She seems like a very capable candidate with a very bright future ahead of her, but I have to wonder how much of her total came from getting the Stranger endorsement. This was a big field of candidates and many of them blurred together. I can imagine a large number of voters saw her name, remembered The Stranger saying she was the one, and voted for her.

Wasn't Street supposed to be ahead by now, according to the predictions? I thought he was supposed to be getting more of the voters as the results trickled in. Or have they not counted absentee ballots yet?

When will the Stranger stop hyping their friends? I would assume a Stranger endorsement in the 43rd is worth at least 1000 votes. Take those away from Pure and she's nowhere in this race.

Pedersen ran the best campaign, and Sherman came out as the dark horse. Enough on your friend Pure already Erica. You're quickly losing cred.

OK, I just checked the blog from earlier today and saw one post I missed that answered my questions. Thanks. I forgot about how many votes are still left to count. With all the talk on Tuesday night about all this momentum Street was supposed to have and how people were so for him, I had thought he would be inching up in the votes by now.

Street did inch up last night, and tonight and tomorrow will really start to tell the story.

Frank - no doubt many of Stephanie's votes can be attributed to the Stranger endorsement, as many of Street's can be to the PI and Sherman to the Times.

Simply being less of a loser than Dodson and Kelly doesn't make one a "winner". This isn't the freaking Special Olympics.

Pure blew nearly $30 a vote and didn't finish in the top 3. She effectively disenfranchised the nearly 2,000 idiots who wasted their otherwise important vote on a candidate that never had a chance. I might actually admire this if she actually had an issue or a message that otherwise wasn't represented by legitimate candidates. She didn't. She ran a race not because she was bringing something better to the people of the 43rd - but so that she could build name recognition for future races.

There's no doubt she'll run again. We've already witnessed the pathetic selfishness of the future career politician.

If Pure is the winner it is the earnest voters of the 43rd who are the losers.

Predicted to finish last my arse! Given the clowncar nature of the race and the vanilla nature of fellow candidates Dodson and Kelley, as well as Sherman to some extent, and all the hype that Pure got via your rag, there was NO WAY she was finishing dead last.

Don't make like she overcame crazy odds and transcended anything. If anything, it would've been a huge disappointment had she not outdone at least one candidate, if not two, given the attention she got.

"Street did inch up last night, and tonight and tomorrow will really start to tell the story."

Last night didn't Pedersen gain a few votes on him and get closer to having a 200 vote difference? On Tuesday night he had a 35 vote difference and many seemed to think the margin would keep shrinking as returns came in.

I believe Jim got just barely a few more votes than Jamie last night, and widened his gain over Sherman, but I didn't write down the votes before they changed. There is a good analysis in the Slog today, scroll down.

but there you go - the new results - Pedersen gains a few more on Street and both gain more than Sherman...Pedersen now leads Street by 209 votes.

My comments aside, I do agree that she ought to run for another office down the line, even as soon as next year.

I'm posting this because it reminds me of SLOG:

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/33542?issue=4227&special=1998

Poor Erica - a reporter all caught up in the --- we annoiont the leaders thing ..... really, your stuff on the city hall dog fight was getting a lot of attention.

Save the fan mail for little not cards. And we all know in the Stgranger chess game, Shephanie is th card to peter;s heart and a great deal of inside stuff for Erica.

Onoly at the Stgranger does a 33 year old woman enter politics as if she were 21 and no a jaded city hall insider. She ran a horrible campaign, no issues, no programs, and after watcching her twice at foums I thoaught she was running for Burien City Council.

She will go now where in politics - no if this close to her best.

Jamie is on his way to the win --- despite all the sore loser stuff. The upset is a sill fantasy, he worked the absentees well, and has the same lead now he had on election night.

Predicted his win to friends by 200 votes, I think I will collsecnt some booze and booty on those bets.

Go Jamie, brillant campaign. Sir Vanilla Political Leader for the next generation.

