The main candidates for King County Council in District 9, Mark Greene and Reagan Dunn, appeared together in the Seattle Times Editorial Boardroom (candidates being together for board interviews is apparently the usual procedure at the Times). In effect, this was a debate, and it pretty much was a draw. Incidentally, the third candidate in the race, Beverly Tonda, excused herself from attendance to take care of personal business according to the Times. Greene and Dunn were interviewed by Times Editorial Board members, Kate Riley, Lynne Varner and Lance Dickie.
For the first time, Mark Greene unveiled his plan for King County to confront serious problems in an innovative and business-like manner by proposing the creation of a new department: the Department of Grievances, Solutions and Whistleblowers. This department would have close contact with the public and with county employees, and would be divided into seven divisons: (1.) Waste & Inefficiency division (2.) Environmental Committees division (3.) Volunteer Committees division (4.) Creativity division (5.) Emergency Planning division (6.) Whistleblowers division (7.) Recommendations division.
The department would act as a sort of a middleman between county employees and the council, but would be much more accessible to employees than the council is presently. This department would be better able to hear grievances and learn about acts of wrongdoing and incompetence within the county system, elicit ideas and information from both employees and the public, and would be an everyday drop-in center for ordinary citizens who want to take a more active part in participating in county planning and county government in general.
Reagan Dunn gave a fairly decent spiel in the boardroom, but really couldn't come up with a good defense about the auditing troubles within several county departments, especially involving construction contracts. It looks as if there are widespread incompetencies and abuses in regards to keeping track of county business, and the scandal made the front page of the Seattle Times, today.
Mark was also adequate, if not his usual better than average performance in debates, but may have stumbled his words a few times in giving his presentation and responding to questions due to an unusually severe bout with insomnia in the last few days. All in all, however, Mark was consistent in his answers and defended representative democracy for the masses, and the good of the commons.
[revised on 7/3/09]
Post-script: Tomorrow, Mark Greene will write a full review on his proposal for a county department of Grievances, Solutions and Whistleblowers. Please, look for it sometime tomorrow evening.
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About Me
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- Commons staff, especially chairman of the Party of Commons, Mark Greene, playwright, paralegal and consultant. Please, e-mail if you would like to contract Mark's consultant services. Candidate for Washington Secretary of State, service veteran, and a senator in the Party of Commons Senate; born in USA, 1953. The Party of Commons is the only American party that upholds traditional culture, progressive economics and a non-interventionist foreign policy. A special thanks to the people of Skamania County in Washington State. Skamania County was the strongest supporter of the Party of Commons, on a per capita basis, in the 2008 Top 2 Primary. Honorable mention to the WA counties of Clark, Stevens & Kittitas, which were 2nd, 3rd & 4th, respectively, among Washington's 39 counties, in supporting our party. Look at web page and please send a donation if you can. Blogs of interest: Northern Pacific Report: http://commonsnorth.blogspot.com [Keeping a watch on court and government business] The Political Playwright: http://commonswriteplays.blogspot.com [Plays, poetry & prose by Mark Greene]
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