Welcome to Ron's world

Before Tuesday's election, the political snipers were out in force.

What will Ron Sims do now that he has burned the bridges of King County by opposing the gigantic roads-and-transit package?

Maybe Sims is tired of his job.

Maybe Sims is really, truly, secretly, all about working for Hillary Clinton since he is an early supporter and she could appoint him to a cool national post. Blah, blah, blah.

The answer to the question of what Sims does next, after an election in which the gimondo transportation package went down decisively, is, "pretty much whatever he wants to do."

That said, he has an obligation to follow one daring move with another: Come out and tell us what exactly is Plan B.

Sims voiced concerns about Proposition 1. The King County executive had the guts to challenge the power elite. There are worse things a leader can do.

He woulda, coulda, shoulda come out earlier and delivered his opposition, while the potage was being stirred. He is a member of the Sound Transit board. He has a platform. His timing was off.

While some business and civic leaders are unhappy with his late hit, I am sure a fair segment of the public admires his forthrightness.

Sims says he has been approached repeatedly by people on both sides of Proposition 1 who praised him for speaking out.

Isn't that what we elect politicians to do? Tell us the truth? Even at an inopportune time.

Politics is a funny game. Sims ends up on the winning side. Politics loves a winner, so he will seem like a prophet or something.

Sims said what a lot of people were thinking: Proposition 1 was a monster. The tax would have lasted generations. He framed the debate. His concerns became our concerns.

Before Sims started railing against the $3 billion cost of light rail to Tacoma, that notion was more of aquiet murmur. After he identified that as part of his opposition, it became key to the dialogue. We all learned something.

Now that the measure has sunk like a rock to the bottom of Lake Washington, the spin changes. The voters' decision is final and there is a wisdom and cachet that must be assigned to it. They said the darn thing was too big. When it comes time for regrouping, one of the first people approached with a new package will be Sims. Hey, Ron, what could you support?

It is fair to say Sims loses the backing of a few key business people, but he may have neutralized some Republican opposition by agreeing on this big issue with Bellevue developer Kemper Freeman Jr. Freeman frequently backs Republican candidates.

Looking ahead to the 2009 election, Sims can run and win if he wants because his record reaches beyond any clumsiness associated with Proposition 1. When asked if he is running for re-election, Sims gives the obligatory, "I love my job, I love my job," then says he hasn't decided if he will seek re-election. It is, after all, two years away.

Turns out other people, too, are thinking about 2009 county politics. For example, County Councilmember Larry Phillips, who had no opponent for re-election this year, ran TV ads that said in essence, "I hope you love county government and me, and we should all be nicer to you." Or something like that.

Phillips explains he always campaigns aggressively, even with no opponent. But he doesn't hide the fact that he has long wanted to be county executive. So he used the campaign cycle to position himself for 2009 — just in case Sims makes other plans. The other much-talked-about candidate for county executive is Democratic Councilmember Bob Ferguson.

Conventional wisdom says Sims is angling for a job with Clinton. Maybe he is. He supported her early over other candidates. Sims would be a good Environmental Protection Agency director. He made a name for himself with efforts on global warming before it was trendy.

It is a veritable green-apalooza around here. Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels also wades heavily into global warming and climate change.

The point is, Sims will not pay a sizable political price for his candor. Even the greens who support light rail and detest roads may forgive him if he presses ahead with some version of congestion pricing and buses.

His next move has to be more bold leadership. What is Plan B? The politicians who put this together, feelings hurt and all, say there is no Plan B. Want to bet? It's their job to come up with one.

Joni Balter's column appears regularly on editorial pages of The Times. Her e-mail address is jbalter@seattletimes.com for a podcast Q&A with the author, go to Opinion at seattletimes.com