The official list of candidates to fill the seat formerly held by new King County Executive Dow Constantine on the King County Council (Constantine is being sworn in downtown as we speak) includes the six names we reported last week, plus five others, according to a press release from new King County Council chair Bob Ferguson.
An ad hoc committee appointed by the county will now review the list, which includes four candidates who say they would run for reelection, five who say they would serve as one-year placeholders, and two who did not specify one way or another.
In addition to the three we reported last week—former city council member Jan Drago, current state Rep. Sharon Nelson (D-34), and former Burien mayor Arun Jhaveri—public policy consultant Helen Howell and former Normandy Park mayor Kathleen Quong-Vermeire have stated their interest in filling Constantine’s seat as a caretaker.
And, in addition to State Sen. Joe McDermott (D-34) and Normandy Park Mayor Shawn McEvoy, Burien City Council member Lucy Krakowiak and architect and waterfront tunnel advocate Vlad Oustimovitch, have said they would seek to run for reelection next year if appointed.
State Rep. Zack Hudgins (D-11), whom we listed among the candidates who would run for reelection, is now being coy about whether he would seek the seat permanently. The Seattle Times reports that county roads commissioner Jake Jacobovitch said he would prefer to run for reelection, but would commit not to run if appointed as a caretaker.
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At the end of Election Day, November 2, 2010, Joe McDermott, and no one else, will be our District 8 County Council member.
Joe is the District’s overwhelming choice. And yes, I can state that with some authority. Joe has represented the 34th District, which contains 60 percent of Council District 8′s precincts, for nine years in the House and in the Senate, without the hint of a challenge.
Joe has been a leader in both chambers on education, on the environment, on labor, and on LBGT civil rights. He is as engaged, and as engaging, with his constituents as elected officials get.
The Republicans on the Council need to do the right thing and vote to appoint Joe. They are the ones who promoted this idea of “nonpartisanship” for County elections in the first place. Are they now to play partisan politics with this appointment?
I hope they don’t. It would be just plain bad governance. Would they want a weaker appointee in THEIR Districts, a product of “gotcha!” politics, if the Democrats gained a majority on the Council?
A “caretaker,” unless her name is Sharon Nelson, would weaken our representation. I know almost all of the people on this list. They are good people, and I have nothing against any of them personally, but I could not take seriously any argument that any of them — except for Sharon — rise to Joe’s level in experience or ability to represent the communities in the 8th Council District.
The Council risks a serious loss of credibility and public confidence if it continues to toy with this dumb “caretaker” business. They can’t even enforce it anyway. If someone was to be appointed as a “caretaker,” “placeholder,” or whatever, then turn around and file for election, the Council would be powerless to stop them. So let’s hope this is just pro forma.
The Democrats need to stand firm and insist that the Council appoint the people’s choice. If this was a partisan position, the PCOs in the 8th Council District would make Joe their overwhelming choice. Just count the number of precincts that are represented by PCOs (I have; it’s what I do, OK?), and Joe has the numbers.
The District is overwhelmingly Democratic. It’s going to elect a Democrat. The Council needs to do the right thing and appoint Joe — and now.
I’m for anyone Ivan is against.
vlad might be an interesting choice
and as a harvard-educated planner w/ management skills, would be a strong replacement for dow.
something tells me it’s a longshot, though.
I like Zach….Joe is okay
@1
Ivan, I agree Sharon Nelson and Joe McDermott are the only two on the list who are remotely credible. If the council does something silly and appoints anyone else Joe will simply run in a year and win the seat anyway.
I suppose the other danger is the 4 Democrats and the 4 Republicans on the council will deadlock.
The democrats on the council should be reminded there will be consequences should any of them decide to get cute with their votes (I’m looking at you Larry).
Joe should promise to go drinking with Jane Hague and to be BFF with Pete von Reichbauer to ensure he’s a shoo-in.
Chris @ 5:
Larry P. will do the right thing.
Hmm, is anyone paying attention to the 41st?
Hey, anyone seen EastsideNerd? Oh wait, Josh hasn’t given us one yet.
“Joe should promise to go drinking with Jane Hague”…
and have her drive? If she got caught again she’d probably have to resign and maybe a Dem would be appointed in her place — isn’t her district Dem? That could work out quite well.
@7
That one has a bit of potential to get ugly doesn’t it? I haven’t seen much coverage other than some over at HorsesAss.
@8
Though at this point she acts more like a conservative Democrat than a Republican.
