Friday September 22, 2006 SGN.org |
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Volume 34 Issue 38 |
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Friday, Jul 04, 2008
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Pedersen leads pack in 43rd District primary race |
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| Pedersen leads pack in 43rd District primary race | |
| Primary delivers mixed bag for Gay community
by Robert Raketty - SGN Staff Writer Jamie Pedersen has a narrow lead of 184 votes over Jim Street, a former Seattle city councilmember and judge, in the 43rd Legislative District Democratic Primary on Thursday, after end-of-the-day absentee ballot tallies were released. Additional mail-in ballots continue to pour into the MLK Jr. County election office, leaving the race too close to call by the Seattle Gay News' press time. Pedersen, a lead attorney in the landmark challenge to Washington State's ban on marriage for same-sex couples, found growing support from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community, especially in the final weeks of the heated campaign. Some political observers have suggested that community outrage over the recent state Supreme Court ruling to uphold the ban, may have made the difference for the political newcomer. State Rep. Ed Murray, who ran unopposed in the primary on Tuesday for a seat in the Senate, cited the court's decision as being a catalyst for throwing his support behind Pedersen. Murray's endorsement was a boon for Pedersen, because the popular legislator is a household word throughout the district. "One of the things I know is that Ed is really well-known. He is very well-liked," said Pedersen. "People respect the work he has done in Olympia. I feel grateful to him for how hard he worked and how great he has been to me and my campaign." Gay organizations also supported Pedersen, who is openly Gay. The Seattle Metropolitan Elections Committee (SEAMEC), which rates candidates based on their record and opinions on LGBT issues, had endorsed him. Equal Rights Washington, the state's largest LGBT political organization, not only endorsed Pedersen, but donated $1,000 to the campaign and actively sought to turn out their supporters. "I am really grateful to Equal Rights Washington because they did a lot of get-out-the-vote effort. They also contacted their members. I got an endorsement from SEAMEC and others," said Pedersen. "The others gave important moral support and I appreciate those as well. The Victory Fund sent out a staff member here to help out in the final week." Brett Johnson, Victory Fund's Candidate Endorsement Coordinator and Manager of Campaign Operations, said the 43rd LD Democratic Primary was one of five races targeted by the organization for staff support. "With this many candidates in such a liberal district; getting him involved in the state legislature and having him also follow Ed Murray was a definite priority," she said. "We don't just endorse [candidates] because they are Gay. We endorse because they are the best candidates and they are Gay. "The Victory Fund thinks it is important to elect Gay candidates, because then we get them at the table. We get GLBT candidates to the table; to open-up and share their thoughts with their colleagues on our issues." Street wasn't ready to concede the race on Thursday. "I have no predictions. None," he said. "We'll know sometime this week." Bill Sherman, a deputy prosecutor, trailed behind the two by several hundred votes. Stephanie Pure, an aide to Seattle City Councilmember Peter Steinbrueck, took fourth; Lynne Dodson, a community-college professor and union official, fifth; and Dick Kelley, former chairman of the 43rd District Democrats, sixth. Street praised the quality of the candidates in the race, during an interview with the SGN on election night. "It is certainly unusual to have something like this many good candidates in a campaign," he said. "I have run in the city four different times; three times for council and one time for mayor. I can't say that I have ever had such a uniformly high set of candidates, as we have for the 43rd Democratic Primary. "I think we are all potentially resources to one another... In the case of Gay marriage - if I win - there will be no question that I will be calling Jamie immediately and say, 'I want to sit down with you immediately. I want to meet with you. I want to work through you - in terms of grasping what the LGBT community's consensus is on Gay marriage, civil unions or another strategy. What is the best way to proceed?' He has got a tremendous background in that area." Dwight Pelz, Washington State Democratic Party Chair, spoke with the SGN on election night. He said the race was closely watched by many within the state Democratic Party. "There were five or six fantastic candidates there. They ran an up-front race," he said. "It was really interesting because there was a Gay candidate; a labor candidate. Street had the name ID. Sherman had the credentials. It was a very interesting race, but it was a very clean race... I certainly encourage them to stay active in politics." Pedersen had out paced his