Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Bryant rolled into Vancouver in a vintage Greyhound bus on Monday with a message that it’s time to “take a pressure hose to Olympia.”
“It is a corrupt mess after 32 years of one party controlling the governor’s office,” Bryant said. “I don’t care which party, 32 years of any party controlling that office leads people to be lazy (and) unaccountable.”
Bryant was cut off mid-sentence by applause from the audience, made up of 17th Legislative District candidates and those making phone calls on behalf of Republicans.
The candidate was hosted at DeWils Industries, a kitchen cabinet manufacturing company owned by Tracy and state Rep. Lynda Wilson. The building was transformed into a phone banking center.
Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, is in a tight race against Democrat Tim Probst for the 17th’s state Senate seat. In a 2012 race for the same seat, Probst lost to state Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, by a mere 76 votes.
While in town, Bryant called it a “critical race,” and noted that the 17th is one of the swing districts that tends to indicate the mood of the state.
The Probst vs. Wilson race also could end up tipping the balance of power in the Senate, either giving Democrats a narrow majority or allowing Republicans to hold on to theirs.
To pump up the crowd, Bryant hit several of his campaign points, criticizing his opponent, Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, for the early releases of prisoners at the state’s Department of Corrections and problems at Western State Hospital. He pointed to the state’s problems tackling homelessness and said that both the state’s transportation system and foster care system are in shambles.
In this election, Bryant said, it’s crucial to make “every day count.”
Man with a plan
“Who wins this race and who wins the races up and down the ticket when so many of the races are so close is going to come down to who has the best ground game, (who is) making phone calls, knocking on doors,” Bryant said.
Bryant told the crowd, about 20 of whom had been making phone calls for Republicans in the 17th Legislative District, to remind voters that he has a plan.
“When you’re talking to folks, let them know you have essentially a congressman who thinks he can come home from Washington, D.C., and talk about what kind of money he’s spent and what kind of programs he’s created, but doesn’t really give you any vision of where he wants to go,” Bryant said of Inslee.
John Spellman was Washington’s last Republican governor. He served from 1981 to 1985.