I think he was an eagle Scout, bakes cookies, loves his granny, worked at Mc Donalds to get thru Yale, and deserves every thing he has achieved as a self made political leader.

Plus brilliant and focused campaign, beating lots of odds -who would have thought any one would win in this dog pile without the Times - PI - MUNI or Danger endorsements...... WOW, kid you did it!!!!

Of course the many front pages of SGN and SEAMEC and Ed, and queer money -- might have helped .... a real bloc - not just huff and puff fluff stuff.

That Onion article really was apt. Thanks, Mr. I know what's best for everyone poster. We are all that man, aren't we?

I'm going to your happy hour, Jake. Where the hell is it?

P.S. I was not being sarcastic in the above comment. Just wanted to clarify because sometimes its hard to tell (as if anyone even cared, Jude...)

agreed on the friend-hyping. it's one thing to endorse your friends. it's another to say that pure's "chutzpah and hard work" (in bold) were the only reasons she got the stranger's endorsement. it's almost dishonest to call pure a "natural winner", as if her performance distinguished her from others, when she's in a statistical dead heat with the bottom of the pack.

I would just like to point out that despite all the bitter negativity on display here, that all of the candidates were pretty darn good, and the worst of them would be the envy of many a district. That includes Ms. Pure, who doesn't deserve the pointless vitriol, but having been around politics a while probably isn't surprised by it.

Pure got my attention and I'm 300 miles away. I enjoyed 'too much democracy's take. Don't try out your abilities to make a change. Others have been there first. Yo have no right.

agreed with fnarf's point, minus pederson.

Really? Pure's the one who pulled a surprise? Bill Sherman was a virtual unknown before he took his message to the voters - if anyone in this race really came out of nowhere, it was Bill.

Is this Stephanie Pure now going to be the endless "Licazte" style hype of the Danger - endless, on and on, story after story, like paid promo people?

Folks, her campaign was a shambles. She had no message. Talked youth and she is looking at 35. Nothing exciting, a few good looking yard signs - dull, dull. dull.

Nice straight white lady, there are thousand of more talented women in this city than Ms. Pure, from what I could see. Thousands, and many work for the city and county.

Is she the mother of Dan's child?

Many people in this town are going to need to offer an apology to Jamie Pedersen after all this is over.

Shame on you. He sems to have won fair and square.

Personal and very petty does not change the world for the better.

Keep focused, the right wing is the enemy, not the newbie homo with brains and money.

Memo to Jamie Pedersen supporters:

It looks like your candidate will be representing the 43rd district. Congratulations! A fine job all around on a first-rate campaign, with a good, quality candidate who is smart, humble, dedicated, and a class act.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about many of his petulant, arrogant, disrespectful supporters. Why all the bile? Why the childish malice? It reflects poorly on Pedersen, and he deserves better.

He's winning the election, but with less than 25% of the vote. He'll need to reach out to the other 75% in order to be effective, and he's perfectly capable of doing it. However, you seem hell-bent on alienating supporters of other candidates and poisoning the waters for Pedersen, and making his task of uniting us all far more difficult.

Shame on you.

"Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about many of his petulant, arrogant, disrespectful supporters. Why all the bile? Why the childish malice? It reflects poorly on Pedersen, and he deserves better. "

I don't live in that district, I'm only an observer, so I can't say I supported anyone. Speaking as an observer, I can't blame some of his supporters on here if they aren't in the best of moods after some of the odd entries this blog has posted against him, like the one which went on about this person at his party who said he was the least gay candidate in the race because he had rarely been to gay bars. Or the speculative posts which have been saying for days that Street will win, Street is going to win, even as this surge he was supposed to have after Tuesday night hasn't occured (yet). Now that Pedersen seems more likely to win, there's a post which says Erica Pure is the real winner, even though she only got 4th place in spite of an endorsement from a major publication like The Stranger.

