Senate, 6Th District
The 6th District Senate race is a choice between a veteran Spokane politician and a registered nurse.
Democrat Judy Personett’s campaign to unseat incumbent Republican Jim West is built on a promise to “bring our tax dollars home”.
West is one of the most powerful members of the Senate. Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, he is the gatekeeper for all spending bills in the Senate.
He says his performance merits another term.
But Personett says West, instead of looking out for constituents, helps the dozens of out-of-state lobbyists who’ve contribute to his campaign fund.
“West’s interests are the special interests,” said Personett.
She cites dozens of out-of-state corporations - including prescription drug makers, bankers and tobacco manufacturers - who have donated to West’s campaign.
West said he’s a tight-fisted budget writer whose conservatism benefits the entire state. Since he rose in leadership four years ago, the GOP-controlled Legislature has slashed taxes $1.8 billion, he said.
“The best way to bring tax dollars home is to not send them in the first place,” West said.
And he said he supports local projects when they’re worthy.
He cites from last year’s budget $300,000 he included to inoculate local jail inmates against hepatitis A; $1 million to plan for a Cheney Cowles Museum expansion; and $100,000 for the Cooper Jones bicycle safety bill, named in honor of a Spokane boy killed in an accident.
Much is at stake in this campaign. GOP control of the Senate could hinge on a single seat. A Personett victory could return the Democrats to majority power.
Indicative of the stakes, a state Democratic campaign gave Personett $12,000 - doubling the amount she had raised - to boost her advertising fund.
And in mid-October, the state Democratic Party spent $10,000 sending out a flier mocking West’s conduct. Over a picture of pistachio nuts, the flier says, “Jim West has made a fool of himself.”
It refers to a threatening message West left in April on the office answering machine of Tom McCabe, a building industry lobbyist. West faces prosecution for the threat next month.
Personett says she was angry about the party flier and denied involvement.
To West, the flier represents a double standard.
If he were beholden to lobbyists, he would have helped McCabe, not deny him a special bill worth millions to the building industry, he said.
“I’m defending myself for standing up to lobbyists and then getting attacked on the campaign trail for bowing down to lobbyists,” West said.
Graphic: Where they stand …
For the text of the graphic “Where they stand,” see story: Personett, West wrestle tax dollars theme, October 25, 1998.