Voters - Wake Up!!

It's Endorsement Time!!

Endorsements by Free Press staff

Consider this scenario: You were too bored to vote on November 8, and wake up on November 9 only to find that the state's Congressional delegation now contains two members of the fundamentalist Christian right. On the State Supreme Court sits a card-carrying, anti-environmental "property rights" advocate. Both the State House and Senate are controlled by Republicans. And, Slade Gorton is still your Senator. So, while we are as cynical as anyone about the prospects for real change, things could get a lot worse. So, here are the Free Press picks in a select set of races whose outcome could make a big difference, either positive or negative. We also present a digest of endorsements from some state organizations, and some national organizations' ratings of incumbent members' voting record on specific issues in the U.S. Congress. Happy voting!

U.S. Senate

Here's a tough one. Republican incumbent Slade Gorton has done less with more than almost any politician we can think of. He's intelligent, well-educated, knowledgeable - and completely devoid of any principles. We know that Slade knows better than to mindlessly parrot the Republican orthodoxy on almost every issue. Slade could have exercised some independence, becoming this state's version of a John Danforth or a Nancy Kassenbaum; instead, he used his nose as a political weathervane to support virtually every crackpot far-right idea coming down the pike. Slade, a friend of the working man when that entails mowing down what's left of the old growth forests, has otherwise voted against virtually every piece of pro-labor legislation. And, he has one of the worst environmental records in the Senate.
Ron Sims would be a dramatic improvement. Sims has a strong labor record, and is reasonably good on the environment. His idealistic temperament has dissipated somewhat in recent years as he has become more of a dealmaker, and as he has sought to broaden his appeal to those folks who fund political campaigns. We question his support for the jury-rigged Clinton health alliances, and would have preferred to see him endorse some version of single payer. But overall his election will mean, more often than not, another vote on the positive side of the ledger. Free Press Pick: Sims

U.S. House of Representatives

First District

Maria Cantwell is a "business Democrat" with a heart. Hailing from a conservative-leaning area long represented by Republican John Miller, she has taken pains to establish herself as a pro-growth leader in touch with the needs of the high tech businesses in her district. Oneway she has pushed to help local firms such as Microsoft has been to opppose the "clipper chip" which would make it easier for the government to eavesdrop on you, while at the same time helping to squelch U.S. high technology exports. She also wants to create on-line access to various government data bases currently still under Cold War restrictions, and to make it easier to gain information under the Freedom of Information Act. These help industry while also being worth supporting on other grounds. Unfortunately, her effort to maintain an image of fiscal responsibility left her supporting the ill-advised Penny-Kasich amendments, which through shaving another 90 billion off the deficit in one year would probably have thrown the country into a recession. Still, unlike the "New Democrats" to whom she has some affinity, Cantwell has compiled a strong labor, civil liberties, and pro-choice record, even if her environmental credentials are a little shaky.
Cantwell's opponent Rick White is towing the Newt Gingrich Republican Party line, having signed the "contract" which pledges him to vote for capital gains taxes for the wealthy along with huge increases in defense spending, which some analysts have predicted could add 700 billion to the deficit over 5 years. It's supply side economics all over again! He is also lukewarm on choice, having received an 80% "pro-life" rating from the anti-abortion Human Life PAC. He is also opposed to all forms of gun control, including bans on assault weapons, and opposes the Brady law and other attempts to strike a sensible balance. Free Press Pick: Cantwell

Second District

State Senator Harriet Spanel has compiled a solid record in both the state House and Senate. She has been strong in pushing for health care reform. Unfortunately, her environmental record could be better, and her formerly strong pro-labor voting record has slipped in recent years.
But former state Senator Jack Metcalf is not the kind of person we would want to see in Congress. He is prone to pursue various crackpot crusades, such as returning the U.S. to the gold standard, or trying to undermine native access to fisheries granted by the Boldt decision, rather than providing sensible solutions to real problems. He is against a woman's right to choose, has opposed family leave legislation, and opposes the criminalization of spousal rape. Let's let him retire in peace on Whidbey Island where he belongs. Free Press Pick: Spanel

Third District

Jolene Unsoeld is a fighter. She has twice held on to the seat in her conservative-leaning district, and has scrappily pushed for the interests of her constituents while still keeping broader goals in mind. She has refused to buy into the "jobs vs. owls" line, and has steadfastly sought solutions which lead us toward sustainable forestry, and solutions to the rural unemployment problem. Her work to prevent oil spills has also been exemplary. We would have preferred for her to exercise just a little independence from the NRA, however. We wouldn't expect her to get out in front, but perhaps some of her constituents would forgive her if she pointed out that sensible regulation of guns is no more restrictive of gun owner's rights than traffic laws are of the right to personal liberty.
Linda Smith, a Christian fundamentalist who has expanded her base to include the anti-tax, anti-government, and Rush Limbaugh crowd, was the prime mover behind Initiative 601 which is slowly choking off the ability of government to respond to real needs. She also sponsored an end-run around the legislature with another initiative which would have gutted a quarter-century's work on environmental, health, and safety regulation. That effort failed, but Smith has her eyes on bigger things. Don't let it happen! Free Press Pick: Unsoeld

