From your nonstop local election headquarters and in partnership with the Association of Washington Business and Greater Spokane Incorporated.

This is the 2024 Washington State gubernatorial debate.

Now, here's your moderator, Sean Owsley.

And everyone, welcome to the Fox Theater here in downtown Spokane, Washington.

Whether you're watching here or anywhere across the state in Seattle to Olympia or beyond.

Tonight's 2024 gubernatorial debate between the two finalists.

Rules agreed on of this debate by both candidates in their campaigns.

Each question will have a 92nd response, a 62nd response, and a 32nd rebuttal.

Joining me tonight to ask the questions on our debate panel from Nonstop political HQ morning anchor Kaleigh Chuck.

And Olympia based staff writer for Pluribus News and longtime host of Inside Olympia on TV.

Austin Jenkins.

Before we meet the candidates here on stage for this live one hour debate, some history in the backgrounds of both candidates.

How did we get to this night?

Here are a portion of their professional histories.

One of the largest primary fields in years.

You voted.

Whittling down to two candidates for governor.

Democrat Bob Ferguson.

Republican Dave Reichert.

Two men on two sides of a similar coin.

Law and order, both now vying for the top job in Washington state.

Ferguson is the law.

He's been 12 years as attorney general of Washington State.

University of Washington graduates started his career in Spokane clerking for a federal judge.

From there, he joined a Seattle law firm and then moved into politics in 2003, a member of King County's city council.

In 2012, Ferguson was elected to the Washington State Attorney General's Office, the 18th, and has been there for the past 12 years.

If Ferguson is the law, Reichert is the order.

A former King County sheriff's deputy.

Reichert was a Concordia Lutheran College graduate, played football for the Cavaliers.

Reichert played a critical role in the task force in the search for Gary Ridgway, the green River serial killer.

He was elected sheriff just before Ridgway arrest.

As Ferguson was getting into politics.

Reichert was entering the national stage in 2004.

He was elected to Congress and spent the next 15 years serving in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Now, both have their eyes squarely set on a job held by Governor Jay Inslee.

For the past 12 years, the governor seat two candidates, one office to lead Washington State.

Welcome to the nonstop local gubernatorial debate.

And as background on the two finalists to become Washington state's next governor, let's welcome the candidates to the stage.

Current Attorney General Bob Ferguson, former Congressman Dave Reichert.

Order was determined by a coin flip backstage in the previous hour.

the Ferguson campaign won the coin toss and elected to go second.

Opening statements are 60s.

former Congressman Reichert goes first.

Ready?

Are you ready?

Okay.

I am so, anxious, to be here tonight.

You notice I didn't say happy.

I'm very anxious to be here tonight.

But I want to say, just for a moment, if you could imagine how you got to where you are today.

How did you personally get to where you are today?

It's all about the choices that you've made.

It's about the choices your parents made that your bosses made, that puts you in the place that you are today.

Same true for me.

Choices that my parents made that caused me to run away from home, from domestic violence.

Choices that I made later on in my career.

I also believe that God has a plan.

You know, the bigger question is how did Washington State get to where it is today?

Through choices, right?

Is through choices that we made to elect leaders in our state that, in my opinion, made the wrong decisions.

That led us to a road where we have the highest, one of the highest crime rates, one of the highest homelessness rates.

People dying in the streets from fentanyl, one of the highest costs of living in the country and one of the most, I guess, failing educational systems in the country.

That is time, Mr. Ferguson.

Thank you to the moderators and the sponsors.

Thank you, Congressman Riker, it's good to see you again.

And most importantly, to the Washingtonians who are joining us tonight.

first, it's great to be back in Spokane, where I used to live and work just a few blocks away from here.

And look what Washington state is facing many challenges.

We'll talk about those tonight.

Public safety in opioid epidemic.

Washingtonians paying too much for their housing and their groceries.

We need a governor who's a change agent, but at the same time, a governor who will defend our core freedoms like reproductive freedom.

I'm the only can, in this race who rejects all campaign contributions from large corporations and corporate PACs.

Why?

Because I'm focused on Washingtonians.

As your attorney general, I've taken on some of the biggest corporations in the world.

When they broke the rules and returned hundreds of millions of dollars back to Washingtonians.

I'm the son of a special education public school teacher and a career Boeing employee.

I know who I am.

I know who I'm fighting for.

Each and every one of you.

Thank you.

And it's our first question tonight.

The business climate in Washington state is challenging.

According to a report from LendingTree, Washington State, the nation's top state for small business failures with 40.8% of small businesses failing in the first year, compared to the national average of just about 23.2%.

Last week here in Spokane, Zona Blanco announced they're closing profitable business because they can't handle vandalism, crime, homeless impact and trying to run a business.

We've seen that statewide in Olympia, Spokane, Seattle, Everett, Lynnwood and beyond.

What does governor what you do to improve the overall business climate for owners and employees statewide?

Specifically, how do you humanely and forcefully impede the negative impact of those struggling with homelessness in proximity to businesses and repeated incidents of crime, vandalism, and lack of safety for those trying to work day to day?

Mr. record.

Well, I think it's obvious.

Crime is out of control.

And why is that?

We don't hold people accountable.

