That's the slightly preposterous assumption behind this year's Seattle City Council races, where--especially in forums like the Green Party endorsements and the Seattle Displacement Coalition--candidates have been falling over each other to prove their leftie bona fides. The daydream I wrote about in these pages a few weeks ago, of a progressive majority on city council, isn't so much of a dream if you believe the rhetoric of some of these candidates. For example, at the SDC forum, nearly all of the dozen plus candidates present spoke in favor of rent control--a hot potato almost nobody would cotton to in the '97 race. Of course, some of those same candidates spoke the opposite way in front of the Apartment Owners Association, which raises the obvious question: can these folks be believed?

Here's the calculus. There are now two progressives on city council--three on the days when the Wizard gives Richard Conlin his Courage pills, one on the days when Peter Steinbrueck chickens out. There are four, count them four, races in which candidates have stated they want to be on a progressive majority with Steinbrueck and Nick Licata. They are: 1) Charlie Chong, running against Heidi Wills in Position 7; 2) Curt Firestone, running against incumbent Margaret Pageler in Pos. 5; 3) both Judy Nicastro and Daniel Norton, running against Cheryl Chow in Pos. 1; and 4) Dawn Mason, who is the frontrunner in a four-way race for Pos. 9.

Who to trust? Can any of these people be trusted in a corrupt electoral system that props up the oppressive machinery of end-of-millenium capitalism? Well, no. But sometimes, just sometimes, local politics can make a difference (the bigger stuff certainly can't), and isn't totally bought and paid for by big money. So just in case you still have faith in this stuff, or will vote anyway in the Sept. 14 primary out of the habitual guilt instilled in eighth-grade civics class, we go ahead and bother to give you the

ETS! Electoral Picks of the Litter

(note: I have to give some thanks to the Seattle Weekly this time around; I sat in on its Editorial Board interviews of candidates, so I've had a chance to meet most of the candidates for Port, School Board, and other obscure races for which I'd otherwise be guessing based on Voters' Pamphlet statements.)

Port of Seattle

Commissioner Pos. #2: In this messy nine-way race, the primary survivors will probably be the ones with the best names, and or the women. In liberal Seattle, women generally have an advantage in court and port races where nobody knows the candidates--the erroneous assumption being that women are more likely to be empathetic and not part of The Machine. That would be a mistake in this race. The two women running are very much part of the status quo: Laurie McDonald Jonsson, a big money protege advised by political guru Cathy Allen, and a huge booster of free trade; and Betty Jane Narver, a mildly reformist establishment figure most recently siphoning public salary at UW and on the Library Board. (If you must vote for a woman--remember Pat Davis--Narver is better.) Cut fringe cases Richard Pope (he ran for prosecutor last time) and libertarian Ernie Ludwick, and you have five left. Al Yuen is a Chinatown Chamber of Commerce type who doesn't know what he's doing. Larry Weldon is a transportation bureaucrat who seemed inordinately proud to have spent most of his adult life on committees. This leaves Bob Edwards, Fletch Waller, and Mark Ufkes. Of the three, Mark Ufkes is perilously close to wingnutdom but is probably the choice; he is the only one of the nine who is clearly a reform candidate, looking to shake up the Port and make it more accountable to taxpayers. He is a socially liberal Republican, but in this context that shouldn't scare you; they all are. Waller and Edwards have a good command of Port business (Edwards is a Renton city councilman) but, like McDonald Jonsson and Narver, tend to the isn't-free-trade-wonderful end of the spectrum. What a mess.

Commissioner Pos. #5: Much simpler. Clare Nordquist is the incumbent, and the guy who in only a year in office has racked up an amazing number of frequent flyer miles taking taxpayer-funded junkets to every corner of the world. He needs a one-way ticket Outtathere. Vote for the one competitor, Chris Rayson.

King County

County Council: Out of 13 seats, only one is even contested as incumbents coast to unopposed re-election. This is, simply, disgusting. Even the semi-good guys like Larry Gossett should be boycotted; nobody should run unopposed. The one exception is a race in Issaquah (District #12) between maverick (anti-growth, anti-WTO) Republican Brian Derdowski and developer stalking horse David Irons. Brian Derdowski all the way.

