Don’t ever call them losers.
Courageous, ambitious, willing to serve, that’s how I think of them.
Set aside political arguments — please.
Stop and think of those people, in years past and in recent days, who have lost elections. Think about how gutsy you’d have to be to enter a race in the first place. Think of all that goes into a campaign — hours, expense and personal sacrifice for a candidate and his or her family.
Then think of that first glimpse of returns on election night, when numbers show you’re losing. Think of taking it on the chin in such a public fashion. It has to really sting.
Former Snohomish County Sheriff Rick Bart hasn’t forgotten his 2008 roller-coaster ride when he challenged U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen for the 2nd District congressional seat. “I was doing what I thought was right,” Bart said Friday. “I knew it was a hope and a prayer, the chance to win.”
And when returns came in? “That night, I knew it was going to be bad,” said Bart, 62, a Republican who lost to Larsen.
“It’s a downer to lose,” said Fred Walser, the former Sultan police chief who in 2008 challenged Republican Val Stevens in the 39th District state Senate race. Stevens, R-Arlington, won her fourth term in that race.
“It’s always hard to lose when you devote so much time and energy in an election,” the 70-year-old Walser said. “It’s a lot of hours and a lot of people supporting you. And you feel like you’ve let them down.”
Once past that initial agony of defeat, some former candidates do find relief and even an upside in not winning.
For former Monroe Mayor Donnetta Walser, Fred Walser’s wife, the gift of loss has been time. In 2009, the two-term mayor lost her job to former Monroe City Council member Robert Zimmerman, Monroe’s current mayor.
On Friday, Donnetta Walser spent her day celebrating a birthday with some friends. As mayor, she said, “I would have had to rearrange my life to do that.
“I’ll tell you one thing, I did not realize the stress I was under. I sleep better and feel better now, and my blood pressure is down,” she said.
Donnetta Walser, who also served on the Monroe City Council, said that as mayor she spent 40 to 60 hours a week working. Losing her position has meant time to reconnect with friends, time to exercise, and time to serve on the board for Senior Services of Snohomish County.
Still, it’s tough to think of her loss a year ago. “I had been on the City Council, and I taught in Monroe for 27 years. I felt really vested in the community. I ran a positive campaign, and I’m not sorry. But it hurt,” she said.
In 2006, Republican Doug Roulstone challenged Larsen for the 2nd District seat. He suffered a big loss. “From my perspective, it was one of the best things I’ve ever done in my life,” said Roulstone, 60, of Snohomish.
A Navy veteran who’s in the aerospace business, Roulstone said that in seeking public office he met people he would never otherwise have encountered. “You end up seeing the whole picture. It’s such a rewarding process,” he said.
During the 2006 race, he had the chance to meet President George W. Bush and even ride with the president in a limousine to a political fundraiser in Bellevue. “It’s very humbling. Even to this day, I’ll introduce myself and someone will say, ‘I voted for you,’ ” said Roulstone, who remains politically active as chairman of the 44th Legislative District Republicans.
“I think everybody in America ought to serve their country at some point.”
Bart has known both victory and loss. “I’ve seen it from two perspectives,” said the former sheriff, who was first elected in 1995. He served a dozen years as sheriff, but couldn’t run again in 2007 because of term limits.
“When I won the first sheriff’s race, that next morning, I still remember TV reporters showing up. That was fun,” he said. “Looking in the mirror, I could not believe people voted for me — wow.”
Now retired, Bart has not ruled out another try at politics.
Dave Earling, a former Edmonds City Council member, ran an unsuccessful race against Aaron Reardon for Snohomish County executive in 2003 when term limits kept then-Executive Bob Drewel from running again.
Earling, 67, said both seeking and holding office bring rewards. During campaigns, he said, “I literally doorbelled 90 percent of the doors in Edmonds.” He is now on the state’s Growth Management Hearings Board for central Puget Sound and has been involved in transit issues.
“I’ve won and lost elections, and it’s definitely more fun to win,” Earling said.
Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460, muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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