Chris--

Good points. The real issue should be who is most capable of squeezing vital services out of the existing dollars the county has. This week's State Auditor's report reveals what many of us have feared: there's a culture in county government that does not value our tax dollars. A race about which candidate is the better administrator is unlikely to develop, but that's the one we should be talking about.

We can't have a county executive that ignores the basics (as you effectively outline), but we also shouldn't elect someone without the ability to affect regional political matters.

With all of our local elections we also vote for our voice in regional issues. In particular, the King County Executive will sit on the Puget Sound Regional Council executive council and the Sound Transit board of directors. Will she or he rule with an iron fist? No. But the potential for higher-order leadership to guide these groups of leaders is very real.

Regional issues? What "regional issues?"

Yes, the Executive and many members of the Council are key players on regional bodies. I was a member of the PSRC Executive Board and the Growth Management Planning Council.

But all the big regional decisions on land use and transportation have been made. Really. The light rail decision is behind us. No one is talking about moving the urban growth boundary or revising the urban centers strategy.

What we need now is an Exective who will lead on public safety issues and restore faith in the management of county government.

Thanks, Chris, for these necessary - and right on - observations. This county has a rare opportunity to actually improve the management of its government, to the benefit of all of us. The chances of it happening grow slimmer daily, as we speed toward an August primary date that most voters are simply not focused in on.

I'd be so happy if the electorate surprised me and voted for one of the candidates with actual, hands-on MANAGEMENT experience. Boeing and Microsoft, the economic engines of this region, include people who can vouch for the management expertise of Fred Jarrett and/or Ross Hunter. They both come across a little wonky, but that's because they actually think in management terms ... which is, of course, one of the basic requirements for managing stuff. Airplanes fly, software runs -- based on the quality of management in these companies.

Constantine and Phillips have no real-world experience (ditto Nickels, seems to be we like our politicians with little to no real-world experience, just internships with older politicians). Both Constantine and Phillips are excellent politicians, working niche constituencies into a lather and prying endorsements and funding out of the Democratic funders. Hutchison is a very attractive former newscaster and gives the Republicans a glimmer of hope through her incredible name recognition, but there's no management experience there, either.

The county provides critical services; we would all benefit -- hugely -- by a little wonky management talk in the executive suite. Cross your fingers. Maybe dreams come true.

/deb eddy

Thanks Deb, but let me make it really clear: I am not endorsing any of the candidates in this piece.

Oooohhhhh, I get that. Neither am I. But we can't have an honest talk about what really matters to the county, the issues, if we aren't willing, at some level, to compare/contrast.

I agree completely with debo's comments about the need for a county executive (and county council members) with an orientation toward and experience with management of a taxpayer-funded entity. Same could be said about a Seattle mayor and city council members. Big voter turnout will be necessary to make this happen.

I agree with Chris, Deb, and Ted.

This is a trifecta for me, and a first.
I am going to bookmark this page, and cherish this event, always.

Can I throw in the library system to the list?
Shoreline has a nice King County library, maybe King County's City of Shoreline should have the very nice library? Not the best example, I know.

As more is annexed then maybe the county structures should go with it, where possible?

I'm afraid I have to agree with Chris on this one. Let's hear how they are going to handle the biggest issue facing the county in terms of discretionary funding. It's tough being a real county execuative and much more sexy to talk "regional".

Bob Gogerty

Well I don't disagree with Chris and some of the commentor', but in the American political system as it currently works, you have to be able to get the job, before you can get to do the job. This seems to be a trend since the 1960's (Gov. Evans, Gov. Reagan, Pres. Clinton and Pres. Bush #43 are all testament to this principle) The voters really don't want to know, or hear on the campaign trail about how competent of a manager, how you can make the mechanics of goverment deliver services, or take away with some services (garbage, sewer, and crime), in an effcient manner. The origins of this I am unsure but most voters are not that close to government to be knowledgeable on most of the complexities and details.

Not much complexity in saying how you are going to do the job that is the real role of the county exec .. you should start there and then talk about your dreams of what you would do if you were mayor .. governor or president. No surprise that county exec has become an administrative function. Not to say he or she will not have a pulpit to champion bigger causes but first things first.

You posit that the job of the County is mostly public safety, yet admittedly 87% of the budget goes to Metro, sewers, etc.? You're contradicting yourself. I give you kudos for admitting that you're being paid for this opinion, but you do little to support your thesis. Perhaps candidates, councilmembers, and executives have gone beyond the county's charge, but that doesn't mean that your pet projects are more important than other real concerns. Non sequitur.

Yes, the large majority of the budget goes to DEDICATED TASKS - utilities like the provision of sewer services and garbage disposal (not pick up, by the way). The county's general fund gets some (important) overhead, but these expenditures are not discretionary in any real sense. The REMAINDER OF THE BUDGET -- the part that the county can, as a matter of policy, direct among and between services is largely public safety related: sheriff, courts and jails. Then there's records and elections, public health, etc. I believe Chris' comments are directed at the portion of the budget over which the county council and executive have more control. /deb eddy

Deb, I agree with some of your comments but I think identifying yourself as a Democratic member of the House would have been a reasonable disclosure, particularly when you are touting tow of your legislative colleagues. Chris was up front. This is a non-partisan race but that didn't stop you from identifying Hutchison as a Republican while conveniently forgetting to label Jarred and Hunter as Democrats. Oops. I disagree with you about Susan Hutchison's management experience. I also worked at Microsft and while there is no doubt that Ross has some management experience to simply disregard the responsibilities that Hutchison has as Executive Director of the Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences is just partisan politics. As exec director she manages a multi-million dollar enterprise and has to deal with numerous constituencies. She has done so very successfully. So if we are going to elevate this discussion to the issues let's do that and keep the stealth partisan politics out of it.

