Reed on future of state politics
Lou Marzeles
Editor
Republican Washington state Secretary of State Sam Reed has tackled cancer and Washington state government. He’s successfully overcome the former. He may have a lot more to do with the latter, especially if Gov. Christine Gregoire goes from Washington state to Washington, D.C.
“I do think it’s a strong possibility that she’ll accept the Solicitor General position,” he says of the persistent reports that Gregoire is going to be offered that post by President Obama. “It is very prestigious.” Gregoire has downplayed the possibility of accepting the position, citing that she hasn’t actually been contacted by the White House about it yet and adding that she is committed to serving as the state’s governor.
Reed doesn’t buy it. “As most people know well, just because someone says they’ll never do something doesn’t mean it won’t happen. The U. S. President could call them and tell them, ‘I need you. The country needs you.’ It’s pretty hard to say no to that.”
Reed sees it as likely that Gregoire would have other incentives to leave Olympia. “She hated these last two legislative sessions,” he says, “because the key people who supported her for governor, the education people, the social services folks, are being cut and are furious with her. Now we’re going into another session, and we don’t think we’re going to get the federal money this time. They’ve done all the one-time things they can do. That means the next session could be uglier than the one last year and the year before, so there may not be much incentive for her to stick around if Obama asks her to do this.”
If Gregoire were to pack up for D. C., Reed would be next in line for succession as governor, after Lt. Gov. Brad Owen took office from Gregoire. “Brad has told Patrick [McDonald, Reed’s assistant] that the last thing he’d want in the world is to be governor,” Reed says. “But I don’t think the Democrats would want me.”
Reed visited The Sentinel recently on a visit to the area. “I have this rather odd notion that, since I’m a state-wide official, I need to be seen state-wide, and so I make a real effort to get into all 39 counties,” he said.
Reed overcame a bout with cancer earlier this year, when he was found to have a tumor in his left kidney. He had surgery, and his recuperation was quick and complete. “I’m doing very well,” Reed says of the experience. “It’s been six weeks since my cancer surgery. I’d been a volunteer for the American Cancer Society and state fundraising chairman. People would ask what my motivation was or if someone in my family had cancer, and I’d tell them, no, I just thought it was an important cause. I remember seeing how much progress is being made in individual cancers. Kidney cancer, for example, was almost lethal 30 or 40 years ago. Now they have early detection procedures, and they can remove them laparoscopically, which is not nearly as invasive. I was back to work in two weeks. I didn’t have to do any chemo or radiation.”
The issue of possible gubernatorial succession comes up again. Reed speculates on what would happen in the state should Gregoire step down as governor to go to D. C. His first reaction to that possibility? “I think that would be good for us,” he says. In that scenario, much would depend on exactly when she resigned as governor. If she resigned before the end of this month—obviously not a likelihood at this point—then there would be a general primary. “If she were to resign between between May 30 and October 3, then we would have a special filing period and a free-for-all in the general election,” Reed says, “like they had in California when Schwarzenegger was elected. That could be a little wild. If she resigned after October 3, then Lieutenant Governor Brad Owen would be the acting governor through 2012.” Reed considers that possibility reasonable. “He is, by the way, a very conservative Democrat. By ‘conservative,’ I mean he was in the House and Senate, and his voting record was more conservative than the urban suburban Republicans. He’s from a natural resource area, he’s a small businessman, so the Democrats don’t like him—they’ve run people against him at times. That would be quite a change.”
Beyond that, speculation runs next to who would likely run for governor in upcoming elections. “People ask if Dino Rossi would run for governor,” Reed muses. “We think he’s going to run for U. S. Senate.” The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Rossi is expected to formally announce his candidacy for the U. S. Senate, running against incumbent Patty Murray, on Wednesday. “The polls are looking good for him. He’s been sure money is coming in nationally. So if he files for U. S. Senate, he can’t, part of the way through, decide to change his mind and run for governor instead. And you can’t file for two offices simultaneously in the state of Washington.” And what of other potential candidates? “Rob McKenna, Washington’s Attorney General, is positioned very well. I, and others, have been helping and coaching him in the run for governor. He is not only our leading Republican candidate for governor, he is the leading candidate for governor. Even liberal columnists, like Joni Balter from the Seattle Times, write ‘governor apparent Rob McKenna,’ because who do the Democrats have? They have Jay Inslee, who’s a congressman in the first district, who wants to run. But he’s in the same bind as Dino if he files for re-election for Congress. They also have Aaron Reardon, current county executive, who wants to run, but he’s a young hotdog who plays it loose and isn’t respected at all.”
What are the critical issues facing the state from Reed’s perspective? “The latest issue is, there’s a guy by the name of Farrakhan who’s in Walla Walla Penitentiary,” he begins. “There was a legal case based on the fact that some feel felons should be able to vote, even those who are incarcerated, because of the racial and ethnic imbalance. That case was lost at the District Court level a couple of times, but they keep appealing it to the Ninth Circuit. To our surprise, a couple of months ago, the Ninth Circuit ruled in Farrakhan’s favor, two-to-one, and against us. We immediately appealed it to the U.S. Supreme Court. We’re going to pursue it and would love to get it before the U.S. Supreme Court, partly because it’s been before other courts throughout the U.S.”
