(The Center Square) – A month after the attorney for a former Washington State Department of Transportation employee filed a whistleblower complaint, a public records request from the plaintiff’s attorney involving several state agencies has yet to yield any response.
“We’ve had some contact with WSDOT representatives [investigator] and we’re still waiting for any further response to our public records requests with the Office of Financial Management and the Governor’s Office,” said attorney Jackson Maynard, who is representing former WSDOT economist Scott Smith.
Maynard confirmed that an investigator assigned to the claim did request an interview with Smith about the allegations, but that interview has yet to happen.
“I have been contacted by other state agency employees with similar concerns about pressure to cover things up,” Maynard said.
Smith claims he was retaliated against and eventually pushed out of his job for telling the truth about the state’s hotly contested cap-and-trade program that went into effect at the beginning of 2023.
As previously reported by The Center Square, Smith claims state workers pressured him to keep to himself or lie about his calculations that cap-and-trade carbon auctions would raise gas prices by 40-to-50 cents per gallon.
In the meantime, some state lawmakers are looking ahead to the legislative session that starts next Monday and how they can ensure transparency and accountability for taxpayers when it comes to inflated gas prices...
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