No stealth here. I have been involved in local political issues since about 1990; I have only been in a partisan position since 2006. My politics are well known to be pretty eclectic/moderate; I've supported changing the county positions - executive and council - to nonpartisan status for years. I have supported Fred Jarrett when he was a Republican and now as a Democrat. I think everyone who reads this blog knows that Ross is a Democratic legislator, we are seatmates and I support him, also. He and Fred are two of the smartest, most capable people that I know - hands down. That should be no surprise to anyone. And I would note: You KNOW my name, but most people who post here - you included - remain cleverly anonymous. What's your stealth agenda? Have you given to Susan's campaign?

Running a nonprofit that is in the business of giving away someone else's money to arts organization - as Susan has - is NOT, in my opinion, the same as managing a portion of a business that MUST succeed in a concrete and measurable way --AND turn a profit. Susan strikes me as a very earnest, attractive young woman, and I'm sure that she's dealt with some difficult personalities in awarding those arts grants. But that doesn't come close to the skill set that will be needed in dealing with the 90+ separate bargaining units, for instance, at the county -- or trying to negotiate some middle-space with a 9 member county council that is not just going to roll up and out of the scene. I'm not aware of any management experience in her tv days, but I hope she has some sense of what it will take to negotiate a shared agenda with the majority of that 9 member council.

/deb eddy

/deb eddy

Control of the budget is essential, both discretionary and non-discretionary. No meaningful reform of the existing system will take place with the Phillips/Constantine twins leading the county. the fact is that even though this is a non-partisan race, only a candidate with "D" credentials will even be considered by the majority drone voters of King County. That leaves any fiscally minded individuals with two choices for potential reform Hunter or Jarrett.

I only wish that Debo took the same view of State Government as she does of County Government. The "avoid the hard choices" budget they passed has only set the taxpayers up for a harder fall down the road in the next bienium. The taxpayers of Washington need change at all levels of Government at the very least some kind of divided Government so we can avoid the one party rule train wreck that is evident at the State, County and City of Seattle levels.

Chris Vance asks, "Will a few tweaks to Metro bus routes really make an appreciable dent in regional gridlock?"

Answer: No.

But a "few" tweaks to the Metro system are not the only alternative for County leadership. How about a lot of tweaks?

Also, the appropriate measure is not the size of the dent in regional gridlock, but rather how many daily travelers choose to leave the driving to Metro, and at how much of a lower dollars per passenger cost to the taxpayer.

Improvement is possible in productivity and quality of Metro's service delivery, and even important.

Fares cover about 19% of Metro's diesel bus operations, 33% of electric trolley buses, and 82% of van pool operations. Raising fares makes the ratio better, but reduces ridership. What about the cost side of the equation?

There is also an issue in the magnitude of the the subsidy to Metro bus service provided by Sound Transit. The contract for Regional Express service -- Sound Transit buses that are operated and maintained by Metro -- is up for renewal at the end of the year. Sound Transit is up to $3 billion short on its ST2 light rail construction program, and will of necessity be putting the screws to Metro on the renegotiation of the Regional Express contract. Which County Exec will fight hard for Metro, which delivers transit now, not transit a decade from now?

As Chris Vance says in his conclusion, "The candidates need to tell us their plans for our bus system ..."

Chris,
You are accurate that the average voter has NO Idea what exactly the King County Council and Executive actually do. Thank you for the article and disclosure. Great conversation here.

At this point, Jarrett and Hunter are attractive choices. Fiscally conservative but not socially out of touch w/ voters.
Call em what you want, progressive republicans or moderate democrats.

Why hasn't the republican party run a pro-choice, socially progressive, fiscally conservative candidate to try and shake things up in this state?

I believe in divided government.
The Dem's run moderates (Hunter and Jarrett) but it seems the Republican's run the fringe of their party which has had it's obvious results at the polls.

As an independant, I'd love to see a republican run I could get on board with.

I agree with the general gist of Mr. Vance's article. However, most voters are clueless about what the county is and is not responsible for; that's why the candidates have on their websites whatever they think will get them the most votes. Next, I disagree with the topics he suggests excluding: (1) Property taxes. Mine were jacked up over 19% this year, while two of my neighbors enjoy a 15% lower rate for similar dwellings. A county employee told me that property updates occur only if the county is told about it or the home is sold. This suggests problems with valuation of properties that county government leaders should be concerned about. And, subareas of land values are updated every 6 years based on vacant land sales. (2) Jobs? The county is a larg employer in the county. They're essentially under a hiring freeze and have initiated mandatory furloughs rather than look for more-efficient ways of doing their business and potentially creating jobs, or at least saving them, even in public safety. Meanwhile county employees continue to accrue step increases and COLAs to the best of my knowledge. Mr. Vance thinks this 80% of all spending is not worthwhile except in public safety. (3) Transportation is frequently listed as a top priority. The article continues with: "Which leads us to the services King County actually does govern and provide...buses" and then "Buses and sewers are vital, but there really aren’t a lot of policy issues to debate." Hmm, excuse me? King County Metro's existing policies would result in 62% of the cuts going to the west sub-area bus services, those having the highest use, while restoration is etched in at 40%. Freezing spending at current levels won't solve the problem. No leadership from the County Executive is not the answer, Mr. Vance!