It won’t be long before Spokane County voters receive their general election ballots in the mail. Knowing that many will mark and return them right away, we begin printing our endorsements today.

Mayor: Perhaps it’s no surprise that the man who heads a city with the slogan “Near Nature. Near Perfect,” should spend his noon hours charging through Spokane’s streets in a similar pursuit.

Spokane’s jogging mayor, Dennis Hession, hasn’t attained perfection yet, but his vision for the city aims for it. He wants to make Spokane “Best in Class” in all areas of city government.

Selected to serve out the remainder of former Mayor Jim West’s term, Hession has impressed residents with his perseverance, discipline and integrity. He’s become known for working long hours and tackling tough municipal problems.

Two of the best examples of his leadership include hiring Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick and improving the city’s financial standing. Tax revenues were up 11 percent last year, and city reserves grew to nearly $14 million under Hession’s watch.

Hession faces attorney Mary Verner, who has been a diligent and thoughtful voice on the Spokane City Council. As the executive director of the Upper Columbia United Tribes, she also brings a deep respect for the value of diversity in local government.

But Hession can hit the ground running for the next term both literally and figuratively. That’s no doubt why he’s earned the backing of a long list of Spokane leaders.

City voters should favor the candidate who has demonstrated the executive ability to lead this $500 million municipal organization. That choice is Dennis Hession.

Council president: When voters recalled former Mayor Jim West almost two years ago, it touched off a round of musical chairs at City Hall.

Then City Council President Dennis Hession became mayor, and the City Charter required the other council members to pick one of their own as Hession’s successor. The choice, something of a surprise at the time, was Councilman Joe Shogan from northwest Spokane’s Council District 3.

Initially Shogan was to have been challenged this year by the man who took over his council seat, Rob Crow, but Crow withdrew his name, leaving Shogan with only token opposition in the Nov. 6 general election.

As council president, Shogan has done an uninspiring but adequate job, struggling at times to keep council meetings on an even keel. He needs frequent reminders about parliamentary procedure, and he can be testy with citizens who come forth to comment on Monday evening agenda matters.

His opponent, however, is Barbara Lampert, a woman who has never held an elected office but has run for just about all of them, usually on a platform of thin generalities, such as accomplishing “the will of citizens and council members.”

We commend Lampert for her determination, but without more substance, we’ll stick with Shogan.

Council District 1: Spokane’s form of city government is meant to balance power between the mayor and the City Council. In reality, the council lacks the mayor’s staff resources and citywide political base, and council members’ influence is shared by seven people.

It therefore is critical that voters pick council members with the energy to gather information, the intelligence to analyze it and the political skills to work with colleagues on sensible solutions to divisive problems.

All of which makes Donna McKereghan a strong choice over incumbent Councilman Bob Apple in Council District 1.

While not without her flaws, McKereghan is an eager civic activist who took a leadership role in the Logan Neighborhood, where, among other accomplishments, she helped mediate tension between Gonzaga University students and residents. Several years ago, she led a citizens committee created to resolve tensions at Chase Middle School. She is dedicated to a workable ethics process at City Hall and to keeping the curtains of government open so the community can keep an eye on its officials.

Apple has been a relentless contrarian, more of one to pose obstacles than to pluck opportunities.

Four years ago, McKereghan filed for bankruptcy, listing $243,195 in debts, about half of it unpaid student loans. She calls it the hardest decision she ever had to make, but notes that she was a single mom with a son and mother to support and more bills to pay each month than income. The student loans remain outstanding, although they are in deferment now, she says, and she’s kept her finances in order since.

Although the bankruptcy was reported in court records at the time, it had not surfaced in the campaign until now. McKereghan would have been wise to bring the matter up herself early on, to explain and defuse it. She wouldn’t be the only public official to have a bankruptcy in the past.

Voters are entitled to weigh that information as they see fit. We have done so and consider her overall the better candidate.

Council District 2: Four years ago, District 2 incumbent Brad Stark had the good fortune of running against a weak field to win a City Council seat. His luck on that score has run out. In Richard Rush, voters have the choice of a mature, level-headed candidate who has a detailed understanding of important growth and planning issues.

Rush has worked behind the scenes since moving to Spokane in 1994, namely on a citizens committee in crafting the comprehensive plan and as a member of the Cliff/Cannon Neighborhood Council. He is a stay-at-home father, and that perspective has made him a strong advocate for neighborhood protection and children’s services, which he says are in decline. Though we think he exaggerates the economic and restorative benefits of trees, he is forward-looking on several environmental issues and transportation. He would like to see the city become more easily traversed by foot and bicycle. Our concern is that he is not as well-grounded on economic development, the budget and public safety.

Then again, that was a challenge that faced Stark as a 24-year-old newcomer four years ago. Since then, he has gained considerable knowledge, but his decision making has been spotty. He wanted to sell Joe Albi Stadium, then didn’t. He wanted to lift the levy lid for public safety spending, then didn’t. Last year, he suddenly jumped into the race for county assessor and helped make that one of the more childish contests. When asked if he would serve out a second council term, he replied, “Probably.”

Rush’s stability and steady focus on quality-of-life issues would bring a better balance to the council.

Council District 3: Rob Crow, appointed to the City Council from District 3 in 2006, is stepping down, partly because the time commitment would take him away from his young family. One of the candidates for that seat, Lewis Griffin, 66, says his City Council job would be his main focus.

Griffin lives in the district’s crowded Five Mile area, where city and county boundaries zigzag one another. He pledges to work on better city-county cooperation, because he believes it’s one solution to Five Mile’s intense traffic congestion.

He has endorsements from businessmen Don Barbieri and Jim Frank, and Frank says Griffin is a man who speaks his conscience, even if what he says is unpopular with certain constituents. For instance, Griffin has made it clear to homebuilders’ groups that he believes developers must share with taxpayers the burden of infrastructure construction and maintenance through strategies such as impact fees.

Griffin’s opponent, Steve Corker, served on the City Council during the council’s infamous infighting years. Voters haven’t given him a second chance to prove he’s mellowed. He was defeated in the primary for mayor in 2003 and lost his bid for City Council in 2005.

Griffin is not new to the mechanics of city government – he was city administrator in Colfax and Liberty Lake. Voters in northwest Spokane should give him the chance to use this municipal experience on their behalf.