Election 2011: Diana Toledo launches 2nd County Council campaign

With three months till the primary, and candidate forums and campaign kickoffs starting to intensify, we’re stepping up coverage of the 2011 election. Last night at the Admiral Theater, West Seattleite Diana Toledo launched her second campaign for King County Council District 8 (which includes West Seattle and White Center), with an all-ages party, friends and family chatting in the theater’s loft, while little ones brought by partygoers romped down on the main floor. Toledo says she chose the venue to support a local business that could use more patrons.

Among those at the party was Tim Fahey, one of the three other candidates that ran for the office last year. You’ll see him in our clip from the short speech Toledo gave last night:

Toledo is a former King County employee who says her experience inside county government will help her reform it (here’s her online bio). The candidate to whom Toledo lost in last year’s general election, now-King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, is the only other declared candidate so far; he has a kickoff party scheduled next week. The official filing period opens this Friday for candidates filing by mail. (Wondering why there’s another election so soon after the last one? That was for the remainder of the term that had been won by Dow Constantine before he moved up to King County Executive two years ago, so this time a full 4-year council term is up for grabs.)

Ken May 19, 2011 (4:57 am)

Not a Democrat or progressive in any way. Stealth Republican taking advantage of the fairly well known Asian communities misunderstanding of the term “Non Partisan”.

Thanks for the list of endorsements Diane since some of the businesses on the list had not come out as wingnuts to be avoided before.

OP May 19, 2011 (7:34 am)

@Ken. Stealth Republican? Oh Lord, what the heck is that? Her politics are pretty clear. BTW, your demagogue skirt is showing, sport.

Ed May 19, 2011 (8:15 am)

Geez…Ken you make the rest of the zealots look moderate….or are you just shilling for her opponents.
Great idea..lets boycott anyone who supports local politics and doesn’t agree with you.
I did get a chuckle out or You calling someone else a “wingnut”.

Ken May 19, 2011 (8:48 am)

In case you had not noticed before…. Yes I am part of the militant center. A hard core Democrat more liberal than progressive :) (note the militant part is not just because I believe the second amendment is pretty clear and I own and know how to use a variety of firearms)

I really do appreciate republican and libertarian business owners outing themselves (we all know Salty’s is owned by a loon)so I can make sure and vote with my feet every day and not have to wait on election day.

Anyone else want to make sure they don’t get any of my business?

Speak up :)

I am willing to argue any position I support and will do so on the forums on this site. Look for the forum called “politics”.

John May 19, 2011 (9:22 am)

Hey Ken, this is W.Seattle – or at least it used
to be. Civility reigns here and interjecting comments about owning guns doesn’t impress, or scare anyone.

You’be probably be very happy in East Germany of the 1980’s, keeping tab on the political views of your neighbors and businesses.

Go out and get some sun, and chill out.

JC May 19, 2011 (9:37 am)

Toledo came across as a Repiblican-at-heart in the last campaign. Maybe this time around she’ll try harder to conceal it, as it didn’t go over very well before.

Ken May 19, 2011 (9:54 am)

BTW I am also not shy about explaining why I am (and have explained it to Diane face to face) supporting Joe McDermott in this race.
I can’t think of any position he has taken as my 34th district Rep or Senator in the decade he has served the people of the 34th, that I have even mildly disagreed with.
I feel he represents me on the King county council and will continue to do so.

If you feel differently then this is the place to whip it out :) There are lots of 34th district voters reading this site that don’t feel the need to comment.

WSB May 19, 2011 (10:05 am)

Hey all, a word from the management. Politics tends to lead to more passionate comments/debate, which is great, but stick to the politics, not to personal traits or behavior. Thanks. – TR

ignorance May 19, 2011 (10:29 am)

I would like to hear specifically what McDermott has done that benefits all of us. If a person is anti-Diane, what specifically has Diane advocated that is negative for the majority of the population? It is factual information we need in order to vote responsibly, not personal opinions. State the facts and let people make up their own mind as to who is a wingnut, donut, or just a plain nut. It does not take a genius to figure out that blatant attacks on a person or a person’s beliefs is not going to sway anyone else’s opinion — but is only perceived as preaching to the choir. If you want to persuade, you have to be diplomatic and willing to see that your won views will certainly not be held as representative of all people’s and will certainly not be seen as beneficial to their lives.

Ed May 19, 2011 (10:34 am)

Lets see how this works. Two Democrats running and the supporters of one libel his opponent and call her a republican..LOL.
Her supporters are “wingnuts” and “loons” according to Ken who also wants us to know he has lots of guns and knows how to use them..disgusting.
I am convinced by their posts. Actually had no thoughts about the race before this.
I just sent Toledo a contribution. (really) Never would have done that without the input from her opponents.

Ken May 19, 2011 (11:09 am)

One Democrat is running. On her own website Diane self describes as “Non Partisan/Independent”. In King county politics that is like tattooing “Far right Republican” on your forehead. This being Seattle, I have a pretty good Idea that Diane is not a far right republican. Seattle republicans that want to get elected have to come off a bit more moderate than Inhofe or Ryan to even get the Republican vote here.

Issues: Diane offers the same vague platitudes and dog whistle code on her website as she did on the voters pamphlet in 2007. Fiscal responsibility = dog whistle for no taxes except for cops and prisons, Jobs = no red tape restraining the businesses just waiting to rain down Good Jobs on the masses = libertarian paradise where there are no regulations on “bidness” , and “Safe Streets” = see taxes for cops/prisons only.