We don't hold people responsible.

There's no consequences when people commit crime.

Part of the problem is we've legalized drugs.

We've legalized even fentanyl.

We have people laying in the streets, in the doorways of our businesses.

That's why people are leaving.

There's a business here in Spokane that just shut its doors.

A popular restaurant, having been open here 20 years, have just they just shut down.

It just closed their doors.

Why?

Because they had aluminum foil from drug use blowing into their store as customers walked into their store to have dinner.

What we're going to do is we're going to enforce the law.

And people smile when I say that.

That's obvious.

But we're not allowing cops to enforce the law.

We have to enforce the law.

We have to support our police officers.

We have to elect officials that support our police officers.

We have to make sure, yes, that our police officers are held accountable and to the policies and laws of Washington State.

But we also have to make sure that when they make a life and death decision, that the attorney General's office is not going to come after them and sue them or charge them with a crime.

Mr. Ferguson.

So I appreciate the question on small businesses and homelessness back in 1899 or 1900.

My family created a business in Everett, Washington.

It was a meat market, and for multiple generations, that small business stayed in my family and serve that community, serve food, and created jobs through depression, through world wars.

So I care a great deal on making sure we grow our small businesses.

Part of your question goes to homelessness.

A key question here is the contrast in our respective plans.

In contrast to my plan.

Congressman Reichert has literally proposed repealing to send homeless individuals to McNeil Island, which is where we keep our sexually violent predators.

How do I know that?

Because my team sends them to McNeil Island.

That is a very unserious proposal for a very serious challenge.

My team took on the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world and held them accountable for fueling the opioid epidemic by not playing by the rules in pursuit of profits.

We've recovered $1 billion.

I've insisted all that money be used for treatment, and that will help address situation we're seeing and first responders as well.

Mr. record 32nd rebuttal.

Oh, okay.

Here's the deal.

he puts sexual offenders in McNeil Island.

We just released 68 violent offenders this year.

Are you kidding me?

One out of seven of those re-offend, and they're in our community.

Hey, look, I don't care where we put the homeless.

We need to put it in a in a safe place.

We need to surround them with social services.

When we put them in a home, we need to hold a hand on a helping hand.

That is the tie them up off the sidewalk.

Let's go over to our panelists, Austin and block.

My question is for Mr. Ferguson.

A recent Cascade PBS's poll shows economy, jobs and inflation is the biggest issue for voters when it comes to the governor's race.

Right now, we're seeing 33,000 Boeing workers strike demanding 40% wage increases to keep up with the cost of living.

What within your control, as governor, would you do to address the rising cost of living?

Thanks for that question.

And just to respond to his last comment, I want to be clear.

my office is the office that sends sexually violent predators to McNeil Island.

David, just so we're clear, 38 out of 39 county prosecutors who have the Who.

Who have who have who have the authority to prosecute those cases specifically send them to my office.

There's a reason why majority prosecutors endorsed my campaign.

But even the Republican prosecutors who endorse you send the cases regarding sexually violent predators to me, my team.

Why?

Because they know we'll prosecute those cases to the fullest extent of the law.

Look on the question of the economy.

I'm glad you're asked about this, because this gets directly to a huge issue of the rising costs that we're facing.

From housing to groceries.

As attorney general, we've taken on entities that are engaging in price fixing.

We returned recently more than $40 million to Washingtonians because tuna companies and chicken companies engaged in price fixing.

I recovered those dollars.

And what do we do with it?

Send it right back to the pocketbooks of Washingtonians all across our state.

So we need.

The other piece of this will be housing.

In my first term as governor, will construct 200,000 units of housing.

Housing of all kinds.

You may not care where the homeless go, Dave, but I do.

We need to make sure we have housing for those folks.

Market housing and affordable housing for workers.

They'll help our economy.

They'll help our workforce.

Mr. Riker, 60s.

Well, the reason that local prosecutors send cases to the attorney general's office that that they have now 800 lawyers employed instead of 400.

When Bob first started his tenure in the attorney general's office, he has the lawyers to prosecute these cases.

That's one reason why they send them to your office.

Let's just talk about the economy.

it's really to me, it boils down to taxes.

You know what we're doing right now on this gas tax is it is a burden on each and every one of us living in Washington state.

We need to pause that gas tax.

We need to step back and take a look at where we're headed.

Everything that we buy today is a direct result of that gas tax.

Everything that's transported, from your house, from the store, from, the train station, from the warehouses is transported by a truck that's paying high gas taxes.

Those costs are passed on to you, Mr. Ferguson.

32nd rebuttal.

The Tri-City Herald once wrote an editorial about the way I run my office, and they said Ferguson runs his office like a business.

We're actually a revenue generator for the state of Washington.

That's what that legal team is doing, Dave.

And what comes to the economy and what comes to the economy as we transition to a clean energy economy?

I visited East Wenatchee and went to an apprenticeship training program.

Hundreds of workers across our state are being trained there for clean energy economy.

That's how we can help to create jobs for workers all across our state.

Will invest in more trainings just like that.

Mr. Reichert, public education is inextricably linked to the economy and the future of the state.

It's also the state's paramount duty.

Washington Superintendent of Public instruction says the state is underfunding public schools to the tune of about $4 billion a year.

