The axiom that just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you should is applicable to the case of state Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale. Trying to do two jobs at once simply means that you do neither as well as they need to be done; when we are talking about government positions it means you are not effectively serving the public.
For the good of the state, Ericksen should choose one job and stick with it.
Ericksen serves as chairman of the Senate Energy, Environment & Telecommunications Committee when he is Olympia — and therein lies the problem. He has not been in Olympia much this session while simultaneously acting as temporary press secretary for the Environmental Protection Agency’s transition team in Washington, D.C.
As a supporter of Donald Trump from early in the campaign, Ericksen is reaping the spoils that go to the winners. There is nothing wrong with that; he has been tapped by Trump due to his loyalty to the candidate who won the presidency. So was state Sen. Brian Dansel, R-Republic, who has been selected as a special assistant to the secretary of agriculture. But whereas Dansel saw fit to quickly resign from the state Senate — that position has been filled — Ericksen insists that he can handle both jobs.
“We’re getting the work done,” he said Thursday during a press conference. Yet as of Tuesday, according to the Bellingham Herald, Ericksen had missed at least 75 percent of the committee meetings he had been scheduled to attend this legislative session. Committee meetings give the public its most direct contact with lawmakers on matters of importance, allowing for testimony that is essential for ensuring that the voice of the people is heard.
Meanwhile, when Ericksen is out of Olympia, the Senate is made up of 24 Democrats and 24 members who caucus with Republicans. The deadlock has forced senators to work around Ericksen’s schedule rather than worrying about how best to serve the people of Washington. Because of that, Ericksen’s absences are of concern to all of the state’s residents rather than being limited to his constituents in the northwest corner of the state.
Ericksen, who in the past has been shown to accept more largesse from lobbyists than any other legislator, has said he will continue to receive his full salary as a senator but will not collect the allowable $120 per diem. He added that he does not know how much he will be paid for being on the Trump transition team, and that he consulted with ethics experts before determining that holding both jobs is allowable because his federal position is temporary.
But again, just because something is allowable that doesn’t mean it is the right thing to do. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, who did not seek re-election to the state Senate last year and now also has joined the Trump transition team, served for a time as both a senator and as Clark County’s director of environmental services, double-dipping from the public trough. In trying to perform both jobs at once, Benton was inadequately able to serve the public in either capacity.
Ericksen should learn from that and act in the best interests of the people. While politicians frequently say they are working for the public, they all too often fail to act in a manner that lives up to that mantra. Ericksen has an opportunity to do so, and he should do so quickly. The business of the Senate deserves the full attention of the person who sits in that seat.
