This piece originally appeared in The Seattle Times on Oct. 30, 1996

Times endorsements for state House and Senate races in three districts in Snohomish County.

As a virtual one-party town, Seattle's legislative elections are essentially decided in the September primary. No Republican has won an in-city legislative race in a generation, so incumbent Democrats tend to be legislators for life.

That's about to change. Voluntary retirements in recent years have made room for a few new faces, and these newcomers need to move quickly into leadership since the remaining veterans will be forced out by term limits in 1998. Meanwhile, The Times continues to support a solid team of legislators.

34th District (Burien to West Seattle)

When three good candidates vied for the nomination in September, we supported Dow Constantine, a lawyer and former legislative aide. Constantine has a varied background in public policy, urban planning and law, all of which should be valuable in Olympia. Republican Marilynn Sears represents her party well, but her credentials don't match Constantine's.

In the other seat, Erik Poulsen served a solid first term in Olympia and is ready to assert some leadership. Two years from now, he and Constantine will find themselves serving as the city's senior lawmakers.

36th District (Queen Anne, Magnolia, Ballard)

Even in the House minority, Democrat Helen Sommers remains the most widely admired legislator in Olympia. She earns an enthusiastic endorsement.

For Position 2, activist Rudy McCoy is representing the Republicans, but one-term Democrat Mary Lou Dickerson proved to be a hard worker well worth returning to the Legislature.

37th District (Southwest Seattle, Madrona to Renton)

First-term Democrat Dawn Mason won a tough, contested primary and earned a rare ``outstanding'' rating from the Municipal League. She is feisty and independent, but is learning the arts of legislation and warrants our endorsement.

Democrat Kip Tokuda, another first-termer, is unopposed.

43rd District (Capitol Hill, Wallingford, University)

Democrats Ed Murray and Frank Chopp, both first-termers, are unopposed.

46th District (Northeast Seattle)

Longtime incumbents Marlin Appelwick and Ken Jacobsen are unopposed.

11th District (South-central Seattle)

State Sen. Margarita Prentice and Reps. Eileen Cody and Velma Veloria all survived primary challenges, and are unopposed in the general.