Ron Sims hopes to come full circle in November

Candidate for governor wants to replace Locke, the man he replaced as King County Executive in 1996

Confident and outspoken, Ron Sims continues to battle for the governorship of Washington.

The Spokane native and King County Executive said that he has delivered results during his career, which makes him the most appropriate person to lead the state.

"I am not a hope and a promise," he said. "I take ownership of problems and I fix them."

Sims, a Democrat, pledged that if he becomes governor, Washingtonians would see an increased investment in transportation, education and technology, with eastern Washington witnessing an emphasis on the latter.

"People talk about cutting-edge technology in western Washington," he said. "I want to point out that there is a really advanced tech sector in the east, and I want to nurture that industry."

As far as education is concerned, Sims said that nothing works unless the state has a strong educational system.

"Businesses like to work where there are strong, skilled people," he said. "I will be very aggressive in putting money in education."

He added that when he became King County Executive, he began funding after-school programs for troubled kids.

"All the other candidates say they love schools," he said, "but only one of the candidates has taken a stand saying 'no more cuts' on education."

Sims takes a similar posture on job creation. "People talk about job training," he said. "I have created more jobs as county executive than any other candidate. I know how it's done."

Sims said that during his term as chairman of the Sound Transit board, he turned a "floundering" agency around, earning, he said, the praise of President George W. Bush, among others.

Sims highlighted his eastern Washington credentials, including his childhood in Spokane and his college years at Central Washington University. He said that during the first years of his life a person acquires values and an outlook on life.

"And that never goes away," he added.

Sims views his east-of-the-Cascades background as an advantage over his two opponents, state Attorney General Christine Gregoire, a Democrat, and former state Sen. Dino Rossi, a Republican.

"I am the only one who grew up in the east. I know the differences between the (eastern and western) communities," he said. "Even (eastern) lobbyists lobby for things favorable to farms"

Sims said the edge over the two other candidates does not stop there.

"They all can get on the stump and say what they would like to do," he said. "I am the only one who has done these things. I don't need on-the-job training, I have a demonstrable record."

He further criticized his opponents saying none of them will go on the same forums he is on.

"I am not worried about who the candidate to beat is," he said. "Because we are going to beat them both."

Sims said that he agreed with Rossi's belief that it was time for a change in the leadership of the state.

What the state needs, Sims believes, is an outsider. Somebody who has not been nurtured in what he calls "the Olympia culture." Above all, he said, the state needs a leader. "Somebody who has had to lead, and I have had to lead."

He added, "I lead, and that is what gets me in trouble because there is always somebody mad at the decisions you make. But that's what we need, people who make decisions."

While Rossi has been endorsed by business organizations, Sims has received the support of a number of unions.

"Unions endorse me because I keep people working," he said. "I have created 32,000 jobs in the past four years."

Sims discounted as wrong the perception of unions as the cause for the loss of jobs, saying unions are critical to job recovery.

He refuted the criticism that pegs him as a liberal, as well. "Liberal has an overused, tired connotation," he said, preferring to call himself a progressive person.

"A progressive person invests smartly in infrastructure, be it in education health or business," he said. "Progressives put in the infrastructure so wealth can be created."

Sims arrived to his post as King County Executive replacing the man whom he now hopes to replace, Gov. Gary Locke. Sims said that he will keep parts of the Locke legacy in place, though he declined to mention what these were.

"I am not going to tell you what they are, because a governor ought to be able to put his stamp," he said. "Will I abandon everything he does? No, but I still want to put some of my ideas on the table."