Three's a crowd for Hession

Two days ago the Spokesman Review reported what had been rumoured weeks before, that Mary Verner, a liberal member of the City Council, is jumping into this fall's mayoral race. Initially appointed in 2004, Verner was overwhelmingly retained in 2005 in her downtown/south hill district. Her entry causes potential problems for Dennis Hession, who would have otherwise enjoyed support of most Spokane liberals, and could very well continue the recent tradition of incumbent mayors coming in third in the primary. Assuming no other credible candidates enter (it's early, but the field is already rather crowded), I suspect Al French will win the primary with support in the low 40s while Hession and Verner split the liberal vote. If Verner is indeed able to win a spot in the general with French the race will be a barnburner.

For those who remember all the way back to 2005, I supported Verner in her run for a full term to the Council. I like her and find her to be an honest and hardworking public servant, and although French remains my choice in the race I think Verner too would be a good mayor. With any luck, such a general election will occur and the city will have a choice between two fine candidates.

French on verge of mayoral announcement

City Councilman Al French will formally announce his campaign for mayor of Spokane tomorrow, according to a tip from local news outlets and a source close to the campaign. About three weeks ago I offered a post speculating about the possibility of a rematch between French and Mayor Dennis Hession and stating preference for French in such a race. Now that French is in, I look forward to following his campaign and think he will have the advantage against the appointed mayor. It also seems increasingly likely that there won't be a third strong candidate in the race, as multiple potential candidates have declined interest. The Spokesman Review interviewed some of the possibilities recently, and among those who are not running are:

-Former Congressional candidate Don Barbieri
-Senator Lisa Brown
-Former Councilwoman Cherie Rodgers
-Jim West recall leader Shannon Sullivan

Councilwoman Mary Verner left the door open for a run, but still sounds reluctant to enter, and would likely hurt Hession more than French as they both tend to draw support of more liberal voters. Former Mayor Sheri Barnard was also interviewed, but said she would not enter unless there is no female candidate. Seems like a lousy reason to run, but even if she did, her campaign would be a likely non-starter after failed mayoral runs in three of the last four elections (if memory serves me correctly).

Hession-French rematch on the horizon?

Days ago, Dennis Hession announced his intent to seek a full term as mayor of Spokane, a seat he was appointed to following the recall of the late Jim West in December of 2005. Almost immediately, Councilman Al French jumped on the mayor for use of a PR firm with close ties to the mayor's campaign, and has publicly mulled a run for the office himself, with an expected announcement by the end of the month. This would not only give Hession detractors a promising candidate for the fall election, but it would be a rematch of the 2003 council president race, which Hession narrowly won in spite of near-unanimous support of French by the city and county governments.

Now, I admit I'm a bit behind on keeping up on Spokane politics now that I've been living elsewhere for the past ten months. However, most of what I've read of Hession's leadership has been negative, often a result of overt timidity similar to criticisms of Seattle Councilman Richard Conlin. I never had a problem with Hession when living in Spokane, but being that I've long been a supporter of French on the Council, if he enters the race I will support his candidacy. He represents an ideal blend of business ties, social tolerance, and fiscal responsibility.