June 22, 2005
Challenge to Sims from the Left

Green Party activist Gentry Lange has announced that he is running against Ron Sims for County Executive. His platform includes "Voting Reform", which just goes to show that clean elections is a universal issue (except perhaps to those who think that one-party rule is a good idea for its own sake).

Not that I see Lange as a credible alternative to David Irons. But those who are disgusted with Ron Sims yet don't feel comfortable voting for a Republican for some reason should be pleased that they have a progressive alternative to Ron Sims.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at June 22, 2005 02:14 PM | Email This
Comments
1. Great,

Except under the top-2 primary, unless invalidated, he won't appear on the November ballot. Maybe the judge will fashion a remedy to let him advance to November.

I don't live in King County, but I think Sims could be vulnerable to an internal challenge among the Democratic PCO's. When is their convention?

Posted by: b2 on June 22, 2005 02:28 PM
2. If Gentry Lange pulls votes from Sims, this could help David Irons. I hope this is what happens.

Posted by: Hopeful on June 22, 2005 02:28 PM
3. YES!!!

Gentry Lange AKA the Spoiler. Just what David Irons needs to steal the lib vote away from Sims. Just keeps getting better. In fact, I would even vote for Lange over Sims given no other choice.

Posted by: Jeffro on June 22, 2005 02:31 PM
4. All Six of me registered in King county would vote for Attilla the Hun before voting for Ron Sims.

Once you know the rules, You too can win the Game!

Posted by: GS on June 22, 2005 02:35 PM
5. I meant Lange would steel lib votes from Sims. Sorry, too excited. LOL

Posted by: Jeffro on June 22, 2005 02:38 PM
6. SS: "...a progressive alternative..."

Shark, Shark, Shark...

PLEASE don't perpetuate the Left's delusion that their ideas are in ANY way "progressive."

Posted by: Mark on June 22, 2005 02:44 PM
7. GS

Just wanted to warn you, since liberals have no sense of humor and can't grasp sarcasm/irony they will probably take legal action against you as they will believe you registered six times.

By the way, why stop at six, I plan on registering at least a dozen times.

Posted by: Jeffro on June 22, 2005 02:44 PM
8. Sims not win? I'm not so sure...Jim McDermott wins in a landslide in Seattle, so Sims must be a shoe in.

Posted by: Disgusted on June 22, 2005 02:44 PM
9. McDermott only wins because no one has been effective at stripping the hateful varnish off of him. McDermott is an emperor...and if you can get the right candidate, McDermott will have no clothes to speak of.

Anyone want to try and force McDermott's hand?

Posted by: Sailor Republica on June 22, 2005 03:01 PM
10. Well, let's hope the top two primary gets struck down.

If it does, this is not a another nail in Sims' coffin, it's another FISTFUL of nails in his coffin.

Go Green Go!

Posted by: Cliff on June 22, 2005 03:31 PM
11. Ha! A 'green' challenger to Sims. Just what the doctor ordered for the Irons campaign and they didn't have to lift a finger for it. Love it

Posted by: Michele on June 22, 2005 04:01 PM
12. I don't care WHO runs--I'll adopt the leftie plan--"ends" (Sims out)--justifies the "means" (Home Training Party candidate landslide). Hopefully the voting dilution will not harm the others.

Can we outsource the counting and audited certifications to Reader's Digest Sweeps?

Posted by: Jimmie-howya-doin on June 22, 2005 05:17 PM
13. Jeffro, you are correct, I will register 106 times and vote 106 times! Who says a republican can't learn from Democrats!

Posted by: GS on June 22, 2005 06:18 PM
14. I DO like some of Lange's election reforms, particularly the one where you automatically get a re-vote/run-off if the margin of error exceeds margin of victory. Republicans want that too, of course. It would serve as a good incentive for elections officals to get it right the first time! (what a concept)

Posted by: Michele on June 22, 2005 06:24 PM
15. I don't think Ron Sims has support from his own party these days! He certainly doesn't have the media in his pocket right now...

I wonder what the Dems are up to with regard to the KC Exec race? I'm not seeing the usual sales job and spin to promote their guy...