When she advocates even ONE item from the democratic party platforms from the last decade, then we can consider Diane’s “Democratic credentials”.

Low information voters are the target here and it seems she has hooked a few today. Good luck :)

SpringChild May 19, 2011 (11:18 am)

When she introduced herself to me last election, she immediately described herself as an Independent. Because King County has such a huge percentage of voters siding with Democratic views, often labeling yourself as an Independent raises flags as someone who is hiding a more Conservative agenda in order to gain votes. I’d like to hear what about her future agenda properly places her in the Moderate category of the scale. I do believe she is more likely to be labeled a closeted Republican unless she makes that clearer.
Note: There is nothing wrong with being Left, Center, or Right. I just think that candidates who label themselves as Independent or Moderate need to be clearer in their viewpoints so that people understand exactly who/what they are voting for. By labeling yourself Republican/Democrat, instantly people have an idea of the candidates viewpoints. Running as an Independent takes more work. I hope anyone who runs in that direction is up for the job.

Ken May 19, 2011 (11:20 am)

From the horses mouth: more under the issues tab

http://joemcdermott.org/issues/jobs-and-economic-development/

http://joemcdermott.org/issues/annexation/

http://joemcdermott.org/issues/budget/

Note neither candidate has fully updated their web site for the new campaign

Kjb May 19, 2011 (11:22 am)

At least call her by her real name…Diana people!

charlabob May 19, 2011 (2:12 pm)

Thank you, Ken — I figured this one out last time but I appreciate your directness. Always have and always will. I’m pretty sure all the folks who emphasize “politeness and civility” are R’s too — it’s the code that kept many D’s and further leftists buried in various closets for years.

AlkiAl May 19, 2011 (3:00 pm)

It’s hilarious to see Joe McDermott’s henchmen back on the payroll and out peddling the same deceit was saw last campaign. Calling Diana a closet republican is just ridiculous. She was the only one fighting for minority and senior communities last cycle, while Joe was fighting to raise property taxes and drive people from their homes. Top that off with 10 years that Joe in the Legislature and Senate where he ignore funding repair of the South Park Bridge, and it’s obvious who is fighting for the people (Diana) and who is fighting for special interests. Joe fooled us last time, in 2011 we’ll get it right!

My two cents ... May 19, 2011 (3:13 pm)

I would like to see her go into more depth with respect to the “how” she will address the issues she has identified. What specific plans will she support? What cuts will she advocate? How does she identify what is inefficient. She hits the right buttons for a lot of people, but I want depth from my elected leaders.

Genesee hill May 19, 2011 (4:48 pm)

Diana has as much chance of carrying West Seattle as Ellen Craswell did some years ago. None. That is a good thing!

WestSeattleRocks May 19, 2011 (7:13 pm)

I’ve talked to a lot of people who feel Joe McDermott fooled them last time around. Many thought he was related to Jim McDermott. Now that people know who Joe really is, that he’s not related to Jim, and have been able to see him in action (or inaction, thus far), he’ll have a tougher time getting votes.

WestSeattleRocks May 19, 2011 (7:22 pm)

I wasn’t going to comment on it, but that comment by Ken about Asian communities lack of understand about what non-partisan means just really rubs me the wrong way.

We’re so tired and disgusted by the elitest attitudes.

Hard to believe we have that type of hate alive in West Seattle.

redblack May 19, 2011 (8:39 pm)

yeah, well, all i needed to know about toledo was her catch phrase from the last election:
.
“responsible reform.”
.
fail.
.
that’s republican code-speak for “cut taxes and social spending.”

Ivan Weiss May 19, 2011 (9:18 pm)

AlkiAl says, above:
–
“It’s hilarious to see Joe McDermott’s henchmen back on the payroll and out peddling the same deceit was saw last campaign. Calling Diana a closet republican is just ridiculous.”
–
Uh, Al, there’s nothing “closet” about her. She’s an out-front Republican, endorsed by Republican County Council members Reagan Dunn and Kathy Lambert. This is according to Diana’s own web site.
–
Nobody’s fooled, Al. Joe more than doubled her vote last time around and we’re shooting for 70 percent this time. Beat us if you can — but I’m betting you can’t.

John May 19, 2011 (11:15 pm)

I’ll be voting for Diana Toledo, and hope others will too. Democrats are working against my financial interests, and they will continue to turn West Seattle into a little pond for elitist – yes, elitist – limosine liberals.

AlkiAl May 20, 2011 (12:05 pm)

I’m confused about trying to label Diana Toledo as a Republican? How do you explain the endorsements from David Della, Jack Block,Shawn McEvoy and other prominent Dems? I think it’s pretty clear that Diana is exactly what she says she is, “Non-Partisan” and working with Dems and Reps to get the job done. Keep up the good work Diana!

Mannix May 21, 2011 (10:58 am)

Seriously? The Toledo camp is still making the specious argument that Joe McDermott beat Diana Toledo because people thought he was Jim McDermott?

Joe won by a huge margin last year and will win bigger this time because people know he’s Joe McDermott–a tested, experienced champion of the people of Southwest Seattle and nearby communities.

Sorry, comment time is over.