“Murray, Larsen speak out on power rates, environment”

Published 7:00 pm Wednesday, April 25, 2001

“Sen. Patty Murray, second from right, has a few fun words with Rep. Rick Larsen, center, Brian McKenna, left, and Dan Prewitt.Matt Johnson / staff photoSpeaking before a room full of Democratic Party members at Freeland Hall Friday night, Senator Patty Murray told her supporters that she will fight for low, stable electricity prices and is willing to take an adversarial stance against China if the Asian power continues to harass the U.S. military as it conducts surveillance missions in the China Sea.Murray, along with freshman Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, were on South Whidbey for a fund-raising dinner for the Island County Democratic Committee. Both politicians gave short speeches and answered party members’ questions, largely about the regional energy crisis and a few national and international issues.Seeming to forget that Island County residents will not see their electric power rates jump for at least another eight months, Murray expressed sympathy for the increased electricity costs some Washington residents are paying due to high wholesale power prices.I know it’s hitting you like every one of my other constituents, Murray said.Island County residents and the other 870,000 customers of Puget Sound Energy had their electricity rates virtually frozen at about 5.4 cents per kilowatt hour several years ago when PSE acquired its gas subsidiary. That rate cannot be changed until after January 2002.Murray went on to point to other areas of the state, where she said people are losing their jobs and where farmers stand to lose entire crops due to drought. That drought has cut heavily into hydroelectric power production during the past few months. Murray said these people, who are in desperate financial conditions, are in no shape to absorb the 30- and 40-percent rate hikes electricity customers have seen in Seattle and Tacoma. She said the only way to alleviate the situation is to conserve electricity and to push the Bush administration to impose price caps on electricity wholesalers. That, Murray said, seems to be something the president and his advisors have been loathe to do.This administration has not listened, Murray said.Speaking on international politics, Murray noted that one of the reasons she had time to attend Friday night’s function was because she canceled a trip to China after a collision between a United States Navy spy plane and a Chinese fighter plane three weeks ago. She said she made the decision to cancel after a face-to-face meeting with a Chinese envoy in Washington. While she said she thinks of the envoy and the Chinese people as friends, traveling there while the country held the 24 members of the spy plan crew captive was something she could not do.Though she took this stance, Murray said the U.S. and China need to try to rebuild their relationship.We do not need a cold war, she said. We do not need an enemy.In an interview after her speech, Murray said it is up to the Bush administration to solve the West Coast energy crisis. She noted that per capita, Washingtonians are the ninth largest consumers of electricity, while Californians, who have been widely blamed for the crisis, are 50th. She said residential and business customers should share the burden of conservation.On the current political tussle with China, Murray was not specific on whether the Senate should push the U.S. military to re-think its surveillance strategy in the China Sea. She placed that responsibility on the White House.I’m certain the administration is looking into how to proceed, she said.For his part, Rep. Larsen scolded the Bush administration for what he characterized as an assault on environmental rules. In the end, he said, Bush’s moves to allow more arsenic in drinking water and to degrade other environmental and health protections will be the undoing of the Republican Party.There is one man in Washington who is working tirelessly every day to make sure the Democrats regain control of Congress, and that man is George W. Bush, Larsen said.The comment drew laughter and applause, but the biggest noise of the night was reserved for former state Rep. Dave Anderson. Sitting at the head of one of the dinner tables set up in the hall, Anderson found himself the subject of clapping, stomping and whistling when the event’s emcee, Paul Fournier, suggested that he run to take back his seat in the state Legislature.We want him back, Fournier said.The dinner, which carried a price of $25 a plate, was not a fund-raiser for either Murray or Larsen. Proceeds from the event will benefit the Island County Democratic Committee. “