Statewide office seekers joined local Democrats Saturday in South Bend for crab and toward the end of the evening the St. Paddy’s Day miracle of free beer.
To tee off the speechifying was now “all in” gubernatorial candidate Jay Inslee making the case that he will represent all of Washington. As proof Inslee listed off a dizzying number of odd jobs he’s had in different Washington locales including swinging a pick axe, driving a commercial truck and prosecuting drunk drivers. The list begs a good story to which one audience member attempted to make light of, “Sounds like you have trouble keeping a job!” Humor abounded during the short but fiery speech including a crowd pleasing joke from Inslee that Pacific County is so great, “they named an ocean after it!”
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell delivered an impassioned defense of President Obama’s first term accomplishments and touted her own advocacy for costal communities.
Olympia legend and local Democratic hero former Senator Sid Snyder and his wife Bette were the subject of high praise and gratitude. Lt. Governor Brad Owen gave his best impersonation of U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen in jesting that Senator Brian Hatfield (who now holds Snyder’s seat) is “no Sid Snyder…But darn close.”
In his first appearance in front of an all Democratic audience since participating in the Republican budget coup, State Senator Jim Kastama (D-Puyallup) candidate for Secretary of State received a good laugh retelling an old story of Mr. Snyder’s (his self proclaimed “mentor”) who prior to his tenure in the Senate worked the elevators in the capitol building. The story goes something like this: “A group of Republican Senators get onto the elevator and start chastising Sid for his party affiliation. They ask him, ‘Why are you a Democrat?’ Sid replies ‘I don’t know. I guess because my father, my grandfather, and his father were all Democrats.’ The Senators reply, ‘Well, what if your family were horse thieves? What would that make you?’ Sid replies, ‘Well, I guess that’d make me a Republican.'” Also in attendance was former Senator and recent policy advisor to Governor Gregoire on oceans (of added interest to Pacific County) Kathleen Drew, who is also seeking the office of Secretary of State.
The two declared Democratic candidates for State Auditor Senator Craig Pridemore (D-Vancouver) and Represenative Mark Miloscia (D-Federal Way) showed up. Although Miloscia skipped out before the speeches. Pridemore went on to host the evening live auction with the usual humor and aplomb we have come to expect from his floor speeches. Also present was State Treasurer Jim Mcintire, Democratic Party Chairman Dwight Pelz, and of course the three hometown boys Senator Brian Hatfield, Represenative Dean Takko, and Represenative Brian Blake (pictured). The burning question on the minds of all the locals was apparent by the decent but not heartfelt reception of the two currently announced Congressional candidates – will Hatfield run?
Noticeably absent was Governor Gregoire (who was slated to attend) and the recent city slicker entry into the Secretary of State’s race Greg Nickels.
Much thanks to the local club for creating an excuse to eat delicious dungeness crab, and to Bette Snyder for the hand whipes.
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