Not that she has much chance of beating out Democrat Eric Pettigrew, who has the heavyweight backing of the party behind him. Smooth and personable, over the course of two interviews Pettigrew spoke engagingly about increased public/private partnerships. (His major accomplishment is having convinced Safeco Insurance to invest in the Central neighborhood by opening a job-training and education center on Jackson Street.) Even if his knowledge seemed spotty on some issues important to his constituents (like predatory lending), it sure would be nice to have a black voice in lily-white Olympia, especially from a guy who won "Best Personality" at Nogales High School for the class of '78.
Though we're concerned that Pettigrew risks becoming little more than a party hack and placeholder, we're secretly hopeful he has the potential to prove us wrong.