History Suggests How WA Gubernatorial Candidates Will Balance Budget

09/12/2008

Washington State faces a shortfall of nearly three–billion–dollars in the next two year budget cycle. In the race for Washington governor, both candidates refuse to say how they will close that deficit if elected. But Dino Rossi and Chris Gregoire have faced budget shortfalls before. Now, their budget–balancing records have become a key issue in this year's campaign. Olympia Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports.

THE PAST IS OFTEN A CLUE TO THE FUTURE. BACK IN 2003, WASHINGTON ALSO FACED A THREE BILLION DOLLAR SHORTFALL. ROSSI WAS CHAIR OF THE SENATE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE.

ROSSI: "Well, what I did was I set up a framework and the first piece of the framework was I wasn't going to raise taxes because I thought it would harm the economy and throw people out of work. The second piece is that I was going to protect the most vulnerable people in our society."

SO ROSSI WROTE A BUDGET THAT PRESERVED FUNDING FOR NURSING HOME RESIDENTS, THE DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED AND THE MENTALLY ILL. ROSSI ALSO PROPOSED NEARLY A BILLION DOLLARS IN SPENDING CUTS. THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL OF WHICH WAS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF KIDS RECEIVING MEDICAID HEALTH COVERAGE. NOW DEMOCRATS ARE DETERMINED TO MAKE THAT AN ISSUE IN THIS YEAR'S WASHINGTON GOVERNOR'S RACE.

ANTI–ROSSI AD: "What do you know about Republican Dino Rossi? State Senator Rossi wrote a budget that eliminated health coverage for 40–thousand Washington children."

THIS AD WAS PAID FOR BY A UNION–BACKED GROUP CALLED EVERGREEN PROGRESS, WHICH SUPPORTS GREGOIRE FOR GOVERNOR. IN THE END, ROSSI'S HEALTH INSURANCE CUT DIDN'T MAKE IT INTO THE FINAL BUDGET.

FAST FORWARD TO 2005: NEWLY ELECTED GOVERNOR GREGOIRE FACED A TWO–POINT–TWO BILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT. SHE PROPOSED TO CLOSE THE GAP WITH A COMBINATION OF SPENDING CUTS AND TAX INCREASES – SPECIFICALLY RAISING TAXES ON CIGARETTES AND BY REINSTATING THE ESTATE TAX. SHE DIRECTED THAT NEW MONEY TO VOTER–APPROVED EDUCATION INITIATIVES.

GREGOIRE: "The voters had spoken loud and clear, for example, that they wanted us to invest in reducing class size and pay the teachers because we were among the worst in the country and that's an example of the people's values that I was trying to put in place in the budget."

THOSE BUDGET–BALANCING TAX HIKES CAME DESPITE GREGOIRE'S SAYING DURING THE 2004 CAMPAIGN SHE WOULDN'T RAISE TAXES. NOW SHE SAYS SHE MEANT NO ACROSS–THE–BOARD TAX HIKES. BUT THIS AD BY THE BUILDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF WASHINGTON CUTS HER NO SLACK.

ANTI–GREGOIRE AD: "As governor Christine Gregoire increased sales taxes and signed the largest gas tax increase in state history. To continually vote yes on taxes makes me wonder where she lives."

GREGOIRE FIRES BACK THAT ROSSI PROPOSED A NURSING HOME BED TAX IN HIS 2003 BUDGET. IT'S TRUE, HE NOTES THE TAX WAS REQUESTED BY THE NURSING HOME INDUSTRY. THIS YEAR ROSSI ONCE AGAIN PLEDGES A NO–NEW–TAXES BUDGET IF ELECTED. GREGOIRE SAYS NO TAXES WITHOUT A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE. I'M AUSTIN JENKINS IN OLYMPIA.

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