“Attend a debate between politicians? Nahhh, they’re all liars and crooks. Besides, William Shatner is in that new show premiering tonight, $#*! My Dad Says, and I don’t wanna miss that.”

A valid excuse, but William Shatner didn’t vote to raise your taxes this year, so you probably could have purchased a digital recorder with that money instead, and watched him at 9:30. Plus, there were free cookies at the debate.

All right, I’ll stop wagging the Finger of Shame at you now. If you’re not really into politics, you’d probably rather just read the highlights instead. You can read all about the candidates on their websites or their mailers, but you miss out on those subtle clues that tell you when people are lying, being completely sincere, seem informed, or seem like they’re in over their heads. All of those were on display at this debate.

This paper doesn’t endorse candidates, and I don’t like to do that either, but this is just you and me talking here over coffee (except that I have to do all of the talking; you should really speak up more). Since this is no longer an editorial, I can be a lot more candid about my impressions of the candidates:

Jay Rodne vs. Greg Hoover – 5th District Representative Position No. 1

I wish that Greg Hoover was running against somebody else, because he seems like a quality candidate. He and Jay Rodne seem to have a somewhat friendly banter, even though they are from opposing parties. Mr. Hoover calls himself an independently minded Democrat, and his stated views seem to reflect that. But he’s up against Mr. Rodne, who seemed very well informed about the issues, and is quite passionate about cutting spending and exactly where he would cut it. I think Mr. Hoover should move to a more Democratic-friendly district, where he would win easily.

Glenn Anderson vs. David Spring – 5th District Representative Position No. 2

It didn’t seem like much of a contest here; Glenn Anderson speaks well, is deeply informed on a lot of issues, and got the biggest laugh of the night (paraphrase: “If you want a friend in politics, get a dog. I have three.”)

David Spring seemed passionate about his two causes, but that passion came across as frustration. His two issues are putting a lot more money in schools, and creating an income tax to pay for it. Mr. Anderson asked him why he is in support of the I-1098 income tax initiative in public, but voted “No” on it earlier in the debate. Mr. Spring’s response wasn’t really clear, and all of his answers kept coming back to his only two issues. So, if you are a teacher who makes less than $200,000 a year, David Spring is your guy.

Claudia Kauffman vs. Joe Fain – 47th District Senate

It’s hard to get a read on Claudia Kauffman. Most times it seems like she’s reciting from a script that she memorized a year ago, and I got the same impression the last time I saw her at a City Council meeting.

Joe Fain seems like a candidate who’s been groomed for greatness for a long time. My first impression was that he could run for governor after 20 years in the state legislature, but that was tempered later by his niceness. He passed up several good opportunities to really score points on his opponent, and he referred to her as “Senator Kauffman”. No, no, no! You have to call her “my opponent”. Toughen up, kid; you’ll go far.

Geoff Simpson vs. Mark Hargrove – 47th District Representative Position No. 1

I wrote in an earlier column that we shouldn’t consider Mr. Simpson’s alleged ex-wife shoving incident unless there is a conviction. I still believe that, but there are far better reasons not to vote for him. When asked why people should vote for him, his reasons included his ability to get lots of bills passed and to bring home the bacon. If you don’t like the bills that have been passed, he is apparently the one to blame.

But the worst part was his statement that we should only send experienced legislators to Olympia, and that inexperienced people should not be elected. If he really believes that, then why should we bother having elections at all? I found that statement and his general attitude pretty distasteful. His opponent Mark Hargrove came off as the most “regular guy” in the debate, so he should do well if he can project that image to the voters.

Empty seat (Pat Sullivan) vs. Rodrigo Yanez – 47th District Representative

Position No. 2

I didn’t know anything about Rodrigo Yanez until the debate, but I like his story. He’s been a U.S. citizen for 8 years now, and decided to run because he’s concerned about taxes being imposed on businesses. He’s certainly likable, but I’m concerned that he doesn’t have a deep understanding of all the issues in his district. He’s got the statewide issues covered, but didn’t talk about local ones. Fortunately for him, his opponent didn’t show.

(Editor’s note: Rep. Pat Sullivan stated he was unable to attend the debate due to a prior commitment.)

Thanks for the coffee. Next week, we’ll get back to the regular editorials.

Ryan Ryals lives in Maple Valley and writes a weekly column about politics and life in the city.

Reach him at ryanryals@ymail.com.