The race against Sims: Who is Santos Contreras?
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There are those who dream the impossible dream, and then there are those who run against Ron Sims.
State legislator Suzette Cook was the last Republican to run against Sims for King County Executive. She was nearly crushed to death by Sims' famous affability, until she got to the election, where she was stomped.
Santos Contreras - Sants to everyone who knows him - will decide in a week or two if he wants to try Sims on for size. Running for county executive is a big, expensive, full-time job. Running against a vote-getting machine like Sims might be the toughest job in local politics. When asked to run, a lot of Republicans have already said, "Gee, that's a wonderful idea but I'm kind of busy right now."
"No one has told me I can win," Contreras said last week. "A few people have said I have a shot - long shot. I'm leaning toward running, but I have to be assured money to campaign is going to be there."
Sims has $250,000 in the bank already. A kick-off breakfast brought 2,000 people to the contribution table, including visible Republicans. Contreras thinks he needs $300,000 to $400,000 to stay even. And he has a plan:
"I'm a Seattle guy. I grew up in Wallingford, went to O'Dea and Seattle U. My family runs a restaurant in Belltown. The Republican Party has a natural constituency with Hispanics. I'd be OK on the Eastside, most Republicans get the votes. I'd have to find at least another 20 percent of independent voters in Seattle who would vote for me. That's tough, but not impossible. I would spend a lot of time in the south county, a lot of time in Seattle.
"Ron has no sharp edges. As a candidate, it's all smooth surfaces. I think he's not been a good manager and the atmosphere between the county and the cities is terrible. The suburban cities and the county do not get along. Seattle and the county do not get along. That's an indication of poor management.
"But I know most people are not aware, or interested in governance; they see a candidate and they either like him or not like him. Everyone tells me that Sims has charisma and a great personality. It's a tough race, no question about it, but the county is so different now than it was years ago, times have changed. It's no longer Seattle surrounded by small suburbs."
Contreras came to Seattle from New Mexico with his family in 1948. He worked for Boeing as a labor negotiator until he retired. He has lived in Kirkland for 26 years, nine of them on city council. He, like most outlying city officials, served on the plenitude of regional organizations and panels - water, transportation and the other government tasks that come with elective office.
"I think there is an undercurrent of support within church groups who would side with me over the church and land-use issue," Contreras said. "Obviously, we need a debate over light rail and what we are doing with Sound Transit. I'm for light rail. I think we need parallel north-south light rail lines through Seattle and through the Eastside, and then connections between them. But who is watching the store at Sound Transit?"
Contreras almost beat the establishment Republican candidate for the state Legislature two years ago. He lost to Luke Esser of Bellevue by about 120 votes. "That was my fault," he said. "I didn't pay enough attention to the absentee votes and I lost by that much. "I would run as someone who knows the area, both Seattle and the 800,000 people who live outside Seattle. If I run, I think I level the playing field. Minorityship is off the table, I feel I know every community in the county."
I've seen Sants in action a number of times, in interviews and public forums. My scouting report on him is that he's pretty good on his feet and carries the room well. He handles regional topics with some fluidity because that's how they grow public servants on the Eastside. He is no Ron Sims. Nobody around here is. The only Republican who comes to mind who'd have a chance against Sims this time is Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., if he could be induced to run.
Yet for Republicans, Contreras could be a breakthrough. The tale of the tape shows that in big races, moderation wins. At the state representative level, hard-edge Republicans or Democrats can find a solid base of party extremists, left or right. In bigger races, it's not working for Republicans to go farther to the right. Sants is a pro-choice, pro-affirmative action Republican.
No one yet knows what Sants Contreras will do. My guess is he'll run. Tomorrow, he's meeting with some close advisers and then making a lot of phone calls to see if the money to make an attempt at Everest will be there. Even if it isn't, he might run anyway, there being only so many mountains left to climb.
James Vesely's column appears Mondays.