Judging by the signage, at least, the race for Pierce County Executive is heating up. For the Democrats, red Calvin Goings signs and blue Pat McCarthy signs seem to be popping up everywhere, as far as a Pierce County eye can see. That’s not even to mention Republican Shawn Bunney’s front yard placards, roadside posters and internet eye catchers that have been inundating voters thanks to placement on Web sites like the TNT’s. If the signs are a sign, this year’s contest is going to be epic.



The race for Pierce County Executive got a little more interesting this week when the 2nd Legislative District Democrats — who, for those who haven’t memorized the legislative district map, inhabit an area that includes Eatonville, Orting, Roy, Wilkeson, Rainer and Carbonado — fully endorsed current Pierce County Councilman Calvin Goings for the job. But the move was less of an endorsement of Goings (who the 2nd LD Dems had actually already endorsed in January) and more of a rebuttal of claims by Pierce County Auditor Pat McCarthy that the group had endorsed her candidacy.



According to a press release distributed late Tuesday, June 17, by the 2nd LD Dems, McCarthy has been unjustly claiming that a unanimous decision by the 2nd LD Dems in January to recommended voters list Goings as their first choice on Ranked Choice ballots this fall and McCarthy as their second was being mischaracterized by the McCarthy campaign as an endorsement. Their full endorsement of Goings on Tuesday was designed to send a clear message of their preference, and also eliminate ambiguities that have allowed the McCarthy campaign to claim otherwise.



“At their meeting in Graham Monday, June 16, the Second Legislative District Democrats unanimously endorsed Calvin Goings as their sole recommendation for Pierce County Executive. The move was seen by the membership as a repudiation of claims that the Democrats had endorsed Auditor Pat McCarthy,” stated the press release.



“Unfortunately, says Bob Chamberlain, chair of the Second Legislative District Democrats, the January resolution has been mischaracterized as an endorsement of Auditor McCarthy, a characterization rejected by those who voted for the original resolution,” the release continued. “In April many persons received a widely-disseminated e-mail advertising that the Second LD Democrats had endorsed her. Several individual members complained and the Legislative District chair wrote to the Auditor asking her to assure that the mischaracterization would no longer appear in her advertising.”



However, as of Wednesday afternoon, McCarthy’s Web site still claimed the 2nd LD Dem’s support. In a post from McCarthy’s campaign blog:



“The 2nd Legislative District endorsed Pat’s run for County Executive citing her longstanding record of supporting Democratic causes.”



According to 2nd LD Dems, one subject that made clarification on their part urgent was the recent endorsement of McCarthy by the Master Builders Association of Pierce County — an association the 2nd LD Dems see as less than progressive on the eco-friendly front.



“(The MBA) opposes plans that promote planning for a sustainable future, in the opinion of those who took part in discussing the endorsement, requiring a direct confrontation of the false impression,” says the release. “Therefore, on June 16, the Second Legislative District Democrats in their regular monthly meeting unanimously gave sole endorsement to Calvin Goings, removed positive recommendation from the candidacy of Pat McCarthy, and directed the Chair to prepare and broadly release this information.”



Ouch. No word yet on whether McCarthy plans to stop claiming the support of 2nd LD Dems. Rational thinking suggests she probably does. While McCarthy was unavailable for comment before this story’s deadline, check out www.weeklyvolcanospew.com for her response later this week.