Editor's Note: This is the fifth in a series of CSP Daily News stories that will highlight election campaign issues and races of interest to the convenience-store industry. To read previous installments, click here.
VASHON, Wash. -- In Washington State, an interesting race is brewing between freshman Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell and accomplished businessman Mike McGavick.
With polls showing [image-nocss] Cantwell holding a narrow lead in the Democrat-heavy state, the local jobber/oil heat association is not taking an official position, but the majority of members are pushing for the Republican McGavick.
Both of them have great credentials, Lea Wilson, executive director of the 120-member Washington Oil Marketers Association/Pacific Northwest Oil Heating Council, told CSP Daily News. In a very Democratic state where both U.S. senators are Democrats and the governor is a Democrat, it would be nice to see some Republican balance at the state.
The association's PAC raised $4,750 for McGavick at a fund raiser in June. But, Wilson said, the association has not officially endorsed one candidate or the other.
On a political and legislative level, Cantwell has been accessible and won plaudits from the jobber group for her efforts on the Senate Commerce and Energy Committees to pass transparency legislation that would regulate fuel commodity trading. The issue is particularly sensitive in Washington state, which was hard hit by the Enron scandal.
She proposed a bill that would put more oversight on fuel trading, Wilson said. We're not saying that oversight would end fuel speculation, but we think it will temper the marketplace.
On the negative, Cantwell has been a vocal advocate for stiffer price-gouging legislation at the pump. There's no price gouging in our membership, Wilson said. So while we oppose price-gouging legislation on principle, we are not afraid of it either.
While McGavick's positions on energy are not as familiar, Wilson said many association members supported him on party lines: There are plenty of members who think Mike McGavick, his platform and the party line is well-suited for them.
[For a complete look at this election season and how it relates to the industry, watch for the October issue of CSP magazine.]
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