Will Tent City Win a Two-fer Next Tuesday?

Next Tuesday three tent city opponents are running for election.  Will their opposition to tent city be a plus or a minus?  So far, it’s shaping up to be a minus.  Here are the races:

King County Council - Bob Ferguson vs. Steve Pyeatt — In the primary, Ferguson and his challenger polled well over 20,000 votes, to a mere 8,000 for tent city foe Steve Pyeatt.  Pyeatt was organizer and mastermind of TentCitySolutions.com and steadfastly fought tent cities through East King County. On the other hand, Ferguson helped orchestrate the excellent King County tent city ordinance – against the opposition of Pyeatt. Steve’s opposition to tent cities apparently hasn’t improved his longshot odds for the County Council.   The Times, P-I, and Journal all have endorsed Ferguson.

Kirkland City Council – Joan McBride vs. Mike Nykreim — Nykreim sued Kirkland Congregational Church earlier this year for hosting tent city without a permit, but he’s failed to receive the endorsement of any major newspaper.  In fact, he apparently argued with the Journal editorial board during his endorsement interview, earning a rebuke as “not ready” for elective office.

Bellevue City Council – Conrad Lee vs. Vicki Orrico — Conrad Lee was the deciding vote against a 90-day tent city stay.  His opponent has received endorsements from all major dailies, raising the question of why this 12-year incumbent council member is so poorly thought of by the community.  

We’ll see if Tent City 4 scores a three-fer next Tuesday.  At this writing, it doesn’t look that good for tent city foes!