News
Dian Ferguson Kicks Off Underdog Campaign
City council candidate Dian Ferguson, the former head of public-access channel SCAN TV who's challenging incumbent Sally Clark, held her campaign kickoff last night at the First AME Church on Capitol Hill.
Ferguson looks to be this year's lefty analog to David Bloom---the former Church Council leader who ran a quixotic campaign for an open seat that Sally Bagshaw ultimately won in 2009. (Bloom has endorsed Ferguson and was at her kickoff). In contrast to Bloom's raucous party two years ago---which was packed with prominent supporters, including city council member Nick Licata, former council member Peter Steinbrueck, King County Council member Larry Gossett, and folks from social-justice groups---Ferguson's kickoff was relatively uncrowded and sedate. And there were few high-profile guests or mainstays from the social justice movement in sight, though Geov Parrish, editor of Eat the State (and Ferguson's campaign manager) was there.
As about 35 supporters ate pulled-pork sandwiches and cantaloupe and circulated around the large, sparsely populated room, Ferguson gave a speech that focused on the city's need to "move forward" and "get things done"---in contrast to the usual "Seattle Process." (Sample quote: "We can do this because we need to let people know that it's time for a paradigm shift and we need to be a world-class city.")
For a candidate who portrays herself as someone who'll bring a "paradigm shift" to the council, though, Ferguson's speech was oddly generic, right down to her critique of the city's school system ("if you are progressive and you are about people then you make sure that you have the same resources for schools on the south end as you do on the north end") and her opinion of the police department ("we need some police accountability.")
Ferguson, who was introduced by two former colleagues at what is now the Boys and Girls Club of America, said the main reason she was running was because Seattle doesn't get things done; instead, it endlessly discusses the options on everything from the deep-bore tunnel (she supports the council's decision to move ahead with it) to school funding (she's for it, but says the north end perennially gets more funding than the south) to diversity on the council ("I see little black girls and they have no one as role models").
"We're still trying to figure out if we want a tunnel or if we want a street option," Ferguson said. "What are we waiting for? Are we waiting for people to die so we can have this endless process? … I want to stop that and that is why I decided I want to run for Seattle City Council."
But isn't Sally Clark for the tunnel? I asked Ferguson why she would oppose someone who holds such a similar view on an issue that's clearly fundamental to her campaign---particular another minority woman (Clark is gay). She responded vehemently: "I don't see Sally as a leader. I see her as a follower. She has changed her votes. ... We need someone who is a decision-maker and someone who asks questions."
Asked for an example of a policy decision Clark made that she disagrees with, Ferguson brought up Tim Burgess' aggressive-panhandling ordinance, which Clark supported (and which Mayor Mike McGinn vetoed).
Ferguson was also critical of the $231 million proposed Families and Education Levy, which would be twice the size, in real terms, of the levy adopted seven years ago. "When we ask taxpayers to allocate money, we need to have some benchmarks," Ferguson said. But didn't Mayor McGinn's levy proposal incorporate lots of new benchmarks that weren't included in previous levies? "Isn't it kind of late for that?" Ferguson responded. "My son went through Seattle schools [while previous levies were in force] and now he's in college."
Ferguson has raised about $14,000 to Clark's $156,000.
In addition to Bloom, Ferguson's endorsements include school board member Betty Patu, former city council member David Della, King County Council member Gossett, and former city council rabble-rouser Judy Nicastro, who was billed as a sponsor of the event but wasn't there.
Ferguson looks to be this year's lefty analog to David Bloom---the former Church Council leader who ran a quixotic campaign for an open seat that Sally Bagshaw ultimately won in 2009. (Bloom has endorsed Ferguson and was at her kickoff). In contrast to Bloom's raucous party two years ago---which was packed with prominent supporters, including city council member Nick Licata, former council member Peter Steinbrueck, King County Council member Larry Gossett, and folks from social-justice groups---Ferguson's kickoff was relatively uncrowded and sedate. And there were few high-profile guests or mainstays from the social justice movement in sight, though Geov Parrish, editor of Eat the State (and Ferguson's campaign manager) was there.
As about 35 supporters ate pulled-pork sandwiches and cantaloupe and circulated around the large, sparsely populated room, Ferguson gave a speech that focused on the city's need to "move forward" and "get things done"---in contrast to the usual "Seattle Process." (Sample quote: "We can do this because we need to let people know that it's time for a paradigm shift and we need to be a world-class city.")
For a candidate who portrays herself as someone who'll bring a "paradigm shift" to the council, though, Ferguson's speech was oddly generic, right down to her critique of the city's school system ("if you are progressive and you are about people then you make sure that you have the same resources for schools on the south end as you do on the north end") and her opinion of the police department ("we need some police accountability.")
Ferguson, who was introduced by two former colleagues at what is now the Boys and Girls Club of America, said the main reason she was running was because Seattle doesn't get things done; instead, it endlessly discusses the options on everything from the deep-bore tunnel (she supports the council's decision to move ahead with it) to school funding (she's for it, but says the north end perennially gets more funding than the south) to diversity on the council ("I see little black girls and they have no one as role models").
"We're still trying to figure out if we want a tunnel or if we want a street option," Ferguson said. "What are we waiting for? Are we waiting for people to die so we can have this endless process? … I want to stop that and that is why I decided I want to run for Seattle City Council."
But isn't Sally Clark for the tunnel? I asked Ferguson why she would oppose someone who holds such a similar view on an issue that's clearly fundamental to her campaign---particular another minority woman (Clark is gay). She responded vehemently: "I don't see Sally as a leader. I see her as a follower. She has changed her votes. ... We need someone who is a decision-maker and someone who asks questions."
Asked for an example of a policy decision Clark made that she disagrees with, Ferguson brought up Tim Burgess' aggressive-panhandling ordinance, which Clark supported (and which Mayor Mike McGinn vetoed).
Ferguson was also critical of the $231 million proposed Families and Education Levy, which would be twice the size, in real terms, of the levy adopted seven years ago. "When we ask taxpayers to allocate money, we need to have some benchmarks," Ferguson said. But didn't Mayor McGinn's levy proposal incorporate lots of new benchmarks that weren't included in previous levies? "Isn't it kind of late for that?" Ferguson responded. "My son went through Seattle schools [while previous levies were in force] and now he's in college."
Ferguson has raised about $14,000 to Clark's $156,000.
In addition to Bloom, Ferguson's endorsements include school board member Betty Patu, former city council member David Della, King County Council member Gossett, and former city council rabble-rouser Judy Nicastro, who was billed as a sponsor of the event but wasn't there.
