GOP gets a start on choosing candidates

The primary isn't until September. Candidates for King County offices won't even file until July.

But for Republican Metropolitan King County Councilmen Reagan Dunn and Steve Hammond — competing for the same seat on a downsized, redistricted council — yesterday was Election Day.

GOP loyalists, many still smarting from voter approval of a new "top two" primary last fall, trooped to precinct caucuses across the county last night to begin picking the only candidates they say will be entitled to wear the Republican label this fall.

Secretary of State Sam Reed has said political parties have no such power — that candidates, as before, will choose for themselves whether they're listed on the primary ballot as Democrats or Republicans.

But both major parties maintain the new system allows them to pick their official nominees through caucuses and conventions. And some candidates are taking them at their word.

In the new 9th County Council District, both Hammond and Dunn said before last night's caucuses that they almost certainly will not file if they don't win the GOP nomination.

Party regulars will pick the nominee at a county convention June 11. Most delegates to that convention were elected at last night's caucuses. Hammond, of Enumclaw, and Dunn, of Bellevue, both worked hard to get their supporters out.

No one was keeping an official count of how many backers of each candidate had been elected as delegates. Dunn said last night he appeared to be winning by about a 55-45 ratio, but "there's some guesswork involved. It's not really as precise as we hoped it would be."

Hammond wouldn't provide numbers but said he was pleased with his showing. "I'm ready to continue working for this," he said. "This was kind of a little finish line, and now there's a big finish line [the county convention]."

At Kentridge High School, where 57 of the 9th District precincts caucused, yard signs and posters for Dunn and Hammond dotted the cafeteria. The Republicans at the school potentially could have elected up to one-fifth of the council district's delegates to the county convention. But there weren't enough people in attendance to fill that allotment.

Julie Holbrook,who supervised the Kentridge caucuses, was unapologetic.

"To me, this isn't a poor turnout at all," she said. "We're breaking new ground."

Gary Foss sat alone at the table reserved for the Timber Precinct caucus. He said he liked the caucuses and convention better than the top-two primary.

"I've always thought the parties were responsible for picking their candidates," he said. "As one of the party faithful, I think this is the fairest way to do it."

Last night's caucuses were the latest development in a long-running battle among the parties, state elections officials and others over the primary.

Federal judges in 2003 struck down the "blanket" primary, which allowed voters to pick candidates from any party; the top vote-getter from each party advanced to the November ballot.

The parties had argued it violated their First Amendment right of association because it allowed voters who weren't party members to participate in selecting the party's nominees.

To replace the blanket primary, voters last fall approved a primary that allows the top two vote-getters to advance to the general election, regardless of party. The parties maintain it's unconstitutional, too, and plan a challenge in federal court.

At the very least, they maintain, they should be permitted to choose their official nominees. King County Democrats, following the Republicans' lead, plan to hold a convention June 28.

At last night's GOP caucuses, each precinct was to elect from one to 20 delegates to the county convention. Only delegates from the new 9th District will have a vote at the convention in the contest between Dunn and Hammond, the only race in which last night's caucuses could make a real difference. No other partisan contests on this year's county ballot feature intraparty GOP battles.

Hammond, on the council since 2003, and Dunn, appointed to fill a vacancy earlier this year, were thrown into the same district after voters, by initiative, reduced the council from 13 members to nine.

Dunn, son of former U.S. Rep. and GOP power Jennifer Dunn, had raised about $74,000 through the end of last month; Hammond had raised about $19,000 .

Eric Pryne: 206-464-2231 or epryne@seattletimes.com