Keith Ervin summed up the race for King County executive quite nicely in the Seattle Times yesterday. Ervin listed a number of issues — the CAO, Southwest Airlines, and of course, KC Elections — that explain why the “GOP hopes Sims [is] vulnerable.”
And challenger David Irons’ campaign strategy?
County Councilman David Irons is betting these controversies will give the Republican Party he represents its best chance in more than a decade to win back the county’s top administrative job.
That’s right, Irons isn’t running on a resume or a platform, he’s simply running as “the Republican”… the guy who isn’t Sims. So perhaps what at first appears to be a meandering and ineffectual campaign, actually conceals a brilliant strategy. For the more he squanders campaign funds on takeout and balloons, the less opportunity he gives voters to really get to know him. And the less voters know Irons, the better the shot he has at defeating Sims in November.
Sure, Sims has some blotches on his record; every longtime executive does. Take Irons for example: as COO of Brigadoon.com, he oversaw operations of a huge dot.com failure that blew through tens of millions of dollars, leaving investors, vendors, employees and customers holding the bag. And Iron’s wants to make this a campaign about who can better manage the county’s bureaucracy? He couldn’t manage a well financed company, lauded at the time for its “brilliant” business plan… and we should trust him with a county of 2 million souls, a population larger than that of thirteen states?
Now I’m not saying Iron’s failed leadership at Brigadoon necessarily disqualifies him from the county executive’s office… but it doesn’t recommend him for the job either. And I’m not particularly impressed with his dot.com-like spending spree that has left his campaign coffers nearly empty, two months out from election day.
Sims campaign spokesman Christian Sinderman says Irons’ heavy spending shows “a clear lack of momentum and, frankly, poor financial management.”
The Sims campaign on the other hand, has not only raised more money, but spent substantially less; it’s $331,417 war chest is more than enough to set the record straight on his own accomplishments in office… which most impressively includes his unheralded success at keeping essential services functioning while closing a $135 million budget gap. Indeed, perhaps no government in Washington, state or local, managed to weather the recent economic downturn as smoothly and seamlessly as King County.
No doubt Sims has pissed off a lot of voters… for the same people who whine about the lack of leadership in this state are often the first to berate a politician as arrogant for daring to show some. And Sims willingness to lead has often made him a target of critics, from his championing of light rail to his strong push for the CAO, to his recent, unpopular effort to bring Southwest Airlines to Boeing Field. Leadership is about getting out in front on an issue you believe in, and then persuading, cajoling — even harassing — voters to come along with you. Call him arrogant if you want, but slavishly adhering to the “will of the people” isn’t leadership… it’s following.
So if this election was merely an up-or-down plebiscite on Sims’ job performance, perhaps he’s angered or disappointed enough constituents that he might lose. But it isn’t. This election is a choice between Ron Sims and David Irons, and voters will make their decision based on who they think is better qualified to run King County. And in the end, that is where Irons’ strategy will fail.
In a sense, this is one election where the Republicans really will have a cause for blaming Dean Logan for their defeat… for the moment KCRE prints Irons’ name on the ballot, is the moment he loses the election.
Goldy – make up you mind. Which is it?
‘That’s right, Irons isn’t running on a resume or a platform, he’s simply running as “the Republican”… the guy who isn’t Sims.’
OR
‘And Iron’s wants to make this a campaign about who can better manage the county’s bureaucracy?’
‘So if this election was merely an up-or-down plebiscite on Sims’ job performance, perhaps he’s angered or disappointed enough constituents that he might lose. But it isn’t.’
Goldy could have helped the Kerry campaign in 2004 with a slogan like that.
Yearight… welcome to the real world, where we have choices. The GOP failed to put up a viable candidate… even Irons seems to know that.
Even I don’t agree with Ron on every issue. (SW Airlines, for example.) But I’m willing to look at the big picture, and the big picture is that overall, Ron has done an excellent job. Irons on the other hand, hasn’t even been an outstanding councilman, so I fail to see what recommends him for the job.
3..Right…….More voter fraud for Seattle [Harare], WASH!!!
Goldy 3
I agree. A campaign that focuses on ‘the guy who isn’t NAME’ is usually going to fail. That is why I used the Bush/Kerry example.
I happen to like David and intend to vote for him (SURPRISE!, but even if I didn’t, I’d vote for a dead jellyfish as long as it’s “the guy who isn’t Sims”… you know… that guy who’s the asinus asinorum in saecula saeculorum of Corrupt County
What? Goldy sez “Ron has done an excellent job”
At what Goldy? Let’s see or hear your list of things he has done so well. This I just have to see! From a King County EMS and law enforcement point of view, we nearly all can’t wait for him to be history. And you don’t even want find out what anybody thinks of him outside of Capitol Hill, Fremont and Wallingford.
