Advisory committee recommends “final four” for County Council

An unusual late-night announcement from the King County Council. An advisory committee has narrowed down the list of 11 candidates seeking appointment to the Council seat given up by Dow Constantine when he became King County Executive last week. They are recommending four candidates be interviewed for Council District 8, which includes West Seattle and White Center. All four are current elected officials; two say they’ll run for the seat in November 2010, 34th District State Sen. Joe McDermott (the only West Seattleite in the quartet) and 11th District Rep. Zack Hudgins,, while the other two say they will not run for the “permanent” job – outgoing Seattle City Councilmember Jan Drago (who ran for mayor instead of for council re-election) and 34th District State Rep. Sharon Nelson. Read on for the full announcement and what happens next:

An Advisory Committee has completed interviews of 11 candidates seeking to fill the King County Council seat vacated by Dow Constantine upon his election as King County Executive. The Advisory Committee has recommended four candidates for consideration by the County Council.

The committee recommended two individuals who intend to run for the seat in the November 2010 general election:

· Rep. Zack Hudgins—State Representative from the 11th District
· Sen. Joe McDermott—State Senator from the 34th District

The committee also recommended two individuals who intend to serve in a caretaker capacity until the general election in November 2010:

· Jan Drago—A member of the Seattle City Council who is leaving the Council this year
· Rep. Sharon Nelson—State Representative from the 34th District

All four candidates recommended by the Committee will be interviewed next Monday at a meeting of the Council’s Committee-of-the-Whole:

Committee-of-the-Whole

Monday, December 7

9:30 a.m.

Council chambers

10th floor, King County Courthouse

The advisory committee was chaired by former Seattle Deputy Mayor and Municipal Court Judge Anne Levinson and Mark Okazaki, Executive Director of Neighborhood House, a human service agency with facilities in High Point and Greenbridge. They were joined on the 12-member advisory committee by community leaders and elected officials who live or work in Council District 8:

· Aileen Balahadia, Executive Director of the White Center Community Development Association,
· Steve Daschle, Executive Director of Southwest Youth and Family Services,
· Tom Dean, Executive Director of the Vashon/Maury Island Land Trust,
· David Johnson, CEO of NAVOS, a mental health care facility that provides housing,
· Joan McGilton, Mayor of Burien
· Patti Mullen, CEO, West Seattle Chamber of Commerce
· Behnaz Nelson, co-chair of the King County Coalition of Unions
· Kathy Nyland, chair of the Georgetown Merchants Association and chair of the City Neighborhood Association
· Doug Osterman, Normandy Park City Councilmember
· Chris Porter, business owner and a nurse practitioner who is active on park and recreation issues.

Co-Chairs Levinson and Okazaki said the committee represented a diversity of perspectives and experiences and took to heart the charge from the Council to forward a slate of candidates who would best serve the needs of the County and District 8.

“We had a remarkable pool of applicants and appreciated the number of people willing to step forward to serve. The finalists each bring experience and understanding of the complex array of issues facing the County. Each would hit the ground running and be a very effective addition to the Council,” said Levinson and Okazaki.

The committee’s criteria for evaluation of candidates included:

· Knowledge of the functions of King County government;
· Knowledge of the issues and challenges facing King County government;
· Knowledge of the issues affecting the constituents of Council District 8;
· A demonstrated ability to develop a responsible budget;
· A demonstrated ability to respond to public concerns; and
· Demonstrated leadership skills.

The County Council has final authority for making the appointment. The Council is expected to take action by Monday, December 14, the last Council meeting of 2009.

Alvis December 3, 2009 (11:03 pm)

Considering she lives downtown and not in the county district she’d be representing, why the heck is Jan Drago on the short list of contenders?

WS is center of universe, but there is more December 3, 2009 (11:15 pm)

The 8th Council District includes Pioneer Square where Jan Drago lives.

wseye December 4, 2009 (8:37 am)

Jan Drago has 16 years of experience as a city Councilmember, she knows West Seattle very well. Drago is being considered as one of the interim candidates, who would be appointed just to fill in the gap before the 2010 election – which is not very long from now. She would be a strong choice if that is the way this appointment process goes. That would allow for an open election process for Dow’s real successor, probably the most democratic way of handling this.

Suits are not boring December 4, 2009 (9:35 am)

For what it is worth, I would love to see Sharon Nelson in that role. She has worked in that office for several years and then as the State Rep from the 34th. I think she would be terrific!

madashell December 10, 2009 (12:23 pm)

Joe McDermott has my full support. He stood up for our children with autism when he supported a bill mandating medical insurance coverage for autism and other developmental disabilities.

Sharon Nelson backed a worthless compromise that shortchanged children who need intensive therapy for developmental disbailities so that they grow into an independent adulthood. This went against the rising tide in our nation for fair and equal coverage of autism spectrum disorders. Boo Hiss!

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