I'm sure some of his supporters feel The Stranger rarely gave him a fair shake, and they are probably a bit sour as a result.

Sorry, I meant Stephanie Pure, not Erica.

I also didn't mean to imply the Stranger praised her as the real winner because Pedersen seems likely to win right now. I'm just saying that some may see it that way.

Dodson was a disappointment. She had the early money, the support, and the background to make a bigger impact, and she blew it.

Guess what? As a voter in the 43rd, I viewed a Stranger endorsement for Pure as much a warning sign as a reason to vote for her. I love the Stranger, but it Won't Grow Up, and including Pure in its political clique (and the Stranger seems very cliquey) really just meant that she was the right candidate for the hip, good-looking citizens who live within a four-block radius of The Stranger's offices on Capitol Hill, not the entire 43rd.

Seriously, an endorsement from The Stranger carries an instant implication that the candidate will spend her term on such crucial issues as the teen dance ordinance, skate parks, and amateur porn festivals, rather than issues that actually matter to the people who live here. You know, like transportation, education and boring old-fogey shit like that. This may not be fair or accurate, but in politics, perception is reality.

Like I said, I find the Stranger highly entertaining, but on grownup issues, it can sometimes be tough to take seriously. I wish that would change -- it's acutally just a couple steps away from being a fantastic and impactful paper.

What, pray tell, is a "Licazte"?

Nonesense.
The Real Winner is ...The Real Winner.
Maybe some day it will be Stephanie but not this time.

I can't believe all the fucking venom aimed at Stephanie. What the fuck did she do to deserve all this? She had the fucking audacity to run for office? I hope none of you fucking jerkoffs ever utter one word of complaint about young people not taking part in the process - because clearly it fucking threatens you and your fucked up world view when a young person (and, yes, 35 IS young you fucking idiots - look at the goddamn make up of government) does participate. How annoying it must be for you all that she didn't come in dead last. You fucking pompous, arrogant assclowns.

Just read the whole slog - and I think it is very bizarre that if the Stranger lays down a party line - all are supposet to agree, lockstep. Bad High School Clicque is exactly the feel.

I can't see any attack on Pure as a nice lady, but she sure ran a horrible campaign. So horrible she lost badly, and is near the bottom of a field of six, Facts, it seems to me.

What she does from here is her decision, but it seems to me she is "no Sally Clark". And if youth is any advantage in politics it is in exciting new ideas. Heard none from her, just boring stuff about the music project she helped with years ago. Now she gets good money at city hall as a Steinbrook gofer. Whoopie ding dong. Still a thin resume and no exciting ideas.

Politics is the exciting sorting of ideas and agenda for the democracy we live in. It is not intended to be a polite tit sucking tea party. Or if you are gay, a polite cock sucking martini party.

Stephanie's friends are stuck in the tea party mind set. She will be better served by taking seriously the critics, they are more honest than close buddy and girl friend, Erica the writer of a silly promo piece, braying she won. She lost bad, and needs to learn a lot to go on with any success.

And I thought thw quip about her being the mother of Dan's child was funny.

By the way here is one more thought. By any standard the Jamie Pedersen campaign was the most anti- establishment effort in this election. Queer guy, self made, no mainstream endorsements, the deck is stacked - but he wins agaisnt a very stong field. The strongest any one can remember any where.

No endorsements from the PI or Times, my, my, I bet those editors are fuming along with Erica and the Stranger staff. Just what do their often arrogant and stuffy endorsements mean --- apparently not much.

Jamie is here, he is queer, he is going to win, get used to it.

Well, it's not even known if Pedersen won yet, although he has the edge for right now.

From what I have read, Pure sounds like a solid candidate, especially for her first race. I don't think anyone has a big problem with her. If there were negative comments they may be based on calling her the "real winner", when she came in fourth in spite of the endorsement from The Stranger. I'm sure she is going to run for other offices and she will have success.

