The Columbian July 28, 2009

In Our View, July 28: Harris is Top Choice

Incumbent Vancouver city councilor endorsed for Aug. 18 primary

Serving on the Vancouver City Council quickly becomes in many respects a labor of love … of community. It's certainly not a labor of riches; the job pays less than two grand a month, and unless you're retired, another side job or two is usually required.

And it doesn't take long for an effective councilor to learn that this job is more than just serving a city. The task includes a heavy schedule of meetings with many other governments, jurisdictions, agencies and committees.

For 10 years, one of Vancouver's hardest-working city councilors has been Jeanne Harris. She's not the most affable or animated politician in town. Sometimes we wish she'd smile a little more often. But her job is not to lead cheers; it's to improve her city. Harris puts in long hours, flexing powerful collaborative skills, typically moving in a positive direction, seldom locked into inflexible stances.

The Columbian views Harris as the strongest candidate in the Aug. 18 primary and recommends that voters send her on to the Nov. 3 general election. The nature of the top two primary — no one "wins," as the nominating process advances two candidates — has prompted The Columbian on occasion to recommend two candidates. We did so on Sunday, supporting both incumbent Mayor Royce Pollard and challenger Tim Leavitt as the two best candidates.

In this race, though, Harris is clearly superior to her two opponents, and we have no difficulty recommending her re-election to the Vancouver City Council. Not only does Harris have vast experience in the business world, she also has accumulated a bulging dossier in public service. Many of those long hours have been spent on other committees, especially in the areas of housing, transportation, homelessness and human service. She has served effectively on the C-Tran board, chairing the group in 2003.

Harris' strongest competitor in the primary is Anne McEnerny-Ogle, an engaging and well-known civic activist who has gathered an impressive support base for a rookie candidate. McEnerny-Ogle has a long list of accomplishments as a leader in the Shumway neighborhood. She also has contributed in planning issues, having served on the city planning commission for five years.

But McEnerny-Ogle, despite her numerous attributes, has been unable to overcome two challenges. She has not established that the incumbent (Harris) warrants replacement, and she has not sufficiently differentiated herself from Harris in her stances on major issues. In almost all cases — especially transportation issues — they offer similar solutions.

As does a third candidate, local financial consultant Don Houston. But Houston has not accumulated the civic track record of the other two candidates. He's friendly, proud, constructive and eager, but he's not a strong campaigner, lacking both a campaign Web site and any collection of promotional material.

Harris has shown herself to be collegial and willing to adapt to the views of others. She preferred bus rapid transit on the new Interstate 5 bridge, but when light rail emerged in the final plan, she endorsed it. She wanted a light rail line to run north up Main Street, but when the proposal included a turn to the east with a terminus at Clark College, Harris came on board with the consensus recommendation.

We wouldn't be surprised to see Harris and McEnerny-Ogle emerge from the primary. Already we believe the incumbent councilor Harris is the top choice.