Copyright 2000 The Seattle Times Company
The
Seattle Times
October 30, 2000, Monday Final Edition
SECTION: LOCAL NEWS; Pg. B3
LENGTH: 1310 words
HEADLINE:
McDermott vs. third parties
Democrats may be safe in 7th - but for long?
BYLINE: Susan Gilmore; Seattle Times staff reporter
BODY:
Although it's just a week before the
election, Jim McDermott has another campaign on his mind, the 2002 race when his
safe Democratic district may be a thing of the past.
It's virtually
certain that redistricting based on the 2000 census will have political
consequences for Seattle's 7th Congressional District, which has always been
considered the state's safest one for the Democratic Party.
Ousting an
incumbent is unheard of; the seat has not been held by a Republican since 1977,
when Jack Cunningham topped a long slate of candidates in a special election to
replace former Rep. Brock Adams.
A year later, the Democrats won it back
and haven't had a serious challenge since. To illustrate how the Republicans
have ceded the seat to the Democrats: There isn't even a Republican on the
ballot this year. There wasn't one in 1998, either.
Instead, McDermott
is facing two third-party candidates: earnest Green Party member Joe Szwaja and
Libertarian Joel Grus. Both say it's time to replace McDermott, who has held the
seat since 1989.
Lone Green Party candidate
Szwaja is
the only Green Party candidate in the state. He got 14 percent of the primary
vote, while Grus picked up 8 percent.
Szwaja, 44, is a history and
government teacher at Seattle's alternative Nova High School. Raised in
Cleveland by parents active in the civil-rights movement, Szwaja served nearly
eight years on the Madison, Wis., City Council, representing the Labor Farm
Party, affiliated with the Green Party.
He is a longtime activist and
won a local United Nations human-rights award for his work on behalf of East
Timor.
Szwaja is feeling some of the pressure of the recent flap over
Green Party presidential candidate Ralph Nader. Many Democratic leaders, worried
that a vote for Nader will give the presidential race to Texas Gov. George W.
Bush, have been trying to persuade Nader supporters to vote for Vice President
Al Gore.
"I've only had 7,500 people tell me that," said Szwaja. "I
respect people who like Nader but feel they have to vote for Gore." But he
added, "Voting for the lesser of the evil has not worked."
Szwaja,
campaigning outside a Gore rally yesterday, said the anti-Nader crusade could
actually help his campaign because he has no Republican opponent. "A lot of
people have told me they'll vote for me and vote for Gore," he said. "It's an
unfortunate situation we have, pitting people against each other."
Grus,
26, is a mathematician who works for Microsoft. A Georgia native and political
novice, he moved to Seattle to attend graduate school.
Neither candidate
has raised much money, nor has McDermott, who nonetheless has raised 10 times
the $27,000 Szwaja reports. There's been little campaigning in
the race, other than yard signs, door-to-door visits and appearances at
community forums.
Drug company's role
criticized
Szwaja said he respects McDermott's work on universal health
care but has criticized him for taking campaign money from drug
company Schering-Plough, whose best-known drug is the
antihistamine Claritin.
The pharmaceutical company's political-action
committee has given McDermott $5,000 this year, at the same
time it is lobbying Congress to extend its patent for Claritin.
McDermott has sponsored a bill that would set up a
patent-review process for the drug - which
Szwaja charges smacks of a conflict of interest.
"This locks out generic
substitutes," he said. "It makes no sense to extend the patent.
(Schering-Plough) has access to him because they give him a lot of money."
McDermott said holding a patent-review hearing doesn't
mean he's made up his mind on the patent extension. "Do you
think a drug company could ever be right?" said McDermott.
"Everyone has the right to be heard. This does not grant an
extension; it sets up a process. They could lose."
Besides, said McDermott, "If you think I'm for sale for
$5,000, you simply don't know me very well."
Szwaja
also criticizes McDermott on trade issues, particularly his legislation to lower
tariffs for Africa trade. "I think he's a good man," said Szwaja. "But he has
not been energetically engaged in representing the people of Seattle. He can't
continue resting on his laurels forever. His party has not held him
accountable."
Grus, whose party supports getting government out of
people's lives, said McDermott represents big government. Grus supports
legalized drugs, is opposed to gun control and thinks Social
Security should be eliminated in favor of private retirement accounts.
Both challengers say McDermott has simply been in Congress too long, and
Szwaja said he is frustrated that McDermott won't debate him.
One issue
Szwaja isn't raising is "tapegate," the investigation into McDermott's alleged
involvement in leaking a tape recording of a cellular-phone call between former
House leader Newt Gingrich and other Republican leaders three years ago.
An electronic-eavesdropping law makes it illegal to record or pass along
contents of cell-phone calls. McDermott has argued the law is unconstitutional.
"I've tried to be courteous and stick to the key issues," said Szwaja.
"I want to keep it positive."
On the issues, Szwaja said he opposes the
World Trade Organization as it is constituted and said Seattle should never have
invited the trade meetings here last year. He favors strong gun-control
legislation and trade with Cuba and China and wants campaign-finance reform.
McDermott's goals
The 7th District race was almost an
open one. For months, McDermott, 63, considered running for the U.S. Senate but
opted not to because of all the money he expected he'd have to raise to
challenge Republican incumbent Slade Gorton. "I sat down and said to myself,
'You will not do a single thing next year but raise money,' " he said, adding
that Maria Cantwell's decision to enter the race had nothing to do with his to
stay out.
McDermott said he will continue his uphill fight to get a
single-payer health-care plan passed by Congress, and he is crafting a Web site
for his health-care proposal.
He also wants to create a new
national-service organization, similar to VISTA, to get people more involved in
their communities. He wants to force more education and health-care regulations
for U.S. trading partners, and he wants more federal affordable housing.
As for redistricting, McDermott has no idea what will happen to the 7th
District.
"I'll put on a campaign next time. One way or another, I've
got to move and there will be a lot of new people in the district," said
McDermott. "With a new district it will be a whole new game."
---------------------------
Joel Grus
Libertarian
Residence Seattle
Occupation Finance
Education M.S. in mathematics, University of Washington
Political
history Campus politics at Rice University
Endorsements No response
Campaign Web site www.joelgrus.com
Jim McDermott
Democrat
Residence Seattle
Occupation U.S. representative
Education B.S., Wheaton College; M.D., University of Illinois
Political
history Former state representative, state senator
Endorsements Sierra Club;
League of Conservation Voters; Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO
Campaign Web site www.mcdermottforcongress.com
Joe
Szwaja
Green Party
Residence Seattle
Occupation Teacher
(American government and economics, world history, Spanish, weight lifting),
Nova High School
Education B.A. in history and Spanish literature, Kenyon
College, Gambier, Ohio; M.A. in Latin American history, University of Wisconsin
Political history City councilman, Madison, Wis., 1986-93; Labor Farm Party;
active in coalitions opposing the World Trade Organization and International
Monetary Fund
Endorsements Green Party of Seattle and Washington, East Timor
Action Network of Washington
Campaign Web site www.joeforcongress.org
GRAPHIC: PHOTO, MAP; Joel Grus
LOAD-DATE: October 31, 2000 
