Joni Balter / Times staff columnist
Sluggish economy demands a governor willing to be creative, proactive

ELLEN M. BANNER / THE SEATTLE TIMES Democrat Christine Gregoire

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For many years, Washington state seemed to run on cruise control, with booming businesses, budget surpluses and fawning media attention about a place that had found its way in the new economy.

The governor did not need to work overtime, though I know he did. The best thing a leader could do was marshal the right forces to assure that as many people as possible went along for the ride.

All that changed a few years ago when the roaring 1990s gave way to the sputtering 2000s. The state became one of the leaders in unemployment and faced billion-dollar deficits.

Today a sluggish economy spurs anxiety among average Washingtonians. Who will pay for my health care if I get sick? How will I pay to send my kids to college? What if I lose my job?

Into this crucible come three candidates for governor, two very practical politicians, former state Sen. Dino Rossi, a Republican, and Attorney General Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, and one more idealistic candidate, King County Executive Ron Sims, also a Democrat.

Each candidate knows, or should know, the state's next chief executive will need to be more hands-on, ambidextrous and creative.

For the first time in a dozen years, a Republican has a real chance to become governor. Rossi is savvy, affable and speaks suburban. He played a key role in passing a lauded state budget. And he is so serious about his campaign he quit his Senate post to make a full-throttle run for the job.

Borrowing a page from New York Gov. George Pataki, Rossi's most identifiable proposal is to create an Office of Regulatory Reform in the governor's office. The office would review all regulations, including many affecting business — excessive paperwork, environmental regs and ergonomic rules. He wants to determine which of those no longer make sense.

Earlier this month, Gregoire, husband Mike and two college-age daughters, Courtney and Michelle, rode a rented motor home into the Eastern Washington town of Ritzville, pop. 1,713 — Republican red America.

The Gregoire-mobile was greeted by 30 people, a small crowd, but nearly every attendee a likely voter fretting about a sour economy.

Gregoire, too, wants to jump-start business and hiring, for example, by putting our state on the cutting edge of life sciences. She also wants to ensure every child has health-care insurance by 2010. One way to pay for it is to buy prescription drugs in Canada or pool buying power with other states to buy drugs in bulk.

Since Rossi has effectively clinched the Republican nomination, the action the next three weeks is between Democrats who are running hard against one another.

Sims may be many points behind in the polls, but his standing only inspires him to work harder and speak more forcefully. Sims is a gifted politician who is easily the best public speaker in the state.

One August evening, the sun setting noticeably earlier than a few weeks prior, Sims showed up at a Mercer Island Democrats forum at a local park. The terms "Mercer Island" and "Democrat" are not usually linked, so the crowd was small. No matter. Sims treated the roughly 40 people as if they were a stadium full of voters.

"You can't talk about smaller class sizes and access to higher ed and more college slots based on the current property and sales tax," he intoned. "We have to gather the grownups and engage in adult behavior when it comes to transportation. ... Every competitive region is investing in people moving."

What are we looking for?

Today, the requirements for state CEO are different than four or eight years ago. We as a state are more vulnerable than we were in years past. The cry from Ritzville to Vancouver to Port Angeles is for a governor with strength and vision to lead us somewhere new and positive again.

Government bashing that sounded good in the late '90s has yielded to a sense that people might need a helping hand.

For too long, Washington has been whipsawed by a renegade politician from Mukilteo. With consent of the voters, initiative guru Tim Eyman has sent the state caroming from one bumper-sticker idea to the next. Governors, not initiative writers, should create new policies. Governors, not initiative campaigns, should set the course.

The race between Gregoire, Rossi and Sims provides a chance to realign that out-of-whack relationship.

	GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES Republican Dino Rossi

What would Rossi do?

A good way to assess the candidates is to imagine what each would do if elected — and the House and Senate blessed their agenda.

Rossi is unequivocal in saying we have to get people back to work, and the way to do that is to keep taxes low and usher in useful regulatory reform.

"If Dino is elected, he will work with the business community, improve the business climate and change regulations," says state Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance. "He will do what he can to make it easier to build factories and create jobs. Environmentalists will scream and people will go back to work."

