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Considered too moderate to earn the nod from his own statewide Republican Party leadership, former sheriff and congressman Dave Reichert probably qualifies as the most electable GOP candidate in many years for the state’s top office. But he falls well short of the grasp of issues, state-government managerial experience and smart policy proposals demonstrated by his opponent, current Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
Ferguson, showing a grasp of the priorities and frustrations of the bulk of Washington voters, is an easy choice in the governor’s race. He earns a strong endorsement from the editorial board at Cascadia Daily News.
While sometimes viewed as a showboater for his headline-making lawsuits against corporations and institutions, Ferguson has effectively and appropriately broadened his focus in the gubernatorial campaign. But notably — and to his credit — Ferguson seems poised to carry his career consumer-focused passions from the AG’s office to the Governor’s Mansion, which he clearly has eyed for many years.
Ferguson is in-step with voters on issues raised to CDN as top concerns in Northwest Washington state.
In an interview with CDN’s editorial board, Ferguson unequivocally endorsed the notion of Washington remaining a sanctuary for women seeking reproductive health services difficult or impossible to obtain in other states after the Supreme Court decision overruling Roe v. Wade. Noting his office’s previous legal action to defend access to Mifepristone, a drug used in large numbers of abortions, Ferguson left no doubt about his convictions.
“Those who oppose reproductive freedom will stop at nothing until reproductive freedom is taken away from every woman in the United States,” he said, noting a “clear distinction” on this fundamental issue between himself and Reichert. Ferguson said the former member of Congress voted multiple times for legislation qualifying as national abortion bans.
Reichert declined repeated invitations from CDN’s editorial board for a personal interview about his own views on the subject. In a written reply to a CDN Citizens Agenda question about female reproductive rights, asked by voters, Reichert responded: “I firmly believe that no politician, irrespective of personal conviction, should make this decision for any woman. This has been a law in Washington state for over half a century, and my career of upholding the law underscores my unwavering stance. I remain committed to that stance. I will not change any laws regarding abortion if elected governor.”
But as Ferguson noted to CDN, standing pat on a half-century-old principle is insufficient in the post-Roe era, possibly leaving many women exposed to degradation of long-cherished rights to privacy and self-determination. In strong contrast to Reichert, Ferguson stressed that he does not take codified liberties in Washington state for granted.
His office, he said, has gone beyond legal steps to help guarantee freedom from prosecution for women from Idaho and other states who seek services in Washington. The state AG’s office also has worked (unsuccessfully to date, based on what he called lock-step opposition by Republican legislators) to protect from the prying eyes of government women’s health information stored on phone apps and other private data-collecting services.
“This is not a hypothetical,” he said. “It’s happening in real time along the border with Idaho.”
Ferguson, while acknowledging the broad difference in roles of the AG and governor, vowed that his career legal pursuit of consumer protections via antitrust suits and other means would remain a guiding passion if he were elected governor. That penchant, a hallmark of his tenure as AG since 2013, is somewhat nuanced. It’s easy to forget, given Ferguson’s aggressive legal actions to block policies of former President Donald Trump, that his office also has sued both the Obama and Biden administrations over various policies.
As governor, Ferguson vows to extend that ethic to critical consumer issues such as affordable housing. He has pledged to find ways to build 200,000 units of affordable housing statewide during his four-year term — using existing state funding.
To doubters, Ferguson points to his record as AG, where he not only expanded the office’s consumer-protection division but established new civil rights and environmental enforcement teams. “I didn’t go to the state Legislature asking for money,” Ferguson said. “I found ways within our budget to make that happen.”
Ferguson also opposes overturning the state’s capital gains tax and Climate Commitment Act, either one of which, he said, would leave a “huge hole” in the state budget if repealed.
He told CDN’s editorial board he will make enhancement of law enforcement, in general, a priority as governor, supporting a budget supplement of $100 million for local jurisdictions to hire more police. He also supports boosting the services of the state crime and toxicology labs to clear unclosed cases.
Our support of Ferguson is not without some reservation. To be an effective governor, Ferguson must shift several gears in demeanor, from impassioned litigator to sometimes-diplomat and, importantly, a facilitator in working with the Legislature.
In addition, a minor quibble about Ferguson’s campaign has been his frenetic efforts, both through interviews and television ads, to tie Reichert to right-wing political views espoused by Trump or his associates. He is right in some cases, pointing out instances of Reichert offering substantively different answers on key questions before different constituency groups.
Those points are well-taken but need not be the cornerstone of his campaign. Ferguson should be confident enough in his experience and abilities to avoid focusing on flaws in his opponent — a relatively easy target for any person with a voting record as a former member of Congress.
That’s hardly enough to diminish Ferguson’s promise, however. Applying that very experience-focused criteria, we support Ferguson as the best choice to lead Washington state forward over the next four years.
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