I don't much care about the rock 'em, sock 'em nature of the political ads, but I prefer the local ones. I mean, the Republican Governors Assocation is paying for the TV ad about how Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire is responsible for losing track of 1,300 sex offenders.

I don't know where they get that info. At least the locals will sorta footnote their hit pieces, so you can look up the often slim bit of truth that supports the allegation. The outta state guys don't back it up with bill numbers or anything.

So, I feel compelled to point out that the so-called "Rossi budget" was able to erase part of the $3 billion deficit in 2003 by cuts to the Department of Corrections.

Remember, the Rossi budget actually was then-Gov. Gary Locke's budget before it became Rossi's. And one of the ways Locke wanted to save money was embodied in Senate Bill 5990, also in the 2003 session. It shortened prison sentences for drug offenders and residential burglars and cut the community supervision (parole officers') budget by having them watch fewer ex-cons.

To their credit, Senate Republicans, including Rossi, wanted to take the $7 million in savings from not supervising about 20,000-plus ex-cons and plow it into more rigorous supervision of the offenders who were considered more likely to commit new crimes. But the House amended that to take the $7 million out. (I don't know what finally happened to the $7 million. I know Sens. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, and Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, wanted to plow it into more drug treatment, but I think it just got cut period.)

But when the bill got back to the Senate, Rossi voted for it, too.

Here is a link to WashingtonVotes, which gives a summary of what Senate Bill 5990 did after it was amended, followed by the RGA news release about its attack ads on Gregoire.

Chris Gregoire Has Been a Nightmare for Washington

On Gregoire’s watch the state lost track of 1,300 convicted sex offenders

The Washington State RGA PAC released two ads today that show how Chris Gregoire has put Washington families at risk by losing track of 1,300 convicted sex offenders. The ads can be viewed at www.onherwatch.com.

[More:]

While Governor Gregoire has been in office, Washington never verified the addresses of 1,300 convicted sex offenders and nearly 600 of them were allowed to declare themselves homeless. This makes it impossible for the State to track sex offenders or notify families when one moves into their neighborhood.

“Whether it’s letting the state budget spiral out of control or losing track of sex offenders, Chris Gregoire has failed Washington families,” said RGA Communications Director Chris Schrimpf.

The two ads complement a multi-media campaign that details how Gregoire has created a nightmare for Washington families. The message has also appeared in print ads in newspapers, on the internet through online ads and at www.onherwatch.com, and in targeted mailings.