Jay Inslee wants WA governor’s race to be a subset of presidential race

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee criticized his primary gubernatorial challenger Republican Bill Bryant for not coming out in opposition to Donald Trump. Bryant responded to those criticisms and more with KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson on Monday.

Dori Monson: Jay Inslee was in Philadelphia talking to the Washington delegation this morning and taking some shots at you. One of the things he said, according to The Seattle Times: “I’m running against a guy that sat there in league with Donald Trump,” Inslee said. “When Donald Trump said we should build a wall where in Washington we build bridges, my opponent Bill Bryant said nothing.” I talked with you a few weeks ago and didn’t hear anything pro or con against Trump. What’s your reaction to Inslee’s comments?

Billy Bryant: Jay Inslee keeps attacking Mr. Trump as if he’s running against Mr. Trump. He’s not. He’s running against me. And he’s going to have to run on his record. And it’s a record of failure. Did he talk about how 25 percent of our ninth graders aren’t graduating from high school? Or abut how Washington state has the ninth highest unemployment in America, tied with Mississippi. Did he talk about how Western State Hospital and the Department of Corrections are a mess and that traffic has deteriorated under his watch? No. All he’s got is Trump. And, you know what, at the end of the day, people are going to make a decision about who they want as the next governor based on who will help fix the schools, eliminate traffic jams and restore salmon runs.

Dori: I get that. I’m a little baffled by the Governor’s strategy because you said you wouldn’t talk about Trump with me, that you wanted to focus on the interviews. I guess he wants you to denounce everything Trump has ever said.

Bryant: Yeah, so then the whole conversation becomes on whether we agree or disagree with everything Sen. Clinton and Mr. Trump say. And that just makes the governor’s race a subset of the presidential race, which is exactly what he wants to do.

Dori: If he’s doing this, are you going to make Hillary Clinton an issue?

Bryant: No, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to talk about the issues that compelled me to run for governor. That’s to fix the schools so every kid has an equal chance to get ahead, dealing with rural unemployment, restoring salmon runs and eliminating traffic jams. I’m going to keep talking about those issues. He wants to talk about Secretary Clinton and Mr. Trump. The presidential race is what it is. We have a governor’s to run and I welcome the governor to get involved in it.

Dori: Inslee wants to welcome refugees into Washington. I have concerns about the vetting process. In the last 24 hours, a Syrian refugee in Germany blew himself up and severely injured 12 people. Another refugee in Europe hacked a pregnant woman to death. What would your approach be to Syrian refugees in Washington state?

Bryant: When this issue was first raised in November, I stood with senator Charles Schumer of New York and Dianne Feinstein of California, both who were asking for us to ensure that we have a vetting process that adequately address the unique situation we have with people coming from Syria. And those are not two radical people. Those are very senior members of the Democratic Senate. And they were saying, let’s pause and work with the justice department and ensure we have all proper procedures in place. And I think that’s the prudent way to go forward.

Dori: But there is no safe vetting process if you’re coming from a nation that has no paper trail on anybody who is fleeing. You can’t get a history of the people in the refugee category. You could see yourself agreeing with Inslee in saying, ‘Bring them in here.’?

Bryant: No, I would want to work with the justice department to ensure that all possible and necessary screening procedures have been taken. And until the justice department and the senate is comfortable with that – and right now I think there are many senate members who are not – we should not proceed. We need to do this prudently. We do not want people to take advantage of our compassion. I think we are a nation of immigrants and we have got to always welcome those who want to come and start a new life. But we have to be careful when we’re doing that. Particularly when we’re dealing with a situation as volatile as Syria.

Dori: You were not in Cleveland for the Republican National Convention. Why didn’t you go?

Bryant: I wasn’t a delegate and I was in Port Angeles, Silverdale, Clearview, Bothell and Marysville last week. I’m running a gubernatorial campaign. I’m talking to the people who affect the people of Washington state. And those issues are here, not in Cleveland or Philadelphia.

Taken from Thursday’s edition of the Dori Monson Show on KIRO Radio. Edited for clarity.

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