Full show: Washington governor's debate with candidates Bob Ferguson, Dave Reichert

Public safety, public safety, public safety over and over and over again. If there is anything, they can agree on individuals have a right to feel safe in their communities. It's that public safety, we blame victims and we excuse criminals is top of mind for Washington State. This is an election that could impact a young woman's access to reproductive care. A parent's ability to provide a meal or whether a person has a roof over their head. Republican Dave Reker, feeling great, excited and Democrat Bob Ferguson feel good about how the race is going. Both believe they are the best person for the job. It's up to you to decide which one will lead the state in the New Year evening. And welcome to the 2024 governor's debate from Seattle to Spokane, from Tacoma to Toppan. We are diving into the issues you care about issues that are top of mind for voters all across the state of Washington. This governor's debate is brought to you by King Five, by the Seattle Times, by Creme two news and El Sol de Yakima. On behalf of our partnership and our sponsors, we thank you so much. For joining us tonight. I'm Joyce Taylor from King Five and it's a pleasure to be your moderator tonight. Joining us is Jim Brunner from the Seattle Times political Reporter and from Creme Two, Mark Hanrahan. Also joining us is Gloria Ibanez from El Sol de Yakima. Her questions will be presented on videotape which the candidates have not seen. She could not be here tonight and now let's meet the candidates. Republican Dave Reichert served in the US House from Washington's eighth congressional district from 2005 until 2019 before becoming us. Representative Reichert was the King county sheriff for eight years. Also vying for your vote in November is Washington Attorney General, Bob Ferguson, a democrat who has served as Washington's Attorney General since 2013. Prior to that, he was a King county council member for nearly a decade and now to the rules as was mutually agreed upon prior to tonight, Mr Reichert will give his opening statement first, Mr Ferguson will give his closing statement last. Each candidate will have one minute and 15 seconds to answer each initial question. 45 seconds will then be allowed for a follow up discussion responses and rebuttals and as agreed the candidates will not ask each other direct questions. So with that, let's get started. We begin with you, Mr Reichert. You have one minute for your opening statement. Thank you and thank you for joining us tonight. I'm pleased to be here. And my name is Dave Reichert. I'm running for governor. I grew up in the rut and Highlands in an 800 square foot home with nine people, six brothers and sisters and um rather poor neighborhood. Uh We struggled and ran away from home and uh and lived in uh my car uh for about uh six or seven months. I've had a life of service though. I know what life and death are all about. A life of service of coaching of police. Uh being a police officer of being a member of Congress and uh serving in uh Central America and working on human trafficking. My campaign is uh based on uh criminal justice system, the the homeless. I'm um I'm interested in the, in fighting homelessness and education. Um and I'm running out of time. Thank you, Mr Reichert. Mr Ferguson. One minute for your opening statement. Thank you to the moderators. Congressman. Thanks you for joining us for this debate. And most importantly to you, the Washingtonians who are viewing in look, Washington State is facing many significant challenges. We're gonna talk about them tonight. Homelessness, public safety, our education system and opioid epidemic and Washingtonians paying too much for groceries for gas and the cost of housing. We need a governor who's a change agent while at the same time and critically defending our core freedoms like reproductive freedom. I'm the only candidate in this race who rejects all political donations from large corporations. And corporate pacs. Why? Because I advocate for you. I'm focused on Washingtonians as your attorney general. I've stood for you and taken on powerful interests when they don't play by the rules. I'm the son of a public school teacher. I'm the son of a career Boeing employee. I know who I am. I know who I'm fighting for each and every one of you. Our first question tonight is from Seattle Times political reporter Jim Brunner with the focus on public safety, Jim. Thank you. You both named public safety as, as a top concern that you are campaigning on. According to the Washington Association of Sheriffs and police Chiefs, overall, crime rates in Washington started to decline last year but murders, vehicle thefts are still significantly higher than they were in 2019. Other crimes have also risen in recent years, hate crimes, for example, as governor, what would you do differently to address these issues and please be specific and uh Mr Ferguson first, thank you. Thank you Jim and thanks for taking this issue on first because the first plan I put on my website in this campaign was on public safety folks and go to my website and they can see that here's what I would do. That's different. One statistic you did not include, but it's equally important is the fact that Washington State ranks last per capita in number of law enforcement officers that we have in the state of Washington. My plan includes putting in my first budget as governor $100 million to hire additional law enforcement officers all across the state. That's money that can be used by local jurisdictions to add the salaries or use for hiring bonuses. You also mentioned hate crimes. Part of my plan includes hiring more folks with the state patrol, but specifically to create a hate crimes unit to make sure we're addressing those crimes as well. That's a part of my detailed plan for addressing public safety. And lastly, as attorney general, I'm proud to lead a criminal division that works with local prosecutors when they don't have the jurisdiction to bring a case. They can turn to my team. We have broad cases on behalf of jurisdictions all across the state. Republican prosecutors, Democratic pro prosecutors, all across the state. They may endorse Dave, they may endorse me, but they agree on one thing, they can send their toughest cases to me and to my team and we prosecute those cases to the fullest extent of the law. And Mr R. Well, I think it's clear that I'm the only public safety candidate uh in this race. I have a clear record uh in my 33 years in the sheriff's office, um also worked on the Homeland Security Committee for four years in Congress, uh chairman of the emergency preparedness subcomittee. And after so many years in law enforcement, I find it interesting that all of a sudden, Mr Ferguson recognizes that there is a crime problem when he's been the attorney general for 12 years. In fact, murders have almost doubled since the time he took office as attorney as Attorney General. Domestic Violence is up 134% crime has increased over the last 12 years. And finally, Mr Ferguson has recognized that