Locke Says He Accepts I-601 Limits But Hopes Gop Won’t Go Too Far With Tax Cuts

Democratic Gov.-elect Gary Locke, in town for a tour of the governor’s mansion and a huddle with outgoing Gov. Mike Lowry, said Friday he won’t fight the spending limits of Initiative 601 but hopes Republicans won’t go too far with tax cuts.

Locke, who will be inaugurated in less than six weeks, said he has a jammed schedule and is dividing his time between transition and his wrap-up duties as King County executive.his Jan. 15 inauguration, he said, he’s hoping to fill perhaps 10 major cabinet posts - about half the eventual total - bone up on the budget and other legislative matters, and help his wife, Mona, get ready for their new baby in March.

The Lockes got their first peek at the private rooms of the governor’s mansion on Friday. As a key legislator, Locke had dined there many times, but had never been shown the living quarters in the three-story Georgian mansion overlooking Puget Sound.

“I saw an area where I can set up a workshop in the basement,” Locke said.

Locke met for about 90 minutes with Lowry, and said the one-term Democrat offered him several bits of advice - including to be cautious around reporters.

And in his first meeting with capital reporters, Locke was just that.

He had nothing to report on selection of a cabinet or personal staff, declining even to say if he’d made any decisions yet. He told the Capitol City Press Club he won’t be rushed and will take as much time as he needs for personnel decisions and other transition chores.

In a wide-ranging speech and question period, Locke touched on these topics:

Spending limits. In his strongest statement yet on the subject, Locke said he won’t be asking the GOP-controlled Legislature to amend the voter-approved spending-limit Initiative 601 to allow more money to flow to education and higher education.

“I personally believe that education funding should be based on the number of students in our kindergarten through 12th-grade system or the number of students clamoring at the doors of our colleges and universities. The 601 formula based on general population (increase, plus inflation) doesn’t really make much sense.”

But he said he doesn’t detect much support, even among fellow Democrats, for changing the popular law.

Tax cuts. Locke repeated his support for repealing about $205 million in business-and-occupation tax increases approved in 1993. But he made no mention of other tax cuts, such as property-tax relief or targeted cuts for businesses.

And he warned Republicans against cutting taxes so heavily that the state is unable to pay its bills in coming years and meet the demand for education and college access.

“I just want to make sure that we are not spending the surplus five times over,” he said, referring to the $1 billion budget surplus.

“There are so many different proposals for tax cuts and there are a finite number of dollars. If we do them all … we will be well below the revenue needed.”

Same-sex marriage. Locke said during the campaign that he would sign legislation authorizing same-sex marriages, but declined to say Friday that he would veto legislation banning such unions. Republican leaders say such a bill is likely to pass this winter.

Locke said the legislation is unneeded, since state law recognizes only marriage between a man and a woman. But he said he’d need to study the issue, and the GOP legislation, before commenting definitively.

Cabinet. Locke said he doesn’t plan to overhaul the Lowry cabinet completely before inauguration. He said he’ll name his chief of staff, legal counsel and legislative liaison and a handful of key cabinet directors. Other changes will come later, he said.

Pay raises. Locke said he supports salary increases for state employees, teachers and college professors and hopes Republican budget writers will be able to go along. He mentioned no specific percentage.

Seahawks. The new governor disagreed with Seattle Mayor Norm Rice’s suggestion that the Kingdome be torn down and replaced with a new stadium for the Seattle Seahawks football team. Locke said he’d rather remodel the dome. He said he supports a funding package much like the one approved last year for the new Mariners baseball stadium, with a sports lottery, Seahawks license plates, a surcharge on tickets and revenue from skyboxes and luxury seats in the newly refurbished stadium.