Goldmark hopes to round up change
Democrat Peter Goldmark is getting a late start in Eastern Washington’s congressional race, so he wasn’t just running at Wednesday’s campaign kickoff. He was riding.
On a horse. With a group of friends, neighbors and family members – also on horses.
It was Goldmark’s way of attempting to show he’s a different kind of candidate, one who understands Eastern Washington’s needs and values, one who will be a different kind of congressman.
He rode his horse, Regal, from the Don Kardong Bridge near the Gonzaga University campus under the Trent Avenue bridge to a grassy spot along the Spokane River where about 100 supporters cheered as he promised to clean up Congress.
“Right now, we have a Congress where politicians put special interests ahead of our interests,” he said. “Our politicians are the problem. The solution is clear – change the politicians.”
The campaign had someone assigned to clean up after the horses, too. That wasn’t a metaphor for his candidacy, Goldmark said later; it’s just a good, sensible practice.
He never mentioned his likely election opponent, first-term Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris, in any of his criticisms of Congress. So when, in his speech, he criticized members of Congress for taking “tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars from the oil lobby,” he said in a later interview he wasn’t referring to her specifically.
“I’m speaking generally,” he said.
McMorris has relatively little money from “the oil lobby,” Federal Election Commission records show. She’s received $7,000 from Exxon-Mobil’s political action committee, $1,000 from British Petroleum, $1,000 from the Tesoro PAC and $1,000 from the Natural Gas Association PAC. That’s out of more than $2.5 million raised, for all of 2004 and thus far in 2006.
In the interview, Goldmark said Congress needs to spend more on alternative energy, particularly biofuels, to cut the demand for foreign oil, perhaps by setting up an incentive program for commodities that can be converted to fuel. It should also raise the mileage standards for American automakers.
In his quest for a cleaner Congress, Goldmark told supporters he would not accept lobbyist gifts, trips or meals if elected, even if congressional rules allow it.
In the interview, he said he hasn’t decided whether he will accept campaign contributions from lobbyists. He hasn’t been offered any PAC money yet, and as a challenger, would probably not be offered much, he added, because such organizations tend to back incumbents.
“I would think very carefully before I accepted any money from PACs,” he said.
Although he didn’t mention the war in Iraq in his speech, Goldmark said later the United States needs to make clear that American troops can’t stay in that country forever, and needs to use diplomatic pressure on the Iraqi government “to take control of their own country.” He doesn’t favor setting a date for withdrawal of all U.S. troops.
Goldmark, who is married with five grown children, operates a wheat and cattle ranch near Okanogan. He is a former state director of agriculture, Washington State University regent, county planning commissioner and school board member.
He’s the only announced Democrat for the seat, and McMorris, as the incumbent, has no significant Republican opposition.
McMorris now has a residence in Spokane, but she grew up in Kettle Falls and lived in Colville as a state legislator. A race between Goldmark and McMorris would be the first time since 1954 that at least one candidate in the 5th District congressional race wasn’t from Spokane.