Slog - The Stranger's Blog

Line Out

The Music Blog

« What Happens If You Take 25 Hi... | KEXP Adds Stranger Flavor »

Tuesday, April 4, 2006

Murray vs. Thibaudeau

Posted by on April 4 at 9:51 AM

So Ed Murray is running for the Washington State Senate in the 43rd against Pat Thibaudeau, a Democratic incumbent.

Haven’t heard of Thibaudeau? Well, that’s because she doesn’t do much in Olympia, and isn’t exactly respected by her fellow Ds. In 2005 she was in line to get the chair of the State Senate’s Health Care Committee, but her fellow Dems in the Senate replaced her—demoted her—because they apparently didn’t believe she could handle such an important committee. (Or as the PI’s Joel Connelly delicately put it in a column in December of 2005: “Thibaudeau did not get a committee chairmanship when Democrats organized the Senate early this year.ā€¯)

Murray, meanwhile, has been a player in the state house. He’s chair of the important Transportation Committee. This year he got the gay rights bill passed and passed a regional transportation package. Last year Murray got a transportation-funding gas tax through the house. It says something about Murray’s power and his progressivism that for the second year in a row right-wingers are trying to repeal bills he got passed: last year KVI pushed an unsuccessful repeal of the gas tax; this year Tim Eyman is pushing a repeal of the gay rights bill. (Great Goldy post here about what a lying sack of shit Eyman is.)

The Dems in the State Senate aren’t as progressive as the Dems in the House, and Murray would be a good addition to the Senate. Ed gets things done. And Murray will be as effective in the State Senate as he’s been in the House—and not just on gay issues. (In the same column Connelly wrote of Murray, “Murray has demonstrated in Olympia that it is possible to be liberal, progressive and gay, but also tough and highly effective. He is frequently mentioned as a successor to Seattle’s Congressman-for-life Jim McDermott.ā€¯)

But some folks have a problem with Murray running against Thibaudeau. They gripe that Murray shouldn’t be running against a democratic incumbent. But other Washington Dems have run against Dem incumbents. Gary Locke was elected to the legislature after defeating Peggy Maxie, an incumbent Dem and an African-American woman, in 1982. In 1994 Kip Takuda was elected to the state legislature when he defeated Vivian Caver, yet another African-American woman and a fellow Dem.

Oh, and guess who else has committed the unpardonable sin of running against an incumbent Dem in a state race?

Pat Thibaudeau.

In 1992 Thibaudeau ran against and defeated an incumbent Dem in the primary. Thibaudeau ran against Rep. Dick Nelson, one of the most liberal Dem members of the legislature at the time. And Thibaudeau not only ran against an incumbent, but she ran a dirty campaign, sending out hit pieces that misrepresented Nelson’s positions. Just how dirty was Pat in 1992? Thibaudeau was so dirty that the King County Democrats denied her their endorsement going into the general election in 1992. From the Seattle Times:

PARTY IRREGULAR: In the Democratic Party playbook, everybody happily joins hands after the bruising primary election and unites for the bruising general election. But not in King County, where party leaders voted this week not to endorse Pat Thibaudeau in the 43rd Legislative District.

Thibaudeau, who with a few absentee ballots still to be counted appears to have defeated Rep. Dick Nelson in the 43rd District primary, expected to get the party endorsement and would have if not for last-minute opposition from the Nelson camp. His supporters complained she was unduly nasty and misrepresented his legislative record. “[Thibaudeau] lied,” says Nelson campaign aide Roger Pence.ā€¯

Thibaudeau’s dirty campaign in 1992 wasn’t her first underhanded attempt to grab a seat in the state legislature—just her first successful attempt. In 1987 Pat Thibaudeau tried to grab the 43rd District House seat away from Cal Anderson. The seat was open, and the 43rd District Dems drew up a list of three candidates. Traditionally the King County Council appoints the top choice, and Anderson was the top choice. Anderson at the time was an openly gay aide to Seattle Mayor Charles Royer. The state legislature at the time had never had an openly gay member, and the Dems in the 43rd, home to Seattle’s gay community, felt it was important to send Anderson. (Remember, this was 1987, the height of the AIDS epidemic—gay people desperately needed representation in the legislature.)

