Dems in control but not in sync as Legislature opens

OLYMPIA — Something unusual happened after Gov. Chris Gregoire proposed an austere two-year state budget a few weeks ago: Democrats and their supporters publicly criticized her plan.

It's a sharp reversal from Gregoire's first four years in office, when her budget plans largely received glowing reviews from party colleagues and supporters.

"Some of the cuts in the governor's budget, we feel, are not wise," Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, said last week.

House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, questioned proposed cuts in programs for the poor and disabled. "If we don't handle this situation correctly, many people could die," he said.

Even the Service Employees International Union 775 (SEIU), historically one of Gregoire's staunchest allies, is suing the governor for not including more than $26.8 million in raises, benefits and training money for workers represented by the union. Two other unions are suing as well, seeking to get their pay increases in the governor's budget.

The implication of all this: We're likely to see more arguing among Democrats during the legislative session that begins today than the choreographed, congratulatory news conferences that characterized many of the Democrats' actions in recent years. The party, in addition to controlling the Governor's Office, holds large majorities in the House and Senate.

State Sen. Ed Murray, chairman of the Senate Democratic caucus, sees the debate as a healthy development.

"It's bad for one party, as we saw with the Republicans in Washington, D.C., to simply follow the executive branch," he said. "You want that tension."

The change in rhetoric follows state tax collections.

During her first four years in office, when the economy was booming, the governor increased spending by $8 billion. Democrats and their backers were pretty happy.

Now Gregoire faces a nearly $6 billion shortfall in the state budget and has proposed closing much of the gap with deep cuts in spending.

That guarantees a fight.

"Everybody's puppy got squashed," said Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, chairman of the House Capital Budget Committee. "I suspect that by the end, we won't be holding hands, we'll be handcuffed together."

In addition, Gregoire just won a tough re-election campaign. That means Democrats no longer have to bite their tongues to bolster the governor's campaign. In fact, Brown has said she's contemplating running for governor herself in four years.

Gregoire could not be reached for comment, but members of her senior staff said they're not surprised people strongly disagree with parts of the governor's budget. It's human nature.

"If there's any budget deficit that can create some fighting, it will be this. Everybody has got something that they care about that's going to be impacted," said Ron Judd, a senior adviser to the governor.

Spending cuts

Most of the arguing will be over the more than $3 billion in spending cuts proposed by the governor. Her budget whacks everything from public schools to health care for the poor.

Chopp said he was especially concerned about Gregoire's plan to save $160 million by eliminating the General Assistance-Unemployable (GAU) program, which provides a temporary safety net for people unable to work because of mental or physical disabilities.

"We need to look at the lifeline for the disabled in this state, which is the GAU program. To me, that's the state version of the Social Security system. We have 21,000 people on GAU, half of whom are mentally ill and receiving a very basic stipend plus health-care coverage," Chopp said.

"It's important that we look at the budget both as a financial document and a moral document as well."

Many interest groups, including the Washington Education Association and the SEIU, also will be pressing House and Senate leaders to break ranks with the governor and provide pay increases to teachers and state workers.

David Rolf, president of SEIU Healthcare 775, said his union still supports Gregoire. "But [her] budget is not the last budget," he said. "It's a good thing we have more than one branch of government to weigh in."

Both the House and Senate also propose state budgets, and then lawmakers craft a final plan for the governor's signature.

Pledge on taxes

There likely will be plenty of debate as well over whether to send voters a tax increase to help close the budget shortfall. Gregoire vowed during her re-election campaign not to increase taxes this session. But Democratic lawmakers aren't ruling it out.

Republicans in the state House and Senate by comparison have been complimentary about the governor's proposed budget and the fact she didn't propose a tax increase.

State Senate Republican Leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla, said the Democratic infighting reminds him of 2003, when the state also faced a budget shortfall. Former Gov. Gary Locke, a Democrat, wrote a budget with significant cuts to balance the budget.

"This is almost déjà vu," Hewitt said. "The governor wrote a budget very similar to Gregoire's, and we embraced it and the Democrats hated it. Six years later, it's like we just did this."

Andrew Garber: 360-236-8268 or agarber@seattletimes.com