Keep Nethercutt

Sun., Oct. 15, 2000

By John Webster johnwe@spokesman.com (509) 459-5421

Residents of Eastern Washington’s 5th Congressional District don’t need outsiders to tell them how to vote. They have their own expectations, which they made clear in 1994. Tom Foley was speaker of the House, and a good man. But voters out in the district’s small towns and wide open Western spaces felt he had drifted away from their values and needs. Joining a nationwide revolt against congressional Democrats, they dumped him.

George Nethercutt became Foley’s successor not for any single-issue stand but rather on the strength of his roots in the district, and his convincing devotion to its values and needs. That is a quality Nethercutt retains.

It is a quality his challenger lacks. Tom Keefe is a thoughtful, articulate Democrat who worked as an aide to former Seattle Mayor Charles Royer and former U.S. Sens. Warren Magnuson and Brock Adams. But Keefe moved into the 5th District in April of this year. And promptly began his campaign. That makes him a skilled political operative. But a trusted neighbor? Not yet.

Nethercutt, meanwhile, has grown in the job. This year, he led the way in knocking down trade barriers that block U.S. farmers from selling food to politically controversial but needy countries, such as Cuba. To do this, Nethercutt built a bipartisan coalition. He’ll need to do the same for the next step: revising farm programs.

Nethercutt helped shape the last farm bill, and knows it needs adjusting to cope with obstacles and volatility in global trade. Farmers think Nethercutt has the expertise this task requires - as shown by all those blue signs out in wheat country, and also by a recent national award from the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Among urban dwellers, Nethercutt has earned appreciation for his work to protect the Northwest’s hydroelectric power supply, essential to job prospects in aluminum and high-tech. His efforts on behalf of diabetes research and health clinics won him an endorsement by the Spokane Indian Tribe. His support for research at the National Institutes of Health could prove quite important for Spokane, which is developing a center for bio-tech research associated with local hospitals and universities.

Nethercutt knows his district and serves it ably. We endorse him.

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