The correct thing to do is to pick the best person

For politically correct Seattle, the City Council is worth bragging about. It includes two women, one African American and one Asian American.

An open seat on the council has attracted nearly 100 applicants, begging the unfortunate question — not who should succeed the resigning Jim Compton, but what the person ought to look like. Without any compunction, people are saying it is time for a Latino or a Native American on the council.

My initial reaction: Noooooo! It's time for a thoughtful, independent thinker who can raise the council's emotional temperature above tepid.

That person might be Darryl Smith, president of the Rainier Chamber of Commerce and a Realtor and former council candidate. Or it could be Javier Valdez, Democratic activist and a favorite of Latino advocacy groups. Former Councilwoman Dolores Sibonga and Stella Su Li Chao, director of the International District Housing Alliance, are quality candidates. Media consultant Sharon Maeda's résumé invites notice.

But it could also be someone with a polished résumé who happens to be white.

Strict quotas, such as the person has to be black or Latino, only land us in trouble. After all, if we wanted a perfectly balanced council we'd urge the council to pick a woman, since only two of eight seats on the council, those of Jean Godden and Jan Drago, belong to women.

The council Tuesday whittled the list to 14 semifinalists. Those chosen will appear before the council Thursday for extended interviews.

"I would love to see a woman of color on the council," says Richard McIver. Others on the council share his view. But without further attributes, any woman of color could rightfully demand the job.

Don't misunderstand me. Diversity is a key part of excellence. But we can't get so fixated on what the car looks like that we forget to look under the hood.

Perspectives are important among a thoughtful body, whether it's the City Council or my own newspaper. Perspectives are born of diversity. The key is finding the right mix — as embodied in a thoughtful, energetic individual with the ability not only to understand his or her own community, but convey that community's aspirations to others and be able to do it in reverse. If an inanimate object could replace Compton, the council ought to find a sturdy bridge.

Whomever the council chooses, it should not expect that person to come draped in the flag of a particular community. It is unfair to expect minorities to consistently stand up for others of their race when whites are not burdened with that same expectation. It would be patronizing to expect this person to be the go-to person on race issues only, and not have their opinions respected on other issues — say water rights or downtown development.

In a city that is 74 percent white, this council opening is high stakes for minority communities. I get that. People of color ascending to high posts still exist in a stratosphere of firsts. The first chief of staff of a hospital, the first chair of a major board, the list goes on. Minority political representation, while no longer in its infancy, is still spotty enough to justify the pressure groups feel when it comes to filling an elected seat.

Divisions exist in various communities. Roberto Maestas, executive director of El Centro de la Raza, has lived in the city for more than 50 years. He has heard Latinos complain blacks have all the political power and the jobs. Some blacks have told Maestas they're envious of the perceived unity and clout of this city's Latinos.

The brouhaha over CASA Latina, the Belltown agency that helps Latino clients find day jobs, figures prominently in the City Council deliberations. Smith, the Rainier Chamber president, was initially opposed to CASA Latina's plan to site a new center in the Rainier Valley. To this day, he is resented by some Latinos.

A black seat or a Latino seat is wrong. But so is the specter of nine white seats. Politics is not as diverse as it ought to be. Race is still part of the equation. But we have to grow as our clout grows and that means growing beyond race.

Regardless of who gets the council seat, the new council member better be prepared to address the needs of the entire city, from the minority communities to downtown businesses to the oft-ignored outlying neighborhoods. Fail to do that and the euphoria at being selected will be short-lived.

Lynne K. Varner's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. Her e-mail address is lvarner@seattletimes.com