opponents in fundraising. Money, he said, was needed to overcome name recognition, national credentials and union support. "We had about 900 or so donors who gave to the campaign. That's obviously helped us to get our message out to a lot of people," he said. "Running against a candidate - Jim Street - who has a lot of name familiarity because of all his years of public service; you have to have more money, just to try to even some of that out and to get people to have a sense of who you are." Collectively, the candidates raised more money than any other House election in the state's history. In the liberal 43rd Legislative District, which includes Capitol Hill, the University District, Fremont and Wallingford, the winner of the primary is virtually assured of a victory in November. SUPREME COURT RACES DELIGHT The judicial races for Supreme Court were also closely watched by pro-LGBT organizations and activists. They had urged the state's LGBT community to vote in the primary election for the three incumbents: Chief Justice Gerry Alexander and Justices Susan Owens and Tom Chambers. SEAMEC and ERW had both endorsed Owens and Chambers, who had ruled in a minority opinion to overturn our state's law barring same-sex couples from marriage. Alexander issued a concurring opinion and ruled to uphold the ban; however, he noted that the Legislature had the power to rectify the inequity. The three justices have also ruled to recognize the defacto status of Gay and Lesbian parents and on other issues of concern to the LGBT community. Well-financed special interests had flooded the races in support of candidates, which some believed to be conservative ideologues. Owens opponent, State Senator Stephen Johnson, has a poor voting record in the Legislature on LGBT issues. He opposed the Anderson-Murray Civil Rights Bill, which outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation. Chambers' opponent, Jeanette Burrage, a former MLK Jr. County judge, opposed his vote in the marriage equality case and is no newcomer to controversy herself. She required women to wear skirts, not pantsuits, in her courtroom. Alexander's opponent, Bellevue property-rights attorney John Groen, has received the support of groups such as the Building Industry Association of Washington's PAC, ChangePAC, and Americans Tired of Lawsuit Abuse, an Alexandria, Va. based organization funded mainly by American Tort Reform Association - two traditionally conservative groups. Alexander defeated Groen, receiving 54 percent of the vote, as of Thursday. Chambers also outpaced Burrage, receiving 59 percent. Owens, however, appears to be headed for a run-off election in November with Johnson. She secured 46 percent of the vote, while Johnson has 34 percent. "I was delighted that Gerry Alexander won," said Pelz. "This was an attempt to buy our government. It is amazing that patriots would say that they were in favor of purchasing democracy. There is obviously a contradiction there. "I am proud of the people of Washington State who said, 'You cannot buy our democracy'." THE BIGOT REMAINS Democrat Tim Sheldon, a political maverick, who often sides with Republicans on issues, retained his Senate seat representing the 35th District, which includes parts of Mason, Grays Harbor, Thurston and Kitsap counties. Sheldon was also one of two Democrats who had voted against the Anderson-Murray Civil Rights Bill, which now prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. According to the state public disclosure records, Equal Rights Washington donated $1,000 to his opponent, Kyle Taylor Lucas, a former state Native-American affairs official. The organization also endorsed her and attempted to turn out its members to vote for her, volunteer and financially support her candidacy. The Progressive Majority, a nonpartisan organization that seeks to elect progressive candidates, spent $100,000 in the race. "He has consistently been a voice and a vote against progressive issues," explained Progressive Majority's Washington State Director Dean Nielsen, during an interview with the SGN on election night. "We are for progressive candidates and against conservative candidates. So, this is a race that was clearly a priority for us." ERW has also donated $1,000 to Senate hopefuls Chris Marr (6th LD), Eric Oemig (45th LD), Rodney Tom (48th LD), and Derek Kilmer (26th LD). Likewise, the re-election efforts of Reps. Fred Jarrett (41st LD), Jan Shabro (31st LD), and Maureen Walsh (16th LD) received $1,000 contributions. "ERW is rapidly establishing itself as a broad grassroots organization. They have been very active in a number of campaigns," said Nielsen. "I think we will see over time that ERW will become an even stronger player in legislative races. That's where ERW needs to be is in the legislature; being a strong voice standing up for civil rights." Equal Rights Washington is a member of The Progressive Majority's state advisory committee. By law, September 29 is the last day for county canvassing boards to certify results; October 10 is the last day for the Secretary of State to certify Primary returns. |
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