Mark Griswold is in the Times

Danny Westneat has a nice profile today of Mark Griswold, who's running as a Republican for the 43rd district Washington House of Representatives seat currently held by Speaker Frank Chopp. Griswold is the first Republican to run in the district in at least a decade, hence the headline "Republican stirs breeze of change"

Politics in the heart of Seattle is like the old Soviet Politburo: rigid, stagnant, lacking any meaningful debate. On "Election Day," voters often get ballots with only one candidate — a Democrat — listed for each state legislative office.

Consider the 43rd District of the Wallingford, Capitol Hill, Fremont area. Its two state representatives have gotten vote totals that would make a dictator blush — 100 percent — in every general election since 1996.

The only choice available for voters has been to scratch out the Democratic candidate and write in someone else.

Until now.

It's a fair profile of Mark Griswold, although I suspect this line might have been sexed up a tad:

the [43rd district GOP ] chairman begged me not to print his name. He runs a business that contracts with Seattle government, and fears retribution if it's known he's a Republican.

Mark Griswold and the 43rd district GOP chairman were both at my table at last week's George Nethercutt campaign breakfast. Names and photos here! And all the GOP district chairs have their names listed on the King County Republican website (scroll to the bottom right corner). We're not a secret society.

I wrote about Mark Griswold earlier, here.

Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at May 21, 2004 10:01 AM