I'm a fan of current Washington State Attorney General McKenna. I saw him work in detail on the Sound Transit Board in the tough days leading up to the passage of the first Bond Issue. Many times he was the sole voice of dissent, though frequently he worked with his fellow King County Councilmember, the relatively independent Maggi Fimia of Shoreline. Although he himself was opposed to the project he was always constructive and his involvement led to a strong start for that agency - and a strong bus dominated plan of service for his own district area, the Eastside of King County.
Unfortunately the Sound Transit Board lost its leadership continuity in the days after passage. My opinion is that the turnover was a powerplay by the powers that be (operating through the Greater Seattle Chamber of Comerce). There was also a well managed financial 'scandal' that pretty much finished the job not too much later..
I'm voting for McKenna this time around, and I think he'll win. However I am concerned as to whether he's keeping his own 'continuity of leadership' as he matures in office. I'm of the opinion the barrel is rotten and we all know what all to often happens to good folks in such a situation.
Top on the bad apple level, and more senior to McKenna, would be the former AG, Christine Gregoire, and, on the Republican side King County Prosecutor (Seattle and immediate suburbs) Satterberg. FWIW, these two are the start of the Government 'Blame Game' cited effectively by current GOP gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi.
Gregoire and Satterberg have a relationship that they characterize as 'bi-partisan' - unfortunately what this means in practice is that it is the interests of the legal profession that get advanced, irregardless of what either party desires - and independents - well independents - the ones that elected McKenna in this Democratic state - they are the profession's 21'st century niggers.
Gregoire and Satterberg are widely respected in the profession for this, but this does not really mean a thing as to how they serve the public interest. I think one of the best ways to see this effect is in how they supervise their own employees, including perhaps most notably, the female ones.
I won't go into details here, but I think it clear that both Gregoire and Satterberg place the interests of their employees over that of the 'public' - leading to an overall decay in the quality of the profession and our government. (FWIW Gregoire extends these same priviliges to State Bureaucrats while Satterberg, et al have a much closer power circle with undercuts the authority of County professionals.)
I think this is clearly seen in the Hague DUI muffing which led to an abusive drug addict being elected to an office for which she should have been restrained from.
The recent Pierce County Prosecutor (Gerald Horne) case involving a disgruntled disciplined female employee highlights some of the risks an elected Prosecutor case - why hold a subordinate accountable if it runs the risk of damaging your reputation? I can't speak to the details of this case, however, do ask yourself - would you or I have access to the same level of justice if we were terminated - rightly or wrongly? NO Would most of us even have access to the courts with representation - NO.
That in itself shows the bias the profession has towards itself over the public.
Although Brian Sonntag, State Auditor, is of the same quality cloth as McKenna his influence probably does not match that of Gregoire and Satterberg. I fear that McKenna's next term will mark the turning point as a useful public servant.
I hope I am wrong.
As to Gerald Horne, I know that personally a King County jury decision means very little to me - certainly the vast majority of the legal profession practicing in Downtown Seattle (most living on the Eastside). We shall see what the other voters of Pierce County think as well.
