Exercising the Franchise, Part 5.

At the top of the back of my ballot are two contested races for the Seattle Port Commission, and the choices are pretty clear cut.

For Position 3 my choice (and the choice of the King County Democrats, the King County Labor Council, Governor Gregiore, County Council members Dow Constantine and Bob Ferguson, my own personal Congressman and many others) is Rob Holland. He's extraordinarily well qualified for the Commission having worked with and around the Port for nearly two decades. If he were half as experienced and capable, he'd be a good choice.

His opponent, David Doud, is a conservative activist who brings little more than ideology to the position. He's been running one of the nastiest smear campaigns of the year (perhaps the nastiest, but it's getting hot and heavy in my local city council contests, too. More on that to come.) This is a chance to reward a great candidate and punish bad behavior.

The choice isn't quite as clear in Position 4. Seattle Monorail owner Tom Albro brings strong business experience and some impressive endorsements to the race. He leans a little hard on the "not a career politician, nor a pawn of special interests" angle for my taste (experience tells me that candidates who make too much of not being a pawn often end up being pawned by those very interests), but there's no doubt we could do worse.

We can do better, though, too. My choice is career longshoreman and former legislator Max Vekich. Max knows the Port from the inside out, and his commitment to the Port as a driver for local employment is unparalleled. He brings understanding, integrity, and energy to the race, and he'll deliver the same on the Commission.

Rob Holland and Max Vekich for Port Commission.