Lt. Gov. candidate Cyrus Habib makes bet with Todd Herman

KTTH host Todd Herman and Cyrus Habib come from very different ends of the political spectrum and it showed when the pair discussed the role of government, education and follow through in state legislature.

Democratic Sen. Cyrus Habib, of Bellevue, and Republican Marty McClendon, of Gig Harbor, advanced through the state’s crowded top-two primary in August to be the Lt. Governor of Washington state.

Herman asked Habib about a comment he previously made that he wouldn’t sign a bill if he personally disagreed with it. Herman also asked for a response to a scathing open letter from current Lt. Gov. Brad Owen, who is retiring after 20 years of service, to Habib in June that said:

I am disappointed that you have crossed the line and have made meaningless and ‘Donald Trump’ type proposals to get elected to office. I call upon you to tone down your rhetoric and dismiss these proposals of yours which demean the office of Lieutenant Governor and will create chaos in the Washington State Senate.

Related: Washington to choose first new lieutenant governor since ’97

Habib called Owen’s comment way off base and explained that his role as lieutenant governor would include being a watchdog over the senate when something is unconstitutional. He also bet Todd that he could find an instance where he’d be OK with a lieutenant governor personally deciding something, if something is constitutional.

“When Senate democrats four years ago, and again six or seven years before that, tried to increase taxes with a simple majority — despite the fact that the Tim Eyman initiative had been passed — I bet you anything you would have wanted the senate to not be able to ignore, as you say, ‘the will of the people,’ and go around the will of the people and break the law by trying to pass a tax increase with a simple majority,” he said.

Herman also challenged Habib to address whether Hillary Clinton should release the transcripts from her speaking engagements to companies like Goldman Sachs. Listen to his response below.

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