For those of us who really like Ron Sims, yet were dreading the prospect of a campaign for a fourth term as King County Executive, his announcement today that he has accepted the number two position at the Department of Housing and Urban Development is a welcome relief.
Fourth terms are difficult for executives to win at all levels of government, as voters and the media tend to grow weary of their executives in a way we don’t seem to grow weary of legislators. It would have been a difficult campaign, and he might have lost, and I’m not sure Ron’s heart was really in it in the first place. And so this plum position at HUD—overseeing the day-to-day operations of a department with a $39 billion budget and 8,500 employees—is exactly the kind of graceful exit Ron deserves, and for which many of his friends and supporters had hoped.
So congratulations Ron. (And congratulations to Publicola for sticking with this scoop even while Sims’ office vehemently denied it.)
UPDATE:
From the HUD press release :
"Ron’s track record as an innovative leader with an exciting vision for the future of our nation’s communities make him the perfect Deputy Secretary candidate as we tackle the nation’s housing crisis amidst the biggest economic downturn in decades," said HUD Secretary, Shaun Donovan. "His experience at the helm of a large urban government provides a critical perspective and his collaborative approach to problem-solving has prepared him to effectively lead HUD’s operations as the agency charts a new aggressive course."
[…] "I am thrilled and honored that Ron has agreed to be considered for this role," added Donovan. "He is the perfect person to help HUD return to national leadership on metropolitan planning. Together, we will work with President Obama to ensure HUD is doing all it can to help the nation’s communities recover from today’s economic realities and to better position them for the future."
The position is a great fit for Rom Sims, and vice versa.
I don’t think he would have been offered any higher a position in what might have been a Clinton Administration.
Interesting — Sound Politics already has 23 comments posted on their Ron Sims story of this morning, whereas Horse’s Ass is only up to 1 comment as I am typing this. Why are our readers being quiet on this subject?
I would agree with Ron Sims on appointing a caretaker for this position. But I am afraid that Larry Phillips will be able to get the five King County Council votes that he needs to take this position. Bob Ferguson might not be inclined to support Phillips, as he has ambitions of his own for the job. But the other four members (including Phillips) who were elected as Democrats will probably support Phillips. And with the probable support of Jane Hague — who is tremendously grateful to Phillips for discouraging all of the stronger Democrats from running for her position, and then backing her over the two Democrats who did run — Phillips will have the five votes necessary to immediately take over as County Executive upon Sims’ departure and have the leg up going into this year’s election for the next four year term.
@2
Dirty little secret……
SP gets more traffic.
Sound PoliticsSite Summary
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Total 8,481,529
Average Per Day 4,478
Average Visit Length 2:38
Last Hour 473
Today 2,902
This Week 31,349
HorsesAss.orgSite Summary
VISITS
Total 3,238,623
Average Per Day 1,980
Average Visit Length 2:51
Last Hour 195
Today 982
This Week 13,863
I guess Goldy would say about Stefan…
Bitch stole my fish…
I’d gladly see the Senate censure Chris Dodd for breaking Senate rules, as long as we then get to bring Dick Cheney, Don Rumsfeld, and George W. Bush to trial for breaking this country’s laws against torture.
– Has that parasite ever had a private sector job?
– I have my own scoop. Goldy holds back on criticizing powerful local Dems he doesn’t much care for because one day he’s going to run for local public office himself, and he doesn’t want to piss off the Party.
Does this mean I get my land back that was put off limits by the CAO?
Troll @6,
Nothing would piss off the party more than me actually running for office.
I just hope the next County Executive doesn’t also think he’s entitled by divine right to an endless stream of taxpayer money.
@3 Does thaoe numbers reflect unique visits, or the toddlers who visit Stefan’s pathetic little blog repeatedly hitting the “refresh” key?
@4 Exactly how many Republicans did Stefan help elect this last cycle?
HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR
@6 Are you forgetting that it was private sector parasites who brought down the economy? Thanks to the practitioners of laissez-faire capitalism — the Ayn Rand types — for the next several years, at least, government employees will be the nation’s most productive and valuable workers.
@7 No.
@9 Don’t forget the Port of Seattle staff. They like to piss away your money, too.
5. Daddy Love spews:
You are pathetic. The Country is in deep shit and Obama has a Porkulous Package on the table that is filled with so much pork you can hear it oink…and you are worried about this??
The antidote for the Kool-Aid is to put your dick in vice and keep turning it until the pain flushes out your smegma-laded PINHEAD.
You KLOWNS have no desire to see the Country move forward…obviously.
You are Obama’s nightmare!
Let us know how that “dick in the vice” treatment works Daddy Love.
I thought you were a cheerleader for moving on & honest in government…like Geithner, Daschle, Richardson, Rangel…right?
Sims has worn out his welcome and is leaving at a time when his constituents must endure an average 6.16% Property Tax increase and declining services. Thanks for the going away gift Ron!
Don’t let the door hit you in that government built fat ass of yers.
@15 I can understand why people like you prefer that everyone forget about the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the criminals you voted for.
15 Cyn, this country, and the world for that matter, can ill afford any more of you and your ilk’s brand of “forward”. It’s time to stomp the clutch and put the sumbitch in reverse!
@16 It so happens his constituents voted for those tax increases, not to mention the fact they elected him 3 times. You are too funny!
@18 I’d say they’ve been driving in reverse since, oh, about 1885. And back in 1885, they were nostalgic for 1835.
The CHEAP LABOR CONSERVATIVES have never gotten over the abolition of slavery, and have been making-do ever since.
Does anyone else think it quite arrogant for a man to encourage appointing a caretaker who won’t seek the office in November when he, himself, was appointed Executive by Locke and then ran for subsequent terms?
“The antidote for the Kool-Aid is to put your dick in vice and keep turning it until the pain flushes out your smegma-laded PINHEAD.”
I can only conclude that this treatment is something Cynical has experimented with himself.
Sigh! I’m sure someone has mentioned this already but by all appearances, it doesn’t seemed to have worked for you, Cynical. Maybe if you try again.
Goldy @ 8
Nothing would piss off the party more than me actually running for office.
How about changing “nothing” to “almost nothing”?
Under Sims’ reign, did homelessness in King County increase or decrease? HUD is the federal agency that deals most directly with issues of homelessness.
re 25: What programs do you propose that would remedy the situation?
re 24: Good one! That kind of self-effacing humor is what we need more of.
Once you are tagged with ‘perrenial candidate’, it’s hard to get serious attention.
@26
Honestly? I think we should sell our homeless people to China to use in their labor camps.
Wrong. There was no “scoop” nor was Josh “first”.
Aimee Curl wrote about Sims’ federal ambitions in her cover story for the Seattle Weekly on Nov. 25.
Goodbye Mr. Sims
Oh and by the way, as you go to the other Washington, don’t forget to clean up up your little PDC violation…..
SP has a post with a complaint filed by Toby Nixon…
http://soundpolitics.com/Sims%.....eb2009.pdf
Just more “Change we can believe in”!!
@10
Does that not apply to HA as well?
Hey right wing dick suckers – UNSound Politics might get more traffic – but Democrats – WE GET MORE FUCKING VOTES! SUCK ON IT BITCHES!
And if your nightmare wasn’t bad enough – it just got worse. Prepare to see your inbred heroes perp walked to the joint!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28977896/
It’s a great day in America and the traitors on the right cannot do one fucking thing about it. The whole world is laughing at them!
One thing is for sure: Sims will do a heckuva lot better than the corrupt right winger Bush installed as Deputy Secretary when he was first elected:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04.....038;st=nyt
Curiously, when there is real corruption – as opposed to idiotic conspiracy theories and conjecture – Troll, Mr. Cynical, Don Ward and RightStuff are all silent.
