The Glee Club is a longtime fan of witty populist Dawn Mason. We endorsed Mason for this senate seat in 1998 over the very same Adam Kline. We also endorsed Mason in her '99 city council bid. However, she's losing her charm. Mason claims that Kline doesn't "reflect" the diverse 37th District, but refuses to come right out and say that a district like the 37th ought to send a black rep to pasty-white Olympia. There's a case to be made for that position and Mason should make it honestly and openly. Instead Mason makes the argument by insinuation, and her refusal to be aboveboard turned a room filled with Mason supporters into Adam Kline backers.

Kline backers, mind you, not Kline fans. Kline has a temper, and Mason brings out the worst in him, and since Mason vs. Kline is a long-running act in this town, we've seen quite a lot of the worst of Kline. A word of advice, Adam: It's not a good idea to repeatedly interrupt your opponent when she's doing a pretty good job of making an ass of herself.

If you're Kline's constituent, it would be foolish to replace the workhorse legislator just at the moment when his growing seniority should start bringing some rewards to the 37th. Also, why replace the senior senator with a freshman when Mason herself admits that her voting record would be no different than Kline's? Like Mason, Kline's an unabashed liberal. Kline's got a slew of good bills attached to his name, including: new rules that prioritize treatment over incarceration for drug users; a legally keen whistleblower-protection bill; and a controversial bill that, despite knee-jerk liberal opposition, correctly fine-tuned and actually expanded state support for deserving women- and minority-owned businesses.

The Glee Club is happiest, though, about a bill that lawyer Kline killed. As chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kline rounded up the votes to stop Governor Locke's constitutionally questionable anti-terrorism bill. Good job, Adam! You suck, Gary!

Adam Kline
Peekskill Military Academy (Peekskill, New York), 1962· After the senior prom, Adam's dad ruined everything insisting on chaperoning Adam and Adam's date on the drive home

· Was a sargeant in the cadet corps, but missed class too often and was demoted

 

Dawn Mason
Kearny High School (Kearny, New Jersey), 1963· Was not allowed to date: "And there were other issues compromising my ability to have a boyfriend."

· Received award for "Graduate showing the best overall improvement"

· Spent her Saturday nights in New York City