Jeanne Harris
Maintaining a neutral stance in the Vancouver City Council Position 3 race between 4 term incumbent Jeanne Harris and challengers Frank Decker, Anne McEnerny-Ogle and Galina Burley, I can’t help but feel sad for how Jeanne Harris has been sold out by the Democrats she has faithfully supported for so long.
Yes, we know Jeanne created her own problems three years ago with the now famous incident, but let’s be honest here, if one of us were in the midst of a bitter divorce, might we not lash out towards someone, out of character as well?
That is not to make any excuses, just to remind ourselves of the words once spoken by a very wise man long ago, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Voters will decide whether or not the incident three years ago outweighs her many years of service on the city council, as they should.
But, even though I am as guilty as anyone else in beating her up over it, I can’t help but feel sorry seeing how the Clark County Democrats have just written her off, even to the point of writing in their August 2013 newsletter, “frequently identified as a Democrat” as if they never knew her.
If I were permitted to vote in the city council races, I would not vote for her, but because I disagree with her political views, those of a Liberal Democrat. I’m a conservative and it would be expected that I oppose her and not vote for her.
What excuse does the Clark County Democrat Party have for writing her off so quickly and enlisting another for a replacement?
And yes, I know they are hiding behind their claim of “nonpartisan” race and not endorsing, but everybody knows such a claim is pure hogwash, every candidate holding a political view of their own and bringing it into their office if they win.
A party publicly saying they are not endorsing is mostly a lot of hot air as party members do discuss between themselves who they want to see win and offer that candidate support. For either party to state they are not endorsing in “nonpartisan” races is a smoke & mirrors game, that’s all.
But for the Clark Democrats to now marginalize Jeanne Harris and distance themselves after her many years of loyalty to them just shows me that the local party under the guidance of Mike Heywood has lost its heart, caring more about winning at any cost and less about standing with those that have stood with you or actually serving the community they are in.
As you can recall, we have seen this win at all cost for the party attitude before from Democrats as 49th legislative district Representative Jim Moeller blasted the only Democrat challenger to 3rd Congressional District Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler last year, costing Jon Haugen the party nomination for some time that cut him off from party resources until late in the campaign.
Haugen likely would have lost any way, but that is irrelevant to the treatment he received at the hands of Democrats like Moeller and those who would not stand up to him.
We see it again with State Senators Tim Sheldon and Rodney Tom, two moderates who grew tired of the heavy handed one party domination of the Democrats and joined into a true bipartisan relationship with the Republicans in Olympia to actually see the two party’s work together.
Their reward for acting in a manner voters have long called for is to see a campaign waged by the Washington State Democrat Party to oust them, shun them and fight their efforts at bipartisanship.
And now, the Clark County Democrats are doing the same thing to Jeanne Harris and pretending like they don’t even know her with their comment in the newsletter, “frequently identified as a Democrat.”
For someone they can only marginally say today is only “frequently identified as a Democrat,” she ran for Clark County Commissioner in 2004 as a Democrat, receiving the party’s support. She lost to former commissioner Marc Boldt, but she had their strong support in the race.
That same year saw Democrat Craig Pridemore win a seat to the State Senate and vacating his position on the Clark County Commission. Jeanne Harris, even though losing the election, sought the Democrat Party nomination to replace him.
Since she didn’t live in the proper district to gain the nomination, she asked for time to move and for the Democrat Party to postpone the nomination until she met the time qualification for living in the district, most assuredly facing allegation of being a “carpetbagger.”
A November 11, 2004 editorial in the local Lazy C said, “In a nervy, if not presumptuous, political gambit the other night, Harris asked the Clark County Democratic Central Committee to postpone its selection of three nominees for a vacancy on the board of county commissioners so that she would have time to move her residence in order to qualify for that vacancy. And this came despite the fact that voters last week denied her a spot on the board.”
“In an over accommodating, if not inconsiderate, move, the Democrats agreed.”
Steve Stuart won the nomination in the end, though.
But, it looks to me like she was more than just “frequently identified as a Democrat” back then to curry such favor from the same Party that today pretends to have never known her.
Jeanne Harris’ troubles are well known to voters and if they think they are enough to replace her, they will do so. But I have to be honest in that sitting down with her weeks ago and talking non-political matters, she is far from the “screaming banshee” many, me included, labeled her.
In fact, I discovered we share similar views away from politics, appreciation for aircraft, desiring to see a Clark County Regional Airport in North County someday and a few other things.
I still hold strong disagreements with her over political views, but maybe it is just my root for the underdog attitude I’ve held for most of my life, she deserves better from the party she has been loyal to for so long.
If you think this is just a specious attack on the Clark Democrats, I invite you to look back to the 2010 elections and my attitude then towards the Clark County Republican Party as I wrote of the 3rd Congressional District race, “I have made no bones of the dirty tricks and underhanded tactics I witnessed in this campaign. My trust in the GOP leadership was shattered as I saw it all unfolding and last evening, in an effort to severe my ties with the local GOP, it became all the more apparent as I was basically informed that I did not see what I saw and even when confronted with the emails that stirred much of it up, they were marginalized.”
“The corruption within the system that drives many voters away from the polls and convinces potential voters that there is no difference between the parties will never be corrected as long as you are not willing to stand against it, expose it and squash it.”
The Clark GOP has new leaders today that I am watching to see how they do.
The Clark Democrats still has the same foul leadership, although different in name that they have had for some time, evidenced by how quickly they eat their own in order to win at any cost.
I am sure this post will confuse Republicans and get me once again accused of supporting someone I am not and Democrats will scoff.
But in the end, whether she remains on the city council or if voted out for someone else, Jeanne Harris deserves better from the very people she has stood by for so long.