um we are the lowest per capita in the entire country as it relates to the number of police officers um serving our state. So we are uh for example, the state patrol is about 200 officers down WSP or WSP is 200 officer down SPD 600 King County 150. Mr I'm sorry, that's time to follow up here. Um Mr Ferguson, as as your opponent here has mentioned Washington, you know, you have been Attorney General for 12 years. Washington is ranked 51st among the states in the district of Columbia. I believe in police per capita for all that time according to the Association of Sheriff's Police Chiefs, where have you been on this issue? There were some bills in the legislature that I don't recall. You expending any political capital on or publicly really supporting that would do what you're suggesting now, which is give local localities money and help in hiring local police officers. Where have you been and why should voters trust you to take up this issue now? Well, first we did sign in support of legislation to do exactly that number if I can finish my answer. So I, I did that number one. Number two. Let's get one thing straight. Dave said, I'm the only public safety candidate, Dave. I'm sorry, I'm going to take no lectures from you about public safety when you are voting for and supporting a convicted felon for president who by the way is also a convicted sexual abuser in that race for president. I support a prosecutor, you support a convicted felon. So you have no standing say you are somehow the only public safety candidate. And let's be perfectly clear in my time as attorney general working with prosecutors across the state when they cannot charge those cases, some endorse him, some endorse me, but they're united and bring me the toughest cases, the murders, the attempted murders, so we can prosecute those cases. Mr Record, you'd like to respond to that and candidates do pivot during a campaign. They bring up new issues. You bringing up some issues that you've talked about differently when you're in Congress. Is it? What's your response to Mr Ferguson here? Well, well, first of all, uh I, I think I've worked in probably the most serious of a serial murder case in the country of this, in the history of this country. Uh I think most people are aware of that. Uh Secondly, I am the only public safety candidate in this race because I understand police officers. I was one just to address the, this is not a money issue as it relates to police departments and sheriff's offices across the state. This is an issue about trust for cops. And let me just, and, and, and I can explain that later as we go through the debate. But let me just also say, I hate to disappoint you, Bob, but I am not supporting Mr Trump. I'm making that announcement tonight. I am also not supporting Mrs Harris and that is time. Gentlemen, we're going to move. Can I respond to that? I'm sorry, please? I mean, Donald Trump, he's telling you the people of Washington State. He's telling you that he doesn't support Donald Trump any longer. You reported this, Jim, you spoke to a group of Republican Party activists and you said you are supporting Donald Trump specifically. What you did is not true, Mr Ferguson. I'll take my time back. His campaign is built on lies. So, so, so congressman that may tell the truth, Mr Ferguson, I interrupt you every time you lie to tell the truth, I'm not going to interrupt my time. That's every statement that you've made every ad that you've had on TV. Gentlemen, I'm going to have to just reinforce the rules. You've agreed not to ask each other direct questions. We're going to ask you to not interrupt one another respectfully. I am going to give Mr Ferguson 15 seconds and Mr Reichert 15 seconds, then we will move on to the next topic, Mr Ferguson Dave, you may think interrupting people is ok back in Washington DC where you serve, if it's not ok here, I will not let you do it. Number two, it's been reporting the sale times when you asked about Trump. You said if I say I'm supporting Trump, I'll be in trouble politically. What's my head doing? And you were nodding and your own supporters acknowledge that as is reporting the sale time. So the idea that you're gonna come here, Mr obsessed with Donald Trump. I am not obsessed with Donald Trump. Please move off of Donald Trump and stop your obsession with Donald Trump. And if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Gentlemen with that, we are going to be a long night. I'm sorry, it's gonna be a long night if he keeps interrupting me and keeps trying to add more time, I'm just saying you need to enforce the rule. I took my time, Mr Ferguson and now you've added half of our viewers who really want us to cover as many topic as possible so that they can decide how they're going to be. Keeps interrupting me. I'm respecting your rule. I'm gonna ask you, I'm gonna ask you that you enforce them with Mr interrupt me as the moderator, I am going to move on to the next topic. Gentlemen, respectfully, we're going to turn to the homeless crisis and housing in our state. According to the 2024 point in time count, more than 31,000 people are experiencing homelessness across Washington. How will you address the crisis? How do you plan to pay for it? Would you raise taxes? Mr Reichert, you first, please. Well, first of all, um this homeless crisis has also gotten worse under the lack of leadership of Mr Ferguson's 12 years as at, as attorney general. Um, the, the homeless crisis is really a drug and substance abuse crisis. It's also a mental illness crisis. Um Mr Ferguson supported the legislation that legalized drugs on the streets of our cities across this state. He legalized drugs such as fentaNYL which is a poison and people are dying from fentaNYL. We are handing out kits called survival kits. The taxpayers are paying for these survival kits that contain a needle, a syringe, some aluminum foil, um a pipe and some Narcan. That's a survival kit. We're not helping the people on the street and I would pay for this pay for um helping the homeless through the $1 billion that we somehow misplaced during the COVID monies. My time is up. Thank you Mr Ferguson. A point of agreement. We agree that the issue of homelessness is complex, mental health, chemical dependency and affordability, all play a key role in addressing this crisis. The difference here is we have very different ideas about how to address it. My opponent has said repeatedly that we should send the UN house the homeless to mcneil Island as a solution or to Evergreen State University, by the way, because he thinks it's closing. For some reason, you've said those things over and over again. Those are not serious proposals to a serious situation. In contrast, we in my office as attorney General taken on some of the most powerful corporations in the world who have fueled the opioid epidemic by not playing by the rules. What have we done by bringing those cases covered more than a billion dollars. And yes, that's with the B A billion dollars. And I've insisted in those agreements, the money can only be used by the state and by local governments