booth gardner - Washington Secretary of State

McDermott said, “Yeah, you, go ahead. Do you know?”
“Bruce Gardner?” the kid offered.
Close enough for government work. Booth, flush with cash, had blanketed the
airwaves. The kid’s reply was like a straight pin in a balloon, Callaghan says. “And of course
we all look at McDermott. He’s got a good sense of humor so he kind of smiles. ‘No,’ he
says. ‘It’s John Spellman. He’s another guy who wants to be governor.’ ” If he didn’t know it
before, he knew then that he was in trouble. Gardner had a primary election war chest of
$1.3 million, including a $500,000 line of credit he extended to his campaign. McDermott
had collected only about $360,000. Booth had spent more than that on TV alone. Steve
Excell, Spellman’s shrewd
campaign manager and former
chief of staff, acknowledged
that the governor’s campaign
had spent virtually all of
the nearly $900,000 it had
collected but flatly denied
Spellman’s fund-raising was
flagging. “We only raise as
much money as we need to do
the job,” he said, adding that
they were confidently poised
to begin a new push for the
Nov. 6 General Election,
regardless of the opponent. Excell also emphasized that no one should make much out of
what would be a doubtlessly low vote for Spellman in the primary. “There is no question
the headlines afterward (will say) there is an overwhelming Democratic vote in this state.
But that does not accurately reflect the dynamic of the electorate. Our primary vote … is
going to be understated. People tend to vote where the contest is.”
Gardner, increasingly confident, given polling data showing him now leading
handily, began saying that McDermott and Spellman both represented “old-style politics.”
Demonstrating he’d learned something about hardball, Booth tagged McDermott as
a “two-time loser.” McDermott retorted that he alone had a proven track record of
leadership in state government – “leadership that money can’t buy.” In truth, McDermott
and Gardner differed little on the substantive issues. Both favored full state funding for
basic education, higher salaries for beginning teachers, a better climate for both business
and labor and stronger environmental measures. Spellman had his own polls, so he took
only fleeting pleasure at the blood-letting. Largely ignored by all sides, including the media,
was Democratic dark horse John Jovanovich, a businessman from Burien.
Doug Gardner and his mom applaud after Booth does well in a debate with Spellman.
Jerry Buck ©The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) 1984 Reprinted with permission.
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