Ailing economy foremost in debate

YAKIMA – Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire and Republican challenger Dino Rossi took their gubernatorial race east of the Cascades into Washington farm country Wednesday night, with immigration, energy and water among the issues in their debate.

But the flagging economy was the first topic.

Washington’s revenue forecast has dropped by $530 million, pushing a projected deficit in the 2009-2011 budget period to about $3.2 billion, and the state jobless rate is at its highest level in nearly four years.

Tapping the state’s rainy day fund to patch the projected deficit should be an option left on the table, both agreed, although Rossi said it would be a last resort.

Gregoire blamed the economic woes on the federal government’s inability to police Wall Street and said she is taking steps to curb spending and improve the state’s situation.

Rossi cited what he called Gregoire’s reckless spending as the cause. In addition to budget cuts, he said, the state needs to improve its climate for small businesses.

“The reality is we don’t just have a problem in Washington, D.C. We have a problem in Washington state as well,” he said.

In particular, Rossi blamed Gregoire for the fact that a proposed $2 billion uranium enrichment plant is planned in Idaho, rather than in southeast Washington’s Tri-Cities. In May, the French-owned energy services company Areva NC Inc. announced that the eastern Idaho city of Idaho Falls had won the plant following tax concessions from that state’s Legislature.

“The reason the incumbent didn’t pick up the phone is because she was afraid what some of her supporters would say if she brought Areva to Washington state,” he said, throwing his support behind nuclear energy. “Now the Tri-Cities is wondering how their financial future is going to survive.”

Every power source should be considered to reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and improve Washington’s economy, Gregoire said, not ruling out an increase in nuclear power.

Neither addressed the issue of raising taxes, which was a central topic in their debate last week. Wednesday night’s event was their third debate.

The campaign is a rematch of the candidates’ close 2004 race, where Gregoire was declared the winner by just 133 votes after three vote counts and an unsuccessful Republican court challenge.

However, Gregoire lost four years ago in every Eastern Washington county.

In one of two debates scheduled for Eastern Washington, many questions centered on issues relevant to the region’s growing Hispanic population and to its agricultural economy, valued at $6.87 billion statewide in 2006.

Hispanics were the largest and fastest-growing minority group in Washington state from 2000 to 2007, according to new U.S. Census Bureau statistics in May. Central Washington’s Yakima County is about 40 percent Hispanic or Latino, and in some smaller communities, the figure can be as high as 90 percent, putting immigration issues front and center to voters there.

Gregoire and Rossi both said they believe driver’s licenses should only be issued to U.S. citizens. When asked if the state should provide public benefits to people who have entered the country illegally, Gregoire said she was proud the state didn’t turn its back on “poor kids’ health care.”

“We said we’re going to step up to it,” she said. “This is a test of the moral compass of the people of Washington state.”

Rossi defended himself against Gregoire’s accusation that he cut health care for poor children when he was in the state Senate. But in response to the immigration question he said, “Clearly we’re suffering the effects of a failed federal policy when it comes to immigration.”

Both committed to spending money on public safety, particularly programs to address gang violence in rural communities.

In school districts with Spanish-speaking student populations, both candidates also said they would support offering student assessments in Spanish if necessary. Rossi, though, said he planned to do away with the Washington Assessment of Student Learning.

“We need to replace WASL with a fair but rigorous test. The system needs to test not only the children, but also the whole entire system from top to bottom,” he said.

Gregoire countered that she would not throw out the WASL because there is no replacement.

Long-standing water woes in the region, where some 1.6 million acres are in irrigated agriculture, could bring big results for any politician who offers results. Gregoire promoted her efforts to broker water deals with environmentalists, tribes, growing communities and irrigators after a 30-year impasse.

The credit for those water deals lies with House and Senate lawmakers, Rossi said. Another problem: the state’s use-it-or-lose-it water doctrine, common in Western states.

“We should be encouraging conservation, not discouraging conservation,” he said. “This is something the incumbent doesn’t want to face, and it’s something we need to solve.”

Two more debates are scheduled before the Nov. 4 election: Oct. 9 in Spokane and Oct. 15 in Seattle.