YES, THE TOOTH FAIRY CAN COME ALONG AND BAIL OUT ONE OF THE FIVE LOSERS.

THREE BATCHES OF ABSENTEES HAVE BEEN COUNTED SICE THE ELECTION, WED, THR, AND FRIDAY. ALL COUNTS HAVE BROKEN FOR JAMIE.

THINK THAT MIGHT BE A REAL DEFINITIVE TREND LINE.

IN FACT, I THINK VEGAS WOULD GIVE GREAT ODDS IN FAVOR OF JAMIE AT THIS POINT, DESPITE ALL THE PISSING AND MOANING AMONG THE SADDENED SORE LOSERS.

This thread turned hilarious.

Jerrie - is that short for "geriatric" or "Jerry's Kids"? Take a fucking look at government and the resumes of politicians prior to their winning office. At least a dozen were "just" legislative aides prior to getting election - you fucking neophyte to politics. Congrats - a gay won. Take your high and fucking mighty attitude and shove it in your shithole.

And for the others who are now like "Oh, we didn't post negative comments - we're just reacting to calling stephanie the real winner". Fuck you all too. Blame the Stranger, not Stephanie. She earned their endorsement the same way the rest of the fucking candidates earned their respective endorsements = she knew her audience. Where were you all when Dick Kelley won the YOUNG DEMOCRATS endorsement? Or Lynne Dodson won the SEAMEC co-endorsement? Where was your fucking self righteous blathering then? Right - let's target Stephanie. She's new, she's an easy target. How dare she run without a 30-year career in government! How absolutely fucking horrid! And if any of you fucking apes knew anything about the district you lived in, you'd know that voters under 40 outnumber those over 40 by two-to-one. So stop with the "she just represents Capitol Hill". Take a look - she represents Fremont, U-District AND Capitol Hill. One would argue she even represents most of Wallingford and Greenlake given that she isn't in a fucking walker. You Dumbfucks.

I say Congrats to Jamie. He ran a smart campaign, raised a shitton of money and played his strengths well. But to degrade the other candidates you fucking moronic Pedersen supporters do him a fucking great disservice. And that's not because my fucking candidate lost (I voted for Sherman actually, Stephanie was my runner up) - it's because we had the fucking luxury - YES LUXURY - of having 6 really solid candidates on the ballot and instead of recognizing some worth with Stephanie (and the other candidates), you fuckheads would rather kick her after the loss. You fucking idiots should work for the Republican party - we might actually start winning some races nationally then.

Did I miss something in ECB’s posting? I thought ECB’s point was: the local women’s community, under the leadership of Karen Cooper (Executive Director of NARAL), Linda Mitchell (women’s political consultant) tried to bully candidate Pure from running for office. Pure thumbed her nose at the unethical and insipid leadership of our local “established women’s community� and did not step out of the race to make room for their “women’s candidate.� In the long run, Pure brought in better numbers than the “Established Women’s Community endorsed candidate- Lynne Dodson. In my opinion Karen NARAL Cooper and Linda Mitchell should be ashamed of themselves.

I am so saddened by most of the comments here.

Stephanie came in to this campaign without the inherent infrastructure that most of the candidates had:

Jaime, Preston Gates Ellis' big money

Jim Street: All his former political ties, and his name recogntion amongst the over 60 set-who vote.

Lynn Dodson: Labor

Dick Kelley: Dem establishment, and District organization.

Stephanie: her community activism amongst young people and renters, and her constituent work with people in the 43rd, one on one

Hmmm...who had an uphill battle from the start, but took the risk, and put herself out there anyway?

$30 dollars a vote? Actually it's more like $15 or $20

And this is to Jaime's $75-$100 a vote.

Money talks in politics. That's the way you are able to run any campaign, let alone a good one.

Did the Stranger endorsement help Stephanie, undoubtedly.

I'm sure that the the other candidate's endorsements helped them as well. Stephanie WON that endorsement by impressing the editorial board of the Stranger.

