Editorial
Rossi begins to define himself

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On the number-one political issue in Washington — the economy — candidate for governor Dino Rossi begins to define himself.

He is the candidate of the small-business owner who has a chance to expand and is blocked by bureaucracy. He promises that on his watch, no government agency will proclaim an ergonomics rule. He is the candidate who promises no general tax increases, and whose approach to stimulating business is to change state rules rather than spend state money.

As is typical of candidates, instead of specific things to change, he offers a story: Woodland Truck Line, a company in Woodland, Cowlitz County.

We talked to the company co-owner Darlene Johnson, who said, "We would love to build a warehouse, and we know we could fill it." She would like to expand the parking lot. Even to do that, she says, permits would take six months to a year, and she would need a $30,000 engineering report. When she complains to local officials they say, "This is a state requirement."

Rossi says he'll appoint an Office of Regulatory Reform to review these requirements to see if the state needs them. He'll look at the workers' compensation system and the unemployment system. And he says, "No rules or regulations will go into effect without explicit authority from the Legislature or the governor."

There are political risks here. Anyone who attacks a regulation set up to protect the environment will be labeled an enemy of nature. Rossi will have to be careful that he picks only the regulations that cost more than they are worth — and that in identifying these, he does not rely exclusively on the opinions of business owners. But there is fruit here to be picked, if done carefully.

On the matter of medical insurance, Rossi would leave the insurance companies freer to drop certain coverage, so consumers could buy bare-bones coverage at less cost. The idea is that some people who don't buy coverage now would buy a policy that costs less. That is possible — but which mandates would he drop? Contraceptives? Childbirth coverage? He says he would not drop all mandates. The only one he mentioned in his speech was acupuncture. He will have to have a longer list than that.

What is taking shape here is a center-right alternative to a center-left candidacy. Whether Washington voters want it is another thing: They have not elected a Republican governor in 20 years. Yet in the past eight years, the Republicans did not offer them a reasonable choice. This time, they are trying harder to make a sale.