It all began with Dow Constantine.
As you may have noticed, last year Constantine ran for King County Executive and won, leaving his spot on the King County Council open. Into that political void stepped state senator Joe McDermott of West Seattle’s 34th District, who decided to make a run for Constantine’s old county council seat.
Which left its own political void. And into that void stepped state representative Sharon Nelson (D-34), who is now running (unopposed) for McDermott’s state senate seat. Can you guess what happened next?
Another political void. Someone has to fill Sharon Nelson’s seat in the state house, and as it happens there are a number of people who would very much like the job.
- Joe Fitzgibbon
At the top of the list is Joe Fitzgibbon, the 23-year-old former legislative aide to Nelson and veteran of the Burien Planning Commission. He’s got over $17,000 in contributions so far—including $250 from his former boss, Nelson—and is running, somewhat ironically given his age, as the only candidate with the experience to get the job done.
“I certainly have more experience working in government than my opponents do,” Fitzgibbon told me recently. “I’ve been in Olympia and seen how things do and don’t get done down there.”
He’s been endorsed by ten state house members, six labor unions, the Washington Conservation Voters, the Young Democrats of Washington, and Fuse.
“The conservation voters saw, and to some degrees the unions have also seen, that I’m not learning about their issues for the first time,” Fitzgibbon said.
On the issues, Fitzgibbon, who majored in political science and history at Principia College in Illinois, said he doesn’t think the University of Washington should have the authority to raise tuition at its own discretion (a huge point of contention in the current legislature). He credits his age with his attention to the impact of tuition hikes, and to his support for a less car-centered urban environment. “People my age are more likely to be interested in having good infrastructure for bikes, pedestrians, as well as cars,” he said.
He’s in favor of staggered bar closing times (“I think the Liquor Control Board, on that, and some other issues, could be more flexible”), public financing of campaigns (“I think that public financing of campaigns is ultimately a step that we need to take”), and a state income tax (“The fact that the legislature has failed to act on the income tax—big missed opportunity”). And he’s opposed to Seattle being on the hook for downtown tunnel cost overruns (“I’m certainly opposed to the provision requiring Seattle to pay for cost overruns on the tunnel; it’s an unprecedented thing to ask of a local government”) even though he grudgingly supports the tunnel project (“I think the decision’s been made, and I think we should go ahead with it at this point”).
- Marcee Stone
Not quite as clear on the tunnel: Marcee Stone, 57, a legal secretary at a downtown law firm who says she has loaned her own campaign $5,000 and, with that included, is currently reporting a total of $18,633 in contributions.
Asked about the tunnel, Stone—a longtime member of the 34th District Democrats (who have endorsed her) and a fixture in fights against cell phone towers and statewide pushes for campaign finance reform—seemed unclear on some of the basic details of the tunnel project.
“The tunnel is a hard one,” she told me. “I didn’t vote for it.” But now that it’s nearing reality, she said she wants it to be built by in-state employees and an in-state contractor. “If they do that, then I’ll support it,” she said. That last one, the in-state contractor, seems highly problematic. One, it’s widely assumed that the only firms with the know-how to build the planned deep-bore tunnel are from out of state (and very likely out of country). Two, limiting the job to Washington tunnel contractors, whoever they might be, would work against the idea of a competitive bidding process designed to drive down costs for the state.
Stone said her main issue with the tunnel is finding the money for it. “If we can get the funding,” she said, “then that’s the main thing.” Which seemed to ignore the fact that the tunnel already has funding from the state legislature. But, she’s against Seattle being on the hook for cost overruns. “It seems unfair to me that the legislature put that in there for the city,” she said.
Stone, who has lived in the 34th most of her life and raised a family there, has endorsements from 19 “elected officials” (though she includes former City Attorney Tom Carr on the list, and he probably doesn’t count as an elected official at this point); 10 labor groups; the 34th Dems; and the National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington.
She’s refusing all PAC contributions as part of her dedication to campaign finance reform (something Ftizgibbon is not doing), and says her top issue is the economy. “Number one we need jobs,” she said. “There’s a lot of people in my district who are hurting.”
She’s for the income tax (and the elimination of the sales tax), and the formation of a state bank, but unlike Fitzgibbon, doesn’t know where she stands on staggered bar closing times. “I’ve been reading about it,” Stone said. “But I don’t think I have a fully formed opinion about it yet… It’s a little provincial of us to have these laws that say everybody has to close up by [2 a.m.].” She added that as long as public safety is taken into consideration she’ll support a pilot project to test out the idea.
As for Fitzgibbon’s claim that he’s the more experienced candidate, Stone said: “I have never worked in government, but I know how to work with government… I have relationships down there—and it’s not as an assistant to anybody.”
- Mike Heavey
Apparently so experienced he doesn’t need to respond to our interview request: Mike Heavey, son of a former state senator from the 34th, current King County Council staffer, and on the issues… “Coming soon!”
Heavy has $23,611.73 in donations—the highest of anyone in the race—and is endorsed by seven current and former politicians including state senator Ed Murray (D-43).
Spellcheck on “Heavy”, dear.
The only thing that could make me fear the tunnel project more is if they used only in-state contractors. I want Robbins out of Ohio, please.
Joe has more Olympia experience than the other three candidates put together.
That’s why in addition to FUSE, Washington Conservation Voters, and the Washington State Labor Council, Joe is endorsed by State Reps. Kevin Van de Wege, Christine Rolfes, Marko Liias, Sharon Nelson, Dave Upthegrove, Scott White, Tina Orwall, Geoff Simpson, Brendan Williams, and Tami Green.