Thibaudeau was the 43rd District Dems’ last choice—third on the list. But Thibaudeau had friends on the County Council—she was a lobbyist, you see—and she pressed her chums on the County Council to ignore what 43rd District Dems wanted and appoint her over of Cal Anderson. The 43rd District Dems cried foul, but Thibaudeau refused to play by the rules. (Before the list was drawn up, Anderson and the 43rd District Dems’ second choice both signed a letter agreeing to support the 43rd District Dems’ first choice, whoever it was. Thibaudeau refused to sign the letter.) The King County Democratic Party Chairman at the time, David McDonald, accused Thibaudeau of working to “undermine” the appointment process. He then called on the King County Democratic Central Committee to remove Thibaudeau from the list before sending it on to the County Council. Removing Thibaudeau required a two-thirds vote of the Central Committee. Thibaudeau lost the vote, and was removed from the list—a pretty resounding rejection of Thibaudeau and her slimy politics.

So if someone tells you that Murray is out of line for running against an incumbent, tell `em that Thibaudeau did the exact same thing in 1992. And if someone tells you that it’s ageist and sexist for Murray to take on Thibaudeau, then tell `em that it was homophobic and opportunistic for Thibaudeau’s to try and block Cal Anderson’s appointment in 1987. (And I suppose you should add that it was sexist and, er, racist for Locke and Takuda to run against and defeat African-American women.) And then tell them that in addition to being ineffectual, Thibaudeau is an ineffectual, self-serving pol who has twice been slapped down by her own party for her dirty campaigning and her dishonest, underhanded political maneuvering.

And then tell `em it’s time for Pat to go.


CommentsRSS icon

Murray is okay, and I have dealt with him often enough to have attended a few constituent meetings in his office. But, really, what has he done as chair of the the transportation committee that is so great?

Honestly, Dan. If it weren't for his being gay and a public advocate for gay rights--in welcome contrast to closeted GOP hypocrites--exactly what political grounds are you citing to praise Murray and slam his election opponent?

Nice research Dan.

The fact that Ed was WORKING over the last many years and being sought out for press stories on current issues (transportation and gay rights to name the most prominent) in play vs. the invisibility of Pat and her lack of a chairmanship speak volumes.

If you go and look at the progress on the transportation bills last session in the legislature you will see the consensus building that Ed achieved to get the votes to make some progress (finally!) this year.

I disagree with Ed a lot, but I'll be endorsing him in this race, if it's down to him and Pat.

p.s. don't forget the 43rd LD caucus on April 22, 5510 Univ Way NE, 2-9 pm - I'll be at the front taking minutes.

What is with the blinkers that Smarm and so many others have on that all they can see when they look at Ed Murray is "gay, gay, gay"?

Transportation Committee? Gas tax? Transportation package? Does any of this ring a bell?

Ed Murray was widely respected on both sides of the aisle long before the gay rights bill passed this year.

Dan's hit piece on Thibaudeau is why I read the Stranger. Succinct and right on target.

I don't care all that much about Murray being gay. I judge him on merit. Murray's done the heavy lifting on transportation, the biggest issue out there. He's gotten the job done. Period.

There are 4 out gay representatives in the House, so at this juncture it's not vital that we elect a gay rep to the House from the 43rd.

It could be in the Senate, which has no gay representatives, with the Senate's longtime hostility to gay civil rights, and forthcoming battles over gay marriage.

"There are 4 out gay representatives in the House, so at this juncture it's not vital that we elect a gay rep to the House from the 43rd.

It could be in the Senate, which has no gay representatives, with the Senate's longtime hostility to gay civil rights, and forthcoming battles over gay marriage."


In that case, Ed should run against Tim Sheldon.

whatever one makes of pt's tactics, the truth is that she's been a sick little old lady for a few sessions, so it's ever so heartwarming to watch danny boy go after her.

Wow - seems like the Murray propaganda machine has supplied a built-in manifesto for ya...got anyone talking to Pat and/or researching Ed as nastily?

You guys always crap on the female pols and give credit for heavy lifting to the guys who crow about it, rather than the gals who DO it. If you research Pat honestly, you'll see that. And if you research gay rights and transportation issues thoroughly, you'll see that too.

Gal43rd--
Give me a teaser...what will I find if I research PT? I do need to do some research before the election, but when I've sat in on committee meetings in which PT was involved, I've been incredibly unimpressed.

Isn't it amazing how the Murray machine managed to plant those stories in the archives of the PI and Times, so that anyone who Google's Pat T. can find them? Wow, how'd they do that?

Gee... looks like pt's major sin is that she's straight.

The King County Dems did not remove PT her from their list of three recommended candidates in 1987 because she was straight. They removed her because she was attempting to use contacts developed during her career as a lobbyist to game the system.

And the KC Dems denied PT their endorsement in 1992 not because she was straight, but because she ran a dirty, deceitful campaign against the Dem incumbent, Dick Nelson.

