Yesterday the Senate narrowly passed a bill (25-24) that would end the obvious conflict of interest with the governor negotiating state worker contracts with the state unions who contribute to his campaign.

Currently, state employee unions negotiate contracts directly with the governor, instead of going through the normal legislative process.  The contract negotiations, conducted in secret, set the wages, hours, benefits and other conditions of employment for union-represented state workers.  While union executives are negotiating behind closed doors with the governor for the wages and benefits of the state workers they represent, they are free to make contributions to the political campaign of the same governor.  And they often do.

SB 5533 would prohibit political contributions to candidates for governor from labor unions that collectively bargain with the state.  The bill proposes a simple solution to a real problem. 

The problem is that whether the governor is actually negotiating in the best interests of the public after receiving campaign contributions from state worker unions is unknowable and irrelevant.  The perception of a quid pro quo is sufficient to cast doubt and suspicion on the whole process and to tarnish the reputation of the Office of the Governor.

Precisely because of such concerns over the possibility and perception of an inappropriate quid pro quo, under current Washington state law, insurance companies that do business in the state are prohibited from making political contributions to candidates running for the Office of Insurance Commissioner. 

The purpose of this restriction is to ensure insurance companies do not exert undue financial influence on, or extract favors from, the state Insurance Commissioner as a result of political contributions.  The absence of any perception of a conflict of interest benefits the public, the insurance industry and the reputation of the Office of Insurance Commissioner.

Similar protections against a conflict of interest in the governor’s negotiations with state employee unions would restore the public’s faith in the process, and end the possibility that state employee unions could be rewarded for their political support for a governor.  SB 5533 would restore public confidence in the election system, the negotiating process, and the governor’s office.