to invest in treatment and first responders and they can only use those dollars to address the opioid epidemic. So there's a clear contrast in this race with someone who's getting the resources, getting money for treatment, getting money for first responders. I'm proud to be endorsed by the state firefighters who are on the front lines of dealing with these issues. And there's a clear contrast with my opponent who wants to send these individuals to mcneil Island where we keep our sexually violent predators. I'm gonna follow up with another question uh about housing in our state. It is the most, one of the most, what change you can spend 45 seconds the rebuttal. But let me just get this question. You can use that time. You should choose. Um Our state is one of the most expensive places to live in the country. As you both know, rents have soared. Uh The according to the housing affordability index in May of this year, a median income household can afford to buy a median priced home in only three of Washington's 39 counties. What do you propose to do as governor to create the desperately needed more affordable housing, Mr Reichert. Ok. So housing, uh there are so many things that interconnect with the cost, not just housing, but the cost of everything that we buy. And you've got to go back to crime, crime ties into uh people who are living on the streets. So now we're talking about homelessness, crime and homelessness, people living on the street using drugs, sleeping, falling asleep and or or um totally uh wasted living in, in the doorways of our businesses, the businesses close, we lose jobs, the economy starts to suffer. The other issue here is taxes and regulation. So taxes, uh let's just talk about the, the, the, the, the gas tax, for example, that adds a cost to everything that we buy in this state, not just gas, but food, clothing and everything else that we buy in Washington State and do feel free to finish your sentence before you do move on. But Mr Ferguson, thank you. I appreciate this question because I've been to all 39 counties and in listening to folks in all 39 counties. The issue I hear most frequently is this specific issue, affordable housing and there's much that we can do as a state as a state. We need to construct a million units of affordable housing housing of all kinds in the next 20 years. In my voters pamphlet statement I put in black and white in my first term as governor, we're gonna construct 200,000 units of new housing. How are we gonna do that? Public private partnerships. When I meet with business executives, they talk about the need for housing. They're ready to invest. When I met with a small business owner in central Washington who runs a restaurant, he's had to scale back the hours of his restaurant because workers in that local community cannot afford housing. There's bipartisan, we can come together as a state to address a real crisis. We're going to turn now to some of the initiatives on the ballot. Those questions coming from Mark Hanrahan from crem two Mark. Thank you, Mr Ferguson. This question goes to you first. This fall. Voters will decide on the fate of four initiatives including I 2117, which would repeal the State's Climate Commitment Act, which calls for having the state's largest polluters pay for carbon emissions. Are you going to vote for this initiative? And if not, what should the state's role be in fighting climate change? So I'll be voting a no on the initiative in other words, I'm opposed to repealing the Climate Commitment Act and just want to elaborate that for a moment. Uh, this will be a critical issue facing our voters. And I believe that the Climate Commitment Act needs to be adjusted. For example, farmers are entitled to an exemption under Climate Commitment Act. That hasn't happened yet when I'm elected governor, I've met with farmers in Odessa. We're gonna make sure that the state follows through on the promise to make sure those farmers get the exemption, they're entitled to something else I would change with the Climate Commitment Act. Look, the, that act helps fund a working family tax credit that's helping out working families all across the state. We need to expand the amount of money going to that working families tax credit to Washingtonians all across the state. Finally, what I'll add is there's a transition coming to a clean energy economy in the state. We need to embrace that. Why it's good for clean air? It's good for clean water. But guess what? It's also good for jobs. I was in Wenatchee, went to an apprenticeship training program there. What were those hundreds and hundreds of Washingtonians training for clean energy economy? Those are jobs for Washingtonians all across the state. And that's a key reason why I also support the act, but it does need to be adjusted as we move forward. Mr Recorder. So I have a great record on the on climate. Uh in Congress. I worked on Alpine lakes. Wild Sky Mountains to sound greenway. Those are all great accomplishments and making Washington State green, clean and pristine. And we all want that. Um, the problem with the gas tax is we weren't told the truth. We were lied to, we were told it was going to be pennies. It's more than pennies. It's gone up to 50 cents at some points. We're competing with California now to see who can have the highest gas, uh, uh, tax. Now, when we do that again, I'll go back to my previous statement. Everything that we buy goes up, everything that's hauled in trucks grown on farms and here's what's, what's bothersome. The, the voters did not have an opportunity to really voice their opinions on this case. So I say, let's vote. Yes, pay less. And then let's, let's, let's have a discussion with the members of our state legislature and find a way forward. Uh, that's not placing the cost of a green, clean, uh, uh, energy efforts on the backs of hard working Washingtonians. We'll stay on the same topic and this question will go to you, Mr Ferguson first before the law took effect. Washingtonians were told the CCA'S impact on gas prices would be minimal, maybe a few cents a gallon. In a reality, it quickly led to higher prices around 25 cents or so a gallon. Do you think the public was misled about the CCAS impact on gas prices. And would you take any steps to reduce gas prices and bring them back in line with states like Oregon? Yeah, it's time to move forward and what's going to happen to move forward. And I talked earlier about making sure, for example, farmers get that exemption they're entitled to, to make sure they're not paying too much in gas prices. We need to make sure we're holding gas corporations accountable when they're not playing by the rules. I do want to add though that my opponent denies that humans even contribute to climate change. And you can go to Riker reveal.com. So he's interrupting me again, but you can go to Reichert reveal.com and you can actually listen to his words. There's audio tape of all these things. You also said, Dave, I love Donald Trump's policies. Well, guess what, a lot of those policies? Eviscerated environmental laws, clean air, clean