Boeing contract: State delivers 250 pages of additional details to EFF - Some key documents still missing

February 13, 2004

News release from Evergreen Freedom Foundation

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation has obtained 250 pages of additional details about the governor’s contract with Boeing. The documents were delivered at 5:30 p.m. last night, nearly a week after EFF filed a lawsuit against the Committee on Trade and Economic Development (CTED). Some key documents requested by EFF and referenced in the contract have still not been provided.

Governor Gary Locke and CTED Secretary Martha Choe have stated repeatedly during the last three weeks that all the details of the deal were already made public.

Foundation staff are in the process of reviewing the newly-released documents, and will not be prepared to comment on them until early next week. The documents will be available on the Foundation’s website by noon on Monday for legislators, media and citizens.

“The difficulty we’ve had obtaining information about this public contract is unacceptable,” said Bob Williams, president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.

The Attorney General’s own website has some key words about public records: “Citizens can control their government only if they can remain informed about the decisions their government officials are making.”

“Apparently those words don’t mean much to the governor and attorney general, who seem to think they can make selective judgments about when to abide by them,” said Williams. “They have certainly been less than forthright with information relating to the Boeing contract.”

Contact: Marsha Richards, Communications Director
(360) 956-3482 – office
(253) 370-2710 – cell