TUMWATER [JERRY CORNFIELD]—Washington Governor Bob Ferguson likely violated state ethics laws by allowing his former top adviser, Mike Webb, to travel with him on a state plane to the Tri-Cities last summer, the state Executive Ethics Board ruled Friday, January 9, 2026 (Case No. 2025-061).
In a unanimous vote, the board concluded there was “reasonable cause” to believe Ferguson ran afoul of Washington’s ethics laws by using state resources for the private benefit of a non-state employee.
Ferguson provided “a special privilege” to Webb by allowing him to travel on the Washington State Patrol aircraft, wrote agency executive director Kate Reynolds in her recommendation to the board.
Under the statute, the board will hold a hearing at which the governor can contest the charges either in person or through written testimony. The board will then decide whether a violation occurred and a penalty or other enforcement action is required.
A spokesperson for the governor did not immediately respond for comment.
Ferguson told the ethics board investigators last year that use of state resources was “de minimis in nature” and not for private gain, and he asked for the matter to be dismissed.
The Executive Ethics Board received a complaint July 30, 2025 alleging that the governor violated provisions of the Ethics in Public Service Act by letting Webb travel with him to the Tri-Cities. The June 26 trip, which included official business and a political fundraiser, was first reported by Axios.
Webb, Ferguson’s longtime friend and closest political confidant, served as the governor’s chief strategy officer until resigning in March amid complaints that he fomented a hostile workplace.
In a staff meeting in mid-July, Ferguson addressed the trip, apologized and called his decision to let Webb fly on the plane “pretty stupid.”
In a written response, Ferguson also told the board’s investigators that, “Allowing an individual to travel as a guest neither interfered with official duties nor provided that individual with any improper advantage derived from state office.”
“The flight in question was not at capacity,” Ferguson wrote. “The individual’s presence did not displace any state employee. It did not create additional cost in terms of fuel, staffing, or time. The state incurred no financial burden or misuse of taxpayer resources.”
Webb told The Seattle Times last year he sat on a seat over the plane’s toilet.
The travel “imposed no cost, no operational burden, and no impact on state functions,” he added. “Incidental or negligible use that does not result in added expense or harm to the public interest does not rise to the level of an ethics violation.”
The Washington State Patrol told investigators that aircraft costs are calculated on a per-flight-hour basis. If multiple agencies are using the plane, the tab is divided evenly by the number of passengers, and each passenger, or their agency, is billed for their share.
For the June 26 trip, the aircraft was only used by the governor’s office, so the aircraft cost was billed per flight hour. The report did not list the actual charge.
SOURCE: This article was authored by Jerry Cornfield of the Washington State Standard part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. The Lynnwood Times added images.
Author: Washington State Standard
