UPDATE: Gov. Gregoire finally embraces budget shortfall

• Published October 07, 2008

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Gov. Chris Gregoire is finally acknowledging the size of the pending state budget shortfall.

She did so today in an announcement of additional state spending cuts and savings — which she says is enough to nearly cut in half the $3.2 billion shortfall predicted for the 2009-11 budget.

The course-correction couldn’t come at a better time for Gregoire, who has been getting hammered by G.O.P. challenger Dino Rossi for what he calls “reckless” spending. Rossi’s inaccurate television ads have implied the state is already in a deficit. Until now, Gregoire has not publicly embraced the size of the future shortfall, while trying unsuccessfully to point to the state's ongoing surplus.

Gregoire now says her savings — which include lower than expected costs for health care and welfare programs and 1 percent across-the-board cuts in most agencies — will increase the state’s surplus to more than $850 million — putting Washington on a much better footing than 30 other states already facing a deficit.

Rossi isn’t buying the governor’s story, as you might expect. His campaign put out this news release describing Gregoire’s actions as “Cherry-Picked Sound Bites, Not Real Solutions to her $3.2 Billion Deficit.”

“It will have almost no net effect on the actual size of the deficit,” Rossi contended.

Rossi also objected to Gregoire counting money in the state’s rainy-day fund to cover the money gap. He also told The Olympian’s editorial board on Monday he doesn’t think across-the-board cuts are a good idea.

The news should give Gregoire and Rossi new material to plough through when they meet Thursday evening in the fourth of their five statewide debates.

Adam Wilson of our staff is writing a story for tomorrow’s paper that goes into greater detail about Gregoire’s budget plan.

UPDATE: Greogire’s campaign put out its own release, accusing Rossi of offering vague promises and shifts in spending that would create a $4.5 billion deficit next year. See it here.