Dear Gov. Inslee:

I hope you don’t take this too personally because you come across like you could be a nice guy. I even voted for you the first time you ran for governor. I have a relative in Eastern Washington that convinced me we needed an Eastern Washington boy to straighten this state out. Boy, has he been eating crow every time I see him.

It is beyond my comprehension that you actually believe the taxpayers of this state should have to pay the additional $1.5 million that is required for your security because you are running for president, or the additional $288 per day that is paid to the lieutenant governor every day you are out of the state traipsing around the country. I see no reason your campaign shouldn’t be reimbursing the state for those costs.

You were elected to govern the state of Washington. If you aren’t happy with the job you have, quit and then travel around trying to earn another job. My guess is that you know you don’t have a chance to be elected president, but are jumping at the opportunity to convince any successful candidate that you are the next Al Gore and would make a great addition to their cabinet. The problem is, we taxpayers can’t afford that.

In case you haven’t heard, there is a lot going on in Olympia right now. We taxpayers are being asked to pay more in taxes, even when the state revenues are through the roof because of this great economy. I think you could do more to convince us taxpayers that you really give a damned about us by repaying all of the costs associated with your run for the presidency from your campaign funds.

— Ed Palmer