That's billion with a B.

If elected governor, how would you balance the constitutional demand to fully fund public schools, including special education, with other high priority demands for state spending like human services and higher education?

Well, as we know, special education has not been fully funded for years.

I know there's been attempts to do that, and that is one of my number one priorities, is to make sure that special education, gets fully funded.

Look, we have money in the budget to spend on education.

It's not a spending problem.

It's.

And it's an organization problem.

It's a waste problem.

Let's find the the the, programs that work and let's fund those programs.

Let's not fund the programs that are not working.

It's as simple as that.

Our government.

The Washington state government has a $41.8 billion surplus right now, two point billion dollars, $2.8 billion.

Half of that money is unrestricted money that we can start to move to address some of the educational, issues that we have in this state.

What I would like to do is to start some Head Start programs that really focus on people who are interested in the medical field, in the mental health professional field, EMTs, paramedics, teachers, even law enforcement.

Start a running start program, for example, in our junior high schools so that they can start to focus on those, professions that they are interested in immediately instead of waiting until college to pay those higher costs.

Mr. Ferguson 60s.

So the percentage of our budget going to K through 12 education has actually gone down in recent years.

As governor.

I'll change that as a sign of a schoolteacher.

I know how important that is.

And that gets down to prioritization.

Our budget should reflect our values when it comes to education.

Look, one of us has experience in doing that.

When I was chair of the King County Council, I chaired the budget committee.

I worked in a bipartisan way to adopt a budget that balanced our budget, had bipartisan support from politicians of a whole range of political stripes, and made the right investments for our county.

Also, I'm not afraid of taking on big challenges and doing a budget.

I was a King County Council member, the only Democrat who actually supported reducing the size of the King County Council.

You know the politicians.

I reduced the politicians from 13 down to nine.

It cost me my job.

I had to run again in the new district to stay on the King County Council, but I still support that.

Why?

Because we need to be frugal with your tax dollars.

We need to prioritize your tax dollars, and education will be an absolute key for me as governor.

Mr.. Record 32nd rebuttal.

As I talked.

As I talked to teachers, they want choice, too.

They're tired of being dictated by Olympia as to what they can teach and what they can't teach.

Teachers want choice.

Parents want choice.

They want to have a better education for their children.

We need to give them the opportunity to choose the schools they want to go to and their tax dollars follow them to the schools that they choose to send their children to.

And by the way, by the way, one short quick note when Bob was a member of the King County Council, he voted to increase taxes.

That is time.

At least $1 billion.

This next question is from Mr. Ferguson.

The North Spokane corridor has been in the works for decades now.

Funding is finally secured and a finish date is set for 2030.

But with the gas tax diminishing and construction costs rising, how do you make good on that promise and the promise of projects in other communities throughout the state?

Thanks for that question.

And first I do want to mention education was you just heard my opponent say which is something is important is using a voucher system.

Taking public dollars, taking public dollars.

Taking public dollars away from our public education system and sending those public tax dollars to an unaccountable private schools.

That makes our budget problem much worse when it comes to funding our public schools.

Now, on the North-South freeway and frankly, other key projects right close to Cooley City freight rail, right.

The US 12 project down in the southeastern corner of the state.

These are all key projects on the other side of the of the mountains, right?

The Columbia River, River crossing all key projects.

We have to continue moving forward on making sure, making the investments in our infrastructure.

Why?

It's good for our economy.

It's good for farmers and growers to move their goods across the state and internationally as well.

So as a governor, you need a governor who can actually put those budgets together and do that in a thoughtful way.

You're exactly right that that gas tax revenue will be decreasing as we electrify more vehicles.

So look, all options are going to have to be on the table for whoever the next governor is.

But one thing I can assure you is I'll work in a bipartisan fashion, because guess what?

Republicans and Democrats care a great deal on making sure exactly those kind of projects on both sides.

The mountains are completed on time.

Mr. Reichert, 67.

Well, he is right.

As I said earlier, you you do have a choice, and who your leader is.

And as I pointed out earlier in my opening comments, we've made some bad choices.

this time we have an opportunity to make the right choice.

by the way, we don't need to.

We don't need to tax people out of their jobs and out of their homes.

We need to do a shift.

Taxes.

Maybe we should think about shifting the license plates.

tabs and the license taxes.

Auto taxes is maybe taxes on cars.

We can shift those over to the transportation budget and help pay for repairing our roads and fixing the ferry system and finishing the highway here in Spokane like we've been waiting for for years.

You know, the Seattle Times has made a comment just to get back to education quickly, that they actually support charter schools to they see them as successful.

People have noticed that across the country, the charter schools do have a success.

I think competition that it's time.

Mr. Ferguson 32nd rebuttal.

And one thing I want to highlight is that you didn't mention this project, but I referred to earlier that Palouse to Coulee City, right.

That is rail for wheat growers.

That's rail for farmers to move those goods.

So the way I would view this as a governor, that's not some line on the budget, right.

That is a project that's having an impact on businesses and our economy all across the state.

So as a governor, you can make sure you're seeing the people behind that and the business behind that and making our investment decisions.

That's why I will fund those programs into the, to all of you here in the Fox Theater.

