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| There's an old idea in Washington politics that a "Cascade Curtain" divides east from west. This blog tackles the political issues that matter to Eastern Washingtonians, from Congress on down to your local irrigation district. Join the conversation by commenting or e-mailing Herald political reporter Michelle Dupler at mdupler@tricityherald.com |
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closeAn editorial today said Republican candidate Terry Nealey believes he was misrepresented when a Thursday editorial endorsing his opponent said he thought Democrat Chris Gregoire has been an effective governor.
Here’s what Nealey wrote in response, as was published by the Herald:
"Contrary to the TCH editorial on Thursday, October 15, I DO NOT think Christine Gregoire has been an effective governor for the state of Washington. In fact, I believe quite the opposite.
She is the leader of the Washington State Democrats, the party responsible for a culture of failure. The same culture of failure that has brought record deficits that adversely impact Washington taxpayers. These impacts are felt by children, seniors and some of our more vulnerable citizens through budget cuts to education, public safety and health and human services.
I appreciate the opportunity the TCH has afforded me to set the record straight."
I was one of the nine people who sat in on that interview. Although I play no role on the editorial board and have no influence on the decisions the editorial board makes, and they have no influence on the stories I write, it is useful for a reporter to sit in on those meetings to use the conversation as a basis for a story.
I did use parts of that conversation, along with additional reporting, in the story on the 16th District race that ran today.
Accuracy is of the utmost importance to me as a reporter, and I take pretty good notes. As I sat down Thursday to write my story, I reviewed my notes from the editorial board and found the following direct quotes from Nealey in response to the question "What do you think of Gregoire?" that was posed to both candidates:
- "Gregoire has been a pretty effective governor."
- "She’s survived politically better than I thought she would."
I also have a note that Nealey said he respected Gregoire for not raising taxes, but that one’s a paraphrase.
In response to the same question, incumbent Rep. Laura Grant, D-Walla Walla, said:
- "Gregoire scares me. She wants to be ahead of the nation on just about every issue."
Grant then cited energy, cap and trade in particular, and health care as examples of policy areas in which Gregoire wanted to act before Congress.
Nealey mentioned to me in a brief phone conversation on Thursday — I had called to clarify his position on a couple of issues before writing about the race — that he had taken some heat for the comments attributed to him in the editorial. He brought that up, by the way. I didn’t ask him about it.
It will be up to voters to decide what they believe Nealey’s intent was, and whether he's the best person to represent the 16th District. This is just another data point on the conversation from a person who was there.
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