Inslee says it’s been ‘an astounding 12 years’ as Washington governor

Jay Inslee knows the one place he won’t be going when he leaves office as Washington’s governor next month.

Idaho.

“I am not moving to Idaho. I do not have any property in Idaho. Some right-wing blogger started this rumor. It is objectively false,” he told reporters Thursday, adding he is staying on Bainbridge Island where he’s lived for years.

Inslee answered the question, which he said he gets asked most these days, during a wide-ranging conversation with reporters on the legacy of his long tenure as governor, the future of the Democratic Party and the advice he’d share with his successor.

The dialogue, conducted around a conference table in his private office, afforded the 73-year-old Seattlite an opportunity to frame how his unprecedented three-term run as the state’s chief executive will be painted in the future.

“If anyone thinks about my time in office — and I don’t think people will be focused on the Inslee administration 100 years from now — I hope people think he was able to raise the ambitions of Washingtonians to do even more than we thought we could do,” he said. “We’ve had an astounding 12 years.”

He ticked off accomplishments of which he’s proudest: enacting a suite of climate change laws, paid family leave, a public health option, and long term care insurance, as well as preserving access to abortion and toughening gun safety laws.

Abolishing the death penalty, passing a capital gains tax and opposing President Donald Trump’s travel ban on visitors from Muslim countries are a trio of controversial issues he said he willingly took on because he felt doing so reflected the values and desire of Washingtonians.

Above all, steering Washington through the COVID-19 pandemic was an unmatched challenge as he said he felt the responsibility of trying “to save the lives of 8 million people.”

“Our state came through because we pulled together, and I’m proud of the work we did,” he said.

Inslee said he had no decisions he regretted but recalled “there’s been tactical things that didn’t work out.”

Like in 2013 when he invited Ray LaHood, a Republican former congressman and then U.S. Secretary of Transportation, to Olympia to meet with GOP state lawmakers.

The point was to build legislative support for a transportation package and replacing the I-5 bridge over the Columbia River. They didn’t listen to LaHood and were “personally insulting” to him, Inslee said. The package never came together and the bridge project was abandoned.

Another time, in his first term, he vetoed 30 bills “because I thought I could make a statement” to lawmakers to end a stalemate on a budget bill. “That didn’t work out,” he said.

Asked if he could have done more on homelessness, which the public perceives to be worse than when he took office, Inslee acknowledged there’s frustration but described himself as “a champion” on the issue.

“I don’t think you can point to any other governor who has asked more and done more to address this problem,” he said.

When questions shifted to the recent presidential election. Inslee, who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2020, said the 2024 outcome was a “one-off.” He said the party was “caught in three tsunamis” of inflation, immigration and a late change in candidates that did not allow for the conduct of a full-on campaign.

“The Democratic Party is inherently sound because we represent the things that ultimately are going to help people economically. Paid family leave, child care, certainly a woman’s right of choice, building clean energy jobs. These are values that the majority of Americans hold. So I feel confident going forward.”

Use Washington as a model, he suggested. In November, Democrats gained seats in the Legislature, won all nine statewide offices, and voters defeated three conservative-backed initiatives that sought to unwind the state’s climate policies, repeal its capital gains tax and undercut a new long term care insurance program.

“I would say the 12 years of the Inslee administration has been a successful electoral effort,” he said, adding jokingly, “I’ll just describe it as the ‘Inslee Effect’ because I’m so humble about these victories.”

The former state lawmaker and congressman turned reflective when considering insights he’d share with his successor, Democrat Bob Ferguson, who will be sworn in Jan. 15.

“Enjoy every single day that you’re governor. It’s an honor beyond all description, because there’s no other position where you can do more for more people in a shorter period of time,” Inslee said. “You can set the hopes of your state higher than (it) might have and then you’ll see the state respond to it.”

It’s an unmatched feeling, he said, to see your visions and dreams be realized, such as advancing clean energy projects, strengthening gun safety laws, protecting access to abortion and investing in mental health.

“How often do you get to do that in life?” he said.

As for the future, Inslee intends to keep fighting climate change and working to build a clean energy economy. “I don’t have any special plans but it does not include retirement,” he said.

Or going to Idaho.

Jerry Cornfield joined the Standard after 20 years covering Olympia statehouse news for The Everett Herald.