booth gardner - Washington Secretary of State

In the spring of 1987, King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng, a gentlemanly
Republican in the Dan Evans mold, began testing the waters for a race against Gardner.
Party Chairwoman Jennifer Dunn was enthusiastic. Pointing to his tough-on-crime record
and strong social conscience, she called him the “credible” candidate the party had been
hoping for. Fall produced a surprise wild card: Bobby Williams was running, too. Most
observers rated the lawmaker from Longview a long shot against Maleng, a popular
politician from the state’s biggest county.
Gardner and Wilkerson took their tax reform dog-and-pony show on the road almost
every week all winter. Without tax reform, “you’re
dreaming, absolutely dreaming” to think that the
business-and-occupation taxes won’t keep soaring, the
revenue director warned the Association of Washington
Business. To lunch-bucket groups, they declared that the
state’s tax system was patently unfair. With more than
half of its revenue generated by the second-highest sales
tax in the nation, Washington put the greatest burden on
those least able to pay. Booth said a bipartisan consensus
on tax reform was crucial and emphasized he wasn’t
wedded to an income tax. “My goal is to create a better
business climate.” He said he hoped to submit a plan
to the Legislature in 1989, then to the voters to cap the
state’s centennial year. However, if the Republicans made
it a partisan issue, the governor said he just wouldn’t go
there, and the cause might be set back decades. Maleng
and Williams said that was classic Booth Gardner – vague
details and veiled threats. “I think it’s time he comes up
with a specific proposal and take it to the people and
become a leader,” Maleng said. Gardner was cornered by
reporters a few weeks later and admitted that his personal
preference was an income tax. “See,” said his rivals.
Gardner appointed a 16-member Committee on Washington’s Financial Future to
develop a “revenue neutral” tax reform plan – one mean feat – for the 1989 legislative
session. Wilkerson and Dick Davis, the director of Financial Management, were named cochairmen.
The panel included the mayors of Seattle and Spokane, the superintendent of
public instruction, representatives of business and labor, tax attorneys and accountants.
Senate Republicans would have no part of it.
Pollsters hired by both parties sampled the electorate at year’s end and reached
the same conclusion: Voters hated the idea of an income tax but loved their governor.
The GOP poll actually rated him higher than the one commissioned by the Democrats –
Booth and Revenue Director Bill Wilkerson take
their tax reform show on the road. Peter Haley ©
The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) 1989 Reprinted
with permission.
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