Assessor: Democrat Scott Noble is facing a challenge from two Republicans angry that Noble collects taxes. (That's not what an Assessor does--s/he simply values property for property tax collection--but who's quibbling?) Noble has been out front opposing shams like Ref. 48 designed to give huge tax breaks to big corporations, and deserves support for it.

Seattle School District. No. 1 (note: there are no other districts. Why the pompous "No. 1"?)

Director District #1: The Weekly endorsement interview for this four-way race (Ken Harer did not attend) was most discouraging. Harer calls for a "customer service approach" in the voters' guide, always a bad sign. At the interview, Martin Ringhofer came very close to frothing at the mouth; he's an ex-Boeing guy who hates John Stanford, loves anti-gay activist Linda Jordan, and--well, don't vote for him. Barbara Schlag Peterson is a bland ex-teacher who likes ads in schools and thinks students, unlike corporations, should have no First Amendment rights. That leaves Thom Langley, who gets mild--very mild--support based on his opposition to ads in schools and support of bilingual education and the Safe Schools anti-gay-bashing bill.

Director Dis. #3: The clear choice here is Dwight VanWinkle, a community activist who has led the fight against Channel One in schools. His opponents are David Blomstrom, a substitute teacher who has many of the right ideas in criticizing the district's corruption but is frankly unhinged in his hatred of John Stanford and his suspicion of conspiracies all around us; Nancy Waldman, an appointed incumbent who is very, very much the status quo; and Mary Jean Ryan, a frightening political operative, coming from the mayor's office of economic development (cutting deals for big biz) and the Clinton Administration. Ryan was an instrumental figure in getting the Nordstrom parking garage deal cut; what she could do with all of the school district's valuable properties is scary. Do not vote for her! VanWinkle is the choice.

Director Dis. #6: Incumbent Barbara Schaad-Lamphere, an establishment figure all the way, is facing token opposition from Sharda Bowen.

City of Seattle

City Council Position 1: The most tragic of the three open seat council races, in which the two most progressive of the open seat candidates are facing each other. Hopefully both Judy Nicastro and Daniel Norton will survive the primary by beating ex-councilmember Cheryl Chow and perennial fringe candidate Bob Hegamin, but don't count on it. Chow has the most money (though Nicastro has just about caught up to her--Chow has run a surprisingly lackluster campaign) and the most name recognition. She has also run the most dishonest campaign in memory, calling herself a champion of the poor and disenfranchised and hoping to get away with it because both Nicastro and Norton are white. Problem is, not only did Chow grow up privileged as the daughter of Ruby Chow, the most powerful figure in Seattle Asian politics in the '70s and an ex-council member herself--she also voted consistently with big business and against social programs in her terms in office. She also, don't forget, loves the kids. She's a nightmare. That leaves Judy and Dan. Both have their enemies. Norton has been accused of fiscal mismanagement by the business wing of the Democratic Party, from his days as county party head. But as endorser Nick Licata points out, the council is a legislative body, not a managerial one. Nicastro has been dogged by criticisms that she's toning down her activism- based message, especially around housing issues, for more conservative audiences. Norton has a longer and more consistent record of activism in peace and social justice issues; among other things, he formerly headed the Give Peace a Dance fundraiser when it was a big deal in the '80s. A nod to Daniel Norton, tho either he or Nicastro would be a welcome addition to the council.

City Council Pos. 3: Peter Steinbrueck faces token opposition from three fringe cases: Larouchite Stan Lippman (who is, nonetheless, running as a progressive) wants to abolish city vaccines; Lenora Jones is an African-American perennial candidate who never actually runs; and Don Hennick is mad because he was arrested once. Steinbrueck has not been perfect as a council member--he tends to duck some tough issues--but he's been a damn sight better than seven of his eight colleagues.