PT sure can dish it out, but she can't take it. When someone dishes it back at her, she insists she's being picked on because she's a woman. That's bullshit. She's being slammed because she's a hypocrite, a dirty campaigner, and an ineffectual bench-warmer.

pat's sin is not that she's straight-- she's just plain ineffective. ed has created a lot of power for himself and the residents of the 43rd that needs to be carried into the senate so he can continue to get things done for us.
PT is just not cutting it. period.

FNARF -

If your post was intended to answer my question, re-read the question and try again. You can do it, I just know you can. Not.

Excellent points. Minor correction... former KC dem chair was David McDonald. Dan McDonald was an eastside republican who was once senate majority leader in Olympia and also ran unsuccessfully for governor.


This is Dan Savage practicing the Stranger's brand of hee-haw hit journalism -- a completely lopsided essay, no doubt prompted and researched (maybe even ghost-written) by Murray supporters, that does a drive-by shooting of Pat.

Well, everybody, the election's over as far as The Stranger is concerned.

Ed's the guy -- and let's see if a word of doubt or concern or balance ever creeps int the Stranger's august news pages.

Expect future stories to just present more "facts" that reinforce this view. The Stranger is not long on reflection, humility or second thoughts.

I've heard Murray speak and I've even had a few email exchanges with him and he struck me as singulary ordinary without a spark of imagination, simply reciting all the Democratic pieties...just an amiable go-along get-along Dem except that he is gay. He's not a disaster -- just a mediocrity. In fact I suspect you like him because he is a mediocrity and therefore amenable to your vastly superior intelligence?

Does Dan get this worked up about politics in the community where *he* lives?

They gripe that Murray shouldnā€™t be running against a democratic incumbent.

This always annoys me. Do they think if you get elected in a district as heavily Democratic as the 43rd(or 36th, etc), it should be for life? It's not like Republicans have any remote chance of taking the seat; my cat could win the election there if she were the Democratic nominee. A primary challenge is the only avenue for change and even if you don't want a change, it's a great way to keep your representatives on their toes when they would otherwise coast to victory in the general.

Dan lives on Capitol Hill. Dan really does.

Thanks, GJChatalas, correction made.

if this isn't about doing murray a favor for purely partisan reasons, but is about objectively assessing pt's record, then how do you explain this language from the stranger's endorsement of pt during her last election?

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=12450

"This race has got one nice old Democratic lady, Pat Thibaudeau... [who] without a doubt merits reelection. Her biggest priority is health care, and she helped push SCHIP, the children's health insurance program, as well as the prescription drug bill, through the last session (the latter passed in the senate, but failed in the house)."

dan you don't live on vashon island (34th district)?

I did live on Vashon for a few years. Been back in Seattle for the last two.

The Stranger's endorsements are written by committee. Not everyone signs off on each and every one of 'em. People who lose the vote on the edit board give way. Which is not to say that there was enthusiastic support for PT. In a race against a Rep, PT may merit reelection. In a race against someone like Murray, she does not. And if her supporters are going to trash Murray for running against Dem incumbent, then PT's history of doing the same should be put out there.

Oh, and to the folks who think I'm being sexist, the Stranger was very aggressive in the last election cycle about our support for Jan Drago. We trashed her male opponent, Casey Corr. This isn't about genitals, although PT's supporters would like you to believe that it is.

Aexia does have a good point, about us needing to not appoint people for life.

And I'll bet a lot of people are happy that Jan Drago won, nowadays.

Anyway, when are you guys going to write about the six candidates for our open House seat? A really good crop running this year.

Dear Diary:

Now if we can only get Joel Connelly to notice us again...

Love,
(signed)
Dan

Hey, Will...

We've got a piece in next week about the six running. It was supposed to run last week but it got held on account of the shootings.

As for Joel, he notices us plenty without any prompting from me.

Well, Dan, if you're so intent on attacking "ineffectual" Democrats, perhaps you ought to do a great story on the waste of a seat in Congress that Jim McDermott usually is...

Dan was tame. Pat's attacks on Cal were severe and extreme. She doesn't know when to quit. The 43rd district is important. Leadership can grow from it because its safe. Pat has not grown. Even the women in her caucus - many of them older and in similar circumstance, want her to leave. She has failed to take the huge hints they've been giving her for over a year. What's she done lately? Next to nothing. The 43rd needs advocates for the elderly, the poor, civil rights, for higher ed and on transportation. They aren't getting any of that from their current Senator.

ok not slums. i'm sure they're fine investment properties -- but yes, the vashon angle is one that has been played up here before.

Thanks for the links, Dan! I forgot about Josh's excellent column...

Comments Closed

In order to combat spam, we are no longer accepting comments on this post (or any post more than 45 days old).