Gee and Ursula: Reichert did better this debate but doubtful he can beat Ferguson

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson and former King County Sheriff, and former Congressman, Dave Reichert faced off a second time in the race for Washington governor on Wednesday. The two candidates clashed on everything from homelessness to crime to abortion rights and school funding.

Concerning public safety, Reichert asked Ferguson, “If you’re not responsible for any of this Bob who is?”

“As Attorney General, I work with local prosecutors,” Ferguson responded. “We’ve already covered sexually violent predators. They send their cases to me there. Guess what else? As attorney general, I don’t actually have the legal authority to prosecute a case if someone breaks into your car.”

Seattle City Council president: Stay out zones are ‘better than nothing’

Another question was what would you do to improve Washington’s business environment? Reichert begins by saying homelessness and crime are the problem. You can listen to the two-minute exchange below, via “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio:

Additionally, Ferguson took aim at Reichert’s plan for addressing the homelessness crisis which he called “unserious.”

“Reichert has literally proposed repeatedly to send homeless individuals to McNeil Island, which is where we keep our sexually violent predators,” he said. “How do I know that? Because my team sends them to McNeil Island. That is a very unserious proposal for a very serious challenge.”

Reichert’s response was that Washington should put the homeless somewhere safe.

“Look, I don’t care where we put the homeless, we need to put them in a safe place,” he said. “We need to surround them with social services when we put them in a home.”

On the topic of abortion, Ferguson referenced a recording of Reichert speaking to an anti-abortion group about unraveling protections.

“Once again, taken out of context,” Reichert rebutted. “That was a multi-question. There were three or four questions that I was asked that night, and the unraveling comment was directed toward transgenders participating in women’s sports. It was also referencing the use of men in women’s bathrooms.”

Co-host of “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio, Ursula Reutin, pointed out that, unlike the first debate, where Donald Trump’s name was brought up at least a dozen times, it never came up Wednesday night.

“This was a better debate last night,” Co-host of Gee and Ursula, Gee Scott, said. “And here’s why it was better. One, they actually got to the issues without bringing up that man’s name. That was good. Two, Dave Reichert showed up and said, ‘Oh, we’re having a debate.’ Showed up shirt and tie, suit, actually, he looked good.”

More on the first debate: Taxes, crime, abortion rights take center stage in WA gubernatorial debate

However, while Scott thought Reichert did better in this debate compared to the first one, he still doesn’t think Reichert matches up to Ferguson. One topic Scott thought Reichert struggled with was green energy.

A contentious topic has been Washington teachers’ salaries, where Ferguson has accused Reichert of wanting to cut pay.

“As I talk to teachers, they want choice too,” Reichert said. “They’re tired of being dictated by Olympia as to what they can teach and what they can’t teach. Teachers want choice. Parents want choice. They want to have a better education for their children. We need to give them the opportunity to choose the schools they want to go to, and their tax dollars follow them to the schools that they choose to send their children to.”

Ferguson responded to Reichert’s education plans.

“You just heard my opponent say, which is something that’s important, is using a voucher system, taking public dollars away from our public education system and sending those public tax dollars to unaccountable private schools,” he said. “That makes our budget problem much worse when it comes to funding our public schools.”

Reutin said she understands the sentiment but would rather invest in public schools. Adding that she is still undecided but said believes Reichert is the strongest candidate the Washington Republicans have had since Rob McKenna.

‘I knew Trump would crack:’ KIRO, KTTH hosts react to the presidential debate

Switching gears to the topic of crime, Reichert said “What we’re going to do is we’re going to enforce the law.” But Reutin wants more specific plans, as she pointed out, “This is a race that’s going to have consequences for us.”

Scott jokingly compared the race to a marriage.

“I wonder if this is what this is like, where you end up getting married to the person that you’re just like ‘Oh, it was the best choice between the two, but that one got away.’ I’m gonna forever clutch a picture of Mark Mullet.”

Listen to Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin weekday mornings from 9 a.m.- noon on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

Listen to Seattle’s Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O’Brien weekday mornings from 5-9 a.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.