“Sims has mailed a flier to voters around the county labeling Irons “a George Bush-Dick Cheney conservative who wants to bring his right-wing agenda to King County government.”
HaHaHa, $350K in the bank and the best he’s got is the tried and failed “Bush bad-vote for me” Like I said, good luck outside of downtown Seattle with that and his protect the whales plan and desire to spend another 70 million after he blew 40 million earlier.
Goldy@3
You need an other hit on your bong.Care to explain the excellent
job.Why dont you start with elections.
Thank god I don’t live in King County.
By comparing Irons to Bush, Sims appears to be running from his own record. Which in the long run I don’t think is all that bad. okay he’s as much to blame for the poor election department as bush is for the NOLA aftermath
He would have made a better governor than the one we got stuck with. At least he had the balls to speak the truth about what this state needs concerning our tax structure. I would have voted for him instead of Rossi on that issue alone.
Dean Logan IS an incompetent, arrogant, self-serving asshole. He should be thrown to the sharks immediately; along with that fat-ass crybaby Paul Berendt. If the Dems. want to restore faith in their party, new blood is needed. Just a suggestion.
I like David too, but I can’t vote for him.
Sims is a far better candidate – and has always been a more effective elected official than David.
David may have had a chance for my vote had he done more to publically distance himself from the nuttier-than-a-fruitcake-fundamentalist christian wing of the GOP. He never has in any major way. And he’s had plenty of opportunity.
At his best, Ron Sims is an outstanding executive. He’s had a bad run. But he deserves re-election. And he’ll win handily.
thor
You guys are beond help have at it its your wasted tax dollars.votefor Simms and all he has done to screw King county and you guys love him.Gus there is something to getting screwed my old Chief to me as long as you dont take money they cant call you a whore
A word about Sims…
You often tout Sims’ ‘leadership’ , but you let him off the hook about the issues he’s out in front and ON THE WRONG SIDE of. Southwest’s move to Boeing Field, for instance. Do you think it’s a good idea? Not one post that I can see about it.
Sims rightly should be taking a beating on this because it’s really bad for a whole lot of people, and it’s really good for Southwest Airlines, and I guess Sims’ ever expanding county empire.
I don’t really get the politics of this. What’s the upside? Why would Sims want to screw over the neighborhoods of Georgetown, Beacon Hill, West Seattle, and Magnolia just so Southwest can benefit? The only thing I can come up with is that it adds to Sims’ power relative to the Port, and perhaps Seattle.
I live on Beacon Hill, and I have tangled with the Port and KCIA/Boeing Field regarding flight tracks in the past. The bullshit about ‘quiet jets’ that Southwest is pushing ought to be dismissed out of hand. Right now UPS runs new, quiet jets out of Boeing Field and you all should come down to Maplewood Playfield some afternoon when half the kids on the hill are there for soccer practice and take a listen and look at the jets coming in to land. So close you could almost touch them. It’s a relly big deal. Right now, UPS runs a few big jets a day. Just enough to notice, but not beat you down with the repetition. Southwest’s proposal will have a monumental impact. It will seriously degrade the quality of life for everyone within a few miles of the flight track. And Ron-f*cking-Sims is out there championing it for the good people of King county.
And it’s not just the noise. Where are all the cars going to go? Airport Way and Michigan Ave. exits are not usually backed up onto the highway at rush hour, but all of the exits around them are, so you’ll have to fight your way through downtown or West Seattle Freeway, or through the 405/I5 interchange or accross i90 bridge to get to them. It’s already gridlock down there in AM and PM rush hours.
Regional planning. This makes no sense on a regional planning basis. The Puget Sound area needs another major airport. It doesn’t need this bandaid. Sims is actually showing NO LEADERSHIP on this because he and his other county execs in Snohomish and Pierce counties wont BITE THE BULLET and pick a site for a new regional airport. So instead, the pussies are going to drop it on the backs of the good people of Georgetown. Nice. Go f*ck yourself, Sims.
Success in business is not always what it seems. If you create an enterprise that has a huge cash flow, but eventually is bound to fail, you have a responsibility to hang on to as much of that cash flow as you legally can before the bubble bursts. This is the opportunity that fate has given you and you owe it to yourself and your family to work it successfully. People who invest in your bubble do so at their own risk as long as you do not misrepresent the business to them, you’re doing nothing wrong in taking their money. In this sense Mr. Irons is a success. How much of that experience is transferable to the public sector is a moot question.
For me, the Southwest Airlines thing is such a big deal that I’m not voting for Sims. I’m not voting for Irons, either — yet.