water. I know Dave because as attorney general, I challenge those rulings in court and one time after time, go to Reichert repeal.com, you can actually listen to his voice saying all these things. And Mr Reichert, the question centered around if you think Washingtonians were misled about the CCS impact on gas prices and what steps would you take or would you take steps to reduce gas prices and bring them, bring them back in line with states like Oregon. Well, first of all, you vote yes, on the initiative and yes, we were misled and yes, the farmers and the truck drivers were misled. Uh, they were told they were going to have an exemption when no language included at all in that bill that allowed for an exemption, they've had to now sue the state of Washington to try and get that exemption. And as far as the Donald Trump policy, yes, I agree with some. I said, some of Donald Trump's policies and that is, guess what? Lower taxes, hard and tough on crime. Let's hold people accountable and responsible to the laws of Washington state. Let's stop blaming victims and excusing criminals. Yes, I agree with lower taxes. Yes, I agree with tough on crime. Yes, I agree with tougher on the borders and border security. We're allowing terrorists into our, into our country. Reichert. That's time. Thank you. Our next question comes from Gloria Ibanez, editor of El Sol de Yakima. We have her questions as you know, on videotape, this first question is focused on farm worker protections. Washington has a multi billion dollar agriculture industry and farm workers are vital to our state fruit harvest. A recent law. Give these workers over time though, farmers and growers want the state to roll that back. Would you recommend changes to new farm worker overtime rules and worker protections, Mr Reichert? Yeah, I, I agree that uh workers need to be paid fairly and uh and meeting with ranchers and farmers across the state. They have exactly the same feeling they want to pay their workers fairly and they want to treat them fairly. They want to create a great work environment. Um They uh are interested in negotiating. Obviously, I think the last attempt at, at negotiating with uh workers in the state of Washington was to raise the weekly uh work hours to 50 hours and pay overtime for everything over 50 hours. And the reason for that is they have uh uh crops that need to be harvested in a certain amount of time. So I would look forward to working with the workers and the farmers together to find some agreement, some compromise and base our decision um on how we move forward with a fair treatment of workers on, on facts and, and bringing people together to talk about and work through these issues to find the final solution, Mr Ferguson. So I agree with Dave greater uh resources for farm workers, greater pay for, for farm workers. Something I agree with. There's a difference here in this race though. And that is that I've been specifically advocating for farm workers in my time as attorney general. I'm proud to be endorsed by the National United Farm Workers. So for example, when farm workers were mistreated here in Washington State, they turned to me and my team, we worked together to litigation against companies that mistreat them sometimes in very stark and inhumane ways. We didn't just prosecute those cases successfully. We won millions of dollars. What do you do with those millions of dollars? Put those dollars back in the pockets of farm workers. I've been to Central Washington and melt those farm workers. My team has met those farm workers. My kids, they're teenagers in high school. I communicate to them how important farm workers are to our economy, to putting food on the table. They participate in a summer program, the last two summers where they meet with farm workers, they help out their kids while the farm workers in the fields to get exposed to what folks do in our society who do some of the most difficult work that few people want to. That makes a huge impact on all Washingtonians. So there will be no greater friend to farm workers when I'm elected governor than me. My record proves it. I look forward to advocating for them when I'm their governor. Thank you. Could I add something to that? Yes. Ok. Yeah, it won't take that long. Um I, I would like to point out too that I was a supporter of DACA and dreamers when I was in congress. So, um I wanna make sure that those people that have come uh to Washington State from other countries uh that they're treated fairly, that they have an opportunity to move forward in our, in our community that are so critical to the businesses and the farms that we operate here in Washington State. I wanna make sure that they have a pathway to citizenship and they can build their families, uh and their, and their family businesses here in Washington State. And I'd like to respond to that because uh this is important for farm workers and all was to here, Dave, you said you're lying about Donald Trump that I quote you saying, I love Donald Trump's policies. You tried to correct me and say no, I said I like some of them. No, you're incorrect. Folks can go to that website record veel. There is audio of you Dave saying I love Donald Trump's policies and I can assure you Donald Trump's policies and his behavior is the antithesis of what farm workers are fighting for in our state. His policies would have harmed farm workers and too many communities of color all across our state and all across our country. I know this congressman because I fought against Donald Trump. I beat him in court over 50 times to protect our environment to protect our rights and defend our freedoms. User said I love Donald Trump's policies. Our stark difference could not be more 15 seconds, 15 seconds, Bob. That's not true. I do agree with some of Mr Trump's policies. I've explained those uh agreements. Um You're not being truthful. Uh Please be truthful and you're obsessed with Donald Trump. I've moved past that. I'm focused on the problems here in Washington State. Thank you both. We are going to move on to reproductive health. Now in Washington State, after the Supreme Court struck down, excuse me, we're going to talk about budget first. We will come back to that topic, Jim. Uh, thank you. Um, Washington's last uh gover government tax, uh, revenue forecast was down $500 million from previous estimates. Uh It's not a crisis for state, for state government yet, but I want the next governor could face financial pressures, uh balancing the services that Washingtonians expect, expect. And both of you in case some cases proposed even new programs and balancing that with what's actually coming in. How would you keep the state on a strong, strong financial footing? Do you think there are any new taxes the state should consider some in the Democratic Party want a wealth tax on the very wealthy, for example? Or would you like to cut spending? And in your answers, please be specific on a tax or program if you wanna cut something, tell me what it is you want if you're considering a tax, tell me what that is, tell our viewers what that