...Or else the Seattle Weakly has made a howler of an error in its endorsements this week.

This is in the Oct. 20-26 print edition (p. 15) and until it's corrected, the online version as well. When I scrolled down to "South County Suburban Districts" Wednesday night Oct. 20, and went to "State Representative, District 47 (Auburn, Covington) Position 2," I saw the endorsement for Pat Sullivan, former Covington Mayor and current King County Council staffer, for the position, over incumbent GOP hardliner and tool of business, Jack Cairnes.

Fine...if I lived in the district I'd vote for Pat, too. See, I know Pat...and, ah, the only problem with the Weakly's endorsement is they refer to Pat as "she."

Here's the thing, guys: Pat's wife and children, and family back in Michigan would probably be very, very surprised to hear Pat's a "she." He's very much the man, and in fact, when I worked with him on a political campaign some years back, he was sporting a bit of facial hair, and singing the praises of his meat and potatoes diet. (I still remember him telling me, over a pit stop at McDonald's one day, how he felt about eating ethnic food: he likened it to skydiving. It might be interesting to jump out of an airplane wearing a parachute, he said, but he had no real interest in doing so. I feel the same way about skydiving, but not ethnic food, and I'll just leave it at that, OK?).

Anyway, here's the money quote from The Weakly:

Sullivan promises to focus on education, particularly class size, and would tackle the budget with performance audits (ed. Go Pat!) and an examination of corporate tax breaks (ed. Go Pat!, once more). If SHE gets the chance, SHE'LL find a lot of HER predecessor's work handiwork in evidence.

All I can say is, either the Weakly has glossed over a remarkable story (that it ought to want to OWN) about a political staffer/candidate undergoing a sex change operation, or The Weakly's got some serious egg on its face.

That damned name "Pat." Always tricky, gender-wise, unless you've actually been mano-a-mano with the bearer.

Anyone remember the gender-less "Pat" from Saturday Night Live, played by Julia Sweeny? Take it from me...Pat Sullivan ain't that kinda Pat, or the other kind (i.e. female) either.

We'll all look forward to the Weakly's prominently placed correction next weak, and even sooner, on their web site.

Glad to be of service.