Jason Osgood Declares Candidacy for King County Director of Elections

[Truth2Tell]

Excellent News Everyone:

Jason Osgood is officially running for King County Director of Elections!

Media release below.

Now we all need to get out there and spread the word with the faithful! This is the best opportunity in ages to make real progress on the issue of election integrity in King County and across the State. Our community could actually be a role model on this issue instead of an embarrassment! Just imagine.

It already looks like at least 3 Republicans are in this thing, plus a gob of other potential randoms. If Osgood can pull the Democratic base I think he has an outstanding chance.

Donate money! Donate Time! Go Jason!

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November 20, 2008

******For Immediate Release******

Jason Osgood Declares Candidacy for King County Director of Elections

Jason Osgood, co-founder of the election integrity watchdog group Washington Citizens for Fair Elections, today officially declared his candidacy for King County Director of Elections.

On November 4th, the voters of King County passed I-25, creating the new position of Director of Elections and sending a clear signal that the management of King County Elections should be removed from the control of career politicians.

Osgood, in announcing his intention to file for office, pledged to bring fairness and impartiality to KC Elections and to end the divisive politics of the past.

“The Director of Elections must be fair, impartial, and utterly committed to transparency and accountability”, Osgood said, “My highest priority as Director of Elections will be to ensure that every eligible voter has the opportunity to cast a ballot, and that all votes are counted correctly.”

Additionally, Osgood promised to work to protect voter privacy while also ensuring a publicly accessible vote counting process.

Osgood brings a high degree of experience and professionalism to the race for Director of Elections. He has worked for more than 20 years in high technology managing complex projects and has a unique understanding of the technology increasingly used to manage our election systems.

“The voters have made it clear they want a professional with the necessary skills and expertise to conduct our elections,” said Osgood.

For more information on the Jason Osgood for King County Director of Elections Campaign, please contact:

[phone]

[e-mail]
http://www.jasonosgood.com

PO Box 30805
Seattle, WA 98113

[eridani]

1. Pam Roach, a really repellent Republican, will also run

I have no idea what Sheryl Huff's intentions are, but if she is going to run she has an incumbent advantage. We absolutely CANNOT afford split the Democratic vote and risk getting Roach in there. I think Jason should get in touch with Huff and see if she will get serious about some integrity issues in return for Jason throwing his support to her.

[Truth2Tell]

2. Huff doesn't live in KC

so she can't run. So far three Republicans have declared:

Roach, Joe Fain (von Reichbauer's Chief of Staff), and Chris Clifford (Repub citizen activist who led the Pat Davis recall).

Jason is the only Dem to have declared so far. But Ross Baker (KC Council Chief of Staff) and a guy named Hempsted (Maple Valley City Manager, and Dan Evans protégé) are both seriously considering. Lloyd Hara at the Port is also considering but is a likely no (and not really a Dem).

There is also a rumor that Dwight Pelz may jump in, and several others, mostly Repubs, are rumored as well. This could end up as a very crazy 8 way race in which a plurality of 20-30% wins.

Right now the Dems grassroots have the best shot at defining this if we coalesce around a candidate quickly. Jason is the best on election integrity issues. Baker is a Ron Simms hand pick to maintain status quo.

Fain is going to be a serious contender and raise big money from PVRs business list. And Roach may be too crazy to get out of the way, so the Repubs are likely going to split.

I say let's all get behind Osgood ASAP and run with it!!!

[eridani]

3. The large number of Republicans is a good sign--that makes things different

Huff is good administratively, so I think he ought to keep her on in some capacity for the sake of continuity. I'm a little surprised that Toby Nixon hasn't said anything--he is one Repub that actually gets election integrity (though he's probably typical Repub on voter suppression, which would be bad.)

I like Jason better than Dwight on this. Dwight's a typical elected official. The trouble with elected officials is that they win elections to get their positions, and afterwards could care less whether the real number was 53/47 or 52/48. Or maybe even 49/51, which they really, really don't want to know about.

If the Repubs coalesce around a single candidate, we will definitely need to do the same.

[Truth2Tell]

4. Nixon has withdrawn from consideration.

I don't know why.

I think Jason can still run as a non-politicized outsider. I really think voters liked I-25 because they wanted to get the politicians out of the elections business. Pelz has no hope of running as anything other than an uber-partisan. The press will eat him alive on that.

[eridani]

5. Umm--an elected director puts politics directly into the elecion system

You think that Pam Roach wouldn't do everything she could to make voting as difficult and unpleasant as she could for everywere except the outlying areas of the county?

[Truth2Tell]

6. Well yes

but I don't think voters will support The Roach for that position. And I think they wanted to take it away from Simms. Voters aren't always logical. :)

[eridani]

7. Let's get ready for the King County candidate forum

To help us prepare our endorsements for the newly created, non-partisan
office of Elections Director, the King County Democrats will host a
candidate forum. Please mark your calendars for:

King County Elections Director Candidate Forum
Monday December 15, 2008 - 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Renton Carpenters Hall
231 Burnett Avenue North - Main Hall
Renton, WA 98057

We will have a guest moderator and all the candidates that file for the office, December 10-12, 2008, will be invited to participate. Possible candidates are: Jason Osgood (declared), Ellen Hanson (declared), Ross
Baker, Lloyd Hara, Chris Clifford, Anthony Hemsted, David Irons, Pam Roach, and Joe Fain.

The campaign period for this newly created, non-partisan position is very short; special election date is February 3, 2009, first all-mail-balloting in King County.

Anyone interested in helping with the presentation of this event, please call Suzie at 425.228.4729 or email at this address.

Thank you and enjoy the Thanksgiving Holiday - suzie