Well, pudge beat me to it at the public blog. And a number of you have been discussing it in the comments here.
Nonetheless, the Republican candidate for Snohomish County Executive has been announced. I'm ambivalent about it.
Structurally, the race is a nightmare. Putting aside the party affiliations and personalities involved in the race, the interested observer is still left with these facts:
-The sitting incumbent is not wildly discordant with the electorate he serves.
-The competing party has announced its candidate less than three months before the primary election.
-The sitting incumbent has not been stricken by a major scandal or hot-button policy blunder.
-The sitting incumbent is well funded and experienced on the campaign trail.
Thus, the odds of Republican success in this race are long indeed. Furthermore, fairly or not, the "magician" angle may well be a regular point of focus for the media. Witness today's coverage in the Seattle Times and Everett Herald. On one hand that helps attract attention to a non-traditional campaign. On the other it creates the distinct possibility voters will have trouble taking the candidate seriously.
Based on the structural issues alone, I think it's nearly impossible for the Republican to win (which is not exactly earth-shattering analysis). But, at least this might make the race worth watching. Maybe.
For what it's worth, I think the party did the best it could in this circumstance. Rick Bart bowing out because of difficulty raising money is understandable, though some obviously question the late timing. John Koster declining to run at that juncture is logical too. Likewise are the other "no thank you's" from other potential candidates. Turk is willing to run and appears to have the enthusiasm for it. The party might as well see what happens. On the whole, everything I've seen and heard of Geri Modrell's performance in her first several months as Chair is good.
UPDATE: The Herald adds more coverage on thoughts from local Republicans.
Posted by Eric Earling at May 24, 2007 08:25 PM | Email ThisHe may do good when all is said and done for the nonexistent R party in Snohomish County.
I wish him well, but he has got to shed that clown image the press is trying to paint (pun intended)him with.
Posted by: swatter on May 25, 2007 06:55 AMRepublican County Councilman Gary Nelson joked that Republicans need to be magicians to get elected these days.
Turning serious, he said the party isn't putting up a magician to challenge Reardon, they're throwing in with a very successful entrepreneur.
"They're putting up a former Microsoft employee who became successful and was able to launch off into other career modes," Nelson said.
How come if he is such a succesful entrepeneur he doesn't have the money to fund his own campaig?
What a disappointment. Turk the Genie and his sidekick Doodles is the best the Snohomish County R's can come up with? OMG!
First, the high density development you see in Snohomish County is the result of fulfilling the County's comprehensive plan and the cities' commitment to density numbers as required under the growth management act...that was decided more than 10 years ago and we're just now seeing that decision come to fruition. If developers weren't building single family homes on those sites, they'd be building apartments or condos there that would make the densities even higher.
As for Jack Turk, you have to give him this -- he's creating a lot of attention! If you can get past the media hype about the fact that he's a magician, he's got a good resume for the job and he's a smart guy. At this stage of the campaign season, there's no way he could have run a traditional race and had any hope of breaking 35 percent. This unconventional approach could work for him if he can get people to look beyond the "magician" to the "man". The fact that he's not raising money for his race (but chose instead to challenge Reardon to fund-raising for a worthy charity), says he doesn't need to go after the hundreds of thousands of dollars conventional wisdom would suggest is necessary to win the race. Will his campaign be self financed? I don't know. Will some lucky charity benefit from a political race for once? Yep. Give the guy his due...he's smart enough to know he had to be unconventional to even get on the map.
Posted by: Renee Radcliff Sinclair on May 25, 2007 11:33 AMI'm anxious to see his platform appear though.
Posted by: Michelle on May 25, 2007 11:54 AMHe didn't create the zoning; it was the county council which Renee is a candidate for that controls that.
All Reardon did was make a dysfunctional building department more functional. If you do business with the department, you want it to be functional. I don't see anything dastardly with builders donating to Reardon.
Posted by: swatter on May 25, 2007 12:16 PMHe said he didnt have the money to self finance so I am still wondering what the party is going to do to show what a great entrepeneur he is.
Renee is right on the density issue.
Posted by: Bob on May 25, 2007 01:12 PMDamn.
Posted by: Spooge on May 25, 2007 01:20 PMI would rather see a Mckenna vs Inslee race than a McKenna vs Reardon race in 2012.
How do tarnish his "golden boy" image? I hope at least the State GOP will help Turk otherwise it's a free ride for Reardon. What's the strategy on this race?
Posted by: dudeman on May 25, 2007 04:43 PMI would rather see a Mckenna vs Inslee race than a McKenna vs Reardon race in 2012.
How do we tarnish his "golden boy" image? I hope at least the State GOP will help Turk otherwise it's a free ride for Reardon. You can't get a message out without money. What's strategy on this race?
Posted by: dudeman on May 25, 2007 04:47 PMAnd you are correct that Reardon was financed by developers last time -- but he also attacked Earling for doing the same. I guess flip-flopper gives him too much credit and opportunistic hypocrite would be more precise.
Posted by: Stanwoodsage on May 25, 2007 09:13 PM
I wouldn't be so quick to write Mr. Turk off, if you haven't even bothered to find out who he really is yet. If you do, however, you can count yourself as one of the people who gave up and is, in part, to blame if Reardon is re-elected. Sitting indignantly and looking down your nose based on simplistic assumptions gleaned from a single newspaper article is complacency, not effect.
Posted by: MissOpinion on May 26, 2007 07:23 AMEric: You are very balanced in your 'reporting'. Please stay that way. We can all benefit from your insight. Don't ever let 'friendships' get in the way of the truth.
