Hague re-elected and “ready to work”
King County Councilmember Jane Hague won re-election over challenger Richard Pope Tuesday, despite her pending drunken-driving charge and her admission that she once padded her résumé.
In another closely watched county contest, voters approved Initiative 25, which calls for a vote a year from now on whether elections should be run by an elected manager.
Hague’s and Pope’s Eastside race was a rough-and-tumble affair that left voters with a tough choice between two candidates whose personal flaws were on display.
Hague, 61, a Republican, used her substantial campaign funds to defend her record and attack Democrat Pope as a man who was not to be trusted in office.
“I am excited, I’m humbled, I’m honored and I’m ready to get to work,” Hague said last night. ” … The voters have said we want somebody who’s willing to roll up their sleeves and work hard, someone who’s connected to the community and someone who shares our values.”
Hague’s council district includes Mercer Island, Kirkland and most of Bellevue.
Pope said he was disappointed but not surprised by the early results.
“Jane has outspent me in this race by 13 to 1,” he said. “It is very difficult to overcome that kind of stuff. So much of Jane’s campaign budget was spent basically on personal attacks against me.”
Early on, Hague was expecting an easy campaign. Pope was a perennial candidate who has never won an election. Hague was first elected to the council in 1993 and re-elected without opposition in three subsequent elections.
But news broke in August, on primary day, that Hague had been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in June - two days before she filed for re-election for the District 6 seat. She has pleaded not guilty.
Hague gained more attention when she admitted she had falsely claimed a college degree when she was hired in 1986 as King County elections manager. She also agreed to pay an $8,000 fine to the state Public Disclosure Commission for campaign-finance violations.
Even with those problems, some Democrats on the Metropolitan King County Council backed their Republican colleague over her Democratic opponent.
Hague and the county Republican Party hit Pope hard.
Pope, who has switched parties three times in the past decade, failed to win the support of King County Democrats. He won the Democratic nomination by defeating a write-in candidate supported by the party establishment.
Pope, 45, is a Bellevue attorney who has been in trouble with judges over the years for angry outbursts against opposing lawyers and their clients and for failing to meet court deadlines.
Hague reported last week that her campaign had raised $385,228 (including $102,300 of her own money), while Pope had a campaign budget of $33,482, mostly from loans he made to his campaign.
The county Republican Party mailed fliers questioning Pope’s mental stability and accusing him of threatening and harassing women.
In other County Council races Tuesday, Dow Constantine coasted to re-election over Republican challenger John Potter in a rematch of their 2005 contest. Constantine, a Democrat, represents West Seattle, Burien, Normandy Park and Vashon Island.
Incumbents Larry Gossett and Larry Phillips, both Democrats, were re-elected without opposition.
Passage of I-25 won’t end elections battle
Passage of Initiative 25 didn’t end the battle over whether King County elections should be run by an elected or an appointed official.
Under a two-step process for voter-initiated amendments to the county charter, voters will decide in November 2008 whether to revise the charter. If voters approve the amendment, they would elect the first elections director in February 2009.
King County is the only county in Washington where elections are managed by an administrator appointed by the county executive.
Two review panels set up after the contested 2004 governor’s election recommended that future elections be managed by an elected, nonpartisan auditor or director.
Sponsors of Initiative 25 said elections would run better because an elected director of elections would be more accountable to voters.
Opponents said the present system is meant to ensure that a qualified professional runs elections and can be removed by the county executive if he or she fails to meet expectations.
Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com