Hello Readers,

In Washington, most local elected officials are chosen in the odd-numbered years.  This year the mayor of Seattle, many county council members and myriad local city council and other local offices will be chosen.  There are a couple of state representative offices up for grabs due to the passing of two former state reps., Bill Grant and Steve Hailey, both of which are in Eastern Washington.

Probably the most interesting race will be for that of King County Excecutive.  This seat is open due to Ron Sims getting appointed by President Obama to a position at HUD.  There has not been an open seat for this office in quite some time and as you might expect a great deal of interest.  The four top Democrats are all either former or current state representatives or senators.  Two of those are current King County Councilmembers, Dow Constantine and Larry Phillips.  The other two top Democrats are State Rep. Ross Hunter, a former Microsfot employee and the primary author of the digital goods tax and State Senator Fred Jarrett, a Boeing employee and former Republican.  Although King County offices are technically non-partisan, it is generally clear what party affiliation candidates lean toward.

Former KIRO TV news anchor Susan Hutchison is the leading "Republican" in the race, although she has never run for a partisan position, it is generally assumed that she is right-of center politically.

There are 3 other lesser known candidates who really do not stand much of chance but are still in the mix.  They are Alan Lobdell, Stan Lippmann and Goodspaceguy (yes, that is this gentleman's name).  You can find their campaign information at the King County website here:  http://your.kingcounty.gov/elections/contests/candidates.aspx?type=County+Executive&tp=fl&eid=1230&iPid=0 

Let's focus on the 4 main Democrats since one of them is most likely to be the next County Executive.  The interim KC Executive is Kurt Triplett but he is not running.

Dow Constantine and Larry Phillips are both former state representatives who have been on the council for awhile.  Constantine represents West Seattle and some of the surrounding area and Phillips comes from the Queen Anne/Magnolia/Ballard area.  Both are generally "liberal" Democrats. 

Ross Hunter represents the 48th legislative district, which covers much of Bellevue, Medina and the Points communities.  Fred Jarrett represents the 41st legislative district that encompasses Mercer Island, South Bellevue and adjoining areas including parts of Renton.

Both Hunter and Jarrett have been solid supporters of WTIA and tech industry issues and were both instrumental in the basic education reform legislation that passed in Olympia this past session.

In many cases, it comes down to "style" issues.  Hunter is the archetypical hard-driving Microsoft manager.  Jarrett is the more "collaborative" Boeing type.  Both are very smart and have an excellent grasp of issues.  Jarrett has slightly more expertise on transportation while Hunter knows taxes and government finances a little better.  Both have the experience that it takes to be a capable county executive.

What does King County need right now?  A good case can be made that it needs a butt-kicker.  If that is what you want, Hunter is your candidate.  He will not suck up to the unions and will play hardball with the Council.  Jarrett is more laid back and makes people feel comfortable but can "over engineer" a conversation if he gets going.

This is not to say that Constantine and Phillips aren't capable.  Certainly their time on the County Council "qualifies" them.  However, it will be the same ol', same ol' with these two and very likely that little will change.  Hunter and Jarrett will bring more of the suburban, middle class view to the Executive position.  It also makes sense to dilute the Seattle influence within King County and both Hunter and Jarrett will do that while Phillips and Constantine will not.

King County is a large enterprise that runs public health, human services, courts, jails, sewer and transit (Metro).  My personal concern is seeing improvements to Metro.  Too often buses show up late, or worse, don't show up.  Their "customer service" is horrible.  They cannot tell you where a bus is if it is late and their website complaint system is a joke.  I am sure most of you have had a negative experience with some department of King County.  If you have, then a change is sorely needed and either Ross Hunter or Fred Jarrett is the right choice.

Susan Hutchison has not held public office before so it is hard to tell how she would fare in a position of this magnitude.  However as the sole female candidate and only known Republican, she could make a good showing.  Remember that the primary is a "top two", meaning that the top two vote getters move on to the general election.

Here are the websites for the various candidates:

Susan Hutchison, www.susanhutchison.com

Fred Jarrett, www.vote4fred.com

Ross Hunter, www.rosshunter.com

Dow Constantine, www.dowconstantine.com

Larry Phillips, www.larryphillips.com

Alan Lobdell, www.alanlobdell.com

Stan Lippmann has no website or e-mail address listed but his phone number is (425) 442-1407

Goodspaceguy has no website but can be reached at goodspaceguy@yahoo.com or at (206) 601-8172