Rossi is moderate in tone, but his social policies are conservative. He opposes abortion choice and favors a constitutional ban on gay marriage — putting him to the right of most Washingtonians. He tells pro-choice constituents he is not running for Supreme Court, a line that doesn't work because governors can sign or veto bills that limit abortion choice.

Rossi has shown keen interest in learning about education. He impressed me by seeking counsel from Don Nielsen, former member of the Seattle School Board and one of the top education minds around. I followed along one summer morning while Nielsen briefed Rossi on ways to get the kinks out of education and make the system more child-oriented. He has also consulted Bellevue School Superintendent Mike Riley, another wise man of education.

	GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES Democrat Ron Sims

What would Sims do?

Sims is running to the left of Gregoire and much of the state with a relentless call for tax reform, a move to a graduated income tax that would replace the state portion of the sales tax and business and occupation tax; he also would exempt the first $100,000 of the state property tax for homeowners.

The proposal is not revenue neutral; it would raise more money than the current system. Sims says 80 percent of people would pay less, 10 percent would break even, 10 percent would pay more.

The significant downside is legislators in most counties won't be comfortable voting for an income tax, which requires approval of two-thirds of the state House and Senate and a majority of voters. By one analysis, only lawmakers in Seattle, Olympia and parts of Spokane would support such a plan.

Where does that leave us? Or, how useful is it to advocate something that likely won't be approved?

Sims' strength is he is the only candidate who explains explicity how he will put more money into education. A higher-ed system built for a population of roughly 4 million people now must accommodate 6 million.

Sims supports Initiative 884, the education trust fund measure on the November ballot, while the other two candidates are murky about paying for education improvements. Everybody talks about large class sizes and a lack of access to higher education. Few have the gumption to do much about it.

What would Gregoire do?

Gregoire's Washington would be competently managed with her no-nonsense approach and fast legal mind. In an interview with Times editorialists, she oozed confidence and displayed a broad grasp of state government.

She says she would have intervened more aggressively in the ridiculously long Marysville school strike; she vows to take on the high-school dropout issue early in her term.

Her competence will be challenged by people rightfully incensed about the colossal blunder made by her office. Four years ago, an assistant attorney general missed a deadline in a court case that cost taxpayers nearly $19 million. The case settled last month, but as boss Gregoire must accept responsibility. She has said repeatedly she does.

Her more positive claim to fame is she took on the tobacco companies as the lead negotiator among 46 states, negotiating a huge settlement that will bring $4.5 billion to Washington over 25 years. Fellow attorneys general picked her to take the lead. That says something about her skills. No other candidate has delivered anything like that to the state — money that pays for health-care programs, smoking prevention and eventually, she hopes, research and development of biotech industries.

The race from here

As one of 11 governor's races around the country this year, this contest is one of the two most closely contested, drawing lots of money and attention.

Although Gregoire and Rossi each have raised in excess of $3 million, Rossi has the money edge because Democrats have to spend considerable sums in the primary. Sims has raised $1.2 million, with very little cash remaining in the till.

Sims and Gregoire have better résumés for the state's top job — he as the leader of 13,000 employees in King County government, she as manager of 1,000-plus employees at the largest public law firm in the state.

Rossi has been in business or the Legislature most of his life, and has not managed a sizable operation. That counts against him.

Though Sims is down in the polls, he gets credit for never losing his stride. His push for an income tax forces everyone to think about how we pay for government services in our state.

Gregoire's grasp of nuclear waste issues at Hanford is unparalleled, in part because she also served four years as director of the Department of Ecology.

Rossi can successfully use the line: After 20 years of Democratic governors, aren't you ready for a change?

But Sims and Gregoire also have much different personalities and management styles than Gov. Gary Locke and can argue a similar point.

For a state hit hard by a persistent recession, all three, in different ways, represent a chance to change course, dig out from the doldrums and start moving forward again.

Joni Balter's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. Her e-mail address is jbalter@seattletimes.com