Ferguson and Reichert argue in first debate about crime, abortion and Trump • Washington State Standard

SEATTLE – Washington gubernatorial candidates Bob Ferguson and Dave Reichert clashed Tuesday in a bitter, hour-long debate over public safety, abortion rights and Donald Trump.

The first face-to-face meeting between the two men during the campaign was marked by sharp exchanges, during which the Democrat Ferguson and the state's attorney general, and the Republican and former congressman Reichert, accused each other of lying about their respective pasts.

Reichert went first, taking a swipe at Ferguson's promise to improve public safety by hiring more police officers, noting that crime has increased over the past 12 years “and Mr. Ferguson has finally recognized that.”

“I think it's clear that I'm the only public safety candidate in this race,” said Reichert, who has worked in law enforcement for more than three decades.

Ferguson responded: “I'm not going to listen to you lecture me about public safety when you elect and support a convicted felon for president,” he said, referring to Trump.

“I do not support Trump,” Reichert shot back. It was the first time he had made such a clear public statement in a campaign in which Ferguson had worked vigorously to link his Republican opponent to the former president, who is this year's Republican presidential nominee. Reichert also said he would not vote for the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris.

When Ferguson persisted, Reichert snapped at him in frustration: “You are obsessed with Donald Trump. I've put that behind me. I'm focused on the problems here in Washington State.”

The exchange was one of many tense moments in Tuesday's debate in the studio of KING 5 Television in Seattle and co-sponsored by CREME 2 in Spokane, The Seattle Times And Yakima Sun. At the beginning of the event, one of the moderators stepped in to remind the candidates of the debate rules as they hurled barbs and interrupted each other.

The two men will meet next week in Spokane for a second debate sponsored by the Association of Washington Business.

Whoever wins the election on November 5 will succeed Democratic Governor Jay Inslee and become Washington's first new governor in 12 years.

Contrasts in crime and climate

Ferguson has portrayed himself as a reformer who change the culture of government.

“What we need is someone who will drive change and change the status quo,” he said on Tuesday.

In his three terms as the state's top attorney, Ferguson has built an extensive track record through litigation and legislation for voters to judge.

Reichert set his term Tuesday, saying the attorney general's actions, combined with those introduced by Inslee and the Democratic-controlled legislature, are responsible for citizens' concerns about public safety and the higher cost of living.

When they weren't attacking each other, Ferguson and Reichert offered quite different views on how they would run the state.

Both advocated, for example, the hiring of more police officers.

Ferguson outlined a detailed plan to demand 100 million dollars for grants to help local governments hire more police officers. He also wants to hire additional police officers and increase the Justice Department's efforts to track down fugitive criminals with arrest warrants.

Reichert vowed to support police officers' ability to “hold people accountable.”

“There must be consequences,” he said.

He criticized Ferguson for expanding the attorney general's office at a time when police departments are struggling to hire and retain officers. Ferguson countered that he was proud of his office's work and said it had brought in money for the state through legal settlements.

Climate policy is not a cornerstone of either candidate's campaign, but when asked about an initiative on the November ballot that would repeal a key state anti-pollution policy, the two differed.

Ferguson said he would vote against Initiative 2117, which, if passed, would repeal the Climate Commitment Act, which sets a cap on carbon emissions and requires large emitters to purchase air pollution allowances. But he also said the law “needs to be tweaked,” pointing to a problematic exemption program for fuel used by farmers as an example of where it could be improved.

“Farmers are entitled to an exemption,” he said. “That has not happened.”

Reichert said he would vote for the measure to be passed. He said Climate change is real but disagrees with the state's current approach to the issue, claiming that policies passed by Democrats, including the cap-and-trade program created by the Climate Commitment Act, drive up fuel and energy prices without reducing pollution.

He accused Democrats who supported the policy of not telling the truth about how it would affect gasoline prices. “We've been lied to,” he said. “So I say let's vote yes and pay less. Then let's find a way forward.”

Dispute over abortion laws

Ferguson has repeatedly criticized Reichert as a MAGA Republican who would undermine the strong abortion rights protections in the state, which is known nationally as a sanctuary for those seeking abortion and reproductive health services.

Ferguson vowed on Tuesday to maintain existing protections – some of which he helped draft and others which he helped draft as attorney general – and to strengthen them where possible.

Reichert is personally against abortion, but has said he will uphold Washington's abortion lawsHe reiterated this position on Tuesday.

“I will support and protect the abortion laws currently in place in Washington State,” he said.

Ferguson scoffed, saying Reichert had told his supporters he would work to repeal federal abortion protections. He also pointed to Reichert's votes in Congress in favor of national abortion restrictions.

“When you're speaking to people from Washington in a forum like this, you say one thing, and when you think you're sitting behind closed doors, you say something completely different,” he said. “That's a pattern with you when it comes to Donald Trump. That's a pattern with you when it comes to reproductive freedom.”

Reichert later told reporters that he was not fazed by Ferguson's inclusion of Trump in the face-off, which aired on national television shortly after a debate between Trump and Harris.

“I was angry because the things he said weren't true,” he said. “So when you get the chance to respond to an untruth, I think you can get a little frustrated.”

Reichert elaborated on the comments made during the debate and said he would put a candidate on the list for the presidential race.

Ferguson did not speak to reporters after the debate.

He won last month's primary with 44.9% of the vote, followed by Reichert with 27.5%. There were 28 candidates in the race.

Ferguson, 59, is a fourth-generation Washingtonian and was working for a private law firm in Seattle when he won a seat on the King County Council in 2003. In 2012, he defeated fellow council member Reagan Dunn in a race for attorney general.

Reichert, a former sheriff of King County, was elected to Washington's 8th congressional district in 2004 and served seven terms.

Before Tuesday's debate, Ferguson had raised nearly $10.5 million during the campaign and Reichert had raised nearly $5 million.

History favors Ferguson, as Democrats have won ten consecutive gubernatorial elections. Washington's last Republican governor was John Spellman. He was elected in 1980 but lost re-election.

Ballots will be mailed to most voters in Washington in about five weeks, on October 18.