Gov. Gregoire's bus tour hits Tacoma stressing achievement, posing questions for future

TACOMA -- Gov. Chris Gregoire's campaign kickoff bus tour hit Tacoma's Stadium District today moments after noon in a meeting room dotted with campaign signs that read, "Making our communities safer." Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Belfair) began the festivities by calling her a fighter for, among other things, taking on the tobacco industry, and highlighted the construction of the second Narrows Bridge under her leadership before handing the microphone over to a series of political leaders.

"I've known Chris Gregoire since she was at the Dept. of Ecology," Dicks said, "and I'll tell you this, Washington has never had a better governor than Chris Gregoire."

Pierce County Executive and state Attorney General candidate John Ladenburg (D-Tacoma) followed suit as he called her the best governor for Pierce County he has seen in his years of service.

Finally Kelly Fox, President of the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters, introduced Gregoire. He credited her with creating "real results" across the state, especially in the area of public safety.

Gregoire continued these themes of accomplishment and safety when took the stage to chants of "Four more years!" from the crowd.

The state's top elected official addressed roughly two hundred gathered supporters, elected officials, and union members with a series of lines touting her accomplishments and values, ultimately expressed as a clear choice between two candidates.

First, though, she established herself as a family-friendly politician with working-class roots. She joked about her daughter's upcoming wedding, saying that she much prefers being Governor to being the mother of the bride. She also told the story of her mom, a single mother who worked at Auburn's Rainbow Café.

"There were times we lived paycheck to paycheck, so I know what it's like," she said.

Gregoire said her mother taught her values like love of family, faith, belief in communities, hard work, seeking a great education and helping others when they need a little help.

When she kicked into the policy side of her new stump speech, Gregoire emphasized the economy, education, and health care for children. She reminded the audience that when she took over the state had the highest unemployment in the nation and implicitly took credit for it being the lowest in state history today.

Before closing her speech with a call to keep Pierce County and Washington improving, Gregoire instigated a series of call-and-response questions to the audience, asking them whether or not they wanted more of the same results and hopes as opposed to a negative, nameless opponent. Of course, she was referring to Dino Rossi, who she compared repeatedly to George W. Bush and claimed ran a campaign based on fear mongering and political expediency.

"Do we want a Governor who believes in the hope of every child, and who believes in the opportunities," she asked, or one who says he will cut things like education and health care. She wondered the same thing about nearly every of the above mentioned campaign issues.

Those in the crowd, reacted favorably to the questions, often yelling, "We want you!" as she gave her rhetorical questions.

Larry Brown from Auburn, who was in the audience, liked all of her issues.

"I'm just thinking that the Governor is hitting on all of the important points, talking about community safety, talking about jobs, talking about education, talking about health care," he said. "Those are the things that really matter to the people of the state of Washington. Delivering the good things we need to have in wash state with a strong economy."

Federal Way's Gilda Turner agreed. "I thought it was very good, very inspiring," she said of the kickoff speech. "I liked the things she said, I like the things she stands for, I like the emphasis on family, on health care for the children, revitalizing the community, the issues with the water. I liked everything she had to say."

Gregoire's tour stops next in Vancouver this afternoon and continues throughout the state Tuesday, Wednesday and Thurday.

PREVIOUSLY on PolitickerWA.com: Rossi says state has seen no 'real results' under Gregoire