Lt. Gov. Owen disappointed with his win yesterday
Lt. Gov. Brad Owen won a unanimous decision yesterday in Brown v. Owen (No. 81287-0), but you wouldn't know it from his comments. As lieutenant governor, Owen presides over the Senate. During the 2008 session, Sen. Lisa Brown asked Owen to declare as unconstitutional the requirement that tax increases pass with a two-thirds vote. Owen professed agreement with Brown, but refused to to make a constitutional ruling. Brown then sued Owen to force passage of the bill.
Asked yesterday about the ruling, Lt. Gov. Owen had sharp words about the Supreme Court's decision to avoid the constitutional question. "I didn’t agree with them," he said. "I think it was an issue they should have ruled on. … I felt it was something that needed to have a finer interpretation, rather than punting. I thought Brown made a good point. That’s why we needed an interpretation."
The Olympian's Brad Shannon has the story here. Joe Turner at the TNT thinks legislative Democrats breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Reading Owen's comments it is apparent this was intended to be a "friendly" lawsuit with a preordained conclusion. I suspect Owen regrets his decision and, now, with the court having ruled has to live with it.