Green Party hopeful struggles to share stage with Sims, Irons

When Gentry Lange decided to run for King County executive as a Green Party candidate, he knew he would be cutting into a two-man tango between incumbent Ron Sims and Republican challenger David Irons.

He just didn't realize how chilly the reception would be.

He says he's been left out of the mainstream media debates and had to invite himself to candidate forums, and he says he wasn't listed on the King County Elections Web site until October, two months after he filed.

And yet, Lange has emerged as a possible Ralph Nader-like spoiler in what may be a tight race for the executive's office.

The Shoreline real-estate agent dismisses the spoiler issue. Democrats, Lange says, are using it "to scare people into voting." Lange says he's running a campaign to reform the county elections office, ease traffic congestion and promote sustainable technology.

Of the voters, he asks, "Do they want someone who is an activist, who has a history of pointing out the problems in the system and breaking news at a local and national level, or should they trust two guys just blaming each other for problems and offering no solutions?"

Lange, 30, has raised $5,600 in campaign funds, according to state filings, far behind Irons and Sims, both of whom have raised more than $500,000.

Gentry Lange, 30

Residence: Shoreline

Occupation: Real-estate agent

Personal: Single

Background: Voting-rights activist, campaign manager for Andy Stephenson's 2004 run for Washington secretary of state

Top three endorsements: 2004 Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb; 2004 Washington secretary of state candidate Andy Stephenson; Seattle Weekly reporter Geov Parrish

Lange grew up outside of Chicago and moved to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, where he majored in political science. He cites in his résumé

that he was a volunteer at Real Change, a community newspaper sold by homeless people, although executive director Tim Harris called Lange "completely unreliable" and an "undistinguished" intern who worked there nine years ago. Lange says he wrote two articles and worked in the office for six months.

After graduating in 1998, Lange worked for a technology company called Interactive Objects as a technical writer and product manager. After getting laid off, he went to work last year as campaign manager for Democratic candidate Andy Stephenson's unsuccessful run for secretary of state.

Election reform is what motivated him to run for county executive, he says. He wants to replace the county's privately owned elections software with publicly owned, open-source code, similar to a system the Nevada Gaming Commission uses to monitor slot-machine payouts. Such software would make it easier to audit the elections office, Lange says.

If elected, Lange says he also would ask for hand-counts on randomly selected precinct machines and post the results publicly to further guard against potential election fraud.

"Not only our executive, but the council is acting like there's no problem," Lange said. "This is the heart of democracy. It's pretty chicken [expletive] of Ron Sims not to do anything about it."

Clearing up traffic congestion is Lange's other priority. He says he was nearly undone by his previous commute from Shoreline to Factoria, and he recommends what he calls "low-cost, logical solutions."

The most cost-effective approach would be for the county to address tailgating out on its roads, Lange says. The county could offer incentives to drivers to buy and use cruise-control technology that would prevent cars from getting too close to one another, he says. The technology has been proved effective in tests elsewhere, according to Lange.

Although it sounds simple, Lange says, he also believes a public-education campaign to prevent tailgating could lead to a decrease in backups and improve traffic flow. He points to the fact that the traveling public has come to embrace the use of seat belts through driver-education campaigns.

Although Lange has criticized both of his competitors at forums, Irons and Sims have focused their remarks on each other, to the exclusion of Lange.

Irons says he considers Lange a "nice young man" but says Lange " is not going to win this race. I need to be defining the difference between Mr. Sims' ability and positions, and mine, a great deal more than Mr. Lange's."

Sims' campaign asserts that Sims, not Lange, is "truly the green candidate in this race," says spokesperson Christian Sinderman. Sims has been endorsed by the Sierra Club and Washington Conservation Voters.

"We believe that Ron has an unparalleled record of support for parks, protecting open space, fighting for transit," Sinderman said. "Frankly, from public statements and debates, Ron's support for this issue is much more unequivocal than Mr. Lange's."

Jamie Durkan, a political consultant and past Sims supporter, is conducting his own poll and says Sims appears to hold a slim lead over Irons. Votes that go to Lange might influence the race's outcome, Durkan said.

Said Randy Pepple, a Republican political consultant, "The main thing is he [Lange] provides a place for liberal Democrats who are upset with Ron Sims to vote for."

Lange disagrees. He says the votes he gets next week may come from those who might otherwise pick Irons.

"The people I'm meeting are saying, 'I was going to vote for Irons because I can't stand Sims, but now that I know you're running I'll vote for you.' "

Sharon Pian Chan: 206-464-2958 or schan@seattletimes.com