The 2016 legislative session was supposed to end this week. It will probably go on for a few more days.

When it finally adjourns it will be remembered as one of the most political sessions in many years. With all statewide offices, including Gov. Jay Inslee, up for election and control of the legislature hanging in the balance, both parties wanted to score points and get home to campaign and raise money.

The session was dominated by two major political controversies.

The first, the Department of Corrections’ error with the early release of several hundred prisoners, was the top story coming into the session. It stayed that way. While the error started several years before Inslee’s election, it remained below the radar until last fall. Once Inslee learned of the situation, he moved quickly to fix the problem. He initiated an investigation to determine accountability and to implement steps to avoid a repeat. But the Republican-controlled state Senate, seeing potential political gain, wanted to keep the bright lights on the issue and held hearings. They followed with their own investigation to attract additional media and voter attention. They think Inslee is vulnerable.

Acting corrections Secretary Dan Pacholke angrily questioned Republican motives in scheduling the hearings and resigned. He wasn’t the last casualty. The corrections issue is a political problem for Inslee, and the governor needed to demonstrate that he was in charge of the situation. With a short session and as the incumbent, Inslee was able to control the timing and the announcements of the investigations results, along with several personnel changes.

Dan Morgan was appointed to replace Pacholke as the DOC’s new secretary. He is very knowledgeable about the department, having retired a few years ago.

Other resignations within the Department of Corrections, in addition to Pacholke’s, were the former chief information officer, a former assistant secretary, along with a former assistant attorney general. The DOC’s risk manager and business manager were demoted, and two other employees received letters of reprimand. The staff changes were not a surprise, as two of the released prisoners committed major crimes when they should have still been in jail. But everything is compounded by it being an election year. There simply had to be an accountability level that resulted in people losing their jobs. It wouldn’t have mattered how many people Inslee asked to resign, his opposition would have wanted more.

Predictably, Senate Republicans wanting to keep the pressure and called the punishments superficial. The entire episode was a tragedy that affected many lives; the politics just made it worse.

The second controversy came with the Republican-controlled state Senate’s refusal to confirm Lynn Peterson as secretary of transportation, despite her having been in the job for three years. The intent was to use transportation and corrections departments, along with the vacant Secretary of Department of Social and Health Services position, as a way to attack Inslee’s management record. Peterson was simply a political chip to be played.

When significant power goes to the winner, politics played Olympia-style can be harsh and unforgiving. We haven’t heard the last of either of these controversies; they will be debated all summer. The big question is, how will the electorate view the controversies and the behavior when it votes this fall? Has Inslee managed state government well, or can the Republicans make the case for a change?

Federal Way resident Bob Roegner is a former mayor of Auburn: bjroegner@comcast.net