Maybe they know that certain eyes are waiting to catch them in the act this time during the November election.......Nah! They will try to cheat again anyway! They can't help themselves....
Go ahead! Make our day...

Posted by: Deborah on June 22, 2005 07:30 PM
16. Shark opined, "except perhaps to those who think that one-party rule is a good idea for its own sake"

Such as your own Timothy Goddard who makes the case here, http://www.soundpolitics.com/archives/004642.html, that with a Republican majority in both houses of Congress, and a Republican President, we really need to eliminate the "political imbalance" of having Democrats in the majority in Washington state.

Yes, two-party systems are most inconvenient. Goddard's statement is just about an endorsement of a one party system.

Posted by: Daniel K on June 22, 2005 09:07 PM
17. "Goddard's statement is just about an endorsement of a one party system."

Nice job of intentionally ignoring the facts as presented to you.

Timothy patiently explained the phrase in its context but you want things to mean what you want things to mean, regardless of reality.

It truly must suck to be you.....

Posted by: alphabet soup on June 22, 2005 09:42 PM
18. Sims is a loser. Are the people of Seattle going to see the light and not continue to elect losers ? Maybe this is a ray of hope - vote for the Green Party. The rest of King County will have a majority vote against Sims.

Get the petitions ready for Cascade County anyway, because there will be a big outcry for it if the loser gets reelected !

Posted by: KS on June 22, 2005 10:52 PM
19. You know that nutjob leftist wacko Bush-hating freak at work? This is the kind of guy you pitch this green candidate to. here's how you do it:

* Ron sims is a stooge of President Bush and Karl Rove. He bought the machines SPECIFICALLY so he can throw the election for Rossi. I mean, he HATES Gregoire because she totally ignored him in the primaries. (Trust me, they'll buy this crap.)
* Ron Sims doesn't give a flying wiz for the environment. Ask yourself: While Ron Sims was Exec, what has happened to make the place greener? All I see is more cars, more roads, and more garbage. (They buy this crap too.)
* It's time for a change. We don't need someone who is willing to throw the election TO A REPUBLICAN because he got hurt in the primaries. We don't need someone who talks about the environment but won't do anything about it. We need a really green candidate.

(Remember, every vote for the Green is 1/2 a vote for Irons.)

Posted by: Jonathan Gardner on June 22, 2005 11:31 PM
20. Jonathan and others- Funny stuff!

I just had a thought, the dems may put Paul Allen on the ticket. It will be much easier for his buddy, Nickels to give him all sorts of land, stadiums, museums, street cars, buildings... plus he could steel additional land in rural KC (CAO). It is also going to be easier for this billionaire and his mayer pal to take your home based on the Supreme Court ruling on the matter that I read just this morning.

Just a thought.

Posted by: Jeffro on June 23, 2005 09:01 AM
21. I for one would like to see a fresh face in the Seattle political swamp. The Emerald City is becoming a morass of traffic gridlock, the Puget Sound is a killing field for aquatic life, and what used to be a paridise is becoming a polluted nightmare. Why not elect someone with a deep concern for the environment. A lifelong republican from Wyoming, I have now started looking at the Green Party as not only a good option, but perhaps the ONLY real solution to a floundering government with hands tied to big corporations. Hooray for the young man with a plan! Three cheers for his courage in the face of impending disaster!

Posted by: Taylor on June 23, 2005 09:19 AM
22. "A lifelong republican from Wyoming...."

Yea right....

Posted by: alphabet soup on June 23, 2005 09:51 AM
23. Jeffro—
Right. The Supreme Ct. ruling about property scares me. I wonder if kasinos will use it to acquire land “benefiting the public.” This on the heels of a Times article that Sno. County WA’s CAO will be “tougher” than King Co. yet “accommodating” or “balanced.”

Remember Grammy’s posting here at SP and her 48% increase in assessed “market” value? Will she get that same value in compensation if her property is acquired in a government “taking” now sanctioned by the U.S. Sup. Ct? Apparently, property owners are now the new evil class. Here is comes—“Eastern Bloc is just around the block.”

Posted by: Jimmie-howya-doin on June 23, 2005 10:43 AM
24. Yeah, the only time they assess your land at market value (or above) is so they can collect more taxes and/or price you out of your home. Watch the assessed value drop like a rock when it comes time for the next land grab.

