Evan Smith: Ferguson says he announced early to reach more voters

Bob Ferguson

By Evan Smith

ShorelineAreaNews Politics Writer

King County Councilman Bob Ferguson says that he announced his candidacy for state attorney general early to give himself time to reach voters around the State.

Ferguson, a Democrat, represents Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Bothell, north Seattle and the rest of the 1st County Council District.

Ferguson said Monday that he had announced 21 months before the 2012 election “so I have time to personally connect with as many Washington voters as possible.

“That's always been my campaign style, and I enjoy direct communication with voters,” Ferguson told me. “It's a big state and I plan to have an aggressive campaign that reaches all corners of Washington.”

Ferguson said that he is not concerned about whether Republican incumbent Attorney General Rob McKenna will run for re-election or make an anticipated bid for governor.

“I'm focused on organizing a disciplined, grassroots campaign and speaking to as many voters one-on-one as possible.” Ferguson said.

He reportedly told the Seattle Times before his announcement that he expects to be running for an open seat.

After Ferguson won re-election to the Council in 2009, he told me that he was considering a run for attorney general, but only if McKenna didn’t seek re-election. The two were colleagues on the County Council in 2004 before McKenna won his first term as attorney general.

After McKenna joined attorneys general from other states last year in a lawsuit to block parts of the federal health-care-reform law, Ferguson wrote a letter of protest. At that time, Ferguson told me that he was considering a run for attorney general, but didn’t include the part about McKenna’s not running.

Many Republicans have been promoting Ferguson’s current Council colleague Reagan Dunn as a possible Republican candidate to replace McKenna. Dunn was a federal prosecutor before he was appointed to the County Council seat that McKenna vacated to become attorney general. Dunn won a full term in 2007.

Dunn says that Republicans have started the Dunn-for-AG web site without his knowledge, but he has been quoted as saying he would consider running for attorney general if McKenna gives up the position to run for governor. Dunn is the son of the late Congresswoman Jennifer Dunn.

McKenna has said that he will announce his intentions later this year.

Ferguson said Monday that he would have no problem balancing the demands of a campaign with representing his district on the County Council, noting that McKenna was a councilman when he first ran for attorney general in 2004 and that Dow Constantine was a councilman when he ran for County executive in 2009.

“I will remain focused on my work,” he said, “but I'm a pretty disciplined guy and I don't mind being busy."

Ferguson first won election to the Council in 2003, when he defeated long-time Democratic incumbent Cynthia Sullivan to represent their north Seattle district. After voters reduced the number of Council positions from 13 to nine, he defeated fellow Democratic incumbent Carolyn Edmonds in 2005. He ran unopposed in 2009.

Ferguson worked for a Seattle law firm before winning his first term as a councilman, He has reactivated his bar status, something that McKenna also had to do after letting his status become inactive while on the County Council.