Seventh District

Vote for Jim McDermott. Everyone else who lives in his district will. He has a soul and he is the author of the major single payer health bill that has been doing the rounds in D.C. Free Press Pick: McDermott

Ninth District

Mike Kreidler has done a pretty good job of sticking to his priciples in a swing district such as this one. He has been out in front on sensible gun control, supporting the ban on assault weapons, and has worked to reduce the accessibility of guns to minors. He supported efforts at comprehensive health care reform. Although he buys into the "more prisons are good" mentality, he has also pushed for an increase in prevention programs to reduce the need for more prison space.
Randy Tate is another rather scary character. He was a Pat Robertson delegate in '88, and has never repudiated that extremist platform. He is against reproductive choice, opposes all forms of gun control, is against family and medical leave policies, and opposes health care reform. Here's another guy whose career deserves to go nowhere. Free Press Pick: Kreidler

State Supreme Court

We're not so sure we ought to be electing judges at all. It's virtually impossible for those who are not lawyers to know how to vote. Do we really get the best people out of a process involving campaign contributions, and election-year huckstering? Will judges who need to be re-elected really exercise the independence we need? If we must vote for judges at all, we ought to have a different process whereby voters actually know what the candidates stand for.
Despite our misgivings, one race is too important to ignore. State Senator Phil Talmadge, one of the more reliable and independent liberals in the Senate, with an excellent environmental and solid labor record, is in a contest with Jeannette Burrage, a radical anti-environmental "property rights" advocate. Having one of these folks on the state Supreme Court would send a chill through the entire state. Their stance is that any regulation, especially environmental and land use, that results in a lower value for a chunk of real estate should be prohibited, or alternately, that government should pay compensation for any loss in value. If adopted, this view would make all zoning, and wetlands and habitat preservation virtually impossible. There's no need to go back to the frontier days; vote for Phil. Free Press Pick: Talmadge

Percent "Right" Votes, 1993 Congress

AFL-CIO - American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations ; LCV - League of Conservation Voters ; ACLU - American Civil Liberties Union ; NARAL - National Abortion Rights Action League .

U.S. House of Reps

Maria Cantwell - 1st Dist.
83 (AFL-CIO); 75 (LCV); 92 (ACLU); 100 (NARAL)

Jolene Unsoeld - 2nd Dist.
100 (AFL-CIO); 80 (LCV); 92 (ACLU); 100 (NARAL)

Norm Dicks --- 6th Dist.
92 (AFL-CIO); 70 (LCV); 77 (ACLU); 100 (NARAL)

Jim McDermott - 7th Dist.
92 (AFL-CIO); 90 (LCV); 92 (ACLU); 100 (NARAL)

Jennifer Dunn - 8th Dist.
0 (AFL-CIO); 25 (LCV); 23 (ACLU); 15 (NARAL)

Mike Kreidler - 9th Dist.
92 (AFL-CIO); 85 (LCV); 92 (ACLU); 100 (NARAL)

U.S. Senate

Slade Gorton
27 (AFL-CIO); 13 (LCV); 20 (ACLU); 35 (NARAL)

Endorsements - State House and Senate

WEnPAC - Washington Environmental Political Action Committee

House:
32nd: Nancy Rust, Grace Cole; 36th: Mary L. Dickerson; 37th: Dawn Mason, Kip Tokuda; 43rd: Pat Thibaudeau, Frank Chopp
Senate:
32nd: Darlene Fairley; 36th: Jeanne Kohl; 37th: Dwight Pelz; 43rd: Cal Anderson

WSLC - Washington State Labor Council

House:
32nd: Nancy Rust, Grace Cole; 36th: Mary L. Dickerson; 37th: Dawn Mason, ***; 43rd: Pat Thibaudeau, Frank Chopp
Senate:
32nd: Darlene Fairley; 36th: Jeanne Kohl; 37th: Dwight Pelz; 43rd: Cal Anderson

WFT - Washington Federation of Teachers

House:
32nd: Nancy Rust, Grace Cole; 36th: Mary L. Dickerson; 37th: Dawn Mason, ***; 43rd: Pat Thibaudeau, Frank Chopp
Senate:
32nd: Darlene Fairley; 36th: Jeanne Kohl; 37th: Dwight Pelz; 43rd: ***

*** no endorsement in this race at the time of publication



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Contents on this page were published in the October/November, 1994 edition of the Washington Free Press.
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