With most jobs, you have to give your boss an idea of where you are and what you are doing during the workday. Gov. Bob Ferguson, who works for the people of Washington state, has not been doing this consistently during his first seven months in office.
Ferguson has mostly abandoned the practice of sending out advisories, letting the press know where he will be and when. The rare calendar updates that do go out are typically incomplete and sometimes arrive after the fact.
Take, for example, the advisory his office sent for “the week of July 14-20.” It landed in our inboxes around 1 p.m. on Monday, July 14, and contained information about the governor’s schedule for one day: Monday, July 14, “Orcas Island Day.”
The governor was scheduled to attend four meetings and events on the island between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. By the time we received the advisory, start times for three of the four had passed.
Most weeks this summer, the press has received no calendar updates at all.
This was the case last week, when Ferguson attended the Washington State Labor Council convention in Vancouver. His office did not send notice that he’d be there. We learned from the Labor Council that he’d be making remarks on the main stage.
A schedule for the governor we later obtained through a public records request showed he also met with union officials representing machinists, Teamsters and electrical workers.
That schedule also included meetings last week with the Quileute and Quinault tribal councils. He posted on social media about attending the opening of a new Quinault Indian Nation building that received funding from the state’s Climate Commitment Act.
Why does this matter? Washingtonians pay Ferguson’s $218,744 a year salary. It’s not unreasonable to think they should have some window into what he’s doing during the week — the events he’s turning out for, who he’s meeting with. It’s a reflection of his priorities.
The handful of public appearances Ferguson has given notice about since the legislative session, and its subsequent flurry of bill signings, wrapped up have often focused on criticizing the president or congressional Republicans.
We’ve covered these events. But the governor’s responsibilities extend beyond reacting to federal policy.
Even the basics of his whereabouts are often a mystery. Is he working at his office at the Capitol in Olympia, or spending most of his time in Seattle? Has he traveled out of state, leaving the lieutenant governor in charge for a day or two? Much of the time, it’s difficult to know.
This is why, going forward, we’ll include a new section in our Saturday newsletter, called “Where’s the governor?” Our goal is to recap some of what we do know each week about what Ferguson has been up to. (You can subscribe to our newsletter here.)
If Ferguson resumes sending out weekly calendars and more frequent advisories about where he will be and when, we’ll distill highlights. If his lack of transparency continues, we’ll keep doing our best to piece together how he’s spending his time.
Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com.