Herrera Beutler vs. Leavitt: round 6,724

We get it. Our freshman Congresswoman and our freshman mayor aren’t exactly bffs.

Examples of them prodding each other over the Columbia River Crossing are myriad. (Here is an example or two, in case you want to go through it again).

In fact, I am scared to post this blog, lest it start another round of letter writing that I will be compelled to report on.

But here goes:

When Jaime Herrera Beutler visited The Columbian for an on-the-record meeting with the editorial board, myself and new state reporter Stevie Mathieu sat in.

Of course, Tim Leavitt came up. Editor Lou Brancaccio isn’t going to let that one go without seeing if he could get a good quote out of her.

“What do you think of Leavitt’s double talk?” Brancaccio asked Herrera Beutler, referencing what many viewed as a flip-flop of Leavitt’s stance on tolling after he got elected.

“Politicians in general have such credibility problems,” Herrera Beutler remarked. To say one thing and then do another — “I think it’s unconscionable.”

She added that it’s OK to change one’s mind after learning new things, but she said going back on one’s word is entirely different.

“The only thing you’re going to have is your word,” she said, shaking her head.

FYI: Leavitt maintains that he has always said he will “fight tolls,” and now that they appear inevitable, he’s looking for the best way to keep them fair for Clark County commuters.