Politics & Government

Letter to the Editor: Mitchell Campaign Dirtiest in Years

Local planner and MI Open Space Conservancy board member Robert Thorpe weighs in on the King County Council campaign of fellow Islander Richard Mitchell.

Assume: YOUR VOTE IS ONE OF YOUR MOST VALUABLE ASSETS AS A CITIZEN, along with your obligation to stay informed, do your homework, vote regularly, and vote for candidates with proven track records – those with an upbeat message in difficult times, and offering clear solutions to problems they hear from constituents.

Also, consider an axiom in politics: If you have something good to say about yourself, your record, your vision, your plan to address challenging issues and voters' concerns, you speak to that, and commit to that kind of campaign.  Alternatively, if you have little good to say, the axiom in politics is, “attack the opponent – raise doubts”, regardless of whether they are truly valid or just creating question in the voter’s mind.

I have been an observer and political activist since 1967 in this state at all levels – city and county councils, State and Federal Offices, Senators and Representatives, and in my home state since 1959 when as a Class Officer I met John F. Kennedy at my high school in Western Nebraska. I have worked for good candidates, “D-s”, “R’s”  “I’s”, and non-partisan races. I have strived to fulfill my obligation of being informed, communicating with Electeds, both in writing and at hearings, personally, and voting in every election.

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My question as a PCO, concerning current races, City and County: Why would you give up one of your most precious citizen’s asset (your vote) to a candidate who allows his campaign to run a very, very negative campaign, against his own party’s candidates and the other parties in a primary race, and again, in the General Election?

Facts: In 1980 in the King County Council race for Bellevue, Mercer Island, et. al., a sitting appointed Councilmember (D) was attacked from the extreme right political action group – much of it purely personal. This occurred again in the 1990’s, when a sitting Councilmember in the Bellevue/Issaquah area (R), was attacked by a former R, who switched to a D in his re-election campaign. Now in 2011 in the King County race – a bi-partisan race (i.e., no D’s or R’s), in the primary, a “newcomer” candidate attacked both opponents, traditionally members of his own party as well as those of another party, via mailings, robo-calls, and ads. IT WAS, AND IS NOW, JUST WRONG! In my opinion, this campaign, employing the “Attack Axiom”, is one of THE MOST NEGATIVE I have seen in all of my 45 years in Washington State.

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So why then, would YOU give up YOUR VOTE to a candidate who allows his campaign team to conduct this type of campaign, rather than support Jane Hague who has a long and proven record, as a volunteer, City Councilmember, County Administration and County Councilmember, on education, services, parks, open space, transit, budget reform, and reaching across party lines in a bi-partisan manner.

Just asking – think about it!

Respectfully,

Robert W. Thorpe, PCO/41st District 


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