November 01, 2005
King County Journal Endorses Irons

The King County Journal today endorsed David Irons for King County Executive. Let's hope it has an effect in the vote-rich suburban crescent east of Seattle. The Journal says:

A string of embarrassing failures and miscalculations have shown Ron Sims to lack the leadership necessary to continue as county executive. It's time for a change, and County Council member David Irons Jr. is the person for the job. Gaffe after gaffe has plagued the county during Sims' eight years as county executive....The county elections department has continued to be a festering sore under Sims as votes were cast by dead people and felons while the ballots of legitimate voters were "misplaced."' Instead of demanding changes and holding people accountable, Sims has left most key personnel in place even while outside task forces have called for a dramatic overhaul.

David Irons is well prepared to step up to the county executive job...15 years in elected office, the last five of them on the County Council....he led the successful fight to reduce the size of the council from 13 to nine members, authored a charter amendment to create an independently elected elections auditor for King County and has been a strong and effective voice for reasonable land-use regulations....Irons' business experience is equally strong. He has managed three high-tech startup companies and is CEO of a family-owned telecommunications business operating in six states. Sims has tried to smear Irons for the bankruptcy of one of those firms -- Brigadoon.com, for which Irons was chief operating officer. That won't wash.....it's time to give the reins to (someone) who can get the county refocused and back on track.

I'm seeing a lot of Irons TV spots these days, and the tag line is right: We Can Do Better.

A Lot Better. Show your support.

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at November 01, 2005 09:45 AM | Email This
Comments
1. My guess is that Irons learned from his failure (bankruptcy). If only Simms would learn from his, though he would need to get a PHd, and that would just scrape the surface.

Basically there is not one succesful person that hasn't failed on his/her way. The difference is if you learn from it.

Posted by: fred on November 1, 2005 10:08 AM
2. This is why I subscribe to the King County Journal instead of the Times or PI. They are saner with their endorsements.

Posted by: Michele on November 1, 2005 10:30 AM
3. Yippee, I found a new newpaper to subscribe to. One that actually sees the crap managment of Ron Sims. Stealing my land is a crime, 40 million computer system boondoggle, Sound transit's fiasco, and his and Sim's absolute failure to clean up the King County Election office makes him a horrible choice!


I'll buy this paper and my vote has already been cast for David Irons!

Put Sims out to pasture, if you can find a pasture in King County after his CAO land theft!

Posted by: GS on November 1, 2005 10:34 AM
4. And if you look at the left blogs, all they can do is smear Irons character. They've got no answer to his years of experience in elected office, nor to the genuine problems that have plagued the Sims administration.

They just want to dig up hearsay from uncorroborated sources to try and discredit Irons.

You know that you are voting for the right candidate when you vote based on the future and how a candidate plans to address the issues that the community faces, and not on low blow mudslinging from the opposition.

Posted by: Jeff B. on November 1, 2005 10:50 AM
5. while you're voting for David Irons Jr. and signing up for a subscription to the KCJ, check out Michelle Malkins' blog today for mug shots of several Democrats arrested for all kinds of violence against Republicans and their property in recent times. Pretty impressive list.

Posted by: Michele on November 1, 2005 11:02 AM
6. When you elect someone to public office, you are empowering them to make judgements on your behalf.
If the only acceptable candidates are those who have never made a judgement error, then the electorate is in trouble, because the only people who have never made a judgement error are those who have never made a judgement.

Posted by: MIMike on November 1, 2005 11:04 AM
7. Its not endorsements that win.

He who counts the votes, wins.

Posted by: Diogenes on November 1, 2005 11:11 AM
8. MIMike,

You are right.

We may not know much about judgement errors from Irons since he has not been in office all that long, but we know a lot about judgment errors made by Sims.

Posted by: Jeff B. on November 1, 2005 11:13 AM
9. Ugh, I didn't know he led the way towards reducing the number of seats on the council. That's not good. Still voting for Irons though.

Posted by: Steff on November 1, 2005 11:19 AM
10. If I'm not mistaken, I believe David Irons left Brigadoon about a year and a half before they went bankrupt over a disagreement in management philosophy. It seems he wanted to maintain integrity and fiscal responsibility against the wishes of others in the company. Go figure.

Posted by: Justme on November 1, 2005 11:20 AM
11. The KCJ has its faults. Dean Radford could credibly write for the P-I. They use the NY Times as a primary source of copy. They tend to reprint AP stories with no editing. They tend to cover some issues poorly.


Their editorial policy is the least frustrating.

Posted by: South County on November 1, 2005 11:44 AM
12. Did some of you bother to follow the link and read the endorsement before posting?!!? Irons has held public office for over 15 years and he left the company a year before it went bankrupt. He has made many correct judgement calls.

Posted by: Scott in Carnation on November 1, 2005 11:58 AM
13. I can't stand either one. I'm voting for Gentry Lange...