There is enthusiasm on both sides.

I just respectfully ask you to decline, applause until the very end.

So we get as much question and answer format here with the two candidates as we have.

And thank you respectfully, Auston.

Mr. record, for the past 12 years, the current governor, Jay Inslee, has prioritized combating climate change and shifting the state to a clean energy economy.

Besides the Climate Commitment Act, which is on the ballot this year, Inslee and legislative Democrats have enacted several other climate policies.

They include a plan to phase out the sale of new gas powered cars, and a shift to 100% clean electricity.

As governor, what priority would you put on reducing Washington's carbon emissions and transitioning away from fossil fuels?

Yeah, I think as Washingtonians, we are all very, keen on and astute to the issues of the environment.

We all want to make sure that Washington stays clean, green and pristine.

That's that's what I worked hard to do in Congress.

I added 20,000 acres to Alpine Lakes Wilderness.

I supported wild sky AI initiated the legislation that led to the Mountains to Sound Greenway.

Those were all things that I worked on in Congress to keep Washington green, clean and pristine.

I am a person who looks at, all of the above energy.

As we move forward, we need to move ourselves off of fossil fuel.

Yes, we do, but we've got to transition into that.

We can't put a a pre designated date on when we're going to change things and then expect things just to work.

That's when things fall apart.

We've got to have a plan.

We've got to look into the future and figure out, you know what, we're going to go forward.

But we've got to make sure that we don't hurt the people of Washington state along the way.

Mr. Ferguson 60s.

So Dave has a history in this campaign of saying one thing when he's before an audience like this, and something very different when he thinks he's speaking behind closed doors.

Dave, you were caught on audio denying that humans contribute to climate change.

You don't believe me?

Go to record repeal.com.

It's actual audio.

So here you sound very reasonable, but when you're behind closed doors, it's very different.

Look, we need a governor who actually understands and believes the science behind climate that helps us with the right kind of investments.

Look, in the Tri-Cities, Alice Agro, this huge business is coming to the tri cities.

It's a massive project.

Hundreds and hundreds of jobs.

Clean fertilizer.

That's the kind of investments we can make as a state.

Not only is that good for clean air.

Not only is that good for clean water, it's also good for jobs.

It's good for our economy.

And that is it, governor, is what my focus, my focus will be.

Believe the science.

Follow the science.

Pay attention to jobs and make sure we're building our economy while also taking care of our climate.

Mr. record 30s.

It's not just pay attention to jobs.

It's not just pay attention to jobs.

It's all about jobs.

It's about your security, job security, your families security.

And that's what we need to keep our focus on.

Yes, the environment is a part of that.

But we got to work smart when we do this and look, here's what I said.

You want to go and find out?

Really?

You.

You're going to hear lies all night and you're going to see commercials over the next month.

Nothing but lies and dishonesty.

Go listen to the entire context of each and every one of each and each and every one of the videos and audios that he's referring to.

Health records, police.

Have a lot of content to get to tonight.

This is the portion where the candidates have agreed to ask each other a direct question.

It follows the same format on 92nd.

Answer a 62nd respond to 32nd rebuttal.

First question to ask goes to Mr. Ferguson.

Thank you Dave.

When the Seattle Times endorsed me over you in this campaign, they wrote about your views on reproductive freedom.

Specifically, they wrote you attended a meeting of an extreme anti-choice organization whose mission is to end abortions nationwide.

The Seattle Times wrote about your response to a question at that meeting, and I'm quoting Riker responded by noting state law protected abortions, and now they quote your response.

But what we have to do now is work towards unraveling all that.

Can you explain to the women of Washington State why you want to unravel reproductive freedom in our state?

Once again, taken out of context, that was a multi question.

There were 3 or 4 questions that I was asked that night, and the unraveling comment was directed toward transgenders participating in women's sports.

Was also referencing the use of men in women's bathrooms.

That's what the unraveling comment Bob was all about.

We have had an abortion law here since 1970.

I will enforce that law as governor, I enforce it.

When I was a sheriff's deputy in the 70s, kept abortion clinics open as people protested in federal way to close them down.

My job as a patrol cop was to keep the driveway and the sidewalk open.

I will protect your rights, ladies.

You have the right to make that choice.

The Supreme Court has made a decision.

It's the people of Washington State that make those decisions for women and voters of Washington.

Mr. Ferguson 60s.

Thanks.

Well, you can either believe Dave or believe the audio.

And also his record reflects his perspective of not defending your reproductive freedom.

When you were back in Congress, Dave, you voted three times for a nationwide abortion ban that criminalizes doctors.

You vote to make certain abortions that are illegal in Washington state illegal and criminalize doctors.

You also, when you're back in Congress, voted time after time after time to defund Planned Parenthood.

Look, in a post office world where reproductive freedom is on the line all across our country, you have a choice.

You either elected governor who has a history of defending your reproductive freedom, who's endorsed by Planned Parenthood, or someone who says, hey, believe him or believe the sale.

Times KUOW reported this story.

So I get that you want to deny it, Dave.

But once again, you say one thing when you think you're behind closed doors and something else entirely when you're speaking to the people of state of Washington and you're running for governor, you can't have it both ways.