Swatter, Silkworm, Pudge, Michelle, SW, MissOpinion: Please help out on this campaign. You seem to have talent for turning a phrase, uncovering history, and offering intelligent suggestions (I like the YouTube idea).
Dudeman (or is it JC?): You may want to help also(?). If you won the pool, give the money to charity.
Spooge, Bob (Oops!): You said precisely what we want the dems to think. Thank you for pointing that out. (And you didn't even realize you were playing along. COOL!)
TamaNekoChan, Geezer, Jason, GOP Informant, Steve: The easiest thing anyone can do is criticize. It takes a courageous man to recognize a problem, offer a solution and 'step up to the plate' to implement it. I haven't seen a shred of any solutions from any of you. I think what you really want is four more years of Reardon. Sorry to be cliché, but YOU DON'T KNOW JACK!
Tama: If you HAVE been a party activist I'm curious what your part in the past has been. It sure hasn't worked well. If you are for real, we can use you now. But no complaining!
Jason: I'd trust "this clown" with my last nickel!
GOP Informant: If you're a real republican then I'm a communist. It's clear you don't like being on the team (which I doubt you were to begin with). Maybe you should be on the other team as you sound just like them. Are you a mole? Silkworm's right, put up or shut up!
Steve: Let me make this perfectly clear. Geri Modrell DID NOT strong-arm Jack. She has spent a lot of time answering Jack's questions. Jack, not Geri said he would run if nominated. Geri is a sharp cookie and doesn't want to see Snohomish County become King County north. That is why she has worked tirelessly to find a viable candidate. She reminds me of Margaret Thatcher and we all remember what she did with a little help from RR and JP. So, GET OFF HER BACK!
Rick Bart dropped out because he couldn't raise money. John Koster stayed out because he couldn't raise money. All the others that were asked were either flattered to be asked and said no because they couldn't raise the money or said they weren't that crazy. So what is your solution, Steve? I don't recall you making any suggestions or offering to run. What's your point?
Everybody thinks you need money to win so they won't run. Money would be nice but money doesn't vote. People do. Jack would rather see money spent on something worthwhile rather than garbage for landfills. NOW, THAT'S AN IDEA EVEN THE ENVIROS COULD GET BEHIND! (They won't).
Jack believes good ideas and a compelling vision can make a difference. He is someone who sees the big picture and is not going to give someone like Reardon a free pass. The people of this county need a choice or they will always get the status quo. Jack has a different vision of what county government should do and if he is elected he will make an excellent County Executive. You'll see his message come out over the course of the election cycle. Win or lose, we will all come out ahead. Stop worrying about how YOU look or how people perceive the party and focus on what we need to change to prepare Snohomish County for the future.
If you and your delegate friend are having buyer's remorse all I can say is, "AGAIN!" Your friend will know what that means unless they were sleeping. Until you show that you are a part of this team you are going to keep doing Herbies. "AGAIN!" You may not believe in miracles but I do and I think there are a lot of others that believe also. I saw your "Yay for Renee!" so maybe there is hope for you. Jack, Renee and Bill along with John would be a "DREAM TEAM" for the county.
"A leader, once convinced a particular course of action is the right one, must have the determination to stick with it and be undaunted when the going gets rough."
-Ronald Reagan
Then there's County Clerk, which is perhaps the most non-partisan of the non-partisan positions. I am supporting Ron Ledford, who is getting lots of endorsements from all over the political spectrum, including from the current Clerk. He's been the #2 man there for some time and I believe he will run that department very well.
Similarly, Carolyn Diepenbrock is a fine candidate for Auditor. I've gotten to know he a bit over the last year or so, and she's done a fine job at elections (which is, of course, one of my greatest concerns over there). I don't know her political affiliation, but I have no qualms about supporting her for election to the office she currently holds.
Looking forward to helping Mr. Turk but right now, I can't support a magician. He has to, and his web page said he would, get his credentials and message out there.
Executive is a very lofty elected position, but even a moron could run the county (oops, I think I gave my opinion on past execs without knowing it).
Posted by: swatter on May 29, 2007 07:16 AMI'm curious why it is you feel someone else should be responsible for your becoming an informed voter; for researching the candidate for you?
The information regarding the identify of the candidate was kept private out of respect for his family priorities, as I understand it. An extra couple weeks of privacy to tie up some personal affairs first seems like a very reasonable accommodation for us to make, considering the commitment and offer of service he, and his family, are making for Snohomish county.
Your complains of "hush hush" and "top secret" are invalid at this point. The candidate is named, his identity is out, his website is up and his campaign seems to be shaping up quickly to get him out and available. As a matter of fact, I have it on firsthand knowledge that anyone who takes the time to involve themselves in grassroots activities with the party - has had plenty of access to get to know him.
I might suggest getting more involved with the party if you're feeling in the dark. You may just need a better information source.
Posted by: MissOpinion on May 30, 2007 12:33 AMNo one is arguing that this race won't be interesting. It certainly is.
But will it be competitive? Will it be good for your party? Probably not.
The public won't vote for a candidate that they can't take seriously. Period. Turk may be a nice guy, a successful businessman, whatever else you want to throw in there, but the public will never be able to get past his occupation as a magician.
Posted by: Steve on May 30, 2007 09:15 AMThey interview Reardon on every little thing he dreams up that doesn't mean anything.
Posted by: swatter on May 30, 2007 02:45 PM