Well, the good news is that there is more limited crazy down in Lt. Guv position than for the Governor slot. The position is like that of the Vice Presidency, in that the Lt. fills in when the Governor is out of town and also chairs the legislature. And the nature of what that means is part of the discussion of who you should vote for.
The Lieutant Governor slot has been filled since Moses was a child by Brad Owen. In fact, I think Brad Owen was Moses' first lieutenant governor. He's been a solid Democrat on the conservative side of the spectrum, and I've usually recommended the other guy in these write-ups. But he is finally stepping down, and there are actual good candidates in the mix with not a lot of goofiness. It is almost redemptive.
This time I'm going to wait for the end before throwing a recommendation up in boldface. As always, most of what I know about these guys are from the Voter's Pamphelt
Marty McClendon (Republican) delivers a textbook positive political image - Eagle Scout, religious, lifetime resident, recommends Golden Rule, ends his writeup with a God Bless. It is so boilerplate that I had to check out his website. I found his leading endorsement is from the Ambassador of Burundi. Also to my surprise, co-hosts a conservative radio program with Doug Basler, Candidate for the 9th (odd how that slipped by in Doug's write-up). He also left out a line in his Voter's Guide entry on his web page, where he declares himself the only Conservative in the race. Well, then.
Mark Greene is a perenial candidate of the Citizens Party, which may be now the Revived Citizens Party. Wants to topple the Two Party Custom in the US, and takes the time out to warn us about Libertarians.
Phillip Yin (Also Republican) also has a strong resume as a journalist for Bloomberg, Q13, and CCTV America (English version of China's state broadcaster). He is anti-tax and supports free markets. The King County Republicans like him (both of them). He does have the winner of the coolest slogan in the campaign - Yin It To Win It!
Steve Hobbs (Democrat) hangs his hat on the not that he "is the only candidate with firsthand experience in emergeny management." Given the state of the legislature, that may be necessary. He comes out of the State Senate as the chief negoitator in the Senate Transportation Commitee. I've got nothing to make fun of her. What, are all the crazy people running for Governor? The Seattle Times likes him.
Karen Fraser (Democrat) is another State Senator, so like Mr. Hobbs knows where the Lieutenant Governor's office is and will not need a map. She has a lot of experince here, and promises not to push for the top job, though Brad Owen never did, either. She told the Times that despite being partisan, she'll be a fair arbiter. And you know, looking at her resume, I believe her.
Bill Penor (Republican) thinks you deserve more from government, and wants to bring common sense there. His writeup really needs a editor, but the, so does this blog, so I'm not really going to call him out on that.
Paul Addis is from the Libertarian Party, and makes that status a sell-point in that, since he is not a major party, he can work as an impartial 'referee' in the Legislature. That actually makes a modicum of sense. While I've been writing up these notes, Stranger Sex Column Writer Dan Savage has gotten in a urinating contest with the Green Party, pointing out that they are always swinging for the bleachers when they should be building up candidates in multiple lower races. The Libertarians (How do we shorten that, anyway?) are doing just that. Pay attention to your Libertarian candidates.
Daniel B., Davies has No Party Preferrence, is a gunshop owner who thinks that manditory sentencing for certain firearm-related crimes would reduce crime (sure, I'm good for that), and of course doesn't want a state income tax (which I disagree with). He doesn't like light rail, because buses are more versatile (and, for some reason, always directly ahead of me in traffic).
Karen Wallace is a Democrat, wants to bring a modern approach in in new thinking to our state government, will work well with both parties (suprisingly, a lot of these write-ups don't get around to specifics of the job they are running for - this one does), eliminating the wage gap, and is pro-choice.
Cyrus Habib. Democrat. He wears dark glasses in his photos because he is blind. He is an attourney. He is, sadly, not Daredevil. He is, however, a fan of palimentary procedure, a State Senator (see joke from above), and a fan of funding schools. He also got Brad Owen mad at him for suggesting that the Lt. Guv should not send up to the Guv bills which he doesn't like. Owen was upset by this, even though he himself has done similar things (Article on that is here, Owen's response is here, for those following this thing. It gets seriously wonky, and you should look at it). Regardless, Mr. Habib would be a very different Lieutenant Governor.
Javier Fiueroa is pretty solid pro-business Republican, endorses business incubators, and wants to bridge different viewpoints. Yeah, he sounds good as well.
And that's the problem with this crop of candidates -they sound good. There isn't a Goodspaceguy in the lot. Moving away the weaker ones, I still end up with Steve Hobbs, Karen Fraser, Paul Addis, and Cyrus Habib. I think it boils down to what you want in a Lieutenant Governor. Mr. Hobbs, and Ms. Fraser push balance and taking opposing views in line. Mr. Addis would be the ultimate outsider in a partisan body and is the only non-Senator of the four. Mr. Habib promises a more active role. . After 20 years of Owen balancing the daycare center of the legislative branch, I'm going to say Cyrus Habib.(Added bonus - Mr. Habib has the nicest robo-call I've ever gotten - I actually felt bad that I was not there to take the call.)
More later,