I have seen a lot of insider deals and payola in my few years of observing politics. Something tells me that Southwest is on a course to get their way. I want it stopped.
Heath @ 14:
We’ll stop the Southwest plan *and* we’ll re-elect Sims. Ass and IDGAF can blow me!
I agree with Ivan that we will stop the Southwest plan and re-elect Sims. Ron is plain wrong on this issue, but he remains one of the best elected officials we have. He will win for the same reason Bush did–people feel they know who he is. Look at Irons record–votes against transit dollars, votes for development in the rural areas of our county. He is not part of the moderate Republican group on the county council. He has always aligned himself far to the right.
Now he wants to do the magic Repulican election makeover and cast himself as a moderate. The county does a few main things. It runs Metro–if you live in Seattle do you want a conservative suburban Republican in charge of this? It handles our wastewater–once again do you want the party of Tom DeLay in charge? It runs our criminal justice system–do you want more incarceration of people or creative programs to give kids and offenders positive options. I’m betting that Ron Sims who regularly walks downtown Seattle as part of Operation Nightwatch will be better there… It runs our elections–Ron hasn’t been forceful enough here, but the local and national attention on our elections department are forcing changes. Republicans have demogoged the issue to the point where no one is interested in applying.
Irons has no ideas, no money, no passion for the job, and no chance.
Now–lets kick ass on Southwest’s proposal to move to Boeing Field. This will devestate Georgetown, Beacon Hill and Tukwila–the communities directly under the onslaught as many potential planes as Cleveland International. It will mean much, much more noise to West Seattle, Magnolia, Queen Anne, Belltown, Downtown, Rainier Valley, Skyway and others. This means we will be siting a major airport only FIVE miles from downtown Seattle with planes forced to fly lower flight paths to give priority to Sea-Tac planes. It will also mean much more traffic. Southwest wants to do this so they can grow. They haven’t been able to take over this market and this will give them a sweetheart deal that no other airline can match. Good for Southwest–bad for competition. This will also suck for traffic–all of the east King folks who now take 405 to Sea-Tac will drive 90 into Seattle. All of the South King folks who turn at 518, will now come into Seattle on I-5. Five million annual passengers or more!!! And it will cost the taxpayer. All SW has offered is to build themselves a terminal and themselves a parking garage. This proposal will require bus service to an area of the airport which currently has none. That service will have to come from Seattle’s share. Hope your route isn’t a dog…It will also change the roads picture. Building offramps for Southwest is not my idea of a priority for this region.
““the Republican”… the guy who isn’t Sims…”
HMMM… Isn’t that exactly what the Repuglicans are always accusing the Demonrats of? Running the anti-campaign?
Just more proof: The Repugs are the most corrupt political organization ever, from the shrub’s “Roving” brain to the fat-cat voter.
Can I point out that it was not Ron Sims who chased Southwest Airlines from SeaTac…it was the Port of Seattle and their yuppification projects.
Maybe if someone other than Irons was running on the GOP side for King County Exec I might vote for them.
If Dino Rossi had run and campaigned on a platform of cleaning up the King County Elections department I’d not only have voted for him but I’d be volunteering my time to campaign for him as well.
As it stands I have to pick Sims over Irons.
We’ll stop the Southwest plan *and* we’ll re-elect Sims. Ass and IDGAF can blow me! -Comment by Ivan— 9/17/05 @ 9:20 pm
Thanks for the offer, but I’m not into animal abuse or intimate contact with inanimate objects. I’m pretty confident I can speak for IDGAF as well.
Keep looking though, I’m sure you’ll find a taker.
Hellsbells, I bet you could arrange a love fest with the ballsless looney one on his/her/its wrestling mat. Maybe you could convince him/her/it to turn on the center circle spot light too! Live it up, babe!
Dear Dan, did you actually READ Goldy’s article?… That was a quote from HIM.
Nitwit.
Don’t make a decision about this race without looking at what is REALLY happening here. Irons has come out against 912 – a position that is not “R”, but is based on his own investigation and decision about what is right for the area. And he has private sector experience, which gives a prospective that no life long politican – like Sims – can possibly understand. Irons is a moderate and the wacko R’s are criticizing him for it. Isn’t that what we want? And Irons started and ran two successful companies, and even worked for a failed dot-com. That kind of background brings a breadth of understanding that is waaay beyond the “hire and friend and keep him no matter what” that iptimizes Sims, e.g. Dean Logan. Don’t listen to Sims say who Irons is – read what IRONS says about himself and his positions. And read Irons’ record. Hard-working, listens…and willing to be accountable. Don’t do a knee-jerk reaction to vote “D” – be intelligent and vote based on knowledge. I’m a D and I’m voting for Irons. We have had waaaay too much Sims.