32nd rebuttal.

Man, he can lie with a straight face.

I'm telling you right now, what he's telling you is an absolute falsehood.

I voted not once to end abortion in the United States of America.

I voted on a viability law that allows women to have the choice.

Up to 20 weeks is almost exactly the same law that exists in Washington state today.

So don't believe him when he says this.

Don't believe the ads that you see.

And as this race really about abortion, that is time.

It's not Mr.. Record time for your question directly to Mr. Ferguson.

But first, you are on the King County Council, where you raise taxes by $1 billion.

Now, the tax burden for families is higher than ever.

Then you became attorney general, and during your 12 years as the state's chief law enforcer, crime has skyrocketed.

Murders have more than doubled.

The drug crisis has gotten deadlier.

After you urged lawmakers to decriminalize fentanyl.

If you're not responsible for any of this, Bob, who is?

Thanks for that question.

First, just on that previous question here carefully what he said almost exactly the same of.

All right.

He's acknowledging what he did back in Congress.

Number two.

Look, my record when it comes to balanced budgets that are bipartisan is very clear.

I was a budget chair at the King County Council.

Look, it's not the size of a state budget, I get that, but it's still a multi-billion dollar budget.

Democrats had a one vote majority on the King County Council when I chaired the budget committees.

How do we put that budget together?

I'll tell you, Dave.

Two Democrats and Republicans, we locked ourselves in a room for a couple of weeks, and we hammered out the details that budget and took it to the full council.

Guess what happened?

Strong bipartisan support from members of both parties to adopt a bipartisan budget.

Public safety.

Thanks for bringing that up.

As attorney general, I work with local, local prosecutors.

We've already covered sexually violent predators.

They send their cases to me there.

Yes.

What else?

As attorney general, I don't actually have the legal authority to prosecute a case.

If someone breaks into your car.

That's your local prosecutor.

But we have a criminal division.

Because prosecutors can ask my team to take a case if they have a conflict or lack the resources.

For example, to bring a murder case.

And guess what they do.

Both Republican prosecutors who endorsed my opponent and Democratic prosecutors who endorsed me.

They send their toughest cases to me and my team.

Why?

Because they know Dave will use the rule of law to hold folks accountable and stand up for victims.

Year after year, county after county, case after case.

You may want to belittle those hardworking folks that I value them.

That is time, Mr. Reichert.

60s.

Well, first of all, I think he answered the question.

like I asked you.

Who's responsible?

You've been there 12 years.

Are you responsible, Bob?

Answer the question, please.

Are you responsible?

If you're not responsible, who is?

Who do we.

What do we look to for leadership?

If no one takes responsibility?

I took responsibility when I was the sheriff.

I had to make some tough decisions.

Life and death decisions.

When I was a deputy, when I was the sheriff of King County, I made tough decisions.

And when the people asked me about it, I answered the question.

Yes, I'm responsible.

And, you know, all he did was talk about his budget, how great it was at budgeting a $1 billion tax increase in eight years in King County by itself.

That's crazy.

And the state budget in 12 years has doubled.

That is time.

Not only that, his budget has doubled.

Mr. Ferguson, 32nd rebuttal.

So Washington State has, per capita, the lowest number of law enforcement officers of any state in the country.

My criminal justice plan details how we're going to change that.

In my first budget as governor, we're going to put together a budget, invest $100 million.

So local jurisdictions, your cities, your counties, the folks who hire most the police officers across our state can use those dollars for increased salaries, for signing bonuses.

That gets first responders on the streets, that helps solve crimes and lets the prosecutors in my team, in my office, do the work to send those folks away.

This next question, submitted by an AWB member and reminder of the format modification to the candidates for responses on this and the next business submitted question.

60s each to respond on this.

So it is a change which was agreed to.

The question comes from John Herrera of Oregon Incorporated.

What will you do to help Washington small business businesses who have been struggling to stay afloat amid numerous state mandates and to end the perpetual cycle of automatic cost of living minimum wage increases that do nothing but perpetuate the increase in the cost of living.

Mr. Ferguson, thank you very much.

in traveling to all 39 counties during this campaign, I've had a chance to listen to folks all across the state, including small business owners.

One thing I've heard is, hey, sometimes we need to streamline our government on behalf of whether it's small businesses or anybody else.

One thing I've pledged to as a governor is to do exactly that.

If you apply for a permit, for example, with Washington state government, and we're late in delivering that permit, you're not paying for it.

We're not going to make you go to different places to get that permit.

Streamline it.

One stop shopping when it comes to small businesses, I've talked about my commitment on small businesses, but I've demonstrated that in the past.

When I was on the King County Council, I worked with a conservative Republican to do what?

To literally go through the King County code and make sure we were literally tearing out pages and pages and pages of our King County code.

Why were we doing that?

Because there were regulations in there to this individual's question that were just burdensome on businesses and served no useful purpose.

The mandates no longer made sense in light of time or the change of business climate.

That's the approach we need as a governor, someone who can work in a bipartisan way with some of the oh, I'm sorry, my apologies.

No problem.

60s to Mr. Record.

Well, the first thing we have to do is stop playing.

Gotcha.

Inspectors come out.