is. And Mr Ferguson first, thanks so much. So I'm a believer that past performance is your best indication of future action. My time on the King County Council, I served on the budget leadership team and actually was the budget chair for a multibillion dollar budget. It's not the state budget, but it's big. How do we produce bipartisan balanced budgets that provided for the citizens and residents of King County because we worked together when I was the budget chair, it was two Democrats and two Republicans. Even though Democrats controlled the majority of King County Council Council. We locked ourselves in a room and we hammered out that budget line by line and could bring it to the full council. We all voted for it. That's the approach I'll take, I've done that as attorney general, I've expanded services, the work that we do taking on Donald Trump over and over again having a civil rights division advocating for farm workers and winning huge cases. How do we do that? I didn't go to the state legislature and ask for money. I got smart with our budget to prioritize as a result. The tri city Herald from a pretty conservative part of our state wrote an editorial praising me saying Ferguson runs his office like a business. That's what we need more of in state government prioritize our spending. Make sure we're spending more of our budget on things like education and making sure we're focused on serving all Washingtonians. Mr Reiger. Well, first of all, uh running your office like a business. Uh, in the last 12 years, you've hired 400 additional attorneys. You now have 800 we have 800 attorneys working in the Attorney General's office and we've lost hundreds of police officers. That doesn't make any sense to me. And it also doesn't make any sense to me is in regard to being budget conscious. So we have a $4.1 billion surplus right now in the state budget 2.8 billion of that is available for us to use and, and apply to different problems across the state. The problems that are that, that we can address really are crime. Uh hold people accountable. Um There has to be consequences when we start holding people accountable. For example, if you're a drug addict, I know in parts of this state, what's happening is you are waiting for grocery stores, you are waiting for department stores to open, you walk in, you fill your arms with goods, you walk out, you sell those goods for 40 or 50 bucks and you buy yourself a head of dope. That's what's happening and that's what's causing the rising cost in, in, in all of the goods across our country. That's one of the things homelessness is another. It goes back to fentaNYL and my opponent legalized fentaNYL helped to legalize fentaNYL. The congressman mentioned my budget. So I'd like to respond to that. So, yes, Dave, you're right. We have 800 attorneys and I'm proud of each and every one of them. That's what those attorneys do. We grew our criminal division in our office to make sure we're fighting on behalf of Washingtonians. We create an organized retail theft unit in our division to prosecute those cases. We create a consumer protection division that can now take on the biggest corporations in the world that fueled our opioid epidemic. What's the result? More than a billion dollars for Washingtonians? The A GS office, Dave is a revenue generator for the state of Washington. We return hundreds of million dollars in case settlements, we return millions of dollars to Washingtonians. The total is literally in the billions of debt relief and dollars back in the pockets of Washingtonians. That's how you run a budget. That's how you run an office. Ok. Look, you hire 800 attorneys and you create a task force that does nothing in two years. You make two a shoplifting arrests. The state patrol doesn't even have enough people to have an auto theft unit and we're losing 100 cars a day in King County, Pierce County and Snow Beach County. I just talked to the state troopers yesterday. They don't have an auto theft unit, Bob, but you're using your money to hire attorneys to sue people. And that money is not being used to stop crime on the streets of Seattle because we all know the crime has increased over the past 12 years. Murders have increased by 50%. Domestic violence up 100 and 34%. Uh, we could go on about every five minutes. There's a crime committed here against a person in Washington State. I wanna follow quickly. Mr Reicher, you, I didn't really hear an answer from either of you. Looking forward on the state budget. But um I there are gonna be times perhaps if you're governor where, you know your desire to keep taxes low, you, you even said you would cut property taxes might conflict with some of the demands that are, that are out there for services. There are uh people out there now in school districts around the state looking at closing schools, they're saying that we need to revisit the funding formula and how the state sends dollars to school districts. If it comes down to it, would you consider a new revenue source or are you just an absolute hardliner on no tax? I think that's one of the things that different differentiates, uh Mr Ferguson and I, and that is I'm going to veto any new tax law that comes to my, my desk when I'm the governor that needs to happen, we've been taxed to the hilt. I hear that in every part of the state that I go to. And when you start looking at the programs that we want to fund, we have the money within our budget. One of the problems is that money is being misspent and on programs that just don't work and we're gonna find out which programs work, which ones don't. We're gonna shift monies and we are gonna create those private public partnerships uh, here in Washington State. So for example, 11 of the major uh organizations here, companies in Washington State spent $780 million on homelessness and told me total waste of money. So I'm happy to answer that question more directly. So my apologies not getting to an earlier. So I think an earlier question went to the Climate Commitment Act. I support that. I was clear about that. And also importantly, he opposed it. What does that mean? That means cuts to our budget on transportation, cuts to our budget on ferries. He also opposes the capital gains tax. Some of the very small number of Washingtonians pay a couple 1000 and but brings in hundreds of millions of dollars for early learning and for childcare. I support that. I think those are the right kind of investments. And by the way, Dave, it's entertaining to listen to you talk about uh budgets because when you served in Congress for 14 years, you guys couldn't balance a budget. You drove up deficits year after year after year during your time in Congress. Heck when you're a sheriff, you overs spent your budget in the sheriff's office in King County. We are going to move on now to our next topic, reproductive health here in Washington State after the Supreme Court struck down Roe V. Wade. A study from U Dub Medicine showed a 50% increase in out of state patients seeking abortions and an average one week delay for all patients seeking services which can