I find it so telling that congressman Jay Inslee is bringing out a former congressional colleague to help him raise money for his race for governor. Defeated Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland calls all Republicans “zealots” and “extremists” in a recent speech.

As someone who has fought for balanced budgets in Olympia and against Inslee on the campaign trail, it told me both how he plans to campaign and what his blueprint might be for governing our state if elected.

Just consider that under Strickland, Ohio lost 400,000 jobs, yet Inslee evidently sees him as a role model and believes someone so overwhelmingly negative is appropriate to bring out for the first big event of his campaign.

Apparently, Inslee doesn’t seem to think that the loss of 400,000 jobs in Ohio was in any way connected to Strickland’s policies. The fact he highlights the support of his mentor – Good “Ol Ted” as he called him in the event invitation – makes you wonder if he’s planning to bring the same failed economic policies to our state.

Strickland’s example is not one our state should follow, and Inslee should realize that.

Dan McDonald, former State Senator, 48th District