Fred Jarrett (D-41), a state senator from Mercer Island, is positioning himself as the anti-Seattle candidate in the race for King County executive, which he entered earlier this week.

On Monday, Jarrett the Issaquah Press reported that Jarrett said he'd "offer voters an alternative to [a] Seattle-based politician" for county executive. "We need someone who’s not from Seattle and has not been part of the problem for the past 24 years," the paper quoted Jarrett as saying—a clear swipe at his opponents, King County Council members Larry Phillips and Dow Constantine, who both live in Seattle.

Jarrett, a former Republican who switched parties in 2007, has voted repeatedly against Democratic Party priorities. For example, as Publicola reported yesterday, he voted against Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles' (D-36) legislation to reform a state workers' compensation fund that was used by the Building Industry Association of Washington to promote Republican candidates; voted against the BIAW-opposed homebuyers' bill of rights (which would require home builders to offer a warranty on their work), and voted to gut the voter-approved Initiative 937, which mandated that 15 percent of the state's electricity come from renewable power by 2020. The BIAW maxed out to Jarrett in 2008. Jarrett also sponsored "governance reform" legislation that would have effectively killed Sound Transit, and has consistently opposed light rail across I-90.

Jarrett's entry into the county exec race doesn't preclude state Rep. Ross Hunter (D-48), another Eastside Dem who lives in Medina, from getting into the race; however, Jarrett clearly wanted to get his name in circulation first. Hunter—who recently sponsored legislation that would have given King County new revenue sources to close its massive ongoing budget gap, and is now supporting similar legislation sponsored by Sen. Debbie Regala—has not yet said whether he'll get into the race.