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"My fear is that with the two person primary we would have had Gregoire versus Sims with no Republican in the November election. (yes I prefer the open primary, but that isn't what we are going to get.)"

I just can't believe that the people passed that Initiative. They just could not have understood what it said. "Top 2 vote getters regardless of party" Like you said, two Democrats would be on the general ballot for Govenor.

You say you prefered the open primary. Why?

My opinion is that each party should have the right to select who they want to represent them. Democrats shouldn't come into the Republican primary and cast enough votes that it tips it to a Republican we may not have really wanted to represent us. The same thing goes the other way. Republicans shouldn't be able to go into Democrat primaries. It is in the General Election you then have the choice to cross over.

I lived in Calif for 18 years and we always voted a straight ticket in the primaries. When we moved back to Washington where I had grown up, the way they did the primaries here was strange to me.

You say you prefered the open primary. Why?

I was involved with the Dixy Lee Ray Governors race as a volunteer grunt during the primary. She had absolutely no party backing, the Democratic party hoped she would loose and they had their own candidate. The team around Dixy caused her to win the primary as a Democratic candidate.

The Democratic party machine was stunned. They immediately came and tried to run rough shod over the volunteers who helped her win the primary. There was a real interesting truce that ended up getting her elected as the first woman Governor of the State.

Later the Dem party stabbed her in the back and she had some character weaknesses in being drawn out and attacking the press that didn't play well. Ultimately she was a one-term Governor, who was not allowed to accomplish much by the actions of both party machines.

I personally feel that the Republican Contract with America that too control of the House away from the Dem's did more good than many can imagine, mostly by causing so many entrenched democratic staff to have to leave Washington DC to get jobs elsewhere. Getting rid of staff and committee staff was what helped change the culture slightly of Washington DC.

The point of this response is that an entrenched political machine is not something I am thrilled about. This state has a populist & Grange history and our "initative process" is part of the legacy. When this state has been hamstrung by political party logjams, the initiative has cut through and gotten change accomplished. The open primary is part of the populist and Grange history and has served us well in the past.

When just about anyone can walk into a courthouse and sign up as a candidate and declare their party preference it forces the party machine to try to make sure they have groomed good candidates that don't get clobbered by some citizen stepping forward. It doesn't often happend, but every once in a while it does and it keeps the system honest, in my opinion and experience.