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| Rep. Cindy Ryu |
After the King County Council appointed Seattle attorney Rod Dembowski over Shoreline City Councilman Will Hall and Democratic 32nd District State Rep. Cindy Ryu Monday to fill the vacant seat representing north King County on the Council, Ryu sent the following statement:
“I truly appreciate the representative democracy form of government which we enjoy here in the USA and in King County, especially as a new American who has been a Washingtonian for more than 43 years. I want to thank King County Executive Dow Constantine and County Council Chair Julia Patterson for their open and professional process the past two months as well as the many Council members who made it possible for me to learn more about the issues of concern to the King County Council.
“I congratulate Rod Dembowski on his appointment to finish up the 10 months remaining in Bob Ferguson's Council term.
“Due to the prescriptive method of appointing a replacement for the vacancy created by Bob Ferguson's election as our new attorney general, no one who lives in King County District 1 had a vote in this appointment yesterday. Rather, on November 5, 2013, voters of King County Council District 1 will have a voice in choosing who their King County Council member will be. The voters will be free to choose who will represent them on the King County Council.
"I truly appreciate all your support and encouraging words as I look forward to winning the votes of District 1 residents on November 5. Let's keep in touch in the coming months.”
From the sounds of it, Rep. Ryu still intends to run for the position, and there are many reasons why she should. She's absolutely right in saying that the voters haven't weighed in; only the politicos of the district have. In no particular order, additional valid reasons for running is that it pays more than triple what the legislative seat does (unfortunately, IMO), it's closer to home (less wear and tear), the issues are more local, the debates seem more collegial, the appointee has never been elected, she has in some of the areas of the county district, and she's a tireless campaigner and considerable fundraiser.
ReplyDeleteWhat I'd hope to see from her if she does campaign is: (1) a focus on her legislative accomplishments, particularly constituent concerns that she's translated into legislative action, even if unsuccessful in making it to a vote, e.g. filing a bill; (2) why she announced her interest in this position right after she got re-elected to the legislature, suggesting this was her intent all along, should AG Ferguson win his election; (3) when on the Shoreline City Council, what did she learn about what at least half of the city would think was a stormy term, to which she narrowly lost re-election against a political newcomer, and what would she had done differently if that was possible, to bring the two sides together. And why, for instance, is the hard work on the first mile of Aurora overlooked, though it set the stage for-and propelled the work on-the subsequent miles.
In her county council interview, she gave reasons that weren't important to me: being the oldest, a woman, a minority, etc. What's important to this voter aren't those factors, but who has the best ideas, do they have a track record of getting them implemented, even when not holding a legislative majority, and are they genuinely responsive to their constituents? And, do they learn from their mistakes of the past, and can they admit to there being some?
"County Council Chair Julia Patterson"?! Wow, Cindy only sat in front of County Council Chair Larry Gossett for three hours last Monday. And he has only been Chair for three years. Just the kind of attention to detail we want in our leaders.
ReplyDeleteThe 3 hour applicant interviews were conducted by the Committee of the Whole, not by the Council itself. Though the members are the same, their roles are different. While it is true that Mr. Gossett is Chair of the Council, Ms. Patterson is Chair of the Committee of the Whole. Mr. Constantine and Ms. Patterson did the heavy lifting on this one, and their singling out for thanks is appropriate. The title miscall is an understandable mistake.
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