Well, I was just thinking about how to get her to support Joe, but replacing her with a Dem would be a good result too.
@2 – Ivan may be acerbic at times, but he has a good political head on his shoulders. Definitely strikes me as an old school “f*** you” in a smokey back room Democrat (and that’s meant as a compliment). He would totally fit in with the Labor Dems up in the 38th.
But, much more importantly – where the hell is my Morning Fizz!!!!!
This is getting to be like a clown car.
Anyonw have an idea why Hudgins is be non-commital about running for the seat again? Is there some value – real or imagined – at being a state rep who’s supposedly open to being appointed but not running again?
Or is Hudgins already eyeing his next step up and wants this to be a cameo in county government before going for something else?
Everybody I talk to is tired of their county representitives coming from West Seattle.
Many out here in the hinterlands of South Park, White Center and Burien would rather have Zack Hudgins represent them.
If Nelson had said she run for the seat instead of holding it she would’ve been another excellent choice. But she had her decision made for her by the backroom dealings of the 34th.
I’m with Zach!
@ 13:
I don’t live in West Seattle, and neither does Sharon Nelson. Sharon has said that her work is not done in Olympia. “Backroom dealings of the 34th” is just bullshit. It’s all out in the open and there’s nothing “backroom” about it. The 34th represents by far the bulk of the electorate in the 8th Council District. Let’s see you deny that.
Zack does not have the numbers to get elected in the 8th Council District. You can stand on your head and hold your breath till you turn blue, and nothing you say or do will change that. Joe has been a terrific State Representative and State Senator, and has represented the non-West Seattle areas of the 34th as well as anyone we’ve ever had. Dow represented the entire 8th, and Joe will do the same.
Nothing against Zack. I like Zack just fine. I have campaigned for him in the 11th and expect to do so again. But he has not represented most of the area and the voters in the 8th CD for nine years, and Joe has. Joe knows the entire District better, and is better equipped right now to represent us. This is FACT and not opinion.
Why should we accept an appointeee who has any learning curve whatever? If these were partisan positions, the PCOs would be delivering the votes for Joe and this would be a done deal, and to everyone’s benefit.
This is what happens when the voters go to sleep and let the Republicans pull the wool over their eyes with this “nonpartisan” shit. This is the most blatant of partisan politics.
Ivan: I appreciate your bulldogging for McDermott, but at least be honest. Did the 34th Dems have an open process for endorsing him? No – not even a notice to any members of the 34th, let alone anybody else. Nothing. Even for the members of the 34th the dealings were completely hidden, undemocratic. The bottom line is that the 34th Dems are a dysfunctional part of the political process.
Joe McDermott got appointed to be State Senator just two years ago and eagerly promised to serve in that capacity. Now he doesn’t seem to think that was enough, and wants another appointment to a higher paying position. There should be a limit to backdoor appointments: one per political career. Joe had his.
@ 15:
We’re DYSFUNCTIONAL? Who the hell can take THAT seriously? Most Democratic Party organizations in this state or any other would kill to be as “dysfunctional” as we are.
We didn’t “endorse” him anyway, because it’s not an election, do you get it? We passed a resolution dealing with an appointment, and there was nothing hidden or undemocratic about it, except to low-information voters.
Joe has earned everything he has gotten through sheer hard work, and through constant engagement and contact with the people he represents.
If appointed, he’d have to run for election in 2010 anyway. If you have a better candidate, let’s hear who it is, let that candidate run against Joe, and good luck with whoever it is, because they’ll need it.
We’ll have all our candidate forums, and all the endorsement meetings anyone would wish for, when there’s an ELECTION. Maybe THAT will be “open” and “democratic” enough for you. It’s what we do, y’know?
But this was a RESOLUTION, for an APPOINTMENT. We know the difference, even if you don’t.
And moreover, @ 15:
After Joe was appointed to the Senate to fill the vacancy left by Erik Poulsen’s resignation, he had to run for election in 2008. He ran, and nobody even filed to run against him.
So not only has he been appointed, he has been ELECTED, whthout opposition, which should give you at least a hint how we feel about him.
There’s nothing “backdoor” about appointments of this nature. They are conducted in accordance with state law. So quit trying to create something that does not exist, and quit insulting our intelligence.
The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
Ivan, it takes a Hamlet.
@ 18:
You present one-liners, I present facts.
Hold your ground Crumb, Ivan is a mean, rude man who gives the Democratic process a bad name.
@ 20:
Awww! Feel the love!