negatively impact a pregnant person's health. What will you do as governor to respond to the increased demand for services. Mr Reichert. Well, first of all, I wanna, I wanna make it clear that uh when I'm governor, uh I will support and protect the abortion laws that currently exist in Washington State. This is a question that's been asked and answered since 1970. That's when the first law was implemented. Uh as a patrol officer in federal way, my job back in the mid 19 seventies was to keep an abortion clinic open. Um When protesters tried to close the sidewalks and the driveways, I will do the same uh as governor, I will protect those laws and um and work with uh our members of the House and the state legislature to Senate let uh senate to uh protect uh access to abortions. The question was, what will you do as governor to respond to the increased demand for services and the one week delay that women are now experiencing because of the influx of out of state patients. Uh Will you answer this question, Mr Ferguson? Yes. Uh y yes, of course. So, yes. So of course, we'll be making sure we make investments as a state to make sure that all women, whether coming from out of state or within state are able to access the full range of reproductive freedom, which again is a critical, critical difference in this case. When the Seattle Times Editorial Board and me, by the way, an editorial board that endorsed Dino Rossi Republican over Chris Gregoire, Rob mckenna over Jans Le. They pointed out Dave that you said the same thing to them. What you said here, I'll never interfere with reproductive freedom. But they pointed out in their editorial that what you said again on audio to an extreme pro life group that seeks to ban abortion nationwide, that you would, in your own words, once again, seek to unravel abortion protections in Washington State and that's consistent with your history. You went back to Congress and you voted three times for a nationwide abortion ban that criminalizes doctors. Look, you do not support a woman's right to choose. You say one thing when you're speaking to Washington people in a form like this and you say something else entirely when you think you are behind closed doors, that's been a pattern with you on Donald Trump. That's a pattern with you on reproductive freedom. And that is something that the Washingtonian Washington voters will need to hear over and over throughout the rest of this campaign. I wanted to follow up on something that you said Mr Ferguson and then I will let you rebut Mr Reichert in your political ad. You did characterize your opponent's votes in Congress as a straight out ban. Not mentioning that there would have been exceptions after 20 weeks such as saving the life of the mother or cases of rape or incest that was not in your ad was that ad was misleading? Did it lack context? Certainly not misleading. In fact, a Spokane TV station reviewed it and said no such thing. It's a 32nd ad. So I'll let Dave tried to defend his vote. What's factual about those three votes he took in Congress for nationwide abortion bans that criminalize doctors is the following. He would have made certain abortions that are legal in Washington State illegal while precisely at the same time criminalizing doctors that is no, not ok. And that is entirely consistent with what he says behind closed doors over and over again. You've said Dave that you believe life begins at conception. I'm sorry, there's too much at stake to your question in a post s world to risk reproductive freedom for the women of Washington State with an individual who voted to criminalize doctors perform abortions that are legal in Washington State. Mr Racket, can, can we talk about your record in Congress just for a moment? Um You did while in Congress support three bills banning abortion past 20 weeks, past 20 weeks, the last bill allowed abortions after 20 weeks to save the life of the mother and in cases of rape or incest, it also required a second doctor be present to save the unborn child. Can you please for us explain your voting record how it squares with what you said yourself in a recent campaign ad that you quote, do not believe any politician regardless of personal belief has the right to make that decision for any woman. So, uh again, Mr Ferguson is not being honest with the people here in Washington State, those three votes um were based upon viability uh legal terminology viability at 20 weeks. So I actually voted three times for abortions, access to abortions uh at viability. It's almost the same law that exists here in Washington State, which is 24 weeks. So Bob is saying that I voted to ban abortions at viability. Bob uh believes that Washington State's law uh then is not, I I is a ban if he doesn't believe in Washington State laws and he also believes in a ban. So I did not vote to ban uh abortions nationally. And um thank you, you're out of time. Ok. I noticed that we're going to move on to the topic of transportation. Mark. Yes. Thank you. This question initially goes to Mr Ferguson. Providing efficient transportation is an important role of state government. But people in eastern Washington often feel left out the North Spokane Corridor which has been in the works for more than 20 years. Is one such example, Governor Insley recently tried to cut funding for it. How would you work to make sure both sides of the state have top notch roads and transportation routes? Thanks for that question. And in fact, I think I mentioned earlier, I've actually been to all 39 counties and when you get to all 39 counties. You're gonna have conversations with folks about their roads. For example, I met with the Calis Bell tribe, northeastern part of the state. There's a bridge near their reservation in that more isolated part of our state. They took me to that bridge to show to me it's failing, it needs to be replaced. I've had exactly those kinds of conversations all across the state. We need to continue investing in our transportation and our infrastructure. How do we do it to your question and the way I talked about before, I believe in bipartisan solutions, especially when an issue like this across the state are suffering from a lack of resources for exactly this purpose. So look, we have to have a governor who's got a track record of balancing budgets that are bipartisan as opposed an individual who drives up deficits when he's back in Congress and overspends his sheriff's budget. So that would be a focus of mine. This is important for our economy. This is important for jobs and as governor, we're gonna make that happen, Mr Reiger. Well, uh Mr Ferguson should have an opportunity to visit all 39 counties. He's been the attorney general for 12 years. I've been campaigning for about 12 months or more. Um uh The problem is that we have totally ignored our road systems here in Washington State. We're just now getting around to repairing some of the bridges and roadways here in Washington, uh when you ignore systems like the ferry system, when you ignore systems like uh our freeways, highways and, and bridges, they, they become