strict dress code to allow lawmakers to go nuts over the Super Bowl-contending Seattle Seahawks.

Lt. Gov. Brad Owen and House Speaker Pro Tem John Lovick, presiding officers of the Senate and House, respectively, usually are sticklers for decorum and businesslike attire.

But on Friday, they said they’ll bend their rules next week to allow members to wear caps, jerseys and other regalia with their nice clothes.

“We will allow regalia,” said Lovick, a Mill Creek Democrat who played high school football in Louisiana, noting this could be described as a once in a lifetime event.

Too wild and crazy?

“I still want to see a coat and tie on the guys, even if they’re wearing jerseys,” Lovick said.

Owen told the Senate, “Blue and green fan attire, worn in the true spirit of the ‘12th man,’ will be perfectly acceptable attire next week and the Monday after the Seahawks victory over the Steelers of Pittsburgh.

“Recent tests have determined that the wearing of any combination of the colors yellow, white or black, particularly in conjunction with the words Pittsburgh or Steelers, may cause the wearer to become invisible from this rostrum.”

Gov. Chris Gregoire has been wearing a “12th Man” lapel pin ever since the Seahawks won the NFC championship last Sunday, earning the club’s first trip to the Super Bowl, set for Feb. 5 in Detroit. The 12th man reference refers to team fans.

Gregoire spokeswoman Holly Armstrong said the governor and staff were still making their Seahawks’ plans. Team regalia will be widely evident throughout government offices, she said. The ground rules are up to each agency director.

Gregoire, her husband Mike and daughters Courtney and Michelle will travel to the game next Saturday. They plan to stay in a Lansing hotel, about 90 minutes from the Detroit stadium, and will spend some time with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and her husband.

The Granholms and Gregoires are old friends from the days when the two governors served as attorneys general.