Nelson, Geraghty Good Can-Do Team

During the Great Depression Spokane’s 6th Legislative District elected Democrats. Those were years when government helped our region - building dams, rescuing farmers, weaving a social safety net. But in 1940 the 6th became a Republican stronghold.

After 60 years it’s time for a change. Spokane is missing out on the nation’s economic boom. Deep poverty limits the future of too many local children. The need for public schools and social services is acute. Local roads are in lousy shape and transit, essential for getting low-income people to work and school, is under attack.

Spokane needs some legislators who are willing to use government to get the community back on its feet.

Therefore, The Spokesman-Review urges 6th District voters to elect Bernie Nelson and Jack Geraghty. Each man offers an exceptional record of public service. Each is a friend of economic development, education and the unfortunate. Each would possess immediate credibility in the Legislature’s Democratic caucus, a power center where Spokane has been underrepresented.

Nelson could help the Legislature achieve a long-sought goal: reform the Department of Social and Health Services. No one could be a more knowledgeable advocate for reducing DSHS waste and focusing its energy on front-line service to the needy. Nelson spent 40 years as a DSHS administrator based in Spokane and he was a key player in the success of welfare reform. Nelson’s heart belongs to people, not bureaucracy. Long active in the Chamber of Commerce and other civic organizations, he is a passionate supporter of public schools and better-paying jobs.

Geraghty has served Spokane as mayor, county commissioner and Eastern Washington University trustee. He was a leader as Expo ‘74 renewed the city and when those investments faded he got involved again, empowering neighborhoods and facilitating a new commercial renaissance from downtown to Northtown.

Geraghty helped expand higher education services here, a key to our future. Next year when the Legislature considers major investments in transportation, Geraghty will be supportive - and can argue, knowledgeably, that the state must funnel more resources to city roads.

John Ahern, Geraghty’s Republican opponent, is a friendly salesman with no experience in governmental affairs.

Brad Benson, Nelson’s opponent, has served two terms in the House. Unfortunately, Benson’s anti-government extremism makes him a foe of public schools and an impediment when Spokane needs state help with public projects such as roads. Recently, Benson suggested splitting Mead School District in two and chopping School District 81 into five districts. Unions, he ranted, control local school boards. This ideological silliness means he’s irrelevant to the real needs of children and their teachers.

Spokane’s deep problems call for progressive, knowledgeable legislators. Nelson and Geraghty would do a splendid job.