We need more accountability, not less

We deserve better, even if we don't demand it. The latest findings from the Washington state auditor's office are unfortunately just a snapshot of an obscure yet growing problem in our state government, one that has only been made worse by large influxes of funding from the federal government and unprecedented economic growth in our state.

In a time of scarcity, when many of our neighbors have been left behind, not only is state government failing to provide necessary and promised services, but it is actively trying to shake off accountability to the people whose money it is spending. Many have seen the news that state auditors did their job uncovering lax and negligent bookkeeping. Now, it is time for the rest of government to do its job.

As someone with experience on various public and corporate boards and as your state senator charged with oversight functions, I'm appalled at revelations that government agencies have failed at one of the most basic duties – a fiduciary responsibility to the public. Unfortunately, it seems that state government will continue to do the same thing, virtue signaling and waiting for the constituents to forget. State agencies will continue to flaunt laws that we pass, do things that fly in the face of basic common sense and obfuscate the reasons why they cannot fix the problems.

The first week of the legislative session is behind us and it appears that Gov. Inslee will continue shifting the blame onto his political opponents. State agency heads say that they cannot do their job because of funding constraints, despite another surplus. The majority in the Legislature seems poised to put party politics ahead of accountability, even going so far as flaunting our state's public records laws, shutting the public out getting information they deserve.

Exposing corruption and holding the corrupt to account only happen if we understand the way corruption works and the systems that enable it. Auditors investigate and report. They do not enforce. That responsibility falls on law enforcement and executive powers. The state auditor's office found 62 different occurrences of issues related to improper controls.

The result is that the federal government may require Washington to refund COVID-19 relief funds. Most egregiously is the near-quarter billion dollars meant to help the most vulnerable with childcare that was doled out without knowing who received the help. Now, we are learning that state agencies will just simply refuse to participate in further audits. It is a case of the fox guarding the henhouse.

There needs to be reckoning about this persistent corruption problem. It is having a corrosive effect on our state, eroding the public trust and weakening our democracy. This subtle but large-scale aversion to accountability is hampering economic opportunity and exacerbating inequality, poverty, social division and the environmental crisis.

Our governor, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction and all of the state's executive leaders need to act now to maintain public trust! The Legislature cannot do it for them.