Editorial: Pay up — and run on climate change — Gov. Inslee

By The Herald Editorial Board

It was inconvenient timing for a governor who wants to confront the inconvenient truth of climate change as a presidential candidate.

The Washington State Patrol, which is mandated to provide security for the governor, announced its plans Monday to nearly double the size of its security detail for Gov. Jay Inslee as he makes his way on the campaign trail for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. The addition of six troopers, a sergeant and a lieutenant — as well as overtime, lodging and travel expenses for the security detail — will add $4.2 million to the unit’s $2.6 million budget for the next two fiscal years.

Two days later, House Democrats released a two-year budget and tax plan that seeks to spend $52.6 billion and proposes a new tax and other tax increases that would bring in $1.4 billion in additional revenue.

Republicans in the Legislature, even before the release of the Democrats’ budget proposal, were quick to repeat their calls — which began when Inslee first announced his candidacy at the start of the month — that the governor reimburse taxpayers for the costs of security when he’s on the campaign trail.

“The easy way to solve all this is (for) the Inslee for President campaign to cut a check to the state treasurer,” said state Rep. Drew Stokesbary, R-Auburn.

Governors are entitled to the state patrol’s protection, regardless of whether it’s official or political business. And Inslee’s office has confirmed that Inslee and his campaign have declined to reimburse the state for those costs, outside of what is required by the Federal Election Commission’s rules for vehicle rentals or use of state vehicles for campaign purposes.

There’s no requirement, but there is precedent; then-Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, during the three months of his campaign for the Republican nomination in 2016, reimbursed his state for his security detail.

We think Inslee should reconsider; out of basic fairness to state taxpayers, but also out of hope that Inslee — as he announced from the start of his run — can make climate change a leading topic of debate not just among Democratic candidates but for the run of the presidential race.

Confronting climate change — reducing carbon emissions and addressing its impacts — is a discussion that has to happen. And it’s one that Inslee can help keep at the center of attention for an ever-growing field of Democrats who seem easily led into yes-or-no litmus tests on fringe issues, such as the size of the Supreme Court, slavery reparations or abolishing the Electoral College.

Presidential campaigns aren’t successfully run on single issues, but Inslee makes the case that the environment and climate change could be the exceptions to the rule, tweeting in late January: “Just spitballing here, but perhaps saving people and the planet from climate catastrophe, and creating millions of jobs doing it, should be THE top issue. 2020 must be a referendum on climate action.”

Many of the other Democratic candidates have identified climate change as a top campaign issue, including Sens. Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillbrand, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, but Inslee’s attention to the issue is not the green flavor of the month for him.

Inslee has not been successful in getting the Legislature or the voters to accept a price on carbon emissions, but four years ago he had the state Department of Ecology place a cap on carbon, and several of his climate initiatives — including setting a goal for 100 percent carbon-fee electricity by 2045 and establishing a clean fuel standard — have gained traction in the Legislature this year and could become law.

Nor can Inslee be dismissed as a minor candidate with little hope of advancing. He’s attracted his share of serious campaign coverage, including profiles in the Washington Post and the New York Times. And while it’s true he’s yet to break past 1 percent in nationwide polls, the fact that he’s hit that mark among three such polls — CNN, the Des Moines Register and Fox News — currently qualifies him under Democratic National Committee rules for its candidates debates and makes him one of the 12 “major candidates,” as far as FiveThirtyEight.com is concerned.

Inslee also must consider the change in the state’s election schedule that the Legislature made when it moved up the presidential primary from late May to early March, just a week after Super Tuesday. With a better shot of remaining in the race when the state’s Democratic voters will make their picks, Inslee needs the primary election to be free of controversy over his use of taxpayer dollars for his campaign expenses. A poor showing in his home state could end any hope of advancing past March 10.

With 12 major Democratic candidates, competition for campaign donations will be as hard fought as that for support in straw votes, caucuses and primaries. So, $4.2 million is not a minor campaign expense for a presidential candidate.

But $4.2 million is also not a minor line item in the state budget where he and fellow Democrats have outlined significant but necessary increases in spending.

Pay up — and run — Gov Inslee.