Well they officially broke the law. Glad to see the highest coury get one right.
https://nwsportsmanmag.com/washington-supreme-court-rules-against-inslee-lorna-smith/Washington Supreme Court Rules Against Inslee, Lorna Smith
By Andy Walgamott October 17, 2024 HEADLINES 0 Comments
In a 5-4 decision, the Washington State Supreme Court upheld lower court rulings that a Fish and Wildlife Commission member couldn’t hold another appointive position at the same time, a victory for a national sportsmen’s organization which had sued over the matter.
LORNA SMITH. (WDFW)
“A win at any level is great, but a win at a state’s highest court should especially be celebrated,” said Michael Jean, litigation counsel at the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation in a press release out this afternoon. “The letter of the law here is clear, and despite the smoke and mirrors Gov. (Jay) Inslee and Commissioner (Lorna) Smith used to mask their disregard for the law, the Washington Supreme Court saw through it. We’ll keep this win in our pocket as we continue to defend hunters, anglers and trappers in courts across the country.”
Inslee appointed Smith to the citizen panel overseeing WDFW in January 2021, at which time Smith also served on the Jefferson County Planning Commission.
That was seemingly barred by state statute, which says Fish and Wildlife Commissioners “shall not hold another state, county, or municipal elective or appointive office.”
To test that, SAF sued in June 2023 and a superior court judge agreed with them about the meaning of the statute. However, the Attorney General’s Office appealed and, subsequently backed by the Governor’s Office, made oral arguments before the state Supreme Court last May.
Today, Washington’s highest legal body issued its ruling on the matter.
“Because the Jefferson County planning commissioner is a county appointive position of authority, duty, or responsibility conferred by a governmental authority to exercise a public function, RCW 77.04.040’s dual office ban applies. We hold RCW 77.04.040 prohibits Commissioner Smith from simultaneously serving as a WFW commissioner and a Jefferson County planning commissioner. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court,” wrote Associate Chief Justice Charles W. Johnson and Justices Sheryl Gordon McCloud, Barbara A. Madsen, Susan Owens and Debra L. Stephens in their majority opinion.
In dissent, Chief Justice Steven C. Gonzalez was joined by the other three justices.
“Lorna Smith’s volunteer service on the Jefferson County Planning Commission does not disqualify her from serving on the Fish and Wildlife Commission. The majority’s conclusion otherwise deprives the people of Jefferson County of a qualified volunteer planning commissioner, undermines our state senate’s confirmation vote, and will significantly diminish the pool of candidates available to our governor for future appointments across the state that are already hard to fill,” he wrote.
Smith resigned from the county planning commission in August 2023 and while she remains a thorn in SAF’s side on the Fish and Wildlife Commission, the organization was still pleased with the court’s decision
“The court has spoken, and it said what we knew was true all along: Lorna Smith broke the law by simultaneously holding two appointed positions,” said Dr. Todd Adkins, the organization’s senior vice president. “It’s unfortunate, but not at all surprising, that it took a state supreme court decision to force Washington’s animal-extremist ideologues to obey the law. ‘Rules for thee, but not for me’ has become the status-quo in Washington, but the Sportsmen’s Alliance won’t allow the state’s sportsmen and women to be bullied into oblivion by the Fish and Wildlife Commission – or anyone else – any longer.”
