KCDCC Coverage
The King County Democrats held their 2005 Nominating Convention tonight to nominate candidates for King County Executive and the nine new, redrawn King County Council seats.
I attended the convention, listened to most of the speeches, and observed the proceedings. There was only one contested race - in the 1st District, between Carolyn Edmonds and Bob Ferguson.
The convention kicked off at about 7 PM, with the King County Democratic Chair introducing elected officials and welcoming everyone. The parliamentarian then read the convention rules and reintroduced the King County Democratic Chair, Ms. Sheary, who then nominated Ron Sims for King County Executive.
Sims then marched in with a huge band of supporters, to thunderous applause and cheers, and delivered a rousing speech about who Democrats are and what we're about. He was the only nominee and won handily without any opposition.
After a short break, the convention was back in order, and Democratic PCOs, the only delegates who could vote, split off into their respective council districts (there are nine new county districts total).
Most of the delegations were fairly small - less than fifty - but the 1st District, home to the Ferguson v. Edmonds contest, had a hundred and fifty PCOs in attendance.
Julia Patterson was nominated for the 5th, Dow Constantine for the 8th, Larry Phillips for the 4th, and Larry Gossett for the 4th. All are current Council incumbents.
Geni Hawkins was nominated for the 7th to challenge Pete von Reichbauer and Roger Larson was nominated in the 9th to challenge current incumbent Steve Hammond (Reagan Dunn may also be running against Hammond).
Nobody was nominated for the 3rd District or the 6th, although the 3rd District may yet have a candidate who will announce in the coming days and weeks.
The other delegations finished fairly quickly and many people came back to watch the Ferguson/Edmonds contest. Both gave rousing speeches with supporters waving signs, and both answered questions for ten minutes.
Ferguson stressed his door knocking and coffee meetings with people who wanted to talk with him. Edmonds stressed her high profile endorsements and her record of getting things done.
Then it was time to vote. 1st District PCOs cast their votes. In the end, Bob Ferguson prevailed over Carolyn Edmonds, 381 to 288. The votes were weighted according to how heavily a precinct voted Democratic in the last election.
I talked with a jubilant Ferguson after the vote. Ferguson attributed his win to his strong connections with the grassroots activists who make up the party's base. He told me here's more committed than ever to focusing on the issues that matter and responding to his constituents.
As to Edmonds, she predictably disappeared before I or anyone else could reach her to talk to her. In fact, she probably left before the results of the vote were even announced. I overheard Ferguson telling reporters that he was confident he'd win even before he heard the results of the vote.
So Ferguson wins, and he also gains our support in the upcoming primary election against whichever opponents he faces.
We'll post more commentary on the KCDCC soon.
I attended the convention, listened to most of the speeches, and observed the proceedings. There was only one contested race - in the 1st District, between Carolyn Edmonds and Bob Ferguson.
The convention kicked off at about 7 PM, with the King County Democratic Chair introducing elected officials and welcoming everyone. The parliamentarian then read the convention rules and reintroduced the King County Democratic Chair, Ms. Sheary, who then nominated Ron Sims for King County Executive.
Sims then marched in with a huge band of supporters, to thunderous applause and cheers, and delivered a rousing speech about who Democrats are and what we're about. He was the only nominee and won handily without any opposition.
After a short break, the convention was back in order, and Democratic PCOs, the only delegates who could vote, split off into their respective council districts (there are nine new county districts total).
Most of the delegations were fairly small - less than fifty - but the 1st District, home to the Ferguson v. Edmonds contest, had a hundred and fifty PCOs in attendance.
Julia Patterson was nominated for the 5th, Dow Constantine for the 8th, Larry Phillips for the 4th, and Larry Gossett for the 4th. All are current Council incumbents.
Geni Hawkins was nominated for the 7th to challenge Pete von Reichbauer and Roger Larson was nominated in the 9th to challenge current incumbent Steve Hammond (Reagan Dunn may also be running against Hammond).
Nobody was nominated for the 3rd District or the 6th, although the 3rd District may yet have a candidate who will announce in the coming days and weeks.
The other delegations finished fairly quickly and many people came back to watch the Ferguson/Edmonds contest. Both gave rousing speeches with supporters waving signs, and both answered questions for ten minutes.
Ferguson stressed his door knocking and coffee meetings with people who wanted to talk with him. Edmonds stressed her high profile endorsements and her record of getting things done.
Then it was time to vote. 1st District PCOs cast their votes. In the end, Bob Ferguson prevailed over Carolyn Edmonds, 381 to 288. The votes were weighted according to how heavily a precinct voted Democratic in the last election.
I talked with a jubilant Ferguson after the vote. Ferguson attributed his win to his strong connections with the grassroots activists who make up the party's base. He told me here's more committed than ever to focusing on the issues that matter and responding to his constituents.
As to Edmonds, she predictably disappeared before I or anyone else could reach her to talk to her. In fact, she probably left before the results of the vote were even announced. I overheard Ferguson telling reporters that he was confident he'd win even before he heard the results of the vote.
So Ferguson wins, and he also gains our support in the upcoming primary election against whichever opponents he faces.
We'll post more commentary on the KCDCC soon.