deteriorated. And I think what's happened is there's not been an effort to prioritize um the major projects that we need to accomplish here in Washington State. So, one of the first things we need to do is to look at the systems across the state. What are our priorities? What do we need to fix first? We have the money to do this. We just need to repr pre Reprioritize and reshift our resources. Um All right. Thank you. And a quick follow up if elected Governor Mr Ferguson, what would you prioritize and please use specifics if you can in terms of transportation projects in Washington? Well, we're gonna make sure we have a balanced approach across the state, eastern restaurant, Eastern Washington and western Washington. And so for me, it's prioritizing, getting out listening to people talking to both Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature to make sure we're putting together a package that meets the needs of all Washingtonians that Dave. It's not getting to all 39 counties in my time as attorney general, been to all 39 counties in my campaign for this office. Specifically, I'm back going around a second time to all 39 counties. Why I launched my campaign in Spokane? Then we went to central Washington only then. Did I come to Western Washington. So this campaign getting out hearing directly from Washingtonians on exactly these kind of issues. That's what I've been doing. Mr Re, the question was what projects would you prioritize in terms of transportation projects in the state? Yeah, I think one of the first things that I would do is prioritize the ferry system. Uh It's, it's totally uh inoperable. Um Again, it's an, it's another part of our transportation system that's been totally ignored. And what we should do is is look at a hybrid ferry system, uh diesel uh that can be trans uh transferred to electric uh at a later date if we so choose to do that, we've got to get passenger only ferries on, on board and operating as quickly as possible. Uh We have private boat operators that are transporting people in between the islands. That's not a safe situation. People, that's a lifeline for the people who live in the island. So the ferry system I think should be one of the major priorities. Thank you. We are now going to move to a question from Gloria Ibanez from El Sol de Yakama. This is a question about indigenous boarding schools. A recent federal report on indigenous boarding school raised attention on the 17 that operate in Washington State. Children weren't allowed to speak traditional languages and were separated from their families. At least 970 Children died nationwide. Is there more the state can do to help tribes heal from the trauma caused by the boarding schools, Mr Reichert. Uh Absolutely. Um We would look for, I would look forward to working with the tribes and, and making those safe places for our Children and, and uh the families of our indigenous uh uh community members, Mr Ferguson. Oh, great. Um And that, so I have a minute 15 for this. Great. OK. Just wanna make sure. Um Thank you so much for that question. Um II, I don't just look forward to meeting with tribes about this. I've been doing it. Uh My team is actually put together a group to address this specific issue, working with tribal leaders and tribal members all across the state. What has gone on with boarding schools in our state just like in other states is a true tragedy. And I've heard that loud and clear from tribal leaders and tribal members as I've met all across the state with every tribal council all across the state. I'm proud I'm the only candidate running for governor that's actually endorsed by tribe by tribe more than dozens. I might also add this issue is critically important. We're gonna follow up on it but also an issue that impacts tribes disproportionately is the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women. My team put together a task force. We went to legislature and got funding for team my office yesterday, additional lawyers and guess what they're doing? They're standing up for tribes, bringing cases, bringing accountability and solving cold cases of missing and murdered indigenous women all across the state. That's what leadership looks like, right? Is reaching out, communicating those folks. And sometimes, yes, you need additional resources to bring justice to survivors and bring accountability for folks who violate the law. We're gonna move to the topic now of gun control in Washington, Jim, the, the Washington legislature recently passed uh an assault weapon ban. Um Mr Ferguson, you supported that and I think promoted it for many, for many years. Um, the state has enacted a raft of gun control gun safety laws in recent years. Uh advocates uh for, for further gun safety restrictions point to the ongoing rash of, of shootings that seem to greet us in the news every day and they're still looking for perhaps perhaps more restrictions, um, perhaps even on existing assault weapons, things like that. At the same time, people who value the Second Amendment and some of the gun stores that are operating under the current restrictions say it's just gonna drive them out of business. I'll start with you, Mr Ferguson. Should the state go further? Are there any other restrictions that you're looking at with licensing or tracking of, of guns in the state? I think we're always keep an open mind, but I think it's important to start from a place of, I'm someone who supports the Second Amendment, but just like I can't yell fire in this place right now. And there's not a fire. Even though I have a first amendment speech, there are restrictions on all of our constitutional rights including the second amendment. So I believe in responsible limitations. That's why I need support the ban, the sale of the solis and the ban on the sale of high capacity magazines. As attorney general, I led on this that issue. I propose that as agency requests legislation, I don't have to do that, but I felt this issue was so important. I fought for it. I advocated for years and got it across the finish line without a single Republican legislature. Voting for my opponent opposes the ban on the sale of assault weapons. My opponent opposes the ban on the sale of high capacity magazines. My opponent even opposes universal background checks supported by more than 60% of Washingtonians. This is an issue that's close to my heart. We need to make sure that we're protecting Washingtonians kids in schools. We just saw another recent tragedy that's become all too common after the mule shooting several years ago here in Washington State, I met with family members impacted by that senseless tragedy and that frankly is what moved me, Jim to become a leader in this issue and advocate it so that never happens again in Washington State. Mr Reker, do you feel comfortable where the state is? Do you think any restrictions go too far? Would you propose any new ones? Well, what I what I would like to do is focus on gun crime. And I have a record of doing that. When I was the sheriff, we put together a group of people. Uh, the first time in history, I would