Municipal League Rates 45th, 48th District Legislative Candidates

The Municipal League of King County has released its ratings and questionnaires of candidates for the legislative, judicial and sheriff races.

Candidates in the 45th and 48th legislative districts, which cover Redmond, ranged from "not qualified" to "outstanding," according to the Municipal League. King County Sheriff's candidate Steve Strachan, who was the interim appointment when Sheriff Sue Rahr left her position, was rated "outstanding," and his challenger, John Urquhart, was rated "good."

Among the judicial candidates, Redmond City Council member Kim Allen received a rating of "very good" in her race to unseat King County Superior Court Judge Douglas North (Position 30), who was rated "outstanding." Fellow Redmond resident and judicial candidate Elizabeth Berns received a rating of "outstanding" in her race for the Position 25 seat. Marianne Jones of Redmond was rated "adequate" among Position 42 candidates.

According to the nonpartisan Municipal League, the Candidate Evaluation Ratings attempt to answer the question: How well could a candidate do the job? The ratings do not consider a candidate’s political affiliations or standing on specific issues and instead, they assess a candidate’s potential to be effective in office, according to the organization.

The process is similar to a job interview—with a diverse group of citizens serving as hiring managers. The result has been called a “Better Business Bureau” for voters.

Municipal League volunteers reviewed candidate questionnaires, studied the public record, spoke with references, and conducted interviews with candidates. Committee members then rated each candidate on four criteria: involvement, character, effectiveness and knowledge, according to the league's press release.

The full list of candidate evaluation ratings and the candidates' completed questionnaires are posted on the League’s website at www.munileagueratings.org.

Municipal League Ratings

Legislative District 45

Washington State House of Representatives,
Position 1

Washington State House of Representatives,
Position 2

Washington State House of Representatives, Position 2

To download the candidate questionnaires, go to the 2012 Washington State Legislature—Candidate Ratings website.

To download questionnaires, go to the 2012 King County Sheriff—Candidate Ratings website.