Rantz: The real reason media ignores some Seattle candidates

Every time I write about the Seattle mayoral election, I am hit with the same criticism: why am I ignoring Casey Carlisle, Harley Lever, or Greg Hamilton. The answer is simple: they’re not going to win. Not even come close.

Seriously, they won’t come anywhere close.

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By now, you might have already received your ballots and you’re trying to decide between a dizzying amount of candidates who will survive the primary. Because there are 21 candidates, the media needs to focus on the front runners, which include Mike McGinn, Jenny Durkan, and Nikkita Oliver. With around 40 percent of voters being undecided, there’s reason to believe that Bob Hasegawa, Jessyn Farrell, and Cary Moon also are viable options. Everyone else? They picked the wrong time to run.

If you want media coverage from me, or elsewhere, you’ll need to prove your campaign has a shot at winning. How do you do that? Raising money, meeting enough people in the community that you start a buzz, or somehow attaching yourself to an event worth covering. Carlisle, Lever, and Hamilton have done none of that in any meaningful way. As a result, the fractured media coverage will focus elsewhere.

While money isn’t everything, a lack of funding certainly suggests their message isn’t resonating with voters. Carlisle raised just under $3,500 with the two others doing better, but not good enough: Hamilton raised just over $13,500 and Lever raising a bit over $15,000. Good for them and I truly hope they spend the money wisely. But to put this in perspective, Durkan has over $300,000, Oliver has over $86,000, Farrell has over $88,000 and McGinn with over $34,000. While Lever isn’t far from McGinn, only one has tremendous name recognition.

Often times, I’m told I’d likely agree with the positions of a candidate so that should be enough reason to invite them on Rantz and Burns. That’s not enough reason for me; I almost never enjoy talking to politicians that I already agree with and I don’t see the value to the audience hearing just from voices that don’t challenge their beliefs. You’re all perfectly capable of exploring these candidates without me.

But, more importantly, it’s not my job to simply provide support for candidates, even if I like them; if you want that, buy ads on the show or for the blog. It’s not a story that Carlisle, for example, is a Libertarian running in Seattle. The story would be that he’s shown that he’s a viable candidate. He hasn’t shown that.

I won’t “make” a candidate, but I can help stymie one I don’t think is good for the city. It’s why I’m so critical of Moon, who would be a disaster for this city and who should personally offend those of us who respect the First Amendment.

Is this fair? Who knows. But it’s the reality in a field of 21 candidates. Would this be the same if there were a fraction of the candidates? Probably not. But, the fact remains, these candidates aren’t on our radar because they’re not on the radars of my readers or listeners in big enough numbers to spend time on air with.

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