Herald staff
EDMONDS — People strolling along the street and in the shops of downtown Edmonds Thursday afternoon may have been surprised to run into a hand-shaking Gov. Gary Locke, who was in town stumping for fellow Democrat Brian Sullivan.
Sullivan, the former Mukilteo mayor, is running for the 21st Legislative District House seat now held by Rep. Joe Marine, R- Mukilteo. The two will face off in the Nov. 6 general election.
The governor came to town with three messages.
The first was an attempt to boost the Sullivan campaign, telling Edmonds residents that he needs the candidate in Olympia to help break the 49-49 tie in the house and work to resolve problems.
He also made an appearance at the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce, where he delivered two more messages. One was an assurance that the state has been preparing for several years to meet and combat terrorist threats. The governor has been coordinating that through a multiagency committee.
He also told chamber members that it’s great a lot of folks locally and around the country want to do something to help those affected by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the East Coast.
The outpouring is good, but "we can’t forget our own people at home. We need to focus on our community-based organizations," Locke said.
Many such charitable groups have experienced a loss of donations in recent weeks.
"That was part of my message," Locke said. "If we want to make America stronger, we do it one community at a time. While we’re all concerned about the problems in New York, let’s not overlook our own neighbors."
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