The PPA is pleased to explain in the following article the reasons behind each of our City Council endorsements.
Steve Vermillion for City Council At-Large
Experience and Leadership are the two characteristics that clearly separate Steve Vermillion from his opponent, Nicole Martineau. Although Ms. Martineau has served the City Council for two years in her present appointed position, and although she has come a long ways in understanding what issues the city is facing, Mr. Vermillion has demonstrated to us that he possesses a far superior grasp of the issues and what is needed to find solutions. Where Ms. Martineau has clear opinions, Mr. Vermillion has clear, workable direction.
Where leadership is concerned, Mr. Vermillion has no equal. Puyallup needs a strong voice in Olympia in order to get the things our city needs in order to thrive. Kathy Turner and Don Malloy have long been the faces of Puyallup in Olympia, and neither are seeking reelection due to term limits. While we recognize the strengths and contributions of the individuals who may occupy next year's council, Mr. Vermillion is the only one who possesses the requisite personality and leadership presence to be an effective voice for our city in the Capitol.
The PPA has been questioned about our endorsement of Mr. Vermillion due to Ms. Martineau's status as a sitting councilmember, wife of an Orting police officer, and daughter of a Washington State Patrol officer. These factors, along with the fact that she would represent the only female voice and potentially the only voice of young families, strongly biased us toward Ms. Martineau from the beginning. However, as the candidates progressed through our endorsement process, Mr. Vermillion's knowledge, understanding, and insight loomed so largely that we could not justify any other decision. Mr. Vermillion is the right person for this position, bar none.
City Council District Positions
Where our endorsement in the At-Large race is strong and resounding, we found the differences between candidates in the district races to be more nuanced. In fact, we liked all of the candidates, so our selections came down to personalities, ideologies, perceptions, and our view of how best to bring balance to the City Council as a whole utilizing personalities who can remain civil and professional. The PPA does not believe that any one voice should dominate the council. A variety of positions, ideas, and beliefs among our governing body will ultimately bring about the best solutions through vigorous, healthy debate.
Debate does not equate to bickering and in-fighting. Debate is constructive, the other destructive. The PPA will not tolerate leaders who turn political disagreement into personal attacks. Such behavior will result in our refusal to endorse such a candidate in future elections.
That said, our reasons behind our selections follow.
District 1
With both Tom Smillie and John Hopkins running on nearly identical platforms and displaying similar understanding and knowledge regarding the city's issues, what separates them is personality and perception.
Tom Smillie made some excessively heated comments during a City Council meeting in which many citizens shared his fury over actions the council majority had taken. The PPA spent a great deal of time with Mr. Smillie going over this issue and its implications regarding his suitability as a candidate.
John Hopkins has shared ownership with Councilman Rick Hansen in several downtown buildings, and he had a property-use dispute with several of his neighbors about twenty years ago. The PPA likewise focused on these issues with Mr. Hopkins, particularly on the potential for conflicts of interest that the relationship with Mr. Hansen presents.
Smillie acknowledged getting caught in the moment and learning his lessons from an isolated past event. And Hopkins gave reasonable explanations regarding the long-ago but long-term property dispute as well as his assurances that future votes involving conflicts of interest (such as downtown parking) could be easily resolved by recusing himself from such votes.
Ultimately, we felt that Hopkins brings with him too much potential for negative perceptions that could undermine public trust in the council at a time when restoration of this trust is arguably job #1. Where it is very clear that Smillie is in this race for the best interests of Puyallup, we feel that Puyallup would have to wait and see whether Hopkins made good on his assurances of putting his own interests aside. We liked Hopkins a lot and we believe that his intentions are honest, but at this time we are more comfortable trusting the human capacity to learn from past error than we are trusting human nature in posession of a little power.
District 2
Our decision in the District 2 race, John Palmer over Charlie Stokes, was a matter of council balance and personality.
It is no secret that Charlie Stokes is aligned ideologically in many of the major issues with John Knutsen, Rick Hansen, John Hopkins, and Tom Smillie. The election of Mr. Stokes would result in at least four individuals on council who have a too-similar voice on many topics. It would be too easy for them to push legislation based on ideology alone, absent the necessary debate and disagreement that refine ideas and make them better.
To be clear, the PPA agrees with this camp in several areas (e.g., open government), and we disagree in others (e.g., moving the courthouse to City Hall). Our selection is not about agreeing or disagreeing on specific issues, but rather about improving the way in which our city is governed.
Mr. Palmer is a leader who displays unquestionable ethics, honesty, and thoughtful consideration, and his present experience on the Planning Commission gives him a head start on the city's issues. He does not come with an agenda of any kind, but is open to listening to and considering all ideas. We have no doubt that any decision he reaches on any issue will have been done with the highest regard to what is fair, what is responsible, and what is right.
District 3
Finally, our District 3 selection of Robin Ordonez over Tom Swanson hinged on a conflict of interest issue and one ideological issue. Both candidates are good, ethical people, and both bring experience and knowledge, albeit of very different varieties. They both also have very good ideas and vision for our city, although, again, they are very different ideas.
However, the City of Puyallup stands in conflict with the interests of Pierce County in several areas, the most prominent at this time being South Sound 9-1-1, and Mr. Swanson is a staff member of Pierce County Councilmember Joyce McDonald. Mr. Swanson is young, energetic, and, we presume, has larger political aspirations, so he certainly would be motivated to do a good job for the citizens of Puyallup, however, he would be subject to outside influences that may be in direct opposition to the interests of our city, preventing him from doing what is best for Puyallup.
Even while voluntarily subjecting himself to the PPA's endorsement process, Mr. Swanson was forthright and honest in his stance opposing public employee bargaining rights. We must admit that we appreciated Mr. Swanson for several reasons, his candid honesty included. Given a different opponent, the PPA may very well have endorsed Mr. Swanson.
Fortunately for District 3 voters, Swanson's opponent, Robin Ordonez, is also similarly honest, ethical, knowledgeable, and experienced. He has no political ambitions beyond the City of Puyallup. His motivation behind running for office begins and ends with our city, and his years on the Planning Commission have given him inside knowledge and experience with the issues he will be facing as a councilmember.
Vote with the PPA
We are particularly proud of the process we put in place for selecting out candidate endorsements this year. A great deal of time and effort went into getting to know and understand the candidates, who they are, what they believe, what they desire for the city, and what strengths and limitations they bring. We feel that this roster will create the best overall City Council possible, and we ask that you join your police and corrections officers in supporting Steve Vermillion, Tom Smillie, John Palmer, and Robin Ordonez for Puyallup City Council.
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