Look at your businesses.

Gotcha.

And what happens is the attorney general's office comes after you.

Nobody wants to do business in Washington state when they're afraid of getting sued and run out of business.

Do you know, we got to stop suing our businesses so they can stay in Washington state and be productive?

No new taxes.

That's going to be the advantage.

Sometimes we have to say no in government.

It's been a rubber stamp.

It's been a rubber stamp for almost 40 years.

It's time to have a conservative.

It's time to have a Republican.

It's time to have a balanced government.

No new taxes.

We got to go back to crime and homelessness.

Big problem forcing businesses out of our cities and out of our state.

And they're overregulated.

Regulation after regulation and tax upon tax.

Why wouldn't you move your business out of Washington state?

I would, to our next question.

This comes from this comes from AWB members Steve Anderson of Wagstaff Incorporated regarding regulations.

While the specific ratings may vary depending on the source of the list, Idaho is consistently rated in the lowest ten states with respect to state regulations, while Washington is consistently listed as one of the ten states with the highest amount of state regulation.

If elected governor, what concrete steps, tangible steps would you take regarding Washington State regulatory environment to ensure Washington businesses are not disadvantaged when competing with similar businesses across the state line in Idaho?

Mr. Reichard 60s.

Yeah, but the first thing we have to do is bring people that are actually doing the work.

People who are actually conducting business in Washington state bring them to the table.

Let's sit down and have a discussion as to what rules and regulations you think need to be taken off the table.

I'm open.

I'm not a part of the system that's been in existence for 40 years or the last 12 years.

I'm going to be a new face, a new person, and new ideas that we can talk about and think about and discuss together and move forward.

And reducing regulations, streamlining permits, those things that are really burdensome on businesses today.

What one complaint I have heard across this state.

We don't have a place at this table.

Businesses, plumbers, police officers, you name it.

The profession.

They do not have a place at the table.

Our government has not been listening.

Mr. Ferguson 60s.

Thanks.

Well, we've been listening to business in the AG's office.

I create a small business initiative within the office of the Attorney General.

What does that unit do?

Advocate for small businesses when they're the target of scams.

Look, if you're a small business owner, you don't have some in-house counsel down the hallway.

If you get a letter in the mail saying you need a certain kind of poster to put up in your restaurant, you think it's legit?

It looks legit.

You pay the fee and you move on.

Guess what?

My team is part of that initiative.

Dave took on the scammers.

Yes.

It was a lawsuit.

Took on a company not playing by the rules.

Harming small businesses, making them pay millions of dollars.

We took that entity to court.

And guess what?

A judge ordered them to pay those small businesses back millions of dollars.

How do I know this?

I've been to every Rotary club in the state.

When I go there, I hear from small business owners who thank me and my team for doing that work on behalf of small businesses.

And that's the approach I'll take as your governor.

Back over to Austin and July.

Mr. Ferguson, nearly half of Washington renters spend more than a third of their income on housing.

That makes them rent burdened.

Majority of Democrats in the legislature this year considered, but did not pass, a bill capping rent increases at 7% annually.

As governor, would you support a cap on rent hikes and what other steps would you take to address the high cost of housing in Washington?

So the high the high cost of housing, excuse me, is one of the most critical crises we're facing as a state.

So multiple things.

Number one, I mentioned earlier, we need more inventory.

I put right in my voter's pamphlet statement for my vision for the state constructing 200,000 units of new housing, housing of all kinds.

In my first term as governor, as attorney general, we recently took on another lawsuit standing up for Washingtonians, an entity that's engaging in price fixing on rent, artificially raising rents, and making Washingtonians all across our state pay more.

That violates the law and harms Washingtonians and goes exactly what Austin is getting at higher rents.

That's unacceptable.

So look, I'm open to proposals that address exorbitant hikes since most landlords don't want to do that.

They want to play by the rules, but we need to make sure that we have a housing market that works for all Washingtonians.

One more thing I'll say on housing, which was a key part of your question.

Look, housing is buried in the bureaucracy of state government.

The head of housing is buried in commerce.

I'm going to pull that person out and that team out.

And guess what?

The head of housing is me, a member of my cabinet.

So every time I'm having a cabinet meeting, I'm getting an update, often in real time, about how we're doing on addressing the affordable housing crisis that we have in the state and making sure we're working in public private partnerships to address this key issue.

One thing I'm going to also rank counties.

This issue was the one I heard most from Washingtonians.

Mr. Rocker 60s.

Well, hey, if it's in his voters pamphlet, it's got to be true, right?

I mean, I believe him.

He still hasn't answered the question.

Who's responsible?

look, he he he he sued Value village.

It cost us millions of dollars in lost.

He lost.

It cost us millions of dollars.

He he sued the chicken company.

The tuna fish company, and he sent out $200 checks.

Remember this?

The $200 checks went to deceased people.

That's efficiency.

And that's how you're going to fix the problem.

That's how you're going to reduce your budget.

You know what we need to do?

We need to make it easier for renters for for landlords to evict people who aren't paying the rent.

We need to change the squatter laws.

People need to.

They can't.

They shouldn't be allowed to move into someone's house and just squat.

There.

We need to change those laws.

We need change and that is time permitting system.

