Editorial Page staff
The Seattle Times
After Tom Weeks resigned from Seattle City Council, we suggested in this space that the best replacement would be a right-leaning businessman with a touch of irreverence.
That mythical candidate didn't materialize (doggone it), but the two who did, Charlie Chong and Bob Rohan, present voters a clear and interesting choice.
Chong is a retired federal government employee whose reputation as a feisty neighborhood activist is well-deserved. He led West Seattle's opposition to the city's urban-village planning concept and currently supports Sand Point area neighborhoods in their battle against City Hall proposals for new uses at the former Naval Station.
But Chong overplays his pro-neighborhood stance. His view of city politics is a simplistic us-against-them drama in which he casts his opponent as one of the dark forces of rich and powerful downtown interests.
That's way off the mark. Bob Rohan, a lawyer who specializes in mediation, has served years of civic apprenticeship in public affairs that range far beyond downtown's corridors of power. As co-founder of the Northwest AIDS Foundation, he was a national pioneer in creating a coalition to support AIDS research. He started the AIDS Walk, one of the region's most
successful fund-raising events. Rohan also has been a board member of Planned Parenthood.
His involvement with United Way is an example of how he could be effective on the City Council. Once a critic of United Way, he worked within its committee system to strengthen the process by which human-service programs are evaluated for cost effectiveness and, ultimately, for United Way's stamp of approval.
Both candidates emphasize the need to examine city priorities, pare spending, operate more efficiently, and focus on the basics: roads and public safety. Chong would bring diversity of style and perspective to the council, but Rohan holds greater promise as an effective collaborator capable of steering the city through a time of change.
