Just Like The 80s--Both Parties Lead By Women

Back in the Reagan-Bush years, two great female leaders were making names for themselves.  Karen Marchioro  was the state chair of the Washington Democratic Party. She was  hardscrabble plain spoken and represented everything Democratic.  Jennifer Dunn led the Washington Republican Party, she was known for cordiality.  She was about hair in place and fashionable dress.  She represented everything Republican. 
Dunn would later serve our district in congress.  Marchioro became a well regarded political consultant.  Although, they were polar opposites, it seemed like the two had mutual respect for one another.  The real irony is that Marchioro and Dunn died within a week of each other in 2007.  Marchioro had a long bout with cancer.  Dunn was just 66 when she died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism. Both were the first women chairs of their respected parties.
While both Marchioro and Dunn served their parties during the same time frame (1981-1992), Susan Hutchison  has served as Republican chair since 2013.   Tina Podlodowski was elected last Satuday.  Just like the previous pair, their styles represent their parties.  Unlike the other two, it is doubtful that the two would ever find common ground.  Podlodowski  wants to work to get Democrats elected in every county in the state.  Hutchison is one of the country's most outspoken Trump supportors.

State GOP Leader Gets In Trouble With Trump Defense

Susan Hutchison put our state in the news again.  Last summer, she confronted Ted Cruz for not publicly  endorsing GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.  It got Hutchison a little national face time.  But her recent defense of Trump was jaw dropping at best.  In a televised interview, Hutchison said that Trump should be forgiven of taped comments degrading women because it was 11 years ago and to paraphrase "he was a Democrat at the time" she went on to say something to the effect that he was channeling Bill Clinton.
Had Hutchison, a former news anchor and once a candidate for King County Executive, defended Trump by saying it was years ago and people may have changed, it would have been logical.  But to take it to the point that somehow Trump became less sleazy when he changed parties was rather ridiculous and opened unnecessary wounds.  Her mentioning of Clinton, reminds me of the old playground excuse, "Johnny did it first".    Hutchison wants to be a good soldier for her party, but when she talks about something as ridiculous as channeling,  she not only did nothing to help Trump, but hurt other GOP candidates across the state and beyond. 
Local Conservative radio commentator Todd Herman has called for Hutchison's resignation.  Perhaps many of the local GOP recall when Hutchison blew a big lead for the open county executive post and lost to present executive Dow Constantine. 
According to news sources, Hutchison has been unavailable for comment since news of her pro Trump comments came out.

Dow Is New County Executive

The Seatle Times has declared Dow Constantine the winner of the King County Executive race. Constantine, a King County Councilman, was open and upfront on every issue. His opponent, Susan Hutchison, was considered the early favorite.

My Views On The King County Executive Race

Candidates for King County Executive Susan Hutchison and Dow Constantine participated in a debate last Tuesday. Hutchison has two things going for her, one being name recognition, she was a television news anchor on KIRO for many years, and the lack of being part of a now very unpopular county government. Dow has served in the State legislature in both the House and the Senate and currently serves as President on the King County Council. Since he is a Democrat, Hutchison links him with former Executive Ron Sims. For the first time ever, all elective offices in King County will be non-partisan. Since King County generally votes Democratic, it is hard for Republicans to win positions. A non-partisan election makes it possible for Republican candidates to run without carrying an unpopular brand. Susan Hutchison claims to be independent, but her paper trail and history suggest otherwise. I believe that she is the wrong choice for county executive.
Will voters do the research necessary to find out more about both of these candidates? It's hard to tell. Many people vote on emotion. Many candidates feel that King County ignores it's outlying suburbs. Dow is seen as very "Seattle-Centric". In this cycle, he is trying to prove otherwise, that tends to raise skepticism. The question is, what would Hutchison do to bring the Eastside and South County suburbs to the table?

Lawsuit Papers Raise Questions On Hutchison Candidacy

It is commonly known that if you file a lawsuit against a corporate entity, they are going go to the far lengths to destroy the plaintiff and undermine the other party's creditability. That being said, revelations in a lawsuit that former KIRO news anchor Susan Hutchison filed against the owners of KIRO TV, question Ms. Hutchison's integrity. Although the filing and subsequent settling of the lawsuit was public knowledge, Ms Hutchison fought to keep the court papers private. Hutchison is a candidate to be King County Executive.

It may seem like a small thing to call in sick over a holiday, then be seen on vacation, but someone who probably deserved the time off probably had to fill in, not getting time to see his/her family.

Hutchison has failed to reveal her stances and opinions, in contrast to Dow Constantine, who had that courage to tell an audience in North Bend, "I'm a Liberal Democrat".