@33
If he is corrupt (Jackson) then he’ll have to face the music. Good ridance.
There is a difference however, Sims is now going in under PDC investigation….
We’ll all have to wait and see what transpires during his time in DC.
And one final thought, I bet less than .01% of adults in the US follow this selection or office…..It’s only an issue becuase we live here…..
So no, not ignoring anything…
Thank god we won’t have to suffer that human trash heap here anymore…he can be a fuck up in DC now.
re 28: What would be the selling point? They have more than enough cheap labor.
Maybe we could grind them up, apply poison to the mess, process it, and sell it as Soylent Green: “It’s better! It’s people!”
Good riddance! Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll take that chubby fat-ass Nickels with him.
Sims and his PDC violation will endear him to the Obama Administration.
Just think –
3 Lobbyists inside which breaks his executive order. I guess them Obama executive orders have no meat. Where’s Da Beef?
Tim Geithner forgets to pay his taxes
Tom Daschle forgets to pay his taxes
Will I get a pass on my “tax embarrassment”?
Cynical
That’s why I called him Ron Tax To The Max Sims!
Daschle’s tax problem is that he didn’t report free service driving him around as income.
Do you think that there may be others in congress who might have done that.
Tit for tat.
In the case of Republicans: Dick for Diapers.
@3: so if HorsesAss gets less traffic, why does Goldy charge more for his ads?
from BlogAds.com:
http://www.soundpolitics.com/
Top ads, right column $50
Estimated ad impressions: 63,414
http://www.horsesass.org/
PREMIUM: Top Left $125
Estimated ad impressions: 29,639
Top Left Column $75
Estimated ad impressions: 29,606
I’m really laughing at these right wingers dinging Dems for being behind on their taxes.
Is there a single right wing nut around who has never resented paying taxes or dragged their feet on paying up?
Not too many I’d think. It’s practically the sole reason (beyond wanting women in chains) that they’re right wing in the first place!
@41
It may be because Goldy depends a bit more on this site for his income than the writers at SP.
Pud and Right- it is not a violation, it is a complaint. And the complaint is that a link to a link advocates for a candidate. A bit of a reach.
HAs clueless moron just doesn’t get it. Well… has he ever?
If a Republican was caught illegally not paying their taxes like Geithner or Daschle; Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, Charlie Gibson, Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer, Matt Lauer, Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, etc. would be screaming it all over the networks.
Goldy would be posting worthless YouTubes of KeithO. StillBentOverKissingHisAss would be trumpeting KeithO’s puny ratings. rerun(the reason of this post) would still have his thumb up his ass. Pelletizer would still make stupid statements. And Goldy’s cheerleaders would still be as stupid as ever.
That’s the difference clueless idiot. Another issue went over his clueless head.
At least Sims isn’t a lobbyist.
To date Obama has broken his executive order 17 times. Obama has appointed 17 lobbyists after talking big on anti-lobbyist governance. He said he would lead the charge, rooting corruption out of the US government.
Well that’s what Dr Correctnotright told us last week. He was transforming guvmint. Yeah right!
@41 Didn’t I see your ads here at HA? Why would you pay more to advertise here than at that other site?
Remember when the head Oreo Puffybutt quotes a figure – the source is ALWAYS bullshit – some right wing blog or right wing “news” source.
But NOBODY can controvert the fact that Democrats won the most votes for the White House on Nov 4 and PRESIDENT OBAMA rules. Right wingers suck ass.
@12
Gov’t workers don’t “produce” anything. They’re like grease in a bearing. Too little and it runs dry, just right and it works as intended, too much and it traps heat and burns up.
You could fire 1/2 the GS-13’s and above and the Government would work a whole lot better.
BentOverKissingHisAss@48:
Why don’t you Google it and prove me wrong fool?
Because when you do you’ll be entering the coprophagia zone again…
good thing sims is leaving because maple valley is ready to vote him out of office for screwing us over with his “donut hole” fiasco. thanks for helping to cripple our city, sims!