Lemme see....property owners vs. state, county, city governments now the corporations and developers can claim your home and property (thanks to the sup. ct.). Never has the need for the second ammendment been so evident.

Keep in mind the only decenters were on the conservative end of the spectrum (except O'Connor) who must have forgotten to take her meds.

Posted by: Jeffro on June 23, 2005 11:07 AM
25. I've met Gentry Lange and I say he's the best. He's not your typical socialist Green at all. I'd say he's more Libertarian than anything else. In fact, he agrees that the CAO is a stupid law and needs to go. Irons, on the other hand, has waffled on the CAO and I question whether he's really interested in property rights at all.

Posted by: Morgan Catha on October 18, 2005 08:37 PM
26. I would encourage those concerned about the so-called spoiler issue to check out Instant Run-off Voting (IRV),a system which ensures a true majority by allowing students to rank their choices in order (1-2-3 etc.) If someone gets a majority of #1 votes they are elected.If not, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their votes are transfered to their second choice and so-on up the line until someone gets a majority.

With IRV folks could vote #1 for Gentry and #2 for Sims or whoever they prefer without fear. Fear based politics hasn't worked to make our country better, so instead of condemning people like Nader or Gentry let's work together to get rid of the spoiler system that discourages new ideas and more choices. IRV is a tried and true method; it is used in London, in Ireland , Australia and now in San Fransisco where it has recieved very good voter reviews.

The Greens and others are working to institute IRV in Washington and last year we won a small victory in the legislature by getting the right for Vancouver Washington to use IRV in their city elections on a trial basis. To find out more about IRV - the system that allows people to vote their hopes rather than their fears and how to make it happen in Washington- check out www.IRVWA.org

Thanks!
Joe Szwaja
Green PArty of Seattle

Posted by: Joe Szwaja on November 2, 2005 09:53 AM
27. I would encourage those concerned about the so-called spoiler issue to check out Instant Run-off Voting (IRV),a system which ensures a true majority by allowing students to rank their choices in order (1-2-3 etc.) If someone gets a majority of #1 votes they are elected.If not, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their votes are transfered to their second choice and so-on up the line until someone gets a majority.

With IRV folks could vote #1 for Gentry and #2 for Sims or whoever they prefer without fear. Fear based politics hasn't worked to make our country better, so instead of condemning people like Nader or Gentry let's work together to get rid of the spoiler system that discourages new ideas and more choices. IRV is a tried and true method; it is used in London, in Ireland , Australia and now in San Fransisco where it has recieved very good voter reviews.

The Greens and others are working to institute IRV in Washington and last year we won a small victory in the legislature by getting the right for Vancouver Washington to use IRV in their city elections on a trial basis. To find out more about IRV - the system that allows people to vote their hopes rather than their fears and how to make it happen in Washington- check out www.IRVWA.org

Thanks!
Joe Szwaja
Green PArty of Seattle

Posted by: Joe Szwaja on November 2, 2005 09:53 AM
28. I would encourage those concerned about the so-called spoiler issue to check out Instant Run-off Voting (IRV),a system which ensures a true majority by allowing students to rank their choices in order (1-2-3 etc.) If someone gets a majority of #1 votes they are elected.If not, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their votes are transfered to their second choice and so-on up the line until someone gets a majority.

With IRV folks could vote #1 for Gentry and #2 for Sims or whoever they prefer without fear. Fear based politics hasn't worked to make our country better, so instead of condemning people like Nader or Gentry let's work together to get rid of the spoiler system that discourages new ideas and more choices. IRV is a tried and true method; it is used in London, in Ireland , Australia and now in San Fransisco where it has recieved very good voter reviews.

The Greens and others are working to institute IRV in Washington and last year we won a small victory in the legislature by getting the right for Vancouver Washington to use IRV in their city elections on a trial basis. To find out more about IRV - the system that allows people to vote their hopes rather than their fears and how to make it happen in Washington- check out www.IRVWA.org

Thanks!
Joe Szwaja
Green PArty of Seattle

Posted by: Joe Szwaja on November 2, 2005 09:53 AM
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