At this week's Republican presidential debate, CNN moderator John King tossed out some goofy "This or That" questions to each of the candidates—Coke or Pepsi, Leno or Conan, that sort of thing.

Given Republican King County Council member Reagan Dunn's big announcement yesterday that he's running for state attorney general, we went the same route with Dunn and his opponent, Democratic King County Council member Bob Ferguson, who has been campaigning for months now.

Rather than posing different "This or That" questions to each candidate—as CNN did—we thought it'd be more informative to ask them both the same thing. We also added a serious one into the mix.

First up: Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift?

Ferguson tells us, "Neither." He told us he prefers Bruce Springsteen. Asked to name his favorite Bruce album, he went with the depressing and serious "Nebraska."

Next, a legal question: Citizens United or McCain/Feingold?

"Easy," says Ferguson. "McCain/Feingold."

I also asked each candidate to pose a "This or That" for the other candidate. Ferguson couldn't think of a fun one, but he did criticize Dunn for a This or That "call he already made," voting against the one-tenth-of-one-cent sales tax for mental health and chemical dependency services. That tax would have raised $45 million a year at about $20 a year per household, and "there was no alternative," Ferguson says. "We either funded it or we didn't." Olympia gave counties statewide the opportunity to use the tax and 14 counties have done so. "Even red counties," Ferguson says. [pullquote]Ferguson turned that on Dunn If Reagan had voted 'Yes,' maybe we'd be able to fund the criminal justice system right now."[/pullquote]

Ferguson also used the opportunity to bring up two-tenths-of-a-cent sales tax increase for criminal justice (jails, prosecutors, sheriffs) which Dunn, contradicting his campaign emphasis on criminal justice, voted against.

However, I pointed out that the public agreed with Dunn on that. After the council, voting 5-4, sent the tax to the voters, King County rejected it 54.9 to 45.1.

Ferguson turned that on Dunn: "The sheriff supported it. Republican King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg supported it. In measures to the people, you need a unified front. If Reagan had voted 'Yes,' maybe we'd be able to fund the criminal justice system right now."

The tax would have raised about $35 million for King County in 2011 and $48 million in 2012. King County Sheriff spokesman John Urquhart refers to the lackluster funding as a "budget catastrophe" and says they've laid off 13 deputies; can no longer can do most follow-up investigations of property crimes that occur in unincorporated King County, including burglaries, car theft, car prowls, frauds and other larcenies; reduced the number of detectives in most units; and eliminated School Resource Officers in many schools.

Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County Prosecuting Attorney Office, said the criminal division has lost 22 prosecutors.

Neither Dunn nor his campaign has returned several calls.

By the way, here's a roundup of the "This or That" answers from this week's Republican Presidential nomination debate:

Mr. Santorum: Leno or Conan? "Probably Leno, but I don't watch either, sorry."

Ms. Bachmann: Elvis or Johnny Cash? "That's really tough. Both. I've got "Christmas with Elvis" on my iPod."

Mr. Gingrich: "Dancing with the Stars" or "American Idol"? "American Idol."

Mr. Paul: BlackBerry or iPhone? "BlackBerry."

Mr. Cain: Deep dish or thin crust? "Deep dish!" Mr. Cain, a former pizza magnate, said emphatically.

Mr. Romney: Spicy or mild wings? "Spicy, absolutely."

Mr. Pawlenty Coke or Pepsi? "Coke."