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At first glance, local democracy doesn't appear to be in very good shape.
The high-profile races on this year's primary ballot will leave King County residents scratching their heads and rolling their eyes. Is it the Jeanne Dixon running for Seattle mayor? (Our horoscope forecasts no.) Surely with all of the controversy of the past year, King County Executive Ron Sims must have worthy opponents in the Democratic primary. (He doesn't.) The one-party rule of the Democrats in most of the county has ossified politics to the point where the top of the ballot—the races for Seattle mayor and King County executive—are ready to dry up and blow away.
You've got to keep going down the ballot—way, way down the ballot—to find some choices that remind us why democracy matters. There is an exciting opportunity in Jane Fellner to improve the weak, floundering Seattle School Board. And at last there are two candidates, Jim Nobles and Beth Goldberg, who could bring some glimmer of sanity to the Seattle Monorail Project board by pushing to shut down the embarrassing project.
The other bad news about this year's ballot is that once again we will have to declare party allegiance to vote in partisan races. On Tuesday, Sept. 20, to vote for King County executive or King County Council, we will have to decide whether we are Republicans or Democrats, for that day at least, by filling in an oval on the ballot indicating party preference. It's the same way we voted last September. (Voters threw out the system in November 2004, but a federal judge reinstated it in July.) At least the party choice is private—no record is kept of your preference. If you find the party label too off-putting, you can skip to the nonpartisan section of the ballot and vote in all the city races.
Here, we make recommendations only for contested races.
Democratic Slate
KING COUNTY EXECUTIVE
Ron Sims has the brains, the vision, the passion, and the ability to be a great political leader. His management skills are a real problem, however. His elections office has been mortally wounded so many times, its uncanny survival suggests it must be staffed by zombies. He wants $70 million to modernize the county payroll system after blowing tens of millions on a failed attempt to do the same back in 1997. Still, Sims has no qualified opposition in the Democratic primary. His opponents are former Libertarian Michael Nelson, who has oddball ideas, and a former jail guard, Karen Rispoli, who says she will be interviewed only if Seattle Weekly will expose "THE 'REAL' TRUTH."
Despite his management problems, Sims is far superior to the other Democratic candidates and deserves your vote.
KING COUNTY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 1 (NORTHEAST SEATTLE, SHORELINE, LAKE FOREST PARK)
We're hoping Bob Ferguson matures into a genuine populist maverick. His past support of shrinking the bloated King County Council from 13 to nine members, his questioning of Sound Transit's troubled light-rail project, and his rejection of the sale of prime county land—Wallingford's so called "tank farm"—to a private developer are all reasons to give him your vote. There are troubling signs—his advocacy for an ill-conceived veterans' aid levy opposed by the human services community and a coziness with some development interests—but he has had less than two years in elected office to establish himself. His commitment to doorbelling should keep him grounded and help him become something different from your average politician.
King County Council member Carolyn Edmonds is also in this race due to redistricting. Go with Ferguson.
Republican Slate
KING COUNTY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 9 (CARNATION, BLACK DIAMOND, MAPLE VALLEY)
The rural areas need a champion on the King County Council. Rural denizens are angry about the county's approach to land use, but at the same time, county government is their only local government. Steve Hammond is the real deal. He is a conservative Christian preacher, a property-rights advocate, and a fierce critic of the county's Democratic (and urban/suburban) majority. Hammond drives an hour and a half to get to the King County Courthouse every morning. Along the way, he passes through three distinct counties: rural, suburban, and urban. Not only does he share the values of the majority of his district, he shares their life experiences. That's what democracy should be about: representation. We probably couldn't find many issues that we agree on with Hammond, but we respect his honest, passionate advocacy for constituents. Cast your ballots for the Preacher Man.
King County Council member Reagan Dunn is also in this race due to redistricting. He is a very talented newcomer but not the right fit for this district.
Nonpartisan Slate
KING COUNTY SHERIFF
This is not the endorsement Sue Rahr, an appointed sheriff in office since January, wants. The King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) is a mess, morale is low, and Rahr is in the middle of it all. Most prominent is her role in cutting a sweet retirement deal for a detective who deserved prosecution instead of a soft landing. Why are we endorsing Rahr? Much of the mess and bad public image she's stuck with are a hangover from the era of former Sheriff and now U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert. And Rahr, paradoxically, has the necessary spine to right the department and deal with low morale among patrol cops. But our endorsement here is conditional, since it's unclear what further revelations may result from a federal investigation of the department. By the time the general election comes in November, matters should be clearer. In that election, she will face either veteran KCSO Sgt. Jim Fuda or Seattle Police Lt. Greg Schmidt.
