Spin Control: Inslee takes dig at Eyman while signing bill to end advisory votes

OLYMPIA – Washington did away with nonbinding tax advisory votes last week when Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation that ended the legal requirement started by a 2008 initiative.

But Inslee couldn’t resist having a little private fun at the expense of initiative sponsor Tim Eyman, since it’s safe to say there’s not a lot of mutual admiration between them.

For bill signings, Inslee typically sits in a high-back padded chair with George Washington looking out from the state seal embossed on the leather. When it was time to bring supporters in for the bill that replaced advisory votes with a year-round website that will explain where the money comes from and where it goes, the governor stood up.

After everyone had gathered around for the ceremony, Inslee sat down.

“We have a chair available,” he said. “A nice, well-padded chair.”

Without mentioning Eyman by name, it was clearly a dig at the self-styled tax fighter who took a wheeled office chair from the Office Depot in Lacey, Washington, without paying for it.

Eyman critics, of whom there are many, made much of the alleged chair theft.

He later said it was a misunderstanding because he went back into the store and bought two printers but was distracted at the register when he went to pay. He said he didn’t realize the chair wasn’t included in the bill.

He was charged with a misdemeanor that was later settled after he returned to the store and paid for the chair.

“Life’s too short not to have fun,” Inslee said when asking the crowd to smile for the official signing photo. When someone in the crowd noted his chair didn’t have wheels, Inslee quipped “That’s why it’s still here.”

Voices outside the room

Bill signing ceremonies are open to a bill’s sponsors, legislative supporters and sometimes people who testified or lobbied in favor of the legislation. But not the general public or protesters.

But a group of Inslee critics who demonstrate regularly on the Capitol Campus, both inside and outside the domed Legislative Building, did manage to make itself heard through the oak doors and marble walls on Thursday.

The group opposes gun control, abortion rights and vaccine mandates. So it’s not surprising members carry signs with a picture of the governor, who is on the opposite side of those issues, that say “Time to Resign”.

Inslee shows no inclination to heed their advice.

Check it out

Legislative Democrats and Republicans disagree on many things. Last week, we added to the list check marks on their Twitter accounts.

As Elon Musk now requires paying $8 per month for a check mark that signifies verification that the name on the account is who or what it claims to be, the account for the Washington State House Republicans and the Washington Senate Republicans paid up. They still have their check marks.

The accounts for the Washington Senate Democratic Caucus and the Washington House Democrats said “no dice.” Their check marks disappeared.

Tweeting continues apace on all four. It’s unclear if anyone outside the hallways of the Legislative Building noticed.

It’s also possible that anyone did notice would have been unfazed, recalling from “The Untouchables.” When Sean Connery as Officer Jim Malone questions Kevin Costner, as Elliot Ness, about the gun under his coat, Costner says he’s a Treasury agent.

He offers to show Connery his ID. No need, Connery says: “Who would claim to be that who was not?”