Ugly politics are afoot in the Sixth Metropolitan King County Council District.

Incumbent Jane Hague has drawn a small fleet of challengers, spearheaded by attorney and Mercer Island resident Richard Mitchell.

In contrast to Hague’s meaty menu of accomplishments since being re-elected to the council in 2007, Mitchell’s career of political appointments (most under Gov. Christine Gregoire) and sparse private sector experience is little more than an amuse bouche in need of a main course.

One school of thought in campaign politics believes that when your candidate’s menu is not drawing a crowd, dump salt in your competitor’s pot.

From the get-go, Mitchell has avoided answering voters’ questions about where he stands in favor of engaging in a campaign of personal attacks aimed at Hague and his other opponents.

Voters of the Sixth Metropolitan King County Council District should re-elect Jane Hague so that she can continue changing the fiscal culture in King County government.

In doing so, they can also cast a vote against a partisan voice such as Mitchell’s, one that would cause significant disruption to the dynamic of a council that survives on its ability to abstain from the politics of personal destruction.

Hague’s consistent record of voting for financial discipline, and her staunch advocacy of finding efficiencies and using tax increases only as a measure of last resort, cannot be found in any of her challengers in this race. Hague’s leadership as vice chair on the nonpartisan nine-member council is needed as the county continues to grapple with difficult budget issues and in the years just ahead.

In particular, Hague’s record of fiscal restraint during a time of regional economic stress has been exemplary. During the last two years, Hague opposed $289 million in new taxes saving King County households $232 per year on average.

In 2009, an audit of Metro called for by Hague was met with unadulterated caterwauling from the transit bureaucracy. In the final analysis, the review identified areas of improvement that resulted in 300,000 hours of service saved.

There can be almost no doubt that the council will continue to play a huge role in shaping regional transportation policy. Hague has consistently fought on the council to conserve our transportation resources by seeking balanced solutions and her awareness of the relationship between Eastside residents, roads and transit must continue to be part of our conversation about strategic transportation planning.

Striking the right balance in transportation must, of course, take into account commerce and the environment, but policymakers must also consider the quality of life of the little people and our universal desire to spend as little time getting back and forth as possible. Hague provides that valuable perspective.

Hague’s most credible challenger, Richard Mitchell, on the other hand would be an almost certain yes vote on expensive mass transit-dominated experiments.

Whether Mitchell would, in fact, be a solid vote representing the downtown Seattle mass transit mafia is a matter for crystal ball-toting prognosticators. However, based on the most recent reports filed with the Public Disclosure Commission half of his donations come from Seattle residents. Mitchell has also been endorsed by the Amalgamated Transit Union and the Washington State chapter of the Sierra Club, two groups heavily involved in influencing policy that promotes mass transit as the preferred mode of transport. If any candidate fits the mold for a yes vote for expensive mass transit-dominated experimentation, it is Mitchell.

Voters may be better at detecting the familiar silhouette of a liberal political operative than the editorial board of The Seattle Times. In the rush to endorse Mitchell – one that had many (myself included) suffering no small degree of whiplash – The Times had to ignore Mitchell’s enthusiastic support for the county’s proposed $20 car tab fee, a measure the region’s newspaper of record has opposed in not one but two editorials.

In contrast to less confused endorsements of Mitchell from a veritable who’s who of the extreme progressive community in Washington State, Hague has earned support inside the mainstream of both parties including endorsements from Attorney General Rob McKenna, U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, most of the city councilmembers within her district, and Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag.

On the way to the recovery, King County must navigate very rough political waters. Doing so successfully will require the mature experienced leadership of councilmembers like Jane Hague. I urge voters in District 6 to cast their votes for Jane Hague in the Aug. 16 primary election.

Bryan Myrick, a lifelong resident of the Eastside, has a degree in political science and communications from the University of Washington and currently publishes the Northwest Daily Marker, a blog on local and national politics.