Some Contests Warm, Others Not Too Hot For State Offices
Nearly a dozen people want to be governor, but only a handful are running for the second most powerful executive post - attorney general.
And one of them, incumbent Democrat Christine Gregoire, appears to be a good bet for a second term as the state’s top lawyer. The pay is $92,000 a year.
Her Republican opponent, by his own admission, is “absolutely an underdog in this race.” Richard Pope, an attorney in Shoreline, agrees he has neither money nor name-recognition, but hopes his freshness will be an asset in the race.
Two others are running for the seat under third-party banners. They are Libertarian Richard Shepard, a Tacoma attorney, and Luanne Coachman of Kent, a member of the Natural Law Party.
None of the four has an opponent in the Sept. 17 primary race. The third-party candidates will advance to the Nov. 5 general election only if they garner at least 1 percent of the total votes cast for the office in the primary.
Republican Secretary of State Ralph Munro is in a situation similar to Gregoire. He is seeking his fifth four-year term in the $64,300-a-year post as the highest official overseeing the elections.
Munro, one of only two GOP statewide elected officials who survived the Democratic landslide of 1992, is favored to win in a contest with Seattle Democrat Phyllis Kenney, a longtime activist for higher education, and Gary P. Gill, Lynnwood, a member of the Natural Law Party.
The race for state treasurer is wide open with the retirement of Democrat Dan Grimm after two terms. Both major parties have primary contests for the $84,100-a-year post.
Thurston County Treasurer Mike Murphy, a Democrat from Olympia, squares off against lesser-known Jack Kiley of Olympia, a former top official in the state treasurer’s office.
On the Republican side, the favored primary candidate is Lucy DeYoung, an investment banker and adviser from Woodinville with experience as a staff member for the state Senate budget committee. She faces an unknown, Randolph J. Bell of Tacoma.
State Auditor Brian Sonntag, a Democrat, has no primary foe in his try for a second term in the $84,100-a-year job and is heavily favored for re-election. Four Republicans will vie to face him in November. They are Nina Becker of Spokane, Mike The Mover, of Edmonds, Robert B. Keene, Jr., Bellevue and David Mackenzie of Harrington.