Gregoire deserves four more years

• Published October 12, 2008

• Comments (0)

Rossi is sharply critical of Gregoire's fiscal stewardship, blaming her for the projected $3.2 billion budget shortfall for the 2009-11 spending cycle.

He promises not to cut education, not to cut programs for vulnerable citizens, not to raise taxes and, in fact, he wants to further deplete the general fund budget by moving money into transportation projects and securing additional dollars for education.

Where's he going to get the money?

Rossi refuses to be specific, offering only to go through the budget line-by-line. In other words, voters are going to have to wait until he's in office to find out which state programs are gutted, whether teacher and state employee salary increases will be delayed or if entire state programs will be eliminated.

That's a huge gamble — a gamble this editorial board is not willing to take.

Contrast Rossi's budget promises with budget corrections already enacted by Gov. Gregoire.

When revenues began to slide, Gregoire, like any good manager, took immediate steps. She imposed a state hiring freeze, limited consulting contracts and discontinued unnecessary travel. Coupled with 1 percent across- the-board spending cuts, Gregoire says she has already taken steps to trim the projected $3.2 billion deficit by $1.5 billion. And let's not forget Gregoire balanced a budget with a $2.2 billion deficit when she took office after beating Rossi by 133 votes in 2004. She created the rainy-day fund and has been a solid steward of state resources.

Gregoire has been an effective governor. The number of jobs is up by more than 200,000 and crime is down. Forbes Magazine and Fortune Magazine both rate Washington among the top five states in the nation for doing business. The Pew Center said Washington, Virginia and Utah are the three best managed states in the union.

Under Gregoire's leadership Washington has passed the strongest law in the nation to protect kids from toxic toys. She created a cabinet-level agency for early childhood education and boosted spending on children's programs by $40 million. She started an aggressive program to clean up Puget Sound, secured water rights for Eastern Washington farmers and Washington is the fifth top producer of wind power in the nation.

Gregoire is a good negotiator, an innovator, a proven leader and a solid manager. She's a good governor but a terrible campaigner. She's bright, but her personality is not warm and charming. She's an efficient policy wonk running against a slick carnival hawker.

Gregoire is a woman of depth who has a commitment to solving problems with rational solutions and compromise. That makes her the superior candidate for governor. Rossi cannot match her vision, top-level management experience or commitment to public service. Re-elect Gov. Chris Gregoire on Nov. 4.