As a few voters in King County, Wash., head to the polls for the primary election on Tuesday, Aug. 21, we've put together a quick guide to the various endorsements handed out by local publications. (You'll have to scroll down a bit to see our table.) We've included key races in Seattle and King County. Endorsements come from the Seattle Times, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and The Stranger. We've also included candidate ratings from the Municipal League of King County, a local non-partisan civic organization.
In the primary, there are both partisan and non-partisan races. The only county-wide partisan primary is for the Democratic candidate for county prosecutor; on the Republican side, acting prosecutor Dan Satterberg is running unopposed.
In non-partisan races, which include Port of Seattle Commission, Seattle City Council, and Seattle School District races, both the Times and the Post-Intelligencer generally endorse two candidates, as the top two vote-getters will go on to the November general election. In several races, however, the papers endorsed only one candidate. The Stranger endorses only one candidate per position.
The Municipal League's ratings are based on candidate questionnaires and interviews. There are five rankings, ranging from "not qualified" to "outstanding." Some candidates did not return their questionnaires and were not given ratings; they have not been included in our table. Candidate questionnaires can be read at the Municipal League's Web site.
Endorsements at a glance Position/ measure Seattle Times Seattle P-I The Stranger Municipal League ratings Seattle City Council Position 1 Jean Godden*, Robert Sondheim Jean Godden* Joe Szwaja Lauren Briel: adequate+; Jean Godden*: good; Robert Sondheim: adequate; Joe Szwaja: good Seattle City Council Position 3 Bruce Harrell, Venus Velazquez Bruce Harrell, Venus Velazquez Venus Velazquez Bruce Harrell: very good; John Manning: adequate+; Al Runte: good; Venus Velazquez: very good Seattle City Council Position 9 Sally Clark* Sally Clark* Sally Clark* Sally Clark*: very good; Judy Fenton: adequate; Stan Lippmann: not qualified Seattle School Board District 2 Sherry Carr Darlene Flynn*, Sherry Carr Darlene Flynn* Sherry Carr: outstanding; Darlene Flynn*: very good; Courtney Hill: not qualified; Patrick Kelley: good; Lisa Stuebing: good Seattle School Board District 6 Maria Ramirez, Steve Sundquist Maria Ramirez, Steve Sundquist Steve Sundquist Danaher Dempsey: adequate; Edwin Fruit: not qualified; Maria Ramirez: very good; Steve Sundquist: very good Port of Seattle Commission Position 2 Bob Edwards*, Gael Tarleton Bob Edwards*, Thom McCann Gael Tarleton Jack Block Jr.: outstanding; Bob Edwards*: good; Wen Wu Lee: not qualified; Thom McCann: good; The-Anh Nguyen: not qualified; Gael Tarleton: outstanding Port of Seattle Commission Position 5 Alec Fisken*, Bill Bryant Alec Fisken*, Bill Bryant Alec Fisken* Bill Bryant: very good; Alec Fisken*: outstanding; Stephen Symms: adequate King County Prosecutor (Democratic primary) Bill Sheman Bill Sherman Keith Scully Keith Scully: very good; Bill Sherman: outstanding King County Parks Proposition 1 Yes Yes Yes King County Park Proposition 2 Yes Yes Yes * Incumbent
