Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, today made this statement clarifying his role as Senate Transportation Committee chair and the Senate’s decision Friday to reject the appointment of state transportation secretary Lynn Peterson:

“Today the governor claimed the rejection of former-Secretary Peterson came as a great shock to him. He must be the only person in Washington who was surprised. Over the past three years, stories of botched DOT projects and relentless mismanagement has provided fodder for every form of social media, as well as newspapers and nightly newscasts across the state. For my own part, I sent multiple letters to the former transportation secretary since 2013 expressing my concerns and lack of confidence over a number of issues. I think the biggest surprise to drivers in this state is that it took this long for a change to be made.

“When the members of the Senate Transportation Committee voted to move the confirmation of the former transportation secretary into the Rules Committee over a year ago, they were not voting ‘for’ or ‘against’ the agency head, they were voting to move the nomination forward. That is how the confirmation process works, and the governor knows it – or should. To characterize the words I said during the public hearing in committee as an affirmation of her work is disingenuous. Thanking Ms. Peterson for making her staff available to legislators is hardly a ringing endorsement.

“In 2015 it was the Legislature which determined the scope, budget and project list for the largest transportation revenue package in state history. The role of DOT and the former transportation secretary was to implement the package. To suggest that our approval of the package itself constitutes an endorsement of Ms. Peterson is also inaccurate.

“Agency directors should be well aware that they are ultimately responsible when there are problems within their agency. Pointing fingers at contractors is just blame-shifting. The Senate confirms or rejects people appointed by the governor, not contractors hired by those people. We are also not the human-resources department for the executive branch – meaning our job is not to coach agency heads or manage them. That is the job of the governor. When he fails to do his job, then we are forced to do ours.”