If there is any moral high ground in Washington’s current gubernatorial race, it belongs to Christine Gregoire. She has consistently held the position that all votes should be counted even when it placed her gubernatorial aspirations at a disadvantage. Specifically, she refused to allow a recount of any votes unless the Democratic Party could pay for a recount in every county in the state. And she committed to concede defeat unless this criterion was met. At that moment my heart soared like a hawk! Someone made a decision based on principle rather than selfish concern!
There have been many letters to the editor implying that Dino Rossi, with his toilet paper thin margin of victory, was above legal maneuvering for victory. But his recent position that 573 votes in heavily Democratic King County should not be counted even if the voters had properly submitted their ballots revealed that, when push comes to shove, his is a “win at all costs, voters be damned” philosophy.
Both candidates are scrappers. And this is as it should be. If Rossi believes that newly discovered votes are fraudulent, he has the right and the responsibility to contest them. I support that and my guess is that Gregoire would also. But to disenfranchise voters on a legal technicality or a government administrative error is morally wrong and does not speak well of the party suggesting it.
More importantly, whoever wins this election should carry into the governor’s office the clear understanding that they are leading a state which is evenly split on the issues that differentiate these candidates. And this should be taken as a mandate to seek middle ground rather than aggressively pursue a vendetta in the direction of either party’s philosophy. Would that such wisdom could surface in the office of the president.
Ken Dammand
Marysville
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