Inslee’s out. Could Democrats’ 38-year hold on the WA state governor job be up? | Opinion

A bit of Tri-City Herald lore came to mind after Gov. Jay Inslee announced this week he would not seek reelection.

It happened many years ago, long before Inslee’s time. As the story goes, a powerful statewide officeholder from Western Washington came to visit the Herald editorial board, and while details of the discussion are now fuzzy, the politician made one remark that has not been forgotten.

He told us he could stand at the top of the Space Needle in Seattle and see every vote he needs to win a statewide election.

It was a sobering thought then, and it’s a sobering thought now.

In the 2020 election, Inslee, a Democrat, carried Puget Sound and a couple other counties in the state. His Republican opponent, Loren Culp, dominated Eastern Washington and rural west side areas.

Inslee won, of course, and the state got a better governor.

But now Inslee has decided not to push for an unprecedented fourth term, presenting an opportunity for change we haven’t seen in decades.

Washington state reportedly has had the longest current streak of Democratic governors in the nation. The last Republican to hold the post was John Spellman, whose term ended in 1985.

Already, Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, has launched an exploratory run for the office. There’s speculation that Commissioner of Public Lands Hillary Franz, also a Democrat, is interested.

On the Republican side, Richland School Board member Semi Bird has announced his candidacy. But being the target of a recall effort will surely dog him throughout his campaign.

Signatures were submitted Tuesday, and it appears the recall question will be on the ballot in August.

Bird and two other school board members voted to defy the state mask mandate last year, resulting in a two-day school shutdown. In the end, students returned to school wearing masks until the order was lifted by Inslee.

If Republicans want a shot at the governor’s office, they should find a moderate candidate who has name recognition statewide. It should be someone conservative enough to appeal to the GOP base, but thoughtful and reasonable enough to draw in constituents living in the state’s urban centers.

Any candidate who focuses on solving problems — instead of stoking divisiveness — will be appreciated by those tired of ugly politics.

While Inslee’s roots are in Seattle, he lived in Selah, Wash., for many years, raising his family and practicing law. While living in Central Washington, he served in the state House of Representatives for two terms before running for Congress.

He represented the Tri-Cities as part of the state’s 4^th Congressional District for one term before losing his reelection bid in 1994 to retired Rep. Doc Hastings of Pasco.

Inslee eventually moved to the west side of the state and continued his political career, but his familiarity with Eastern Washington and the Tri-Cities made him sensitive to our needs, which was always a plus.

His work on Hanford cleanup has been appreciated, and his support for new programs at Washington State University Tri-Cities has been invaluable.

As it happens, Inslee is visiting the Tri-Cities this week. His stops include Energy Northwest, the Port of Benton and the new police training center in Pasco.

But for all the good he has done, Inslee’s mandates during the COVID pandemic angered many people in the Tri-Cities and elsewhere. Many thought the social distancing requirements and the mask mandate went on far too long.

His goal, however, was to save lives and that was admirable. While other states’ hospitals were overrun, the COVID death rate in Washington state was among the lowest nationwide.

Over the years, we disagreed with Inslee’s clean energy goals that failed to fully embrace hydro and nuclear power. But his focus on making sure the planet is safe for future generations is one we applaud.

Under Inslee’s watch, Washington state implemented the nation’s most generous family and medical leave program, offering up to 16 weeks of paid leave. Our state also is one of 10 leading states in the country that fully implemented the Affordable Care Act and made sure insurers cover people with pre-existing conditions.

Inslee may not have been popular with many Tri-Citians, but he didn’t disparage or dismiss us.

In fact, when Inslee was heckled during a pandemic visit to the Tri-Cities in 2020, he handled it graciously.

We hope his successor will be collaborative and bring us together.

And the best way to do that is to truly care about representing the entire state — not just the liberal urban core that helps get Democrat politicians elected to statewide positions.