Prosecutor Norm Maleng dead at 68

This is very sad and unexpected news:

King County Prosecutor Norm Maleng died Thursday night of a heart attack after collapsing at the University of Washington.

Maleng, 68, was attending an event in the UW Urban Horticulture Building when he collapsed.

He was rushed to the hospital after paramedics were called to the university at about 7:20 p.m. While doctors tried to revive him, a number of Seattle and King County officials, including Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske, Sheriff Sue Rahr and County Executive Ron Sims, arrived at the hospital.

Family members and personal friends also gathered at the hospital in tears, and a statement was issued just after 10:30 p.m., confirming Maleng's death.

Norm may not have been a Democrat or a progressive, but he was a good man, and we will miss him. Norm was the kind of politician who earned the respect of a wide swath of the community. Whether you agreed with him or not, it was not difficult to like him. He ran unopposed for reelection in 2005.

We extend our condolences to the Maleng family in their time of grief, and hope that others in the local progressive community will share their sympathies as well.