Posted by: Ben Schiendelman on November 1, 2005 01:28 PM
14. GS says:
Put Sims out to pasture, if you can find a pasture in King County after his CAO land theft!

Hey, I think I found a good pasture for Mr. Sims to gallop around in.

A citizens' committee investigating ways to resolve the budget problems reported last week that participants in recent focus groups described the district as "rudderless," "unaccountable" and lacking "charismatic, accessible leadership at the top."

The summary report noted: "Far and away, the most critical area that needs to change before the public alters its view of the school district is leadership."

Let me be the first to recommend replacing Raj Manhas with Ron Sims. Seattle SD and Ron Sims truly deserve each other.

Posted by: huckleberry on November 1, 2005 01:32 PM
15. Ben...get a political clue, any vote other than Irons IS A VOTE FOR SIMS. Third party candidate is intelligent, well-spoken, and naive - Dems would chew him up and spit him out before the ink was dry on his certification. But there is no way in @*## he is going to win, so why don't you vote for Irons who has a good chance to win. Then after Mr. Irons cleans up elections and your vote actually means something again, you can revert to useless protest votes...if you must.

Posted by: dl on November 1, 2005 01:53 PM
16. Regarding original topic.

:-) big grin :-)

Posted by: Reporterward on November 1, 2005 02:09 PM
17. I would have to agree, a vote for the green candidate may be well intentioned, but please look at it from a scenerio of winning and statement potential. We have a real chance at making a huge statement in King County and King County Elections, that if they won't get it right, we will get rid of them,...... right!

We have had 8 yrs to judge Sims, and I judge him as an absolute land thief. If he is not stopped NOW, the current leadership of this state will be tempted to make it state wide. If you own land and do not know the ramifications of Ron Sim's CAO 65% land theft. Find out.

Use your vote wisely! It probably won't count anyway in this election!

Posted by: GS on November 1, 2005 02:12 PM
18. Making the CAO state wide is on the radar of the current Olympia bunch! Kick Sims out and you will see the CAO heat subside in Olympia from fear of acting state wide on this land theft!

Posted by: GS on November 1, 2005 02:14 PM
19. My parents have been on vacation to Hawaii I'm looking forward to telling about the endorsement by the King County Journal They have had some run ins wth King county & this will make their day!!

Posted by: Laurie on November 1, 2005 02:38 PM
20. I heard an "educational" ad on KING-FM today sponsored by several labor unions. Pure smear of David Irons. They accuse him of: 1) hurting the poor; 2) hurting seniors; 3) hurting children; and last, 4) sending money to help re-elect George W. Bush (gasp!). From their emphasis it looks like the latter is more important to them than the first three.

Posted by: Bruce B on November 1, 2005 05:35 PM
21. I have to applaud the KC Journal for having the ethical sense to endorse Irons today! And - they were not luke-warm in their criticism of Ron Sims!
However, the King County Journal has been wishy washy with some of their endorsements over the past weeks and their editorial opinions are leaning more and more to the left lately....(I hope they get this in check before their subscription numbers start to fall as the Seattle Times has....)

I'm thinking some of those out of work PI reporters have infiltrated the KCJ....(if so - this Irons endorsement must have them spitting mad!)...snicker...

Posted by: Deborah on November 1, 2005 06:15 PM
22. Let's ask Ron Sims, if the opportunity avails, if he thinks the CAO land theft should be made state wide, and if he backs doing so in its current form!

This will put him in the light he needs to be seen in. Stealing land state wide!

How would you all like to lose 65% of your land to Ron Sims's CAO bunch!

Posted by: GS on November 1, 2005 06:49 PM
23. It is good that the King County Journal had the sense and decency to endorse Irons. The sad part of this is that most of the people who won't vote for him are sheeple and not good at critical thinking - they have no clue what is right and what isn't and don't care, unless it would directly affect them personally.

With that said, I believe that Irons should submit to a lie detector test - re: his mother. Face it, he will need to do something extraordinary to win outright without the danger of a recount. Sims gets away with alot more, because the MSM cabal is on his side. Everything that Sims has done that ranks as positive can be done by Irons more efficiently and maybe David Irons needs to say this. The main thing is that the bad that Sims has done outweighs the good - any critical thinker can see this and Irons has a record of being against a vast majority of the bad that Sims has done.

The question is do the people of King County really deserve better ? Then ask where Irons lost - and you will see that if it happens, he lost predominantly in Seattle. If the incumbent is reelected, the answer is quite clear - they don't deserver better in Seattle or wherever Irons loses - Seattle basically thumbs their noses at the remainder of the county. Therefore it is high time to move forward with the secession from King County and move forward with the formation of Cascade County !

Posted by: KS on November 1, 2005 08:18 PM
24. If Irons loses I agree with KS I also understand Sims is ahead by 7% wich concerns me. He could be vulnerable to the KCE dog & pony show getting away with a repeat of 04!!

Posted by: Laurie on November 2, 2005 01:08 PM
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