Huge crowd helps McKenna spotlight his bid for governor

Published 8:34 am Tuesday, November 8, 2011

With the 2011 election coming to an end, Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna shifted his 2012 campaign for governor into a higher gear this morning

Roughly 1,600 people packed the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue where McKenna described his plans for creating jobs, reforming education and streamlining state government.

To aid business, McKenna said he would reduce regulations, revamp the workers compensation system, lower unemployment insurance rates and enact “meaningful tort reform.”

On education, he called for linking the pay of teachers to the achievement of their students and to pay some teachers more if they work in rural areas. He said he wants to expand early learning and all day kindergarten programs and have a longer school year for “kids at risk” of not succeeding academically.

He called for the state to spend more on two- and four-year colleges and to strike a “50-50 deal” with students in which they and the state split the tab for the costs of attending a public college.

How will McKenna pay for it all? He said he will reprioritize spending and reform government so it is “leaner, more productive and results-oriented.

To hear exactly what McKenna said, there’s video of the event on his website