Internet exec is political newbie

By Warren Cornwall
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

Alex Alben's background is in business and law.

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People would download songs for a fee and carry them on small portable devices, illegal music copying could pose a problem, and the recording industry needed to buy into the idea of Internet music distribution to make it a commercial success.

This was before Napster became a household word, before MP3 players small enough to take jogging, before record companies sued people for downloading music, and before companies like RealNetworks sold music online.

	DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES Alex Alben, Democratic candidate for Congress in the 8th District, stoops to get a look at an address as he campaigns in Bellevue. Alben hopes his business background will appeal to suburban voters.

"I think I articulated it in a way that proved to be prophetic," said Alben.

Now the Mercer Island resident, retired at 45 and a multimillionaire, says he will bring that business insight to Congress.

Alben has made his corporate achievements a cornerstone of his campaign for the suburban 8th District, which covers much of east and south King County and east Pierce County. He says he will work to turn the Eastside into a "research triangle" where scientists and companies pursue fields like biotechnology, nanotechnology and alternative energy.

"I can look at opportunities that exist in the region and say, 'I think this can create a lot of jobs; what role can government have here?' " he said.

Alex Alben 8th Congressional District candidate Age: 45 Party: Democrat Residence: Mercer Island Family: wife, Ellen Alben, 41; daughter, Emily, 12; son, Jeremy, 9 Education: B.A., political science, Stanford University; law degree, Stanford University Work: director of business affairs, Orion Pictures, Los Angeles, 1988-1991; assistant general counsel, Warner Brothers Theatrical Legal, Los Angeles, 1992 -1993; vice president of business affairs and general counsel, Starwave, Seattle, 1993-1997; vice president of entertainment group and vice president of public policy, RealNetworks, Seattle, 1998-2003. Campaign theme: I'm a businessman with a first-hand understanding of how the economy works.

First, however, Alben must win a primary against two better-known Democrats and then beat a Republican in a district long held by the GOP.

After years as a successful business executive, published novelist, Stanford-trained lawyer and son of a well-to-do Los Angeles family, Alben is in an unfamiliar position: underdog.

The confluence between the entertainment world and Seattle's high-tech industry made Alben wealthy and brought him into Washington politics.

He entered the business world in Hollywood, his childhood back yard. His father was creative director of an ad agency's L.A. office. Alben joined first Orion Pictures and then Warner Bros., vetting and negotiating deals as a combination businessman and lawyer.

He moved to Seattle in 1993 as director of business affairs and general counsel for Starwave, a venture of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Alben took a lead role in securing the legal rights to use Clint Eastwood movie clips for a CD-ROM retrospective on the actor, and helped negotiate deals for Web sites such as ESPN.com.

In 1998 he joined the Seattle Internet media company RealNetworks. There he oversaw the creation of RealJukebox — software that allowed people to transfer music from CD-ROMs to computer hard drives.

As the Internet caught the attention of Congress, Alben, with his legal background and connections in the entertainment world, became RealNetworks' chief political strategist.

RealNetworks co-workers describe him as talented and intelligent, someone who showed a knack for surviving in a company where vice presidents' tenures frequently had the life span of a mayfly.

"He sort of has a certain mild manner and sort of quiet personality, so you wouldn't think he is likely to turn into a bulldog. But he definitely is smart and competitive and is driven," said Jed Lewison, a former RealNetworks colleague who is now an aide to U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, another RealNetworks alum.

Alben testified before Congress and lobbied on issues like the copyright fees charged for broadcasting music over the Web. RealNetworks wanted a lower fee, since its business hinged on people listening to music over the Internet.

When his work brought him in touch with members of Washington's congressional delegation, U.S. Reps. Jay Inslee and Adam Smith encouraged Alben to think about a run for Congress.

Alben is, in many ways, the kind of candidate Democrats were looking for in the suburban district controlled for six terms by Republican Rep. Jennifer Dunn. He combines a business pedigree with a more liberal stance on social issues, supporting environmental protection and abortion rights.

He also had the money to jump-start a campaign. Alben and his wife, Ellen Alben, former lead attorney for Bellevue-based InfoSpace, have amassed a sizable fortune.

Federal election filings and property records show he has assets of at least $9.5 million. He has already loaned the campaign $200,000. Alben won't say how much of his own money he will spend on the race, though he predicts the campaign could cost $2 million.

He described his decision to run as a matter of community service and an expression of his long interest in politics.

"I think it's important for people to come out of the business community and the general community to do public service," he said.

Alben worked as a congressional aide in college and as a researcher for Walter Cronkite at CBS News before entering law school. He also wrote "Our Man in Mongoa," a 1987 spoof of spy thrillers and international politics set on a fictional South Pacific island.

But he's a novice in the election arena.

Faced with the Dunn juggernaut, Alben tried last fall to stand out by focusing on the Internet. After four months of campaigning, he had raised just $89,000 in donations.

With Dunn's surprise retirement announcement in January, Alben's campaign worked to transform itself from a quirky effort by a political outsider to a more conventional operation. The campaign has since boosted donations to roughly $400,000, not counting Alben's loan. And he has won over some doubters.

Yvonne Ward, an Auburn lawyer and Democratic activist in South King County, said she is frequently skeptical of first-time candidates in an election of this magnitude. But she was struck by Alben's grasp of the issues.

"What he has been able to do is understand very sophisticated policy — national and international policy issues — and explain how that affects people," she said.

Some question whether Alben's business experience translates into an understanding of workers' needs. The Washington State Labor Council endorsed Alben, but the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents a large number of Boeing workers, hasn't endorsed anyone in the race.

"We're not certain he (Alben) understands the issues of working people," said Linda Lanham, the union's political director in Washington state.

Alben was widely considered the front-runner against Heidi Behrens-Benedict, who has raised less money and failed to beat Dunn in three prior races. But the recent arrival of radio talk-show host Dave Ross could boost Behrens-Benedict's chances by splitting primary votes among three candidates.

Political observers are watching to see whether Ross can turn his fame into a viable Democratic campaign. The State Labor Council, which endorsed Alben before Ross entered the race, could wind up endorsing both men, said council President Rick Bender.

"Not knowing about Dave Ross, that kind of changes the picture," he said.

Alben has responded by taking out his first radio advertisements and hitting the streets of the district, going door to door promoting himself as the candidate with the businessman's touch.

"The question is whether people want someone with real-world accomplishments or someone who is attractive primarily because he has media exposure," Alben said.

Warren Cornwall: 206-464-2311 or wcornwall@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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