Reardon a no-show at Edmonds debate

Published 3:12 pm Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Last month I went to the Mike Hope-Aaron Reardon debate at Edmonds Community College hosted by DJ Wilson, Edmonds City Council member, for broadcast on local cable TV. Wilson has been doing these for seven years for all the local candidates. I have been very interested in them and have attended many of them over the years.

To my shock there were almost no Democrats waiting to get in the hall beforehand. Well, when we got in I found out why. For the first time ever, a candidate, this time Aaron Reardon, was not there. I felt cheated for not only those there but for all the 120,000 homes and 250,000 voters who would not be able to watch them debate in their own homes. Wilson told me afterward that he had offered several dates and times but that Reardon was not interested.

Herald reporter Noah Haglund sat next to me and both us and several others got to ask questions of Hope, 44th District state representative and Seattle police officer, after Wilson’s fine interview. I wish that the whole polity of the county could have seen it. You got a very good look into the mind of Mike Hope, his vision and his program to pull us out of this terrible economic mess.

What really impressed me was his openness to deal with the majority in the Legislature and focus on getting things done without worrying about who got personal credit for it. He took questions from his left and right and responded in a way that most of us could both understand and agree with.

Douglas Kerley
Lynnwood