Voters won’t decide the race for Snohomish County executive until November but there are Democrats quietly trafficking in what-if scenarios should Dave Somers defeat John Lovick.
What, too soon?
Don’t blame the messenger.
Somers’ performance in the Aug. 4 primary sparked this low chatter of gossip among Democrats who figure it’s never too soon to contemplate the political potentialities.
With ballot counting in the election nearly complete, Somers, a county councilman, is beating Lovick, the incumbent, by a comfortable margin – apparently comfortable enough to get whispers going among those scouting players and designing plays for the post they think will be available.
Here’s how it could play out. A victorious Somers would relinquish his council seat upon certification of the results in December. A successor would be anointed by the Democratic Party’s precinct committee officers then appointed by the County Council, a process that could wrap up late this year or early next.
To be clear, no Democrat is uncouth enough to publicly declare their intentions. Privately, plenty in the party are willing — without much pushing — to ruminate on who might seek the seat should it become vacant.
State Rep. Hans Dunshee, of Snohomish, gets mentioned first. Not surprising: He’s the dean of the party’s political class in the council district.
And he’s pondered running for county office in the past but never acted. Doing so now would mean leaving Olympia where Dunshee wields significant influence as chairman of the committee that writes the state’s capital construction budget.
State Sen. Steve Hobbs, of Lake Stevens, is usually the second name tossed into the mix. But he’s already said he wants to run for lieutenant governor in 2016 if the current office-holder, Democrat Brad Owen, retires as widely expected. He would have to change directions.
And one complicating factor for Hobbs is that his critics could question his ties, past and present, with disgraced former county Executive Aaron Reardon and his right-hand man, Kevin Hulten – who once worked for Hobbs as well.
Snohomish Mayor Karen Guzak is among those thought to possibly have some interest, even if she hasn’t vocalized a desire for the job.
And it’s no secret Guy Palumbo, a Snohomish County planning commissioner, is aiming for higher office, which makes this a perfect target. But he upset a few in the Democratic Party with his failed run against incumbent Democratic state Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe in 2012. An appointment pursuit will reveal how well he’s mended those fences.
Richard Wright, the chairman of the Snohomish County Democratic Party, is none too pleased with such hyperventilation.
“What appointment?” Wright said Monday when asked to comment on the not so idle chit-chat.
Counting Lovick out before he and Somers clash this fall in front of voters would ignore the executive’s history of winning elections when they matter, his supporters say.
That’s a what-if scenario they insist can’t be ignored.
Political reporter Jerry Cornfield’s blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet.com. Contact him at 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com and on Twitter at @dospueblos
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