Candidates Take Care Of Last-Minute Details

Ken Whitehall put 40,000 miles on his car the last six months, trying to win a seat in the Washington Legislature.

On Sunday, he was back behind the wheel, checking on campaign signs scattered across the 3rd District in Spokane.

Some signs had disappeared and were replaced with reserves stacked in the trunk. Others had fallen, and were pounded back into the ground with the rubber-handled hammer that is as indispensable to the campaign as Whitehall’s Chevy Cavalier.

It was that kind of detail that occupied most candidates over the weekend - the last big chance to sway voters.

Rep. Larry Crouse spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday in his Spokane Valley office, updating his list of loyal Republicans who might need reminders to vote.

Senate hopeful George Orr rang a few doorbells at Liberty Lake. Jerry Hopkins, a candidate for the state House of Representatives, rang them south of Spokane.

“You had to keep moving so you’d stay warm,” said Hopkins.

In the course of the campaign, Hopkins said, he met a few people who came to Spokane from bigger cities. Several said they were surprised to meet a candidate - especially on their own front porch.

Bob Sump, a Republic, Wash., candidate for the House, joined state Rep. Cathy McMorris of Colville, for a road trip on Saturday. First they went to a gathering in Spokane with U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt, then to a meeting of hay growers in Deer Park.

Those were Sump and McMorris’ last campaign appearances. On Sunday, he cut a couple of cords of firewood. She wrote thank-you letters to volunteers.

Whitehall, 24, said he’ll miss the campaign, although he’ll be glad to have some free time. He had his first ride in a Corvette during a parade in the East Central neighborhood, threw out the first pitch at a Spokane Indians game and knocked on at least half the doors in his district.

“When I first started, I had no idea how many doors there are,” he said.

, DataTimes