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closeTuesday, Sep. 16, 2008
Public lands candidates Sutherland, Goldmark spar
By Chris Mulick, Herald Olympia bureau
Republican state public lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland and Democratic challenger Peter Goldmark sparred over campaign contributions and conflicts of interest in a meaty exchange Monday before the Herald editorial board.
Sutherland is seeking his third term to the post, which oversees management of state-owned lands and generates revenue for public schools and other causes. But Goldmark, who was just 2 percentage points shy of the incumbent in the August primary, is providing a fiery challenge, asserting Sutherland is too tied to the timber industry to impartially regulate it.
He points to campaign contributions Sutherland has received from the timber industry, which Sutherland acknowledges equal about half of what he's raised. And a political action committee called Committee for Balanced Stewardship has raised more than $550,000 from the timber industry, including $100,000 from Weyerhaeuser, to run an independent campaign supporting Sutherland.
Goldmark charges Sutherland with "lax oversight that is influenced heavily by the very industry the commissioner is charged with regulating."
"It's a huge conflict of interest," Goldmark says.
Sutherland received similar support from the timber industry in 2004. He dismisses such accusations, saying, "I keep it at arm's length." And he points to all the money Goldmark is getting from environmental groups.
"Everyone knows I'm going to go by the book. There is no favoritism," Sutherland said.
He claims to have taken the reins of an agency that in 2001 was "ready to implode" and "nearly broke." Sutherland says harvests from public lands have been increased to boost revenues in a way that will keep the proceeds sustainable for 200 years.
He says forests are healthier, the asset base is stronger and recreational opportunities are broader.
Goldmark, a former Washington State University Regent who in 2006 unsuccessfully challenged Republican U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, has gained notice by raising more than $650,000 to Sutherland's $500,000.
He argues the Department of Natural Resources, under Sutherland, hasn't been thorough enough in reviewing harvest plans, citing a December mudslide in Lewis County brought on, in part, by clear cutting and a heavy storm.
Goldmark said it's an example of how Sutherland "looks the other way," while timber companies he regulates "do what they want to."
Sutherland said the storm was so severe it wouldn't have mattered if the hillside was forested or not. Further, he said all decisions are made using public processes that include opportunities to appeal.
"If anyone had a problem with any of these forest practice applications, they could protest it. No one did," Sutherland said.
Goldmark also criticizes Sutherland for increasing management fees, something Sutherland said was necessary because the state must make big investments up front before collecting payments from those doing business on its land.
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