Why should you care? The lack of particpation by UW staff and faculty in Washington politics is a major part of our problem with the legislature. How many UW faculty even know their State Senators?
King County Council unanimously appoints David Frockt to be Scott White’s successor … NPI Advocate
Seattle’s 46th legislative district has a state senator again!
Following last Thursday’s joint meeting between the 46th District Democrats and the King County Democrats, where Representative David Frockt was overwhelmingly selected as the Democratic Party’s top choice to succeed the late Scott White, the King County Council has unanimously voted to act on the recommendation, appointing Frockt to fill the vacancy.
Frockt submitted his resignation as state representative from the county courthouse, and was subsequently sworn in as the 46th’s new state senator.
Frockt’s resignation from the House means that there is another vacancy to fill. The competition for the seat looks like it will be fairly intense.
It’s probable going into the meeting that there could be nearly half a dozen candidates with enough strength to compete for the top spots, as I told The Seattle Times earlier today. That means that predicting who will be on the next list of three names (let alone at the top of it) is pretty much impossible.
More than 10 candidates are expected to compete for Frockt’s seat. A handful of applicants are likely to land in the top five, said Andrew Villeneuve, a vice chairman for King County Democrats.
They are: Sylvester Cann, a former aide to White; Gerry Pollet, who ran unsuccessfully against White in 2008; Sarajane Siegfriedt, a longtime 46th District activist; and Javier Valdez, another party activist who has been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott.
Democrats in the 46th District are likely to vote on Frockt’s replacement at a Dec. 1 meeting. They will forward three names to the county Democratic Central Committee. Under a process spelled out in the state constitution, the party committee will then forward three names to the County Council.
Villeneuve said the central committee will very likely defer to the 46th District’s three favorites. “It’s their district, their representative,” Villeneuve said.
Because Frockt has now been sworn in, he’ll be able to begin his duties as state senator in advance of the first day of the special session of the state Legislature that is scheduled to begin on Monday, November 28th, two weeks from today.
However, the 46th will still be missing a member of its delegation until the position that Senator David Frockt has just vacated is filled. It’s possible that could happen as early as Monday, December 5th – we will see.