Face of county political scene is changing

By Susanna Ray

Herald Writer

Snohomish County is facing more pre-election political turnover this year than it has in a decade.

Two state Senate seats from districts in the county, four state House seats, and theEverett mayor and the county executive spot will all be filled by different people by next year because of retirements or decisions to seek different offices.

"That’s a lot of movement," said Brett Bader, a Republican political consultant from Bellevue. "Snohomish County is more interesting right now than King County, frankly, because there are so many new faces coming in and so much going on. It’s being watched well outside its borders."

Add in major changes in the makeup of the Legislature’s leadership, and "it could be a whole new day," said Democratic political consultant Cathy Allen of Seattle. "This Legislature’s going to be dramatically different, and this time it’s going to be dramatically different even before the voters get to have their say."

So far this year, four senators and 16 representatives across the state, including Snohomish County, have decided to either retire or run for a different office. That’s about average for the number of open seats statewide, according to the Secretary of State’s Office, although according to Snohomish County election records, the 1992 election was the last time there were this many open seats here.

"I think what is different this year is the number of high-profile lawmakers who are not seeking re-election," said Rep. Cathy McMorris of Colville, chairwoman of the House Republicans’ campaign committee.

Retiring senators include Jeanine Long, a Mill Creek Republican who hasspent 14 years in office, and Jeri Costa, a Marysville Democrat with eight years in Olympia. Both were known for their work on criminal justice issues. Dan McDonald’s public career will have spanned nearly a quarter of a century when the Bellevue Republican steps down this year, and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Harold Hochstatter of Moses Lake will be missed, at least for his 12 years’ worth of colorful Senate floor speeches and no-nonsense ways.

About half of the open House seats are being left by incumbents who are running for the state Senate or Congress instead. Locally, that includes Aaron Reardon, D-Everett, who is seeking Costa’s spot, and Dave Schmidt, R-Bothell, who is running for Long’s spot, as well as Kelly Barlean, R-Langley, who is running for Congress, and Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, who was redistricted from the 39th to the 44th District and will run for Schmidt’s old seat.

But some heavyweight state leaders are among those retiring from the House, including Clyde Ballard, who led House Republicans for 16 of his 20 years representing his East Wenatchee district. Ruth Fisher, who was chairwoman or ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee for more than half of her 20 years in office, and Maryann Mitchell, who has been Fisher’s Republican counterpart the past couple of years, also are stepping down.

Political watchers say they don’t remember a time when so many veteran legislators have stepped down, and redistricting doesn’t explain all the movement.

"I think there is a lot of change happening that’s unusual for these times," Allen said. "I think in many of these cases, people are looking at the hard reality of the economy and the last few sessions, and they’re deciding they just can’t afford it emotionally or financially."

State legislators had to patch a $1.5 billion hole in the budget they passed earlier this year, operating under a tense, near-even split between the parties (Democrats held a one-seat advantage in the Senate and two seats in the House). Last year, when the House was evenly split, they had to cope with an earthquake, drought, the energy crisis, Boeing’s decision to move its headquarters out of the state, a state employee strike, terrorism and an increasingly dour economy.

All those fatiguing, frustrating challenges factored into many legislators’ decisions to step down, said Judy Hedden, who used to head the League of Women Voters of Snohomish County and now runs the organization for the entire state from Seattle.

Some say those legislative changes will mean more to Snohomish County’s future than a new county executive or a new mayor of the county’s biggest city. Term limits are forcing Executive Bob Drewel to leave after three terms, and Everett Mayor Ed Hansen is stepping down July 1 to take over at the Snohomish County PUD.

"The Legislature has such a huge impact on Snohomish County," said longtime local Republican political activist Paul Elvig. "That’s a bigger deal than who becomes mayor or executive."

If Republicans were to pick up the offices of Everett mayor, which is nonpartisan, or county executive it would only result in a change in managing style, not philosophy, Elvig said.

"They don’t have the chance to write legislation. They just propose budgets that their councils have to pass."

In contrast, legislators write laws that can have a huge impact on health care, land use, crime, transportation, education and other areas of life.

"The way our government is set up, the state government is where the power resides," Hedden said, "and the local governments are much more focused on things like policing and parks."

Under Washington’s constitution, cities’ and counties’ authority is more limited than in most other states, Hedden said. Local governments mostly act as agents of the state, she added, and the decisions they make tend to be about how to implement state law, rather than creating new laws themselves.

Elvig, Hedden and others said they don’t expect power to shift among political parties anytime soon.

"I don’t see it as a seascape change in the political direction of the county," Elvig said. "It’ll be a tweak here and a tweak there. Maybe a slight shift to the right, but only slight."

But it’s exciting nonetheless to political junkies everywhere.

"In Snohomish County, we’ve seen a lot of changes, a lot of candidates lining up to run, and frankly, we’re not seeing that in a lot of the other parts of the state," Bader said. "It’s been coming over the past few years. New people moving in. A new generation of leadership."

You can call Herald Writer Susanna Ray at 425-339-3439

or send e-mail to ray@heraldnet.com.