Today's P-I puts the King County Prosecutor's race in proper perspective:
the county's top Democrat, County Executive Ron Sims, has remained notably neutral for reasons that sound almost like a tacit endorsement of [Republican Dan] Satterberg, who is the chief counsel for county officials and departments.Satterberg is also endorsed by Mrs. Gregoire's consigliere Jenny Durkan, the lead Democrat lawyer in the election contest lawsuit. Every politician has multiple, sometimes competing, allegiances, and Democrat/Republican partisanship isn't necessarily the most important. Like Norm Maleng, Dan Satterberg's first loyalty is to the County Executive, whom he sees as his primary client. A bold and principled Prosecutor could establish him/herself as an independent force for accountable government. But that's not what we've had, or will have, if Satterberg is elected."The prosecuting attorney is giving exceptional service," Sims said in an interview. He said he doesn't intend to "endorse someone for purely partisan reasons."
Sadly, Democrat Bill Sherman hasn't offered compelling reasons to support him either.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at October 22, 2007 01:58 PM | Email ThisThe choice in this race is really about experience. Dan Satterberg has it, his opponent does not. Satterberg may not be the most partisan Republican, but from the debates I've seen him particpate in, he's a compassionate individual, and well-qualified for the job.
His opponent has been absent 12 of the last 18 months of his employment with the Prosecutor's Office, running for various political positions. He hasn't even finished a full Deputy Prosecutor's rotation, and yet he saw an opportunity in taking on Satterberg.
While the race may be uninspiring, that doesn't mean it's unimportant. I'm curious to see what other commenters have to say...
Posted by: Patrick on October 22, 2007 01:55 PMDan Satterberg wants to keep the Prosecutor's office professional and fair, and has made that clear by running an independent campaign with widespread (and impressive) support. In comparison, Bill Sherman has made it clear that his first loyalty is to the party next to his name.
While Satterberg may not be running on the typical platform pushed by most of the Republican Party's candidates, can you tell me a single Republican of late who has done that and won county-wide?
The only Republican who has won county-wide in a contested race in the last ten years was ...
Norm Maleng.
Dan Satterberg is right to embrace Maleng's legacy, and highlight the disparities in experience between him and his opponent.
Posted by: Jake on October 22, 2007 02:44 PMIf you've followed the posts over at Postman and on HA (where I hang as a lone wingnut among the toilet-based glitterati taking on all comers and besting them at their own game), you'd see that there's a huge divide among the PAO employees with a significant bordering on overwhelming majority of them supporting Satterberg over Sherman.
And these people are self-described liberal Democrats! But they see a quantitative AND qualitative difference between the two that's significant for the future of the PAO office.
Certainly, partisans on our side of the aisle grumbled a lot at Norm Maleng and, by extension, Dan Satterberg, for what happened in 2004. Be that as it may, those types of cases are but a drop in the numerical bucket compared to the daily grind of successfully prosecuting defendants and locking them up, which the PAO is pretty good at doing.
Under a PA Sherman, however, we risk having that good job disappear because of how many senior and seasoned attorneys will leave the office out of disgust that the boss barely knows the difference between a plaintiff and a defendant, let alone his way to the gent's loo.
I'm now in personal contact with an individual on the inside of that office, and this person, a career pro, is deeply troubled. The professional employees were asked to remain neutral in this race, but are now seeing that their pledge of neutrality is being used against them in what's become a viciously partisan race.
Goldy's HA pimped hard to raise $$$ for Sherman, and Goldy himself brags on how often he and Sherman canoodle. Do you want a PA who's in Goldy's pocket? Or one you'll merely grumble about every once in awhile?
Peel back the veneer, and look inside...There's stuff happening that people aren't aware of yet need to be!
The Piper
Posted by: Piper Scott on October 22, 2007 04:32 PMSometimes the best way to combat Democrat partisanship is not with Republican partisanship. You combat it with fair-minded competency. That's why I'm so glad I voted for Satterberg.
Posted by: AD on October 22, 2007 05:02 PMKing County, Wash., Fund Is Hit by SIV Turmoil
S&P May Downgrade Investment-Pool Rating;
City of Seattle Affected
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119310205429367896.html?mod=todays_us_money_and_investing
Posted by: howard on October 23, 2007 09:41 AMKing County, Wash., Fund Is Hit by SIV Turmoil
S&P May Downgrade Investment-Pool Rating;
City of Seattle Affected
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119310205429367896.html?mod=todays_us_money_and_investing
Posted by: howard on October 23, 2007 09:42 AM