Editor’s note: This column was originally published Aug. 2, too late to make it in The Courier-Herald’s print edition due to the Aug. 6 election. This column has been edited to only include Dave Reichert and Bob Ferguson’s answers, as they won the recent primary. For the full column, go to company.seattletimes.com/save-the-free-press/.

Gubernatorial candidate Mark Mullet needed more press ahead of Tuesday’s primary election, but there wasn’t much press left to cover him.

The Issaquah business owner has a lower profile than his Democratic opponent, state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, and fewer campaign donations.

Mullet still thinks his moderate-left positions would resonate if voters knew about them. But there are few newspapers left reporting on the issues and fewer yet that still have opinion pages doing endorsements.

At least three papers in Mullet’s district across the Cascade foothills closed since he was elected state senator in 2012.

As he campaigned statewide this year, only one paper — this one — did a full endorsement ahead of the primary, he said. TV was no better, he added, with only a few reporters doing substantial coverage.

“If every local paper had a write-up on the main candidates that would have worked to my advantage,” Mullet said.

Every candidate is seeing how dessicated the local press has become and how desperately it needs help to survive and thrive again.

The winners can help save and regrow the local news industry, continuing leadership shown by Washington’s current state and federal representatives.

Last year Washington exempted news publishers from its business-and-occupation tax for 10 years, a policy Mullet and Ferguson championed. The state also funded a news fellowship program, through Washington State University, placing journalists at local outlets.

Further options are limited by the state’s Constitution. But Washington could consider a version of a California proposal, requiring dominant tech platforms to negotiate payment for news content on their platforms.

Washington leadership can also influence Congress, where solutions to help every state’s news industry are needed.

Despite trust issues and partisan critiques, majorities of Republicans and Democrats hold local news in high regard, Pew Research Center surveys found.

The next governor must also uphold and strengthen Washington’s commitment to open and transparent government.

This is mandated by the people. But politicians have whittled away access to public records through a series of questionable exemptions, most recently the bogus notion that state executives and legislators have a special “privilege” to keep records secret.

Gov. Jay Inslee rightly declined to invoke the “privilege” that legislative leaders are using to conceal records. The next governor must continue his practice across the executive branch.

To learn where they stand on these issues, I asked Mullet and Ferguson, and Republican candidates Semi Bird and Dave Reichert, an identical list of questions.

All vowed to support the press, though Reichert tried to sidestep a question about whether he’d conceal public records.

Here are their responses, in order received and edited for length:

Would you reject the use of executive privilege to withhold public records, as Inslee has done in his administration, to maintain open and transparent government?

Ferguson: Our state government serves the people. As governor, I will never assert executive privilege. I have made this pledge multiple times during this campaign, and it is included on my website. As to your question regarding legislative privilege, no legislator should invoke “legislative privilege.”

Reichert: There have been problems with transparency in Olympia for decades, including in the Department of Revenue, one of Gov. Inslee’s executive agencies that has its own legislative privilege policy. In Congress, I championed open and transparent government, voting for legislation like the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016. As governor, I will continue to provide an open and transparent government.

(Note: This is a deflection. Reichert told The Olympian he would not reject privilege: “Executive privilege exists for a reason, but I plan to use it as sparingly as possible as governor to prevent simply cherry-picking what information is disclosed to the public, as we have recently seen in Olympia.”)

Would you support a policy requiring dominant tech platforms to fairly compensate news publishers, similar to the California Journalism Preservation Act?

Ferguson: On June 6, 2023, I led a coalition of 10 state attorneys general advocating for the swift passage of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act. I will continue advocating for the passage of federal legislation as governor, and I am open to a state law that fairly compensates news publishers for the traffic and revenue they help social media companies generate.

Reichert: When news content is clearly driving traffic to a specific platform, I support fair compensation to news publishers.

Would your budget proposals continue to fund the local journalism fellowship program, managed by Washington State University, that the state created in 2023? Do you think it should be expanded?

Ferguson: Yes, my proposed budget will continue our much-needed journalism fellowship program. I advocated for the creation of the local journalism fellowship program — the creation of the fellowship program was the first recommendation in my Domestic Violent Extremism Report — and I will continue to support and expand this important program as governor, so Washingtonians of all backgrounds can access a pathway into journalism.

Reichert: I support continued funding of the Local Journalism Fellowship Program. It is important to sustain and enhance local journalism.

Washington supports the local news media in various ways, including through a B&O tax exemption. Do you think it should continue, expand or discontinue such support and why?

Ferguson: I proudly supported and helped pass the legislation that granted this tax exemption for newspaper publishers and manufacturers and online newspapers covering local news. I support extending this tax break to online community papers that are engaged in important journalism that improves civic engagement and holds governments and other powerful interests accountable.

Reichert: I will continue the B&O tax exemption. In Congress, I led the effort to save community papers, like The Seattle Times.

What else could the next governor do to help ensure the survival of local journalism in Washington?

Ferguson: The recent layoffs at the Everett Herald are devastating for local journalism. Our local news ecosystem is struggling. Our next governor must be a vocal supporter of local journalism.

In 2021, I led a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general in support of the Local Journalism Sustainability Act of 2021. Among other policies, the Act included tax credits for local businesses for buying ads in local newspapers.

Attacks on the media that cast doubt on reporters and journalistic integrity are a threat to our local newspapers and our democracy as a whole.

We cannot elect a candidate (Reichert) who told an audience, behind closed doors, that he brought a gun to an interview with The Seattle Times while saying “I don’t like The Seattle Times.”

Reichert: Local journalism plays a crucial role in keeping communities informed, engaged and connected. I would look at financial support, educational initiatives, digital innovation, community engagement and supportive legislation to help contribute to the success and survival of local journalism in Washington state.

This is excerpted from the free, weekly Voices for a Free Press newsletter. Sign up to receive it at the Save the Free Press website, st.news/SavetheFreePress. Seattle Times’ Brier Dudley is the editor of the Free Press Initiative, which aims to inform the public about issues facing newspapers, local news coverage, and a free press. You can learn more about the Free Press Initiative, or sign up for a newsletter, at https://company.seattletimes.com/save-the-free-press/.