That is time.

Mr. Ferguson.

32nd rebuttal.

Sir, I'll just take my 30s.

You mentioned Value Village.

It's true.

We lost that case.

It's literally Dave.

The one case we brought on behalf of Washingtonians that we lost.

We've won 7 or 800.

And those are cases that have returned literally hundreds of millions of dollars back in the pockets of Washingtonians.

We've also had debt relief for millions and millions of Washingtonians, totaling $1 billion.

That's the work my team does every single day to do what?

To stand up for everyday Washingtonians.

My question.

My question is for Mr. Riker.

Some Republican led states have passed and TDA laws, and now some major companies are getting rid of DEA efforts as governor.

What direction would you give to the state's Office of Equity?

And what's your message to Washington businesses and their approach to DEA efforts?

Well, I really am struggling with this because I really think that we all need to treat each other with respect and dignity.

And that should be taught in our schools no matter what.

Do we really need a curriculum to teach people how to relate to each other, be kind to each other, respect each other no matter of color, race, creed or religion.

I don't think we do in America.

It's the land of the free.

It's the home of the brave.

It's a land of opportunity.

And we need to treat everyone with respect and give each other the same opportunities, that we would expect for ourselves.

So, no, I don't agree with Di that I do agree with treating people with respect and hiring the best people.

That's what I did when I was the sheriff.

I had an all female staff chiefs and majors and the commander of my internal investigation unit.

Why?

Not because of their color, not because of their sex, but because they were the most qualified people.

That's what America is about.

Mr. Ferguson, 60s.

Thanks.

One of our great strengths as a state, of course, is our diversity.

And as a governor, that's something that I will defend.

You mentioned words about treating everybody with dignity and respect.

And, you know, I just can't help but point out that, you know, once again, on audio in a meeting when you were behind closed doors, but now you can listen to on record revealed.com.

You you expressed your opposition to marriage equality.

You said marriage is only between a man and a woman.

And I'm sorry.

but that stings for our LGBTQ Washingtonians.

And I want those individuals know that they have a choice.

Have a governor who supports their freedom to marry the person they love.

Just like I could marry my wife, Colleen.

I defend that freedom.

Dave, you oppose it.

30s.

Mr. Riker.

well, no, I don't oppose it.

that's another lie.

I happen to believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.

I that's my faith.

But that doesn't mean I'm going to impose that on the people of Washington state.

You have the right to choose who you love.

You have that right.

And I'm not going to stand in the way.

I'm not going to impose my religion on you.

But where was Bob?

When we talk about Dei, when we talk about equality.

Where was Bob when the ugly head of anti-Semitism raised up on the university campus?

What is the state?

Where was Bob?

Where was Bob?

Voice.

You don't hear a peep on.

What is your time on the panel?

Please?

Mr..

I'm telling the truth.

Mr.. Ferguson, a question about the state's tax system.

In 2019, the state legislature established a bipartisan legislative tax structure workgroup to recommend ways to make Washington's tax system more fair and stable.

Last year, the workgroup delivered two proposals to the legislature, including a recommendation that the state replace the business and occupation tax and gross receipts with a margin tax.

What is your view of the fairness of Washington's current tax system for individuals and for businesses?

And what, if any, changes to that system would you support as governor?

Yeah, our system in Washington state is very regressive.

I think we currently rank 48 or 40 ninth in terms of having the most regressive tax systems in the country.

What does that mean if you were listening at home?

That means if you're a low income or moderate income or a middle class person, you are paying a greater percentage of taxes than someone who's very wealthy.

And so that is something that the state needs to be thinking about and addressing.

Look, I supported a capital gains tax.

the investments from a couple thousand households of the most wealthy Washingtonians is used to help out our schools, school construction, childcare, critical programs for all Washingtonians.

So from my standpoint, when it comes to a tax system, this needs to be done the same way I did as a King County Council member, working across the aisle, sitting down with members of both parties and making sure we have a system that works for all Washingtonians.

But with the key focus on middle class families, lower income families.

I'll give you an example.

We should be investing more in the working families tax credit.

So you pay less in taxes.

That's a great program the state has.

But guess what?

We need to invest more in that program to assist Washingtonians all across our state.

So that's my approach as governor, making sure that businesses pay less.

Middle class families pay less, and making sure we do a balanced budget that provides for all Washingtonians.

It's right for 60s.

I agree with Bob on this issue.

we do need to need to make sure that small businesses pay less and that families, hard working families, middle income families pay less taxes.

But then why would you support a gas tax of $0.50 a gallon that's so burdensome on those middle income families and those businesses?

Why would you support a piece of legislation that says that truck drivers are exempt?

Farmers are exempt, but yet there's no mechanism within the law that allows that to happen.

Farmers and truck drivers have to pay that gas tax, which then raises the price of everything that you pay.

What about the long term care tax?

We should have a choice as to whether or not we want to participate in that.

That's that's the benefit.

There is minimal to say the least.

That if you want to participate, do it.

Mr. Ferguson, 32nd rebuttal.

If I could add one thing, we haven't touched on the issue of child care, which is critically important for all Washingtonians.

There's a real crisis.

There were too many Washingtonians pay a huge percentage of their income on child care.