That about covers the spectrum of the top pro-environment, pro-labor, pro-equitable tax reform, and pro-LGBT civil rights activists in the House.
These Reps didn’t endorse Joe because he’s a cute kid. They endorsed him because they know they can rely on him to do the heavy lifting, the committee work, the relationship-building, and everything it takes to push a positive and constructive agenda.
These Reps don’t endorse slackers, and they don’t endorse cronies. They know that among the candidates in this race, Joe will be the most effective in pushing a wide variety of bills — including campaign finance reform. How do they know that? Because Joe has been right down there in the middle of it, for three sessions now. He’s a hell of a lot more than “somebody’s assistant,” and the person who made that comment knows it.
Oh, and it’s HeavEy. OK?
@1 and 3: Thanks! And that wasn’t my only typo… It’s that kind of morning. Think I got them all now. Let me know if not.
Typos, shmypos, Eli. Show me a picture of Fitzgibbons and I could forgive you anything.
Wow Joe is cute. 🙂 But what’s that blue lump at the top of his web site? Looks like a mountain that flat-lined.
They’re both good people.
Congrats to the 34th on having a contested race!
Joe is hot.
Did you even bother to contact the 4th official candidate in the race, Geoffrey Mac McElroy? If you’d like to speak with him and update your incomplete article, he’ll be at the Burien Wild Strawberry Festival this weekend. Or you can just google him and get in touch that way.
Gotta go with Mike Heavey for the hotness win.
God I miss good journalism. It’s so fundamental to a democracy, and yet so completely lacking in this article, and frankly this newspaper for several years now, which is really too bad considering the great job the Stranger did in the 90s and for a few years after. Eli maybe you’re just too lazy to be good at this. You showed it on an national level with your coverage in 2008 and you’ve confirmed it again here. Do your homework man! Look, I’m friends with both of them, and Joe’s a nice guy, but his experience in government is as a legislative aid. Marcee has actually worked to get legislation passed both as a citizen and as the President of Washington Public Campaigns. You can’t just take a candidate’s talking points and use them as facts. Do some of the hard work that gets at the real issues, the real qualifications and the primary issue which is effectiveness and then you’ll be doing yourself and this community a favor. The rest of this is just fluff.
Given that this isn’t my district, I have fewer qualms about posting such a politically-useless and shallow comment as “Joe = cute”.
Joe has been endorsed by 10 state house members and a total of 20 “elected officials”.
@ 11:
Joe Fitzgibbon has done more work on actual legislation, of all kinds, in his three years in Olympia, than Marcee Stone has done in her entire life.
That’s no rap on Stone, but she has been a single-issue citizen lobbyist. Joe has worked with constituents, with lobbyists, and with other legislators, on a wide variety of bills. Not all legislative aides perform at that level, but Joe has. He is by far the best qualified candidate.
Marcee has the experience of working with teams in all sectors not just Sharon Nelson’s friends in Olympia. It’s not a “clash of Generations” is that Joe at age 23 can’t have much life experience yet doing his OWN work in Olympia. He has been an aide to Sharon. I trust Marcee to listen to my voice when she makes decisions not the folks she works with in Olynpia and special interest.
TRS, are you referring to the legislators, who are elected by the people in their districts, who we trust to make laws affecting our everyday lives, as Sharon Nelson’s “friends?” I would trade actual work experience with other legislators over “life experience”, whatever that is, any day. And if you are trusting your legislator to listen to you when she makes decisions instead of negotiating with other legislators like Sharon Nelson, then you are asking for inaction. And remember, there are many voices other than yours, and even public financing of elections is a special interest.
Sad to see this site is nothing more than a propoganda tool for the West Seattle Democrats. How about you give some time to the solid candidates such as former Mayor McElroy or 15 year King County employee Diana Toledo. These are the two candidates that everyone is talking about. Joe dug his own grave by stifling the mouths of the voters when he repealed 960, ignored the cries of the South Park Bridge community, and started talking about an income tax. When will we as a nation wake up to the fact that every once in a while you have to stop throwing good money after bad? Joe is a bad investment, time to cut that rope and put someone in office that will make a positive change.
Sad to see this site is nothing more than a propoganda tool for the West Seattle Democrats. How about you give some time to the solid candidates such as former Mayor McElroy or 15 year King County employee Diana Toledo. These are the two candidates that everyone is talking about. Joe dug his own grave by stifling the mouths of the voters when he repealed 960, ignored the cries of the South Park Bridge community, and started talking about an income tax. When will we as a nation wake up to the fact that every once in a while you have to stop throwing good money after bad? Joe is a bad investment, time to cut that rope and put someone in office that will make a positive change.
Sad to see this site is nothing more than a propoganda tool for the West Seattle Democrats. How about you give some time to the solid candidates such as former Mayor McElroy or 15 year King County employee Diana Toledo. These are the two candidates that everyone is talking about. Joe dug his own grave by stifling the mouths of the voters when he repealed 960, ignored the cries of the South Park Bridge community, and started talking about an income tax. When will we as a nation wake up to the fact that every once in a while you have to stop throwing good money after bad? Joe is a bad investment, time to cut that rope and put someone in office that will make a positive change.
Joe Fitzgibbon is far too young to run for office. It’s off-putting. He should wait ten years.
To get a better picture of the candidates running for district 8, King County Council, check out this blog and in particular the audio…gives a good sense of the candidates live and responding to questions without talking points! http://www.b-townblog.com/tag/politics/