We would never be having this discussion about a male candidate. Notice that none of this is (s)he/isn't (s)he good enough talk is not focused on Bill Sherman or Dick Kelley.

If Bill Sherman had won, would you say, oh that's only because he got the Times endorsement? I don't think so.

Stephanie ran a campaign to engage people in politics who usually aren't engaged--and it worked (I've met many 19 and 20 year olds who hadn't voted before, and voted for Stephanie). That's not pollyanna, that takes balls, because you know those are hard votes to win.

As far as her resume...she's 32! So Jaime worked at McD's (I'd give anything for a shot of him in that paper hat), Stephanie worked retail to put herself through college at the U--in the 43rd District...

Anyone who actually knows what a legislative aide does knows that you aren't a gofer. You are the person who works with the consituents, and informs the elected's opinions. You have to be able to grasp complex issues and personalities, put them all together, and do that on about 40 issues at a time. That's why Ed Murray and (I believe) Cal were LA's before they went to the legislature.

I do think that the 43rd was lucky to have such a great field of candidates.

In my mind Stephanie is a winner for taking a big risk, and continuing in this race when just about everyone said she should give up. She never did. She showed enormous strength. That's the kind of person I want representing me.

It is about winning in politics. Stephanie may not have won the race, but she won a lot of people over, and will continue to do so.

What is it with the Stranger's writers? Did they get ignored in high school, or what?

Here we have Erica trying to make herself important by calling her preferred candidate at winner...after finishing fourth. What's the origin of this delusional arrogance?

Um. This is a blog posting. It's all about opinions, as you can see.

While ECB's opinon may be that Stephanie is A winner (if not the winner), and you may disagree, the actual post is about how Stephanie trounced the official 'women's' candidate (an idea which shouldn't exist) who had established connections and a huge leg up with regard to the resources available to her.

I think Lynn would make a great legislator.

But Stephanie, having to work a full time job, doorbelling after work, up until August...

Stephanie, in the campaign since March or April, and Lynn having campaigned over a year...with all that establishment behind her...

Well, Stephanie kind of kicked butt.

I think ECB's point is 1) why should there only be one female candidate 2) Maybe the criteria used to annoint Lynn that candidate didn't jive with the demographics of the District

It's a question...

Pathetic,
She may have entered the race without infrastructure, but she was equally lacking in ideas, message or reason for running aside from her own self- promotion.

If you're going to run as the young, anti-establishment change-maker (which I think she was attempting, although it was hard to tell) at least come up with some fresh ideas and prove that you're not cut from the same cloth as the status-quo career politicians (Nickels, Sims, Steinbrueck, etc).

"And for the others who are now like "Oh, we didn't post negative comments - we're just reacting to calling stephanie the real winner"."

This was the position some took from the beginning. Sure some people didn't like Stephanie Pure, or her campaign, but others had no problem with her, they just didn't see her as the "real winner".

Wow. What a cat fight.

I saw all the candidates in person at a forum. I found it VERY instructive to see them live in person. Pedersen seemed decent enough, but a bit milquetoast. The two big disappointments were Street and Dodson. I don't disagree with either of them in any substantive way, but personally, Street came across as dull as dirt (and his attention seemed to wander whenever he wasn't being questioned directly), and Dodson sounded like a harpy. Pure was a surprise. She came across sounding much more intelligent and better spoken than I expected, and was very engaging. I'd be perfectly happy if she'd won. The one independent candidate (I forget her name), came across as a well meaning lunatic.

All in all, there really isn't any huge difference in the core policy beliefs of any of the six. I'll support any of them over whatever Republican nut job runs against them in November.

Jamie Pedersen the anti establishment candidate? Just because he didn’t get the big endorsements?

