Talking Politics: In this first part of a continuing series by Chantelle Lusebrink, the North Seattle Herald-Outlook will introduce the North End candidates in this year's elections.
Proving to be a formidable opponent after his 2003 victory against 20-year council veteran Cynthia Sullivan, current Metropolitan King County Councilmember Bob Ferguson is not a stranger to achieving large goals.
Long before deciding to run for political office, however, Ferguson actively spent much of his time finding ways to help people around the country - first by volunteering with the Jesuit volunteer corps in Portland, Ore., where he helped tutor inner-city children as well as run emergency services, and then after law school, secured grants to represent the Yaqui Indians in Guadalupe, Ariz.
"Each of those were very formative experiences and have largely formed my politics," Ferguson said. "You really can't spend a summer in Guadalupe working with some of the poorest people in our nation and not walk away changed from that."
Out of the office, you can find Ferguson traveling the country and scaling the country's highest mountains. With only five left to climb, including Mount McKinley in Alaska, he hopes to finish all 50 in the next few years.
Today, however, Ferguson isn't focusing on planning his next climb, he is focused on another challenge: campaigning for re-election in a new district, a challenge he plans to meet head on.
Redistricting
Last November, King County voters approved reducing the number of county districts from 13 to nine, and in doing so, boundaries of some districts were combined, which has happened in Ferguson's current North Seattle district.
The new King County Council District 1 roughly encompasses the area above Northeast 75th Street in Seattle, part of Ferguson's old district, as well as the cities of Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Bothell, Shoreline and parts of Woodinville, which were part of Carolyn Edmond's previous district. According to Edmonds, the new district contains "70 percent of my old district."
With all county-council positions up for re-election in 2005, current council members Ferguson and Edmonds now find themselves campaigning for re-election to the same council position
The issues
Ferguson's 2003 campaign led him to knock on more than 20,000 doors in North Seattle, learning about his constituents and their thoughts on issues ranging from transportation and human services to taxation.
To promote better visibility and accessibility to the county council, Ferguson held informal, one-on-one meetings with constituents at local coffeehouses to discuss issues confronting their neighborhoods or the county. To date, Ferguson has conducted more than 200 such constituent coffeehouse meetings.
"You've got to know your issues and get the right kind of votes, and you've got to be a representative. That includes being accessible and being in communication with your constituents," Ferguson said.
Frustrated with the county's continuous production of studies with little initiative or resulting proposals, Ferguson said, he has made it his personal goal to take the studies and turn them into voter proposals to get the council moving.
Two such areas Ferguson has recently pursued are resolving problems in the election department and turning a study on homelessness into a proposal modeled after Seattle's successful Aloha Motel, which provides transitional housing and services to its residents to help stay employed and sober.
From his experience in Portland, Ore., and in Guadalupe, Ariz., Ferguson has developed a strong dedication to human services and hopes to refocus efforts at the council, to strengthen the social safety net to aid veterans, senior citizens and women.
Ferguson also is promoting a proposal that will increase funding for veterans, including the National Guard, reservists and their families, which has bipartisan appeal.
"The reality is that, despite what anyone thinks about the war in Iraq, we have folks returning from that conflict that will need support in a variety of ways - whether that is mental health or housing programs," Ferguson said.
Another area where Ferguson sees commonality for the new district, as well as the rest of the county, is the long-term transportation plan, which includes the development of monorail and light rail, as well as our current Metro system.
"I want to link up these different modes of transportation so they are not competing, but...a blended system of transportation," he said.
Looking 20 to 30 years down the road, Ferguson sees vital transportation hubs such as Northgate servicing the many modes of transportation that the county is now developing.
For instance, he said, if someone uses Metro, they should also be able to transfer to either the monorail or the light-rail system with one economically effective pass.
The climb ahead
In many ways Ferguson's next big climb is securing a re-election against his opponent, who is also highly regarded by the community she serves.
"I love campaigning," Ferguson said, with a grin. "I need to get up each day and knock on doors in all of the communities - engage people one door at a time, one voter at a time."
Rod Dembowski explained of his friend and colleague, "He really has a fire in his belly for doing what is best for the people. He works hard at the council and works hard on his campaign."
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