Aberdeen and Zillah sit 222 miles apart on U.S. 12, with Mount Rainier between them.
Their residents live in different climates: Aberdeen cloaked in coastal fog and rain, Zillah wrapped in dry desert heat. Their residents usually vote for different political leaders: Aberdeen picks Democrats, Zillah chooses Republicans.
But they’re alike when it comes to the governor’s race between Democrat Christine Gregoire and Republican Dino Rossi.
People in both towns are less than enthused about the battle. It’s a level of disinterest that comes from a belief that whoever wins will not significantly change their lives.
In recent visits to the two cities, residents expressed frustration and anger that state leaders in Olympia routinely forsake them in order to serve those in Snohomish, King and Pierce counties.
“Eastern Washington feels ignored. People don’t feel their real issues are getting addressed,” Zillah Mayor Gary Clark said. “You can see all the votes you need to get elected by standing atop the Space Needle.”
During the campaign, the candidates have visited both cities in search of votes. Rossi held a rally in Aberdeen on Oct. 23, and three days earlier Gregoire stopped at a winery in Zillah.
But Aberdeen Mayor Mike Wilson said those appearances alone will not resolve the problem that residents feel overlooked.
“We think we don’t get the attention, too,” he said. “Voters may want to hear these people say, ‘As governor, I’ll come every month to Aberdeen.’ But if you see them once in their term, you’d be lucky.”
Aberdeen: Gateway to the Olympic Peninsula
Heading west on U.S. 12, a blanket of fog ends at the city’s front door, revealing a clear view of the Chehalis River and Weyerhauser’s log pile and pulp mill. It was here in 1884 that A.J. West constructed the first sawmill in town.
Aberdeen’s fate has long mirrored that of the timber industry, and it’s been in a long down cycle, only recently showing signs of resurgence.
Isolated from Western Washington’s urban core, it is a Democratic enclave in Grays Harbor County that backed Gary Locke for governor in 2000 and is expected to side with Gregoire.
But Wilson, 56, a Democrat, said the vote may be closer than expected in his town.
For residents, Gregoire’s positives are winning the tobacco lawsuit and supporting public schools, he said in an interview at Duffy’s Restaurant. Her negatives are missing a key legal deadline that led to an $18.5 million payout, and some locals blame her role in running the Department of Ecology for hindering the city’s economic development.
Rossi, Wilson said, has had a greater campaign presence in the city. He is “not the prototype” Republican, though people know little about him.
People will vote based on “campaign nuances and perception rather than their familiarity with either candidate’s record,” Wilson said. “I don’t think people here think either one will make any difference for our city.”
On a street corner a couple of blocks away, the Grays Harbor County Republican Party and Young Republicans have set up shop. Campaign signs are stacked on a table in a parking lot, while on the sidewalk a boisterous group of high school and college students furiously wave signs endorsing President Bush, Rossi and the GOP ticket.
“He’s a beacon of hope for people, a conservative who is running for governor,” said Oliver Tharp, 23. Rossi “is an answer to our prayers here in this community.”
Residents Dixie and Lee Roy Miles dropped by to pick up a sign for the president, not Rossi. They said they’ve noticed the lack of excitement for the governor’s race.
“I think the governor we have right now is so low-key that people are not geared to the governor doing anything,” Dixie Miles said. “It’s almost like the state runs without him, and so you don’t think it has an impact on you.”
Gene Sparks, owner of The Dog House hot-dog stand, says the decision is important, and he does talk with friends about the race.
He’s convinced that Rossi’s plans would not help his 20-year-old business. Sparks also said he worries that Rossi will cut the state-funded basic health plan on which he and his wife rely for medical treatment. “Gregoire will be good on health care,” he said.
At a rummage sale in the Polish Club building, volunteer Robin Wilppone, 60, said health care is the issue. “I would like to see someone lower the cost of health care and make it affordable and accessible for the working class.”
She leans Democratic. “I like the fact that Christine Gregoire went after tobacco companies and won. I really don’t know that much about Dino Rossi.”
She, too, is turned off by attack ads and politicians whose focus is on those living in the Seattle-Olympia corridor. “Everybody says they’re going to do this and that, and then they don’t.”
Zillah: Gateway to fruit and wine country
Traveling east on U.S. 12, light snow flurries on White Pass give way to a high desert clime marked by dry skies and brown hills. Exit 52 brings you to Zillah, a farm town with no stoplights and one water tower standing watch in a neighborhood.
A frontier spirit gives soul to this Republican hamlet in Yakima County, whose voters stood strong with John Carlson for governor in 2000.
The city is prepping for a population boom. A developer is proposing a golf course and nearly 1,000 homes on the west end. A cultural renaissance is coming, too. Wineries surround the city. Their owners – as well as civic leaders – want to lure troves of tourists from the west side of the “Cascade Curtain.”
Residents often talk of the problem of illegal immigration, the hassle of land-use restrictions and the empty promises made for public schools. There’s not much talk about the governor’s race.
That’s no surprise to Mayor Gary Clark, 57, co-owner of a fertilizer company and an elected leader for two decades.
“People don’t feel the real issues are addressed in Olympia, only the issues affecting those on the west side,” he said during lunch at The Squeeze Inn. “We have the land and no people. They have the people and no land.”
He’s supporting Rossi because he believes the candidate is a straight shooter who will work to help business. He fears Gregoire can only accomplish her plans by raising taxes.
Inside Lisa’s Cuts and Curls, Caren Moritz is getting her hair done as Sheryl Weber waits. The two shift their conversation from that night’s homecoming football game to Tuesday’s election.
They’re elementary school teachers. They support Gregoire – a minority view in town. They’re concerned that Rossi has not focused on education. They disagree with his backing of charter schools and worry what direction he would push public schools.
Weber said she objected to Rossi’s ad criticizing Gregoire for missing the deadline in a high-profile lawsuit. “Which of us has not made a mistake,” she said. “He runs a very negative campaign.”
Inside The Fuel Yard coffee shop, Brenda Schneider said this race is “the one I’m having the most difficulty with.” She’s heard good and bad things about the candidates, is “leaning Republican” but would find it “kind of cool” to have a woman governor.
“I wish I knew them personally and could talk to them,” she said. “I’d like to know what their moral standards are.”
Carrie Curtin, a native of Des Moines, Wash., whose father worked for Boeing, moved to Zillah a decade ago and now works at the Hyatt Winery. She also is undecided, torn by a distaste for Democrats and respect for Gregoire.
“I find her extremely smart and very sophisticated, and I don’t see it in him,” she said.
Her husband, Brian, is pure “Vitamin R. “Just give me one switch to pull,” the staunch Republican said.
Their fear is that the next governor will again ignore the desires of cities east of the mountains, making their votes irrelevant.
“I almost feel like the vote is a wasted effort, because all the strength is on the west side,” he said. “Seattle sucks the common sense out of the state.”
Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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