By Susanna Ray
Herald Writer
MARYSVILLE — It was billed as the first Snohomish County debate of three Republican congressional campaigns, but two of the candidates failed to show up on Saturday. And the one who did, almost by default took home the prize.
Herb Meyer, a former aide for President Reagan who now runs consulting and publishing companies in Friday Harbor, won 47 of the 56 votes cast in a straw poll for the 2nd Congressional District after a forum in Marysville sponsored by the 39th Legislative District GOP.
"I believe there was some resentment that the other candidates didn’t show up," said Terry Laxton, the 39th District GOP chairman. "You’ve got to question if candidates can’t even show up for the Republican faithful, how are they going to win over the rest?"
The absent candidates were Norma Smith, a former aide to U.S. Rep. Jack Metcalf who now runs a consulting business in Clinton, and Kelly Barlean, an attorney and state representative from Langley.
In the forum straw poll, Smith garnered three votes and Barlean two. Four votes went to an assortment of others. Similar results were produced at the Whatcom County Republican convention Saturday, with Meyer again winning 47 votes, compared with 14 for Smith and none for Barlean, Laxton said.
The Republicans are hoping to unseat Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen this fall in the 2nd Congressional District.
Smith unexpectedly flew to Hawaii earlier this week to care for her daughter, who had just given birth to her first baby. She is due back today, said Afton Swift, Smith’s campaign manager.
"This came up," Swift told about 90 Republicans at the Marysville event. "We’ve got her 24/7 after this. That’s all I can say."
Swift later pooh-poohed the straw poll results, saying it was a "stacked room" of Meyer fans.
A volunteer standing in for Barlean said the lawmaker was attending a legislative function.
Reached later in the day, Barlean said he spent the morning meeting with Skagit County commissioners, who were trying to convince the state Department of Natural Resources to transfer ownership of a parcel of land to them for a rifle range. The 10th Legislative District includes all of Island County and parts of Snohomish and Skagit counties.
"As much as I’d love to be at every campaign forum that’s out there," Barlean said, "this was a legislative duty that takes priority."
His volunteer, David Landrey, mentioned during the forum that Barlean was actively courting the National Rifle Association’s support.
It might seem kind of early for serious campaigning, since candidates can’t officially file for office until July. But when multiple candidates from the same party want the same seat, the race can be decided by the party faithful well before regular voters get a chance to have their say at the September primary election.
The state GOP advocated a serious discussion to figure out who the weaker candidates were and ask them to pull out of the race, Laxton said. Parties and political action committees generally wait until a primary is decided before donating to a campaign, so a race that goes all the way to the September primary election gives the final candidate less than two months to catch up in fund-raising by the November general election.
The Republican candidates this year will have a long way to go to match Larsen’s campaign war chest of more than $830,000. Almost half of that has come from political action committees, campaign finance reports show.
But Laxton said he doesn’t think any of the candidates this year are willing to give up before the election, and he also doesn’t think that’s a problem.
"I happen to be one that believes a contested primary is a good thing," he said. "It keeps the candidates on their toes."
The three contestants appeared to have the same stance on some issues: They all support school vouchers, tax cuts and the right to bear arms, for example. It was hard to tell whether they differed on others.
When asked whether they would support the government’s $29 billion plan to lease 100 Boeing 767s and convert them into aerial refueling tankers for the Air Force, Landrey said he’d write down the question and ask Barlean later. Swift said he hadn’t discussed it with Smith, but "I’m sure if it’s helpful to Boeing, Norma is probably supportive."
Meyer, the only one who seemed to have knowledge of the issue, said he was still considering it. If the Pentagon deemed the plan a good one, he’d support it, he said, but not if it turned out to be just a "welfare program for Boeing," as some have charged.
That jibed with Meyer’s campaign pledge, promising not to bring home the bacon for the 2nd District, since politicians’ "pork" comes from taxpayers’ pockets.
You can call Herald Writer Susanna Ray at 425-339-3439
or send e-mail to ray@heraldnet.com.
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