Nethercutt Has Grown Into His Role In House

George Nethercutt’s blue blazer, striped shirt and red power tie look good these days.

Incumbency has begun to fit well on the shoulders of the Spokane adoption attorney who made political history in 1994 by defeating the first sitting Speaker of the House in more than 100 years.

He looks like a congressman, speaks like a congressman, and appears ready to run like a congressman this fall.

This is no accident.

Nethercutt has worked hard the last 16 months to move from lion killer to 5th District representative.

He still attends congressional hearings on committees where he doesn’t serve just so he can learn something about issues pertinent to his district.

On the flight back home a few nights ago he sought out fellow Spokane passengers for thoughts on what needs to be done, or undone, by his office.

The little details of good politics now get his full attention.

He hit the mayor’s prayer breakfast on Friday.

Then it was lunch with the federal employees.

Saturday night he waved his way through the Tidyman’s Lilac Festival Armed Forces Torchlight Parade.

Tom Foley used to do that, too.

While Nethercutt beat Foley by only 2,000 votes two years ago, he clearly has added greatly to his margin of support in Eastern Washington today.

The word on the street is generally good on the topic of Rep. Nethercutt.

“I think he’s done a great job and I’m a Democrat,” said Ken Symbol, a Spokane postmaster who was on hand to hear Nethercutt’s remarks to federal employees at the Ridpath Hotel.

Elected in part on a pledge to cut back the role of government, Nethercutt’s service to his district nonetheless receives high praise from many seeking access to the government.

“He has been very responsive,” said Ros Hill, a research supervisor for the now-closed U.S. Bureau of Mines Office in Spokane.

Hill believes Nethercutt successfully fought to keep Bureau of Mines jobs in Spokane even though the bureau itself was eliminated.

“He was in a hard situation, talking about the need to cut back government but knowing that Spokane jobs would be lost,” Hill said. “I commend him for looking at the situation then deciding that there was a proper role for government to do research on the health and safety of mining.”

The health and safety research portion of the Bureau of Mines was transferred to the Department of Energy earlier this year, saving 75 of the bureau’s 150 jobs.

Nethercutt quietly has taken on many other district-related causes as well. Only this week, for example, he met with the CIA to see if there was anything he could do to help learn the fate of Spokane psychologist Donald Hutchings who has been held hostage in northern India for 10 months.

This quick grasp of the day-to-day workings of a congressional office in a district accustomed to having the resources of the speaker has vastly strengthened Nethercutt’s position as a freshman congressman.

And there is something else.

Though he clearly is a soldier in the Newt Gingrich-led crusade to significantly shrink the size and scope of the federal government, Nethercutt has held to a style reminiscent of the man he replaced - Tom Foley.

“Republican or Democrat, I think I need to treat people with respect and listen to what they have to say,” the congressman said on his recent visit. “If I conduct myself with dignity and treat people with dignity, it can do a lot to restore trust in the government and Congress.”

The congressman then made a suggestion to the media: If radio, TV and the newspapers would treat people with respect, listen to what was being said, be fair and complete, then the tattered trust in the media might begin to be repaired, too.

Nethercutt has a point.

To that end, this newspaper has developed some coverage guidelines for the 1996 elections designed to restore some of the lost trust that may have occurred in past election years.

These guidelines emphasize reporting on issues, listening to voter concerns, truth-checking paid political advertisements and offering candidates better access to respond when challenged. And, in general, the newspaper will strive - in its news and commentary pages - to more wholly reflect important questions being asked by citizens and the answers being given by the candidates.

The newspaper shared these guidelines with George Nethercutt.

The freshman congressman applauded them.

In time, the campaign will get hot.

Disagreements will occur, as they should in a democracy.

But at this early hour George Nethercutt deserves an atta boy for getting off to a good start in the 1996 5th District congressional campaign.

, DataTimes MEMO: Chris Peck is the Editor of The Spokesman-Review.