The debate in Spokane was hosted by Greater Spokane Inc. and the Association of Washington Businesses. NonStop Local KHQ and KOMO aired the debate.
Reichert, a former congressman for Washington and former King County Sheriff, and Ferguson, the current state attorney general and former King County councilmember, again showcased their differences before a loud audience.
Cascade PBS watched the debate and earmarked these five takeaways:
Both agree that funding for public schools is a priority.
Reichert said that one of his priorities is to address special education funding in the state, and believes that the state has fallen short on its paramount duty to fund schools. He said he believed the state has money in the budget to spend on education, and that the problem isn’t a funding problem, but an organizational one.
Instead of funding programs that don’t work, Reichert said the state should fund the ones that do, but did not point specifically to programs he believed needed to be cut. But he did mention he would support taking dollars from regular public schools and allowing families to bring that money to private or charter schools.
Additionally, Reichert said he is supportive of funding programs for professions such as health care workers, EMTs, and police officers while students are still in school.
Ferguson noted that the percentage of the budget that goes to K-12 funding has decreased in recent years, and that as governor he would change that.
“Our budgets reflect our values when it comes to education,” Ferguson said.
He then pointed to his time on the King County Council as proof that he knows how to balance a budget in a bipartisan way, and said the state should be “frugal” with tax dollars while prioritizing education. About half of the state’s general-fund budget goes to education.
Neither candidate addressed a question about rent caps.
Earlier this year, Democrats in the Washington Legislature introduced a measure to cap yearly rent increases for tenants, but the bill did not pass during the session. Asked whether they would support a measure to cap rising rents, neither candidate answered the question directly.
Ferguson said he believed in increasing housing inventory, noting that his office has taken on illegal rent gouging through a recently filed Department of Justice lawsuit against RealPage. While he said he is open to proposals to address exorbitant rent hikes in the state, he said he believed the state needs a housing market that works for everyone.
Reichert pivoted instead to an attack on Ferguson’s fumble of a case brought against Value Village before noting that he believed the state should make it easier for landlords to evict tenants. Additionally, Reichert said he believed current laws on squatting should be changed in order to prevent individuals from squatting.
Abortion was brought up multiple times.
Although Ferguson accused Reichert multiple times of lying about his stance on abortion, pointing to Reichert’s voting records in Congress on abortion access, Reichert claimed that he supports the current laws on abortion in the state and the current policies to protect those coming from out of state to get abortions in Washington.
Both candidates agreed that abortion access should not be limited.
While Ferguson brought up his proven track record on protecting abortion access in the state, including access to the abortion drug Mifepristone when it was considered at risk, he continued to question Reichert’s stance on the issue, leading Reichert to question at one point if Ferguson thought the gubernatorial race was “really about abortion.”
Reichert doesn't want taxes on baby essentials.
In the midst of discussing abortion rights, Reichert pointed out that he believes taxes on baby essentials, such as baby food and diapers, should be eliminated. He added that he wanted to work with House and Senate Democrats to address those taxes.
Interestingly, recent attempts in the state to eliminate taxes on diapers have not been successful despite bipartisan support in the Legislature. According to the National Diaper Bank Network, 26 states, including Texas, California and New York, do not have a sales tax on baby diapers.
Their approaches to helping small businesses differ.
Asked how they would each help businesses in Washington stay afloat, Ferguson said that he believed streamlining government on behalf of business entities would be helpful. For example, he said he wanted to smooth the permitting process by offering a “one-stop shop” for those permits. He added that he believed the issue needs to be approached in a bipartisan way.
Reichert then said he believed the state needed to stop playing “gotcha” with business owners, accusing the attorney general’s office of suing local businesses. Additionally, Reichert further emphasized the idea of “no new taxes” for businesses to help them stay afloat.
Asked about homelessness in proximity to businesses, the former congressman took aim at Ferguson by saying he believed there were no consequences for people who commit crimes in the state.
Reichert used the opportunity in closing statements and throughout the debate to go after Ferguson’s stances on crime, leading Ferguson at one point to address the criticisms by saying that his office doesn’t have legal authority to prosecute cases such as car break-ins. But, he noted, the Attorney General’s Office has a criminal division for prosecutors to refer to for some of their “toughest cases.”
