Vashon Island News Record

EDITORIAL

County Politics

The News-Record wishes to review this week some of the offices to be filled this fall in the state and county, and call attention to some salient facts for the voters of Vashon Island to bear in mind. So far as the island is concerned the choice of county officers and superior court judges will mean more to us locally than the choice of a President of the U. S. Most of our readers have something to do at least once each year with every county official, while not more than one out of every ten thousand ever have anything that comes up directly with the President of the U. S.

County Clerk

If you have a probate matter to settle (and most everyone has at some time) it is started in the office of the clerk of the court. All other matters of court record center in that office. This year the present clerk, George A. Grant, is barred from running again, as he is finishing his second consecutive term. His head deputy, Abe N. Olson, has filed for this position. Mr. Olson is 48 years old and has lived 40 of these years in King county. This paper challenges any man or woman to find one word of adverse criticism of the manner in which the affairs of the public have been looked after during all the years Mr. Olson has been in that office. He promises the same policy in the future, if he is promoted to head the office, and no one will meet anything in the office after Mr. Olson becomes clerk, but a courteous smile, and a quick and correct answer to any inquiry. It will pay every reader to either jot down with a pencil, or jot down in their memory, the name of Abe N. Olson and put a cross after it on primary election day.

George A. Grant

D. E. Ferguson will not be a candidate for re-election as county auditor this fall for the same reason as given above. He is not eligible. But George A. Grant will be a candidate for this position. Mr. Grant has been tried as a public official and found to be capable and efficient. He is a friend of Commissioner Paul. His chief opponent, H. A. Wisner, was active and outspoken against Mr. Paul, and as the Old Island's Friend will have two years to serve as commissioner after the fall election, would it not be wise for the island to go down the line solid for George A. Grant. We can thus assure the county of an auditor who will conduct his office along the lines of faithful and economic business principles, in harmony with the policy of our county commissioner, by nominating George A. Grant for this job.

Other Officers

The island can not vote on nominations for either of the county commissioners. W. W. Shields has no opposition for county treasurer, so there is no contest there. This is also true of Don I. Evans for engineer, M. H. Wooster for assessor, William J. Jones for coroner, and A. S. Burrows for county superintendent of schools. This leaves two other county offices over which there is a big contest.

Prosecuting Attorney

For prosecuting attorney there are four outspoken candidates. Former Mayor Brown is the democratic candidate and will be nominated. The three republican candidates are E. D. Colvin, Otis Brinker, and John F. Murphy. As the News Record is an all-island paper and as those three men are all known equally alike, we'll tell the story and make no recommendation. Mr. Colvin is the present appointee. He prosecuted Bob

Grimes and obtained a conviction. At first he quibbled, and back-fired, and exonerated Grimes, but finally after Sheriff Starwich piled up the evidence so high that Mr. Colvin couldn't see over it nor through it, he went to bat and tried the case faithfully and obtained a conviction. We accuse him of being hesitant, of playing to the gallery with his punch-board crusade, and of being one of the "gang." But the fact that he convicted Grimes will mollify our antipathy very much.

Otis Brinker was superior judge until two years ago when he was defeated by Charles H. Paul. He is a rather human sort of being, with little to commend and little to criticize. He would "come easy go easy" if elected, and the punch-boards would keep right on as at present, with himself as one of the patrons, perhaps.

John F. Murphy is a clear headed, big visioned, fearless, fighting Irishman. He was prosecuting attorney several years ago when the county-city building was constructed. It cannot be said of him that he is weak and wavering—he's a mighty smart man and a mighty fine lawyer. Most of our readers know him personally, so they can judge whether they want him for their prosecuting attorney or not.

Sheriff

There are sixteen candidates—one will be nominated. So it will be "sixteen to one."

Pay your money and take your choice.

Next week this paper will discuss the candidates for the Superior court bench, and the following week we shall take up the four legislative positions in this district. Thus will end the pre-primary election contest.