Please. He raised a ton of downtown money in this campaign, way more than any other candidate. I don’t say it to diss him, there’s nothing wrong with it. Bringing together populist, morally righteous civil rights folks and downtown money is a tried and true way to get elected. It requires skill, and he worked it brilliantly.

He’s used his downtown money and connections to push marriage equality, which requires a political acumen that will serve him well in Olympia. Claiming he’s anti-establishment denigrates his true skills and real accomplishments.

Oh, and by the way: in the 43rd, the queer group endorsements are not anti establishment. They are mainstream. Two of our three state reps are now gay.

As I posted earlier, I don't think Stephanie "kicked butt", though she did a fine job for a first race in a crowded field. She couldn't win - she was targeting non-voters with a message even THEY didn't care about. More to the point, Lynn did a very poor job. Her presentation lacked energy, her mailings were terrible, her signs invisible. There is no "women's candidate", but many voters will vote for a candidate, given good positions on issues, because she is a woman. That said, two women in the race divide those votes. In this case, many thought a woman should replace Pat T. For good or bad, having another "gay" legislator became more important with the gay marriage decision.

This slog has become really interesting - some wet pants potty mouth throwing names at anyone he or she thinks might be over 21.

Then the folks who want to claim that not winning is a path to future success, esp. if you don't deconstruct why you lost. The hard conversation - that if you don't have will prevent future success.

Folks who wonder why the comments are directed about Shephanie Pure - when in fact, the Slolg entry was all about her.

If the forums had been half as interesting the whole season would have been sparks -energy, ideas and debate.
Purely great politics.

I think the best person is winning - and I guess that is what really counts.

Whatever happens next?? - maybe Pure can run for governor against that old fucking bitty from the old lady establishment, Christine Gregoire. Rally the youth again statewide. All you need is a filing fee and the Stranger endorsement. Early start,go go - the short name works great on yard signs, big plus if you have no ideas except I agreed with my boss.

QUESTION -- HOW DO YOU RUN FROM CITY HALL WHEN ALL THE JOKES IN THE CITY HAVE TO DO WITH THE INERTIA AND INEPT LEADERSHIP THAT EXIST AT CITY HALL?

IT IS THE SUBSTANCE OF MANY JOKES, STORIES, AND SOME REAL VOTER AGNST. WHAT THE HELL DO THEY DO WHEN IT TAKES YEARS TO GET ANY WORK DONE?

FOLKS LIKE MS. PURED MIGHT DOWNPLAY THE CITY HALL STUFF IN THEIR RESUME - TRUTH IS THAT IS IS GOOD FOR ANOTHER CUSHIE JOB AT CITY HALL, NOT MUCH ELSE.

Wow… what a spontaneous explosion of misogyny!

Whenever I claim that Seattle's Progressive reputation is more bull shit than fact, people tell me I'm just bitter because I'm Judy Nicastro's mother. But some of the bare knuckled woman bashing displayed above lays it all out there nice and clear for all to see. Normally you have to go to Cathy Allen or Joni Balter to glimpse this level of young female politician hatred.

As for criticizing The Stranger for their endorsement of Stephanie. Please. Believe me, no young female candidate has more to fear than that!

The newest returns say Pedersen now leads by about 245 votes, an increase of around 40 votes. When are we supposed to know if the numbers will turn in Street's favor?

only the tooth fairy can save street - already posted - jamie has won every count from old absentees to election night to the most recent daily counts - a hard core trend, street is toast - jamie has it baked.

i am a feminist male - i think the critics that i have read here are mainly honest and directed to stephanie for her use and evaluation - only the less than modern non feminist folk would protect her from negative opinions for fear she can't handle negatives since she is female, just a woman - no need to protect her from opinions, hope she can learn .... of course, ignore the assholes.

Ms. Nicastro - Judy lost because she took tainted money -- and had already lost some of her activist spirit - anti woman, hardly - bad plitical decisions on her part. Maybe bad advice from mommy?

oh yeah, Jack? So how come it was Nicastro and Wills that took the fall and not Jim "Practically Dead" Compton? Don't think there was a touch of oddity there?

