In this morning's Morning Fizz, we reported that Susan Hutchison dodged a question on her King County Labor Council questionnaire about voucher schools.

Check it out for yourself. Her random answer sounds like it was  generated by an automated voice at the other end of the line:

• What is your position on taxpayer-funded vouchers for private schools?

Having well-trained, well-qualified educators teaching our children is critical to improving the quality of our public schools in King County. Fair compensation includes full funding for cost-of-living increases and health care benefits, adequate retirement benefits and making up what has been lost to inflation. This year Washington public schools and colleges are potentially facing more than $2 billion in budget cuts and are currently at risk of the suspension/permanent loss of the I-732 COLA for two years.

I contacted the Hutchison campaign today to ask what her position on vouchers actually is because she sure didn't tell the King County Labor Council. I haven't heard back yet.

Why is her position on vouchers important? David Freiboth, Executive Secretary of the KCLC, acknowledged that the County Executive doesn't set "immediate" policy for local schools, but said "because it's a non-partisan race and because of her lack of service, we don't know where [she'll] fall on larger policy discussions. Getting a sense of [her] larger political philosophy helps us assess her."

The KCLC endorsed Democratic King County Council Member Dow Constantine—although it wasn't because of Hutchison's vague answer on vouchers (which are anathema to unions because they take public funds away from unionized public schools and give them to private, usually, non-union schools.)

Freiboth said while Hutchison clearly stated her support of workers' rights to unionize, collectively bargain and strike, her campaign themes have undermined or—in his words—"contradicted" her position. "We're very concerned that she says the [County] unions have bargained in bad faith and she's put the problems of county government on the backs of union workers."