Pubdate:  Fri, 19 Sep 1997
Source:  Tacoma News Tribune
Contact: Brad Owen: Charged with criticizing I685 

Oh, the gall of Brad Owen. Washington's lieutenant governor  who was
elected on an antidrug platform  has dared oppose an initiative he
believes would condone drug abuse.

Who does he think he is, anyway  a state leader?

Pardon the sarcasm. But the complaints about Owen's outspoken criticism of
Initiative 685 are rooted in one of the most perverse notions ever to
infect public life in this state: the idea that elected officials have no
business supporting or fighting nonpartisan ballot measures.

The Public Disclosure Commission, which is presently investigating Owen's
supposed offense, helped invent this insidious taboo. Four years ago, the
PDC fined Judith Billings  then the superintendent of public instruction 
because she had the temerity to use office equipment and staff assistance
to write an article critical of initiatives 601 and 602.

The commission claimed that Billings had violated a state law that
prohibits the use of public assets in political campaigns. But the statutes
in question were designed to prevent the diversion of state resources to
political parties and candidates  a partisan abuse that plagues Olympia
and local governments from time to time. It is foolish and probably
antidemocratic to extend the same prohibition to initiative campaigns. 

Ballot measures do not elect candidates; they enact policy. Billings and
other elected officials are supposed to voice opinions on public policy.
They are elected to be outspoken advocates, not passive bystanders.

If Owen is violating some PDC guideline by attacking I685, the problem
lies in the guideline, not the lieutenant governor. Owen was elected on a
promise to use his office as a bully pulpit against drugs, and he is
understandably alarmed by a ballot measure that proposes to relax criminal
sanctions against drug possession and summarily legalize the "medical" use
of marijuana, heroin and other controlled substances.

I685's proponents, who filed the complaints against Owen, would love to
muzzle the lieutenant governor. 

The PDC should not oblige them. This is essentially an attempt to silence a
formidable critic. It's part of Owen's job description to be engaged in the
shaping of state policy. He does so because of his office, not in spite of it.