2 Democrats in bitter race in Seattle's 46th District

It's Friday morning and Gerry Pollet's home is overrun by a swarm of volunteers stuffing, folding and licking mailers that promote his run for the state House.

His wife, a longtime Democratic party leader, mills through the crowd with a pitcher of lemonade, keeping the unpaid work force refreshed.

With his opponent, Scott White, boasting a campaign finance account twice as big, Pollet is depending on volunteers and a grass-roots approach to compete in what has turned out to be one of the most bitter House races in recent memory.

In North Seattle's 46th District, Pollet, a seasoned environmental activist, and White, a former district-party chairman — both Democrats — are tussling to fill an open seat in the reliably blue district that includes Lake City, Laurelhurst, Broadview and parts of Greenwood.

Keith Ljunghammar, running under the "Cut Taxes G.O.P. Party," also is in the race, but his campaign has struggled to get off the ground.

The race has already seen its fair share of political drama — including a candidate botching an attempt to drop out of the race, a lawsuit, dust-ups over campaign contributions and lots of name-calling.

Who's to blame depends on whom you ask. Even local Democratic Party officials are split, recently offering Pollet and White a dual endorsement, rather than choosing one as the preferred candidate.

Pollet has raised less than $23,000 while White is nearing $49,000. Still, Pollet's campaign has gained traction among the district's voters.

Both Democrats are expected to move on to the general election. Under the state's new top-two primary Aug. 19, the two candidates who get the most votes in each race, regardless of party, will appear on the November ballot.

Clash of approaches

White characterizes the fireworks between him and Pollet as a generational clash.

Pollet, 49, an environmental activist since the 1970s, has accepted no corporate contributions and fuels his efforts with neighborhood volunteers and small donors. He also hasn't held back when attacking his opponent, whom he has attempted to paint as a pawn of big business.

White, 38, is running a business-friendly campaign that emphasizes bipartisanship.

He touts his many corporate campaign contributions — which make up a notable chunk of his fundraising — as a reflection of his ability to work well with those who employ his would-be constituents. White has received contributions from Washington Mutual and Qwest, among other corporations.

"My opponent is a member of the baby-boomer generation," White said. "There's a certain mentality that you got to fight, fight, fight until you win, and that's how you get a resolution. But being part of a Legislature, you need to be able to work with people."

White points to Pollet's failure to win the endorsements of major state environmental groups as a sign that his opponent has trouble working well with others. Despite Pollet's reputation as an environmentalist, White has been endorsed by the Sierra Club and the Washington Conservation Voters.

Pollet counters by attacking White's corporate support, which he says would keep his opponent from effectively representing "working families" in Olympia.

"Voters look at someone's supporters and they go, 'Hmm, what did he promise to get that money?' " Pollet said.

The clash over White's corporate support came to a head when reports surfaced that he had accepted a $500 campaign contribution from a lobbyist for Glacier Northwest, a corporation with mining interests on Maury Island.

White, concerned the contribution would be seen as a conflict of interest because the issue has been discussed in the Legislature, made a donation of the same amount soon after to a state environmental group.

Pollet has used the dust-up as a point of attack against his opponent.

"My opponent hasn't met a corporate contributor he can say no to," Pollet said. "I have the integrity of saying no to some of those special interests."

Dramatics in the race hit a high point in June, when White tried to withdraw from the race after learning he had pneumonia.

He faxed his withdrawal to the King County Elections Division. But after some confusion over whether the fax arrived in time to meet the withdrawal deadline, White decided to stay in the race. Pollet filed a lawsuit challenging the county's decision to allow White to stay in the race, but lost in court.

"It speaks incredibly to his lack of commitment that he would sign a withdrawal," Pollet said. "I mean, this is not something you can take lightly."

Pollet still maintains that White was never sick. But The Seattle Times reviewed a record White provided of his visit to the hospital. It confirmed he received a diagnosis of pneumonia.

Key issues

The race has narrowed to a few key issues, with both Democrats focusing on the environment, health care and public education.

Pollet promises to introduce a referendum to voters that would amend the constitution to declare access to health care a fundamental right.

White, in line with his generally business-friendly slant, wants to provide incentives for small and medium businesses to provide health care for their employees.

On education, White promotes stronger state support for universities and community colleges. Pollet emphasizes creating smaller special-education classes and more help for foster children.

Both candidates propose paying for all-day kindergarten and increasing spending for preschool.

Despite Pollet's experience as a parent advocate working with the local school district, White won the endorsement of the Washington Education Association.

Pollet says he is not fazed by his opponent's edge in endorsements, calling them "political calculations about who to go with in a horse race."

White is facing the unique challenge of convincing the district's voters that he could be a stronger steward of the environment than his opponent — an environmental stalwart in the region.

Pollet has helped lead the push to clean up nuclear waste at Hanford. His efforts have won him national recognition, as reflected in his campaign's high number of out-of-state contributions, according to the most recent analysis by The Business Institute of Washington.

Pollet has proposed increasing funding for mass transit "to match population density" to curb global warming. White has focused on reducing sewage output into Puget Sound and extending light rail to Northgate.

Ljunghammar, for his part, supports retrofitting the Alaskan Way Viaduct rather than replacing it with a tunnel or surface street. He also opposes same-sex marriage and supports a state initiative that would crack down on illegal immigrants.

Robert Faturechi: 206-464-2393 or rfaturechi@seattletimes.com