That's hurts our economy.

That hurts small businesses.

Look, we have a fair starts for kids.

Kids act here in Washington state.

That's a good start.

By our state legislature.

We invest more in that.

So working people across our state can get childcare that's affordable and still work in our public sectors and private sectors and help fuel our economy.

But my question is for Mr. Reicher.

You guys have expressed your stance on abortion, but we have a more specific question that I'd like you to answer clearly.

And as you listen to this, more women are coming to Washington from Idaho and other states for abortion services.

And Governor Inslee has taken further steps, including stockpiling misoprostol and putting money into the state budget to cover abortion costs.

As governor, would you maintain these efforts and would your priorities around abortion care be the same or different than the current governor?

Is that to me?

First, I'm sorry.

Yes, yes, I as I've said before, I currently support the laws that are on the books in Washington state.

So yes, your question I would support is support the current laws.

today I want to get onto childcare real quick.

here's what I would propose.

Okay.

You want to talk about, access?

I'm for for access?

Absolutely.

For access to abortion.

I'm absolutely in support of Governor Inslee's initiatives.

So supply abortions for people out of state.

Does that answer your question?

Now, on to childcare.

60 days.

We need to increase the family care about that bonding period of time to 60 days.

And we can do that within the existing budget.

The other thing I would propose as far as taxes, let's not talk tax baby food.

Let's not tax diapers.

Let's not tax baby essentials.

I'm going to work with the House Democrats and the Senate Democrats to put together a bill that actually helps middle income families raise their children without paying taxes on baby essentials.

60s Mr. Ferguson.

So, of course, I support the governor's actions and the legislature's actions on this issue.

I might add that when it comes to the you mentioned misoprostol, and that's the abortion medication used in the majority of abortions in Washington state.

Look, I filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration.

The president of my own party to ensure access to misoprostol.

Why?

Because a federal judge in Texas was threatening to issue a nationwide ban on access to meth.

Kristen, look, here's what you want in a governor.

Someone who's willing to take on a president of his own party to fight and defend your freedoms.

We took on the Biden administration.

We're winning that case, and that's why we preserved access to care for Kristen.

So you either choose someone who's voted for nationwide abortion bans, someone who's voted to defund Planned Parenthood, or you can vote for a fighter and someone who's unafraid to even take on a president's own party to defend your freedoms.

30s Mr. Ryan.

Well, this is an area where Bob and I agree.

I don't have anything more to say.

I agree with what he said.

I support the current laws.

in Washington state.

That takes us now to our closing statements.

Each candidate will have 90s.

We begin with Mr. Record.

Okay.

Tonight, Bob is asking you to believe that he will change the way he's done business for the last 12 years.

That's not going to happen.

We know that.

It's not going to change.

He says he's the change agent.

That's not going to happen.

I am asking you to believe that together we can make change.

In Washington state, a Democrat, House, a Democrat, Senate working together with, yes, a Republican governor, balanced government.

We can do this together.

That's the change, agent.

That's the change agent.

A balanced government in Washington state.

Mind blowing.

Right?

We can do this.

And what we'll work toward is a government based on leadership, on integrity.

Imagine an honest government and a government based on servanthood and honor, on a team that's built on servanthood and integrity.

I want to work with you to build that kind of government.

We can lead the country.

We can show the country what it means for a divided state, like Washington state, to come together, to fix what's broken.

Change what's wrong and do what's right.

Mr. Ferguson, 90s.

See, you've had a chance here.

Two very different visions for the future of the state of Washington.

Reproductive freedom.

You oppose it?

I support it.

Dave, you went back to Congress.

Dave, you went back to Congress and voted dozens of times to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

If you're someone watching with the preexisting condition, he was going to take away your protections for that preexisting condition.

He was going to jack up your prescription drug prices if you're a senior.

I was proud to defend the Affordable Care Act when that case went to court.

Look, I have never been satisfied with the status quo.

When I first ran for the King County Council, when I first ran, I took on a 20 year incumbent who happened to be a Democrat and the chair of that county council.

I had no support from Democrats, no elected officials by won that campaign with a grassroots operation as attorney general.

I've taken on the Obama administration and the Biden administration to stand up for workers and your reproductive freedom.

And one time after time as your governor.

We're going to make public safety a top priority.

We're going to hire more law enforcement officers.

You're paying too much in housing.

You're paying too much in groceries.

We're going to change that.

When I'm your governor, we're going to invest in more apprenticeship and workforce training.

My family's been the state for five generations.

I'm looking forward to watching this debate with my teenage kids and my wife calling a little bit later on.

But this campaign is not about my family.

It's about yours.

I will defend your freedoms, and I'll advocate for you each and every day.

If I'm elected governor, thank you very much.

And that'll do it for the 2024 gubernatorial debate.

I want to thank Attorney General Bob Ferguson, Congressman Dave Reichert, Collide Chalk and Austin Jenkins.

The enthusiastic crowd here at the Fox Theater in Spokane.

Thank you.

And on behalf of Nonstop local for you here in Spokane, wherever you're watching news yesterday, 47 days till election night.

Hopefully this is a more informed vote after this 60 minutes.

Have a good night.

Thank you.