Vote for EILEEN CODY (Democrat)Cody is the Democratic incumbent who helped organize nurses at Group Health. Women's groups and labor wish there were more legislators like Cody, while business-interest groups and gun owners can't stand her. In fact, they're hot for her opponent, Republican Brian Van Beek--who wants to scrap HOV lanes.

Vote for VELMA

VELORIA (Democrat)A lot of lazy lefties love Velma Veloria because she's a trilingual Filipina, and those are the kind of qualifications that set hearts racing in identity-politics circles. Heck, Imelda Marcos is multilingual and Filipina, too, but that's no reason to vote for her. But luckily for Veloria, she's got more going for her than her race and language skills. For instance, as co-chair of the state congressional Economic Development, Housing, and Trade Committee, she sponsored bills to make housing available for the poor. She's gone to bat for Georgetown, where toxic waste and sex offenders are dumped. And in July, she rushed to aid a woman who was apparently imprisoned by the Immigration and Naturalization Service for no good reason. Veloria's opponent is Republican Richard Zwicker, who wants to "streamline government" and is an avid fan of the death penalty.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 32(Shoreline, North Ballard)

Representative Position 2

Vote for RUTH KAGI (Democrat)As a member of the House Appropriations, Children and Family Services, and Criminal Justice and Corrections committees, incumbent Democrat Ruth Kagi has fought to punish child abusers and make legal representation available to poor mothers. Kagi's opponent in this race, Libertarian Bill Healy, is a man with a plan to "privatize" the ferries.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 34(West Seattle, Burien, Vashon Island)

Vote for DOW

CONSTANTINE (Democrat)Constantine has served two terms as a Democrat in the state House--hugging trees, supporting labor, and backing abortion rights. He was a voice of reason against pumping an extra $7 million into the prison system when other legislators overreacted to a drunk-driving case in February. He also sponsored a bill to let first-time drug offenders off easy, based on the judge's discretion. Constantine's opponent, Republican Frank Bradley, opposes taxes and traffic.

Vote for ERIK POULSEN (Democrat)Three-term Democrat incumbent Poulsen, co-chair of the House Technology, Telecommunications, and Energy Committee, has charmed the standard lefty groups and alienated the NRA. He has sponsored bills to help salmon spawn, and he took up the fight against phone companies who try to trick people with their advertising. His challenger, Gary Knutson, is a Libertarian Boy Scout member, who's pro drugs and guns.

Vote for JOE

McDERMOTT (Gay Democrat)Former 34th District Democratic Chair McDermott's turn-ons are nature and teachers. And as a school-district budget analyst, he will certainly lend credibility to the fight to bump up teacher's salaries. McDermott also opposes expanding the privately owned, poisonous Maury Island gravel pit--the abomination that has islanders in a tizzy. By way of comparison, his (token) Republican opponent, Les Ungerleider, favors exemptions from shoreline regulations. Sending McDermott to Olympia will double the number of openly gay members of the state House of Representatives (from one to two!). Everyone knows that some gay men can shove other men's arms all the way up their butts. Two openly gay state legislators working together should be able to shove some pro-gay-rights legislation through Olympia, don't you think?

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 36(Denny Regrade, Magnolia, Queen Anne, Ballard, Greenwood, Fremont)

Vote for HELEN SOMMERS (Democrat)

Democrat Helen Sommers won't talk to us because we made a mistake in our primary endorsements and wrote that Sommers had served just two terms. Actually, the 68-year-old Sommers has served more than 116 terms in Olympia. First elected to office in 1973, Sommers is the grandmother of 10 and the great-grandmother of 22. Born and raised in Yakima, Sommers was an apple-picker and union organizer in the 1950s. During the social upheavals of the 1960s, Sommers moved to San Francisco, where she experimented with hard drugs and made love to strangers. Eventually Sommers joined an early version of the Symbionese Liberation Army. Still wanted in Wisconsin for bombing the campus ROTC building in 1970, Sommers now resides in Washington state under an assumed name. No current photographs of the candidate are available, but her office did release the above photo. Taken in 1969, the photo has been retouched by FBI artists to give an impression of what Sommers might look like today. If you see Sommers, do not attempt to apprehend her yourself. Call the police.

Vote for MARY LOU DICKERSON (Democrat)Child advocate Mary Lou Dickerson (she's famous for single-handedly derailing a Republican scheme to gut the powers of Child Protective Services) is a thoughtful, passionate Democrat who deserves to be re-elected. Her opponents--Libertarian Don Zeek, who makes weapon systems for Boeing, and restaurateur Republican Mike Lewis, who supports dumb ideas like dedicating 90 percent of transportation money to roads--deserve to be ignored.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 37(Madrona, Skyway, Rainier Valley, Beacon Hill)

Vote for SHARON TOMIKO SANTOS (Democrat)Not only is hottie Sharon Tomiko Santos willing to dis Gary Locke ("Let's just say he's not my kind of Democrat"), she also has a voting record that scores high marks with progressives. Santos is well liked in Olympia by both rural and conservative legislators, which puts her in a better position to actually pass legislation. Her Republican opponent Calvin Brown has been MIA during the entire campaign, but he couldn't possibly be as much of a hottie as Sharon.

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 46(Northeast Seattle)

Vote for JIM McINTIREDemocratHi diddly doo, neighbors! That's right, it's just littly-diddly me, Jim McIntire, your legislator, and gosh darn it... I hate to keep pestering you like this... but I'd be just tickled pink if you'd vote for me again. Oh sure, there are some who say I didn't do too much in Olympia the last time you voted me in, but see? That's the grand scheme! Don't rock the boat! Fly low under the radar! Remind my colleagues about my Ph.D. in economics! And apparently the public doesn't have too much of a problem with that, because nobody's running against me! Oh sure, there are the two "special" candidates (Libertarian John Sample, who opposes government, especially the DSHS; and Natural Law Party candidate Pennie Stasik O'Grady, who stands for clean air and water and wholesome food), but they're both koo-koo! Koo-Koo! Koo-Koo! So anyway! Vote for me, Jim McIntire! I may be boring, but at least I'm not cra-diddly-azy!

Vote for PHYLLIS KENNEY (Democrat)Phyllis Kenney is a bad-ass labor Democrat with stellar marks from civil rights, women's, and environmental groups. Vote for her.