Liias may face a friendly opponent

Democratic Rep. Marko Liias of Mukilteo is encountering a little friendly fire and may end up battling an opponent from his own party as a result.

Labor leader Darrell Chapman is being urged to take on Liias, who is seeking to retain the 21st Legislative District seat to which he was appointed in January.

Chapman sought that appointment, too. He spent January and February contemplating a run against Liias and decided against it for the sake of party unity.

Then he started receiving phone calls this week from Democrats, including Snoho­mish County Councilman Mike Cooper. They asked him to reconsider and they vented frustration with what they viewed as too slow a pace of fundraising and doorbelling by Liias.

There is no immediate fear of losing the seat to Republicans. The declared GOP candidate is an earnest 18-year-old Edmonds Community College student named Andrew Funk.

Yet this crowd is concerned the appearance of anything less than a dominating performance by Liias would give Republicans a slice of hope of winning future races. Hope is something that they’ve not had for the last few years.

This is a solid Democratic district. In 2006, no Republican ran for any of its three legislative seats.

Chapman is torn. On the one hand, he’s not lost his desire for the job and he’s still confident of winning. On the other hand, Chapman has said he wouldn’t run and going back on his word is not something he’s known for doing.

He sized it up this way: “The door is closed. There’s no lock on that door and if I come out I will come out firing.”

Liias doesn’t think the frustration stretches wide or deep within the party. He said he’s raising money, the campaign is gaining traction and as this all becomes clear, the doubt will subside and the recruiting will end.

“We’re doing fine,” he said.

Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon is five months into a second term and taking steps to win a third.

He’s formed a campaign committee for a run in 2011 and late last month held a $750-a-plate fundraiser, collecting in the neighborhood of $14,000 from roughly two dozen people in attendance.

Reardon described it as “a very small intimate dinner to talk about Snohomish County and where we’re going.”

Attendees came from the business, financial and building industries. Their names will be known when Reardon’s financial disclosure report becomes public next week.

Reardon is riding high. He won re-election in November with 65 percent of the vote, whipping Republican candidate and professional magician Jack Turk.

The county executive amassed $300,000 for the campaign and didn’t spend it all. He ended 2007 with about $45,000, which will likely get pledged toward the next run.

Political reporter Jerry Cornfield’s blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet.com. He can be heard at 8 a.m. Mondays on the Morning Show on KSER 90.7 FM. Contact him at 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.