So Pure’s resume is “thin� because she’s 32, rather than say, 64, like Jim Street? And is principally known as a Council aide, despite some outside achievements?

Let’s compare and contrast. When first elected to the King County Council, Greg Nickels experience was as a Council aide, period. Nothing else. His resume was a joke compared to Pure’s when he first ran for office, at a comparable age. Did his nonexistent resume hinder his ability to get things done? Not at all.

When appointed—yes, appointed—to his position in the state legislature, Ed Murray was well known for his work as……yes, a Council aide. How would his resume have stacked up against, say, Bill Sherman’s? Very poorly indeed. Let’s not even mention Street, to spare the blushes.

Has that constrained Murray from being a civil rights hero and legislative powerhouse? Not one bit.

What made them qualified and Pure not?

"only the tooth fairy can save street - already posted - jamie has won every count from old absentees to election night to the most recent daily counts - a hard core trend, street is toast - jamie has it baked."

I only wondered because people here said that the absentees were supposed to break for Street, that one of their grandfathers voted for Street so that meant older voters were going for Street, etc.

i wish i had all the answers - then i could charge what these over rated consultants charge - in this race, at this moment, a crowded field of very qualified runners - what someone did many years ago in another race another district - whats to compare?

some of this is getting silly - because greg n. went to the county council as the protege of randy revelle, what does that have to do with stephanie pure - are you trying to say that peter steinbrook could annoint her to the legislature - two different animals.

the losers here need to get a grip - there are reasons why - look for them and quit making such backward thinking assumptions -there was a failure to do good campaigning strategy from 4 campaigns from my viewpoint -

jamie was brillant - street very good and with a better enviro theme might have been the winner - the rest - amateur puke.

Jamie is a one trick pony who had the trick that -- by sheer luck of timing -- appears to have resonated with more voters. Of the six he is the straightest and least progressive. Given normal circumstances I doubt he would have been a contender in the 43rd.

"Given normal circumstances I doubt he would have been a contender in the 43rd."

I know Ed Murray left somewhat quickly to run for the senate, but weren't these pretty normal circumstances, for the most part? They had a long primary, plenty of time for people to get to know candidates. Murray endorsed Pedersen, but that alone wouldn't get a win for a candidate.

If Pedersen were that straight, or an affront to the district, I doubt he would have done well at all. If anything I think this shows how times, and voting patterns, change. He's one of a new type of gay rights activist. If he's not any good, then he will just be defeated in a primary in 2008 and that will be that.

Let's give Jamie a break. He won the election: even though he was the clear frontrunner and establishment pick from day one, winning still counts for something. The reason he didn't get newspaper endorsements is that he was a rather green, wimpy candidate (as many frontrunners are--playing not to lose). Money is the mother's milk of politics and Jamie had the most milk.

On to the other candidates. Jim Street and Dick Kelley and, yes, Lynne Dodson are through in local politics. Stephanie Pure and Bill Sherman finished very well and showed themselves as the two candidates among the pack who will run again and probably win.

Given Jamie's late brush with identity politics ("Ed Murray say Gay people have to vote for Jamie because he's gay!"), he's still got to worry about mending fences and heading off a breeder challenger in two years. I predict he will manage just fine.

Oops, I hit post accidentally.

I wanted to add that I don't think the gay marriage case was the one trick that got Pedersen elected. The voters there seem very intelligent and I can't see them voting based solely on that issue. They know a wet-behind-the-ears legislator isn't going to make or break any kind of gay marriage legislation.

Oh yeah, fuck Linda Mitchell and Karen Cooper for trying to intimidate Stephanie out of the race. They forgot that most voters won't identify with the arrogant oldsters, but with the young person under the gun.

