Former KIRO anchor Susan Hutchison, running for King County Executive against Democratic King County Council member Dow Constantine, held a lengthy, rambling press conference at the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle this morning. Although a press release said Hutchison would be unveiling a nonpartisan plan” for King County government, the actual announcement was somewhat anticlimactic: Hutchison—a frequent Republican donor who has been dogged by claims in majority-Democratic King County that she is a stealth Republican—has been endorsed by former Mayor Wes Uhlman and state lieutenant governor Brad Owen, two Democrats.
“It was important to me that we introduce two more people who represent the nonpartisan nature of this campaign, as opposed to the partisan nature of my opponent’s campaign,” Hutchison said.
Reporters in the room seemed annoyed that Hutchison had promised a “plan” but was announcing an endorsement and asked her, repeatedly: What is your plan? Hutchison, looking a bit tweaked, responded, “The plan begins with bringing together people of all political persuasions… It’s a different philosophy of doing things. We want real solutions, not political solutions. We’re going to make the changes necessary because we have no interest groups which we serve.”
Pressed for specific examples of “political solutions,” Hutchison pointed to light rail, which “takes longer to get to the airport than a cab” and, in her view, should have connected the Eastside and Seattle first, not Seattle and the airport, and said traffic congestion was the biggest issue for most voters in King County.
“I see her as the moderate candidate running for this nonpartisan office,” Uhlman said. “It’s too bad we’re even talking about Republicans and Democrats. We do not have Democratic jails or Republican sewers. … If you really are happy with what’s going on in King County right now, you should vote for the other person, because he is not going to be a catalyst for change.”
As Democrats being trotted out to demonstrate that Hutchison has strong support from both parties, Uhlman and Owen aren’t the most impressive specimens: Owen, who travels the state as lieutenant governor telling kids not to smoke pot and opposing medical marijuana, is widely viewed sa a very conservative Democrat, and Uhlman was a leading “Dinocrat” in 2004, giving an endorsement and more than $5,000 for the Republican candidate for governor against Christine Gregoire.
So I asked Hutchison: Given that you have so many Republican supporters and obviously want to demonstrate that you’re “nonpartisan,” is this—two conservative Democrats—all you’ve got? Or will you be announcing more Democratic Party supporters in the future?
Uhlman jumped in, inviting me to “go back to my eight years of tenure, which you’re probably too young to remember. I was called a communist, I was so liberal. … I’m about as progressive as they get. I take umbrage when you say I’m conservative.”
However, in addition to his Rossi contributions, Uhlman has donated generously to Republican (as well as Democratic) candidates, giving more than $3,500 to Republican attorney general Rob McKenna as well as contributions to King County prosecutor Dan Satterburg, former King County Council member David Irons, and King County Council member Pete von Reichbauer, all Republicans.
His support for Hutchison is hardly a surprise, either: He gave her $500 last month and spoke favorably about her campaign performance earlier this year.
