Our View: Senate majority leader deserves another term

The editorial board of The Spokesman-Review has reached the following endorsement decisions.

3rd District, Senate: John Moyna is the night janitor at Dick’s Hamburgers. Lisa Brown is the most powerful politician east of the Cascades and among the most influential in the state. No disrespect to Moyna, but he is severely overmatched.

As Senate majority leader, Brown has demonstrated her considerable leadership skills in helping steer the Democrats’ agenda without inflicting partisan wounds. She is decidedly liberal but strikes a nice balance between ideology and practicality.

The fact that she can get things done has been a boon to the region. People of all political persuasions can appreciate the expansion of the Riverpoint Campus, infusions of state money into the Fox Theater, the YMCA and YWCA and a variety of educational and health initiatives.

We disagree with her on some issues related to business regulations and spending, but replacing her would increase the advantage the West Side enjoys in the Legislature without making gains on those business climate issues. Her position in a safe district has allowed her to take aim at voter-approved Initiative 601, specifically the provision that requires a two-thirds majority to adopt tax increases. She is asking the state Supreme Court to rule the measure unconstitutional, but we think it’s better to resolve that issue in the Legislature, where voters can hold lawmakers accountable.

Nonetheless, Brown has earned another term. Spokane is better off with her in power.

3rd District, House Position 1: Two-year terms in the House of Representatives can be a blessing when mediocre candidates win a seat. Voters need to wait only two years to elect someone more effective.

Voters in the 3rd District have the choice between incumbent Democrat Alex Wood and Republican Chris Bowen. Wood, first elected to the House in 1996, has not had a distinguished tenure. He prides himself on being a team player who doesn’t crave the limelight. Wood, 62, spent a portion of his editorial board endorsement interview discussing the pros and cons of retiring in two years.

Bowen, 30, was recently fined $300 for not filing campaign finance reports. He insisted to the Public Disclosure Commission that he mailed them – without making copies. Bowen has been disavowed by the Spokane County Republican Party.

The 3rd District, which encompasses neighborhoods in central and north Spokane, is one of the poorest in the state. Its residents deserve outspoken advocates for the district’s low-income citizens, their neighborhoods and their schools. Wood is the only realistic choice, but Democratic and Republican leaders should work hard the next two years to find better candidates for 2010.

3rd District, Position 2: Incumbent Rep. Timm Ormsby points out that the 3rd District receives more Department of Social and Health Services money than any other district in the state because the agency’s poor and elderly clients are concentrated in Spokane’s core.

Ormsby, seeking his fourth term in the Legislature, says his biggest challenge will be “creating a budget that doesn’t leave (3rd District) folks behind.” He has a good track record advancing legislation that helps the poor in ways big and small. He sponsored a successful bill that provides a sales tax exemption for weatherization materials purchased by nonprofit organizations. That exemption will allow Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs to insulate 10 to 12 more homes each winter.

As the No. 2 Democrat on the Capital Budget committee, Ormsby was instrumental in securing money for Spokane’s joint YMCA/YWCA building, under construction now.

Republican challenger Mike Novak works for an Airway Heights security company. He says he would vote no on every tax unless the state overhauls its entire tax system, but he has few specifics on what that overhaul should look like.

Ormsby, who has served in the House during both lean and lush budget times, can be an important voice for the needy. Voters should send him back to Olympia.

7th District, House Position 1: Both of the finalists for this seat would bring more energy and ideas to the position than retiring Rep. Bob Sump. Both have a pro-business, social conservative viewpoint. Both see the job as more than just voting no on the majority’s agenda.

Sue Lani Madsen owns an architectural business and her family also runs a small ranching business from their spread in Edwall. Her key strengths are in business and health care issues. She is past president of the Washington Rural Health Association and serves on a rural advisory committee for the Washington Health Foundation. She acknowledges that the employer-based health care model is inadequate in trying to expand access to care. She points to the excessive mandates for insurance companies as one problem. Madsen also wants to work in the Legislature on strategies to recruit and retain medical workers in rural communities.

Like Madsen, Shelly Short is bright and engaged on the issues that are most important to the district. Her knowledge is derived from her years working for state Rep. Joel Kretz, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and former U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt.

Short has the endorsement of Sump and the Building Industry Association. Madsen is favored by the National Federation of Independent Business.

We could recommend either candidate were it not for the controversy over Short family’s personal finances. At a time when the Shorts were struggling with credit card debt, her husband Mitch Short was accused of dipping into the Northeast Washington Fair Association checking account. He now faces a theft charge. Shelly Short may not be culpable, but explanations thus far leave us uneasy.

Madsen is a safe, solid choice.

9th District, House Position 1: Sometimes an individual in public service has the privilege of using many lessons learned through personal and professional experiences. Rep. Steve Hailey, the Republican incumbent seeking re-election to the House, is one of those individuals. He’s a third-generation farmer in a largely agriculture district, for starters. He puts this knowledge to good use on the Agricultural Natural Resources Committee.

Hailey – a Vietnam veteran who understands how challenges for vets don’t always end when the war does – also serves on the Joint Veterans Affairs Committee. A resident of Mesa, he jokes that his district is “two hours from practically anywhere.” His district requires well-maintained rural roads and healthy railroad links to accommodate its farm-to-market economy. On the House Transportation Committee, Hailey is able to explain those needs to urban legislators.

Hailey, 63, is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, but he’s optimistic it won’t keep him from his state duties. And this personal hardship may inform discussions on state health care spending. Hailey’s opponent, Democrat Kenneth Caylor of Othello, has a good resume, too. But the business owner and Othello City Council member can’t match Hailey’s depth of experience. We recommend sending Hailey back for a second term.

9th District, House Position 2: In the state’s primary election, Republican Joe Schmick received double the votes of his Democrat opponent, political newcomer Tyana Kelley of Pullman. Schmick was appointed to his 9th District seat last year when Rep. David Buri, R-Colfax, stepped down.

Schmick was a quick study, poring over legislation and figuring out how the Legislature works by sponsoring and co-sponsoring some bills, two of which passed.

Schmick is a good fit for this conservative district that sprawls over six counties. The Colfax farmer also owns a vending machine business. The state, and the rest of the country, face a continued economic downturn. The state’s agriculture business has enjoyed some recent boom times. And some of the best creative thinking can come from smaller businesses.

In the Legislature this upcoming session, Schmick could turn into an advocate for agriculture and small business owners because he understands the challenges of both. Entrepreneurs have long complained that the state’s regulatory and revenue system inhibits small-business growth here.

Last November, Schmick was appointed to the House one day and on his way to Olympia the next day for a special session. He showed an ability to work across party lines to get things done for his district. He deserves to return to Olympia and build on his baptism-by-fire first session.