Ross: King County race shows what happens when politics get nasty

When I see someone I’ve worked with slimed in a political ad, I have to say something.

Sometimes the attack ads can actually be pretty funny. I still have the anti-Dave Ross mailer that accused me of not wanting to protect America from rogue nations. That of course was not true, but even worse – whoever wrote the ad couldn’t spell. So the mailer actually accused me of not wanting to protect America from “rouge” nations. It was even more slanderous because, as my co-workers know, no one is more opposed to excess makeup than I am.

But in the case at hand, there was a mailer sent out by incumbent King County Councilmember Kathy Lambert, portraying her opponent Sarah Perry as a puppet. I know a little about Sarah Perry because she used work as a fundraiser at Seattle University when I was serving on an advisory board there.

I knew her to be very effective. She even managed to get me to donate and is far from being a puppet. She was the kind of person who took charge of projects to make sure they succeeded. She was also involved in Seattle U’s effort to focus attention on homeless families and search for solutions. It was an attempt to get communities of faith to put their beliefs into practice so that the entire burden doesn’t have to fall on government. Which I think is worth trying.

Of course, no matter how committed you are to public service, the moment you run for office – especially now – you give up your dignity. You’re immediately portrayed as a lowlife. And maybe some politicians are.

When I see it done to someone who I know is not, I have to call it out.

I have no idea whether I agree with all of Sarah Perry’s politics. I haven’t campaigned for her, I haven’t contributed to her campaign, we never had any deep political discussions, and I have absolutely no idea whether she’d protect King County from “rouge” nations.

I know she’s a hardworking, high-energy woman with a mind of her own. Whoever decided to portray her as a puppet might want to pick up a mirror to check the length of their nose.

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