say that we brought cease fire and the nr A to the same uh, conference table to discuss gun crime. So we came up with the King County Firearms Coalition which, uh, was very successful in reducing gun crime and gang violence. Uh, that was actually moved to the Safe Cities Initiative, which was a, a Clinton Gore initiative. We are one of the 10 safe cities recognized across the country. We're the only county sheriff's office that was recognized as reducing gun crime. And again, that's, that's an example of bringing people together, looking at the problem, looking at facts finding solutions and actually having uh results. Uh, it was later changed to project safe neighborhoods, which was a Bush Cheney uh initiative. Um I would look forward to um, implementing programs similar to safe cities similar to project safe neighborhoods and bringing people together to address the issue of gun crime. Again, you have to hold people accountable and responsible those people that are committing crimes with guns. We have 45 seconds each for one more question from Mark. Stay on the same topic. We'll start with you, Mr Ferguson, according to the CDC, firearms have now overtaken car crashes as the leading cause of death for Children 18 and younger. What can we do to reduce that number while still respecting the Second Amendment? I think one more thing I would add to my leadership on this issue now for many, many years, on one of the more challenging issues facing our state and not being afraid to lead on that in contrast to my opponent. But one thing I hear when I talk to examples for teachers and educators all across our state who are worried about what's going on in the classroom. When I asked them, uh what they see, what I hear is a response over and over is mental health issues, mental health issues and mental health issues. They see a real need for more mental health counselors in the classrooms in the schools to help kids who are suffering from mental health issues, but also to improve the learning environment for all kids in the classroom. So as attorney general, that is an issue that I've led on and as a governor would be a priority in my budgets as well, Mr Record, how do we bring that number down? Well, first of all, we've got to ask the question, how did we get here? And we're not holding again, we're not holding people accountable and responsible hiring 800 attorneys is not the way to go about solving juvenile crime. Most juvenile crime is committed by 13 and 15 year olds. Our teachers don't even feel safe in their classrooms. Um So we have got to one of the things we need to do is make sure that our youth centers, our detention centers are actually used for detaining juveniles and not adults. We've moved adults from the prisons into our youth centers. They should be, the adults should be moved back to our prisons. Make space for our young people who are committing crimes so we can help them get the help that they need. And I agree with the issue on mental health. We have two minutes now for closing statements for each of you, we will start with you, Mr Reker. I, I appreciate the, the opportunity to, uh, to be here tonight. Uh, I think as most people, uh, can probably tell, um, I am not a, uh, debate, uh, expert. I am a, I am a man who, uh, grew up in the Renton Islands. Um, again nine people in an 800 square foot home. I grew up in a home of domestic violence. I lived in my car, uh, checked on my brothers and sisters and, and, uh, went into the Air Force joined the sheriff's office. Was fortunate and blessed enough to be a member of Congress and I find myself in this position today. Uh, coming from that humble place in the Retton Highlands being a candidate to be your governor. I have shown as the sheriff and as a member of Congress that I can lead, make decisions, tough decisions in some cases, life and death decisions. I have the experience through all and blessed with the career that I've had to have the experience that has brought us to this moment today where we're facing some of the most major issues that we faced in this state in our history. And number one is crime. Crime has gone through the roof under the leadership and he talks about leadership under the leadership of Mr Ferguson, under the leadership of his good friend and Governor Mr Ensley, homelessness has gone through the roof. Mr Ferguson encouraged the legislature to legalize fentaNYL to legalize other drugs on the streets. Costs have gone up here in Washington State and we talk about a responsible budget maker to my right when we are paying more and more and more each day and being taxed more and more each day, Mr Ferguson, thank you to the Washingtonians. Tuning in to this conversation and you've seen a real contrast in our respective visions for the future of the state of Washington reproductive freedom. You heard tonight, he went back to Congress and voted three times for nationwide abortion bans that criminalize doctors. He said to an extreme pro life group that he would seek to unravel his word abortion protections here in Washington State. I'm endorsed by Planned Parenthood. I'm proud that I will defend your reproductive freedom. He went back to Congress and voted dozens of times to repeal and get the Affordable Care Act stripping away protections for those of you with pre existing conditions. In contrast, I fought to defend the Affordable Care Act in court. You've heard about him and Donald Trump, he says, I love Donald Trump's policies. Even bragged to a group that he has a signed mega hat at his home. I can assure you we don't need to sign mega hat in the governor's mansion. What we need is someone who's a change agent who will change the status quo. Look, I got my start in politics by challenging a 20 year incumbent from my own party. Took on that incumbent and I won as an attorney general. I've taken on presence of both political parties standing up for workers in the tri cities, standing up for clean air and clean water and standing up for your rights. That's what we need as a governor. My priorities are public safety. When I'm governor, we'll hire more police officer, hire more police officers. We'll make sure you're paying less for gas and groceries and for housing. We'll improve our education system, our workforce training and apprenticeships. My family's been in the state for five generations. I'm looking forward to watching this debate later on with my kids and family, but this election is not about my family. It's about yours. Make Washington State better for every single family at the end of the day as governor, I'll protect your rights. I'll defend your freedoms. I'll change the status quo and I ask for your vote for governor of Washington State. Thank you very much and thank you, Mr Ferguson. Thank you, Mr Reichert. Our thanks to the panel, Mark Hanrahan and Jim Brunner and Gloria Ibanez from El Sol de Yakima voters. You have much to consider as you decide who will lead our state over the next four years. We thank you for your time tonight and we wish you a good evening. Thank you. Think about. Ok, thanks. Still. We're off. I.