City Council Pos. 5: Incumbent Margaret Pageler faces three challengers. Pageler is a poster woman for the failings of the council over the last decade: elected as a community activist, and promptly selling out to the downtown big biz block. She has her independent streak but has been particularly abominable on Cedar River, where she held up the no-logging option for 18 months, and in chairing the Public Safety Committee for four years while protecting cops from any kind of public accountability. Her challengers: Lee Carter is an African-American Republican who has some good ideas but is obsessed with scrapping the city's charter; E. Mike Rodosovich is an ex-cop who is running because he likes Charlie Chong; and Curt Firestone is a Green Party and Seattle Progressive Coalition stalwart who has done a surprisingly effective job of undercutting Pageler's money and support. He's won a number of key endorsements and will give Pageler a strong run for it in the general election. Firestone can be personally overbearing--his alpha male tendencies are rather offputting at times--but he says (and votes) all the right things. Curt Firestone.

City Council Pos. 7: There are six people in this race, but only three really matter; scratch nightclub owner George Freeman, perennial Elbert Brooks, and David Lawton (who is running as a progressive but has had a virtually invisible campaign) as unlikely to get more than a few dozen votes between all three. That leaves Charlie Chong, Thomas Whittemore, and Heidi Wills. Whittemore is the one unlikely to survive the primary, which is too bad; he's a nice guy, a Ballard community activist who has many of the right positions. Chong is running again, he says, specifically because he has the chance to not be the solitary naysayer he was positioned as during his previous year on council. He wants to form a majority progressive block along with Licata, Steinbrueck, Nicastro or Norton, Firestone, and Dawn Mason (if elected). This leaves Heidi Wills, who is the most genuinely frightening candidate running for council. An ex- aide to County Exec Ron Sims and County Council liberal Cynthia Sullivan, Wills has raised more money than any other candidate, including any incumbent. ($72,177 as of 8/25, and she's aiming for $100 K by the primary.) She says whatever her audience wants to hear, has an eerie constant smile plastered on her face, and has made absolutely no commitments as to how she would actually vote on council. Her money has come from liberal Democratic circles and downtown elites, but there's something else going on here, too. My working theory is that aliens have seized her body, but aside from the grinning there is no direct evidence for this. She says the right things at times, but Wills is the type who never returns community activist phone calls after she's elected. Chong will. He's not always right, but he's outspoken, honest, and downtown Seattle hates him. They'll love Heidi Wills. Vote Charlie Chong.

City Council Pos. 9: A tough four-way race. There's Jim Compton, a former KING-TV personality who seems to be running as a media star; he's not campaigning very hard and not committing to anything, seemingly expecting that name familiarity will win the seat for him. He's probably a closet Republican. There's Andrew Scully, a Queen Anne community activist who has a lot of good ideas but is probably doomed because he wasn't on TV and nobody knows who he is. There's Alec Fisken, the downtown-backed candidate who is nonetheless refreshingly personable and straight-forward; he gets credit for being one of the few candidates this year who says what he thinks, not what the audience wants to hear. And there's Dawn Mason. Mason is running as a progressive, and she wants to head the Public Safety Committee, which would be a real coup; the Seattle Police Department desperately needs some real oversight from someone who knows what a DWB (Driving While Black) traffic stop means. Mason gave up her safe Olympia House seat last year to run against Adam Kline, and lost in a bitter race. (In one notorious incident, she stood by and watched when a supporter challenged Kline with anti-Semitic remarks at a Langston Hughes forum.) She is clearly an ambitious, and slick, politician, and even when she's saying good things there's something about her I don't quite trust. It's tempting to support Scully or even Fisken, but Dawn Mason deserves the chance to prove herself--and to rein in SPD.

[Lance--box] ETS! sez:

Port of Seattle: #2 Mark Ufkes #5 Chris Rayson King County: Council #12: Brian Derdowski Assessor: Scott Noble Seattle Schools: #1 Thom Langley #3 Dwight VanWinkle #6 Sharda Bowen City Council: #1 Daniel Norton #3 Peter Steinbrueck #5 Curt Firestone #7 Charlie Chong #9 Dawn Mason