Gov. Gary Locke is packing to leave office on Jan. 12. That’s 39 days from now if you’re counting. He certainly is.
At a news conference on Tuesday, you could hear in his voice and see in his demeanor that he’s cutting through the last physical and emotional strands tying him to the state’s highest office these past eight years.
His presentation on Washington’s fiscal future was drab; his responses to questions were snippy. The perceptible level of his disinterest neared flood stage.
He didn’t directly say no when asked whether he would stay on the job a bit longer should the ballot counting battle to pick his replacement continue.
He most definitely didn’t say yes.
“I’m expected to leave office that Wednesday. It’s time to move on,” he said, adding that he and his family are moving to Seattle and he’ll commute to Olympia the final days. “We’re ready to move on.”
He’s even obtained legal advice to ensure that he leaves on time. Though the state constitution reads that a governor holds office “until his successor is elected and qualified,” Secretary of State Sam Reed isn’t pressing the matter. He’s got bigger problems to deal with right now.
Locke has steered the state with a steady grip, and he made the philosophical center lane of politics his home. His record is not as spectacular as his friends contend, nor as horrid as his foes insist.
Folks will remember his trips abroad and POG, his shorthand for “priorities of government.” He hopes they’ll remember his fight for children’s health care and improving education.
On that last point, allies will tell you that he could have done more had he thumped the bully pulpit louder. They talk of how when the economy tanked and pouty Boeing execs moved to Chicago, Locke raced down Boeing Boulevard to invest his stash of political capital on winning the 7E7. He won, but it left him too broke for his own education initiatives.
Never flashy, Locke seems to be peeling out the door with a bit of an attitude. It showed Tuesday on the subject of the gubernatorial election.
There have been two ballot counts, and Republican Dino Rossi has won both. He is the governor-elect, unless proven otherwise. But Locke doesn’t recognize Rossi as his replacement, and said he hasn’t called to congratulate him.
When asked if he was going to call, Locke first said he would meet with anyone. When pressed, he said if Rossi wanted to hear from him, Rossi had his number.
Locke endorsed Democrat Christine Gregoire and supports the third recount, but hadn’t chipped in a dime for the effort.
Would he contribute?
“I’ll have to think about that. It hadn’t crossed my mind.”
Why not? His eyes widened, and he snapped, “I don’t go around telling everything I might do privately.”
Thirty-nine days and counting.
Reporter Jerry Cornfield’s column on politics runs every Sunday. He can be heard at 7 a.m. Monday on the “Morning Show” on KSER (90.7 FM). He can be reached at 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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