The "Real Winner"? 4th in a field of 6? Is this sour grapes because you endorsed her? I'm still waiting for Barnett to deny the accusations that Pure is her personal friend...because if she is, this make the Stranger look really pathetic and unethical!

JR -- above.

Show some common sense - that type of behind the scene conversation is common as dog crap. Use your brains, just because Erica thinks it is a "bad ass old lady pressure thing", don't get riled.

Erica is just searching for something to rile and huff about. That meeting meant absolutely nothing to any thing except the writers at the Stranger trying to grasp at straws. If Stephanie had been 66 years old, someone would have still been trying to get her to not file ... limit the field a bit as the vote was going to splinter in all directions.

Don't be so guilible. Karen Cooper is an ace when it comes to hard core politics, fighting the right wing for years. She is a strong feminist and in any ordinary time would be the first to tell Stephanie Pure to run tall, proud and radical.

Stephanie Pure's problem was not Karen or anything else - her own no resonate message - "hey it's me", does not convince voters.

I followed every detail of this race and I know as little about her now as I did when it started. Her story did not get told - by her. All I know she works at city hall, means nothing, and did a lot of work with others on the Vera project. Not much to convince anyone.

Where is the Jamie Victory Party going to be? Date? Hope there is a lot of vodka and rock and roll with half naked go go boys.

Jon - Jamie will join three other out gay men in the House of Reps. in Olympia - a formidable team.

Joe Mc Dermott of West Seattle will be the senior member of that group, joined by Dave Upthegrove from Burien, South King, and Jim Moeller from Vancouver, Clark county.

With Ed Murray in the Senate - five openly gay members of the legislature will be a great team. Esp. because the Dems will keep control of both houses and in this state the R's are homophobic swine - by and large. State wide - gay and lesbian folks have a big role in demo. politics - not just Seattle.

That role has been tested over time with hard work in campaigns - voting and money.

Okay, amidst all this bickering....

While there are exaggerations of Pure's underdoggism (yes, she was an underdog, but with the support she had there was NO WAY she was finishing dead last), I agree that she did put a lot of work into this campaign and came out of it with head high. And this should be a springboard to another run at another office, not a death knell.

I'm not sure ECB deserves THIS much venom for her POV on Pure's run. Sure, there's a stretch of some truths, but really, there's a big future for Stephanie Pure in Seattle politics if she wants to go after it.

The elephant in the room must be addressed.

Why is Pure the object of such vitriol here? Some people hate young, good looking, ambitious women.

The 43rd is now the only Seattle legislative district with no women representing us.

Ain't that progressive?

Woman is the Nigger of the World.

Pure is a Working Class Girl.

Pat Moss wrote: "Where is the Jamie Victory Party going to be? Date? Hope there is a lot of vodka and rock and roll with half naked go go boys."

My Dear Pat Moss: There will be a pre-function at Hooters. I will keep my eye out for a double-standard-status-quo-Karen Cooper(NARAL)Cheerleader.

Whatever - lighten up - so your horse lost - life goes on - your morass/silly attempt at humor would work better at the Weekly blog - or did I just imagine the Stranger sponsored a public porn contest?

Karen Cooper is in her sixties, retired school teacher. Geez, you are lame.

The winning homos deserve rock and roll and skin - or ar you just an old fshioned prude to boot.

Bet Stephanie likes a good party. She does not strike me as a wallflower stick in the mud.

V V V V Victory - and I will be drinking to stupid, off message, non message, and lame and bad campaigns from your opponents.

So how come it was Nicastro and Wills that took the fall and not Jim "Practically Dead" Compton? Don't think there was a touch of oddity there?

Hello? Who was running against him? Were Seattle voters supposed to vote for Manning over Compton? Puh-leeze.

Keshmeshi wrote: Hello? Who was running against him? Were Seattle voters supposed to vote for Manning over Compton? Puh-leeze.
Well they voted for Dumb-Dumb-Della and Jean-I support the Mayor/anything Paul Allen-Godden....