When the two men vying to be Washington’s next governor debated last week in Seattle, Republican Dave Reichert seemed rattled and unprepared, stumbling through answers and unable to respond to Democrat Bob Ferguson’s criticisms.
Even Reichert’s appearance – no jacket, no tie – signaled to some that he might not be taking this endeavor seriously.
Wednesday, when they met again in Spokane, the former congressman came in a suit and tie, and with his talking points ready.
“A Democrat House, a Democrat Senate working together with, yes, a Republican governor. Mind-blowing, right?,” he said in his closing comments to the audience in Fox Theater. “We can show the country what it means for a divided state like Washington to come together to fix what’s broken, change what’s wrong and do what’s right.”
His closing offered a contrast to Ferguson, the state attorney general, who followed and sought to cast himself as the reformer who would change the culture of government in tackling the myriad challenges facing the state, on issues ranging from crime to housing costs to education.