Another point of concern that arises for Reed is the spreading notion of anonymous free speech. “I’d never heard the term before,” Reed says. It means that while people should have the right to say whatever they wish, they should also have the right to do anonymously, without identifying themselves as the person making the comments. The matter came up as Reed and McKenna were in court over a case involving whether or not petitions for refenda are public records.
“On the one hand we’re arguing for support and belief in transparent government,” Reed says, “where people have a right to know who are making policy changes and decisions versus a right to privacy. The people who brought the case against us used the term I’d never heard before of ‘anonymous free speech.’ I remember my grandfather telling me as I was growing up, ‘Sam, with freedom comes responsibility.’ In other words, you may be free to speak, but you’re accountable for what you say.”
When a case involving anonymous free speech recently came before the U. S. Supreme Court—which ruled in favor of it—Reed points out that during the hearing, Justice Antonin Scalia has some pointed comments about it. “Justice Scalia said, ‘What is this, some touchy, feely thing where you don’t want anyone to get upset because others disagree with them?’ He’s also said to be politically active requires some civic courage,” Reed recalls.
Reed—himself possible future governor of Washington—views the issues as part of the ever-changing landscape of politics. “In politics,” he says, “the world can change real fast.”
Clough not average Democrat
Lou Marzeles
Editor
Jay Clough doesn’t think Washington’s 4th Congressional district is conservative, though it has that image.
“It’s not a conservative district,” the Democratic challenger for incumbent Rep. Doc Hastings’ seat says. “I think it’s a pragmatic district.”
Pragmatism, Clough believes, is what will make voters send him to Washington in place of Hastings. Judging by history, such an outcome would represent a dramatic change in the district’s voting pattern—Hastings has been its representative to Congress since 1994. Clough spoke at a town hall meeting in Goldendale Sunday afternoon.
Clough believes his approach differs sharply from those who have run against Hastings before.
“I’m more interested in what’s good for my district than I am in my party,” he said Sunday. “I’m interested in reaching across the aisle to work with principled Democrats and principled Republicans together for the common good of this district.”
The picture Clough paints of himself differs sharply from the image of the garden-variety Democrat. He often cites agreement with Republicans and differences with Democrats.
“The people running the U.S. government today are children,” he says of the current administration. “Political leadership needs to come from people truly supporting the needs of the American middle class, and those are the people I want to support. Political leadership today tends to think in terms of election cycles; they’re based on what’s going to happen now, before the next election. Sometimes you do need to make decisions about right now, but where is the leadership that looks 10 years or more down the road?”
Clough applies that long-range thinking toward some of the more dramatic developments in the country. “What happened in Arizona, with its immigration law, is mistaken,” he says. “For one thing, immigration is a federal issue, not a state issue. Immigration is about coming into the United States, not about coming into Arizona. But the Arizona law is reacting to the fact that immigration reform should have been accomplished a long time ago at the federal level. This is a Clinton problem, a Bush problem, an Obama problem. The federal government didn’t get it done.”
Clough has a plan for immigration reform. And a plan for veterans, and a plan for energy, and a plan for jobs, he says. He points to his plans as a sharp contrast to Hastings, who he criticizes for having virtually no plans for anything. “Representative Hastings has been in office since 1994,” Clough says. “In that time, he has a total of four bills that he authored and passed in Congress. Where is the Hastings bill for jobs, the Hastings bill for energy, the Hastings bill for veterans? He doesn’t have any. He does write a lot of letters, though.”
By all reports, Clough has an uphill battle against Hastings. The eight-term incumbent has handily defeated every challenger. And at the end of 2009, Hastings had some $276,000 in campaign contributions, to Clough’s $9,291. Clough has been officially nominated by the state Democratic Party Committee to run against Hastings.
Clough, 33, was born and raised in Kennewick. After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the armed forces, as every male member of his family had for generations. He served in the United States Marine Corps as a Light Armored Reconnaissance Infantryman from 1995 to 1999. Subsequently, he attended Central Washington University, getting degrees in Pacific Asian Studies and Chinese Language. As a student, he studied at both Beijing University in China and Ewha University in Seoul, South Korea. He then spent three years teaching English in Japan. Presently he works at Hanford for Washington River Protection Solutions, on the clean-up effort there.
 City police action last week relatively quiet
Goldendale’s police enjoyed a relatively quiet week. An arrest was made on Saturday when an officer spotted Leesa Combs driving near the 500 block of Simcoe. Recognizing Combs was driving on a suspended license, the officer attempted to stop Combs. Combs turned onto Elm Street, then right onto Maple Street, and then she left the car. She stopped when ordered to do so by the officer. Combs was arrested for driving while suspended in the first degree, an indication of her status as an habitual offender with a long list of traffic violations.
There were two collisions investigated by officers last week. The first was a two-car collision at the intersection of Roosevelt Ave. and Simcoe on May 20 at 3 p.m. A 17-year-old female driver backed into another vehicle at the stop sign causing more than $750 in damages. The 17-year-old was cited for no license or insurance. The second collision occurred on Sunday when an 81 year old woman accidentally stepped on the gas instead of the brake and crashed her Subaru into the Catholic Church. Nobody was injured and the Subaru was undamaged. However, a hole was knocked through the outer wall of the church. The amount of damages was unspecified.
Officers and the fire department responded to a reported fire in Cottonwood RV Park on Sunday morning around 5:45 a.m. A residence was inundated with smoke when a pan was left on a hot stove. Nobody was injured and the only damage was caused by smoke.
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