The campaign to replace King Parker on the City Council pits two candidates who are involved in the community but who have a vastly different base of support.

The two, Ed Prince, 36, and Robin Jones, 48, have already faced off once, in the August primary for Parker’s open Position 5 council seat. Prince won with 41 percent of the vote, to Jones’ 30 percent. Mark Martinez came in third with 28 percent of the vote.

This is Prince’s first run for elective office in Renton. Jones lost to now-Mayor Denis Law when both first ran for the City Council in 2003.

Prince and Jones recently had a chance to meet with the Renton Reporter Editorial Board for an on-the-record conversation in which they discussed key issues facing the city and the City Council.

They clearly diverged on where to locate the new downtown library. Prince supports the process that led to building a new library next to the Piazza. But Jones said the City Council didn’t listen to the public about their preference for locating the downtown library.

Prince and Jones both favor annexing West Hill, but Jones is particularly concerned about how to finance the services and the capital improvements that West Hill will need.

Prince is the chair of the Renton Planning Commission; Jones has served three years as chairman of the Renton Human Services Committee.

Jones is a project manager for The Boeing Co.; Prince was recently appointed by Gov. Chris Gregoire as executive director of the Washington state Commission on African-American Affairs.

Prince has raised more money than Jones. The latest full report available, from early September, from the state Public Disclosure Commission showed Prince raising $20,892 to Jones’ $5,961. They each had spent much of that money.

And they’re clearly distinguished by the names on their endorsement lists.

Jones has strong support from the Democratic Party and one of its top names, state Sen. Margarita Prentice. Prince says he was a party “guy” too, but he decided to become more of a “Renton guy.”

Prince and Jones both scored endorsements from labor organizations, but Prince won key local support from Renton firefighters, Renton police officers and the union representing many rank-and-file city employees. Jones was endorsed by larger union organizations, such as the Machinists and carpenters.

A key difference is in the breadth of their community and political endorsements. Prince is endorsed by every City Council member except Marcie Palmer; Prince initially filed to run against her, but switched after  Parker announced he was retiring from the council. Mayor Law also endorses Prince.

Palmer is endorsing Jones.

Prince maintains that it’s his deep community involvement, including as a founder of the Next Curve and service on school district committees, that led to his widespread support, which includes such community leaders as State Rep. Marcie Maxwell, John Galluzzo, chairman of the Renton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors,  and retired sheriff’s captain Brent Beden.

But Jones has a different take on Prince’s endorsements, which, he says, clearly meet the definition of cronyism – favoring close friends for an appointment. Jones maintains that Prince was hand-picked and mentored to continue council member’s Parker’s work on the council.

“Ed, I am sorry but you are a product of that cronyism,” Jones said at the Editorial Board meeting. Jones was talking about how to get new leadership on the council, to offset what he characterized as a good-ol’ boys network.

But Prince maintained, forcefully, that isn’t the case.

“I am as independent as you can get,” Prince said. He said he’s “worked my ass off” in the community.

“I will put up my record of community service against yours any day,” he said to Jones.

One of Jones’ campaign volunteers, Rosemary Quesenberry, provided the media with research she had done into Prince’s finances. She writes that the three incidents speak to what she calls behavior unbecoming a City Council member.

Prince explained each incident to the Renton Reporter:

• Prince and his wife defaulted on their condominium in Renton after he lost a job and could no longer afford to make the mortgage payments. First, he worked with the bank to try to find a new buyer, he said. There was no foreclosure, he said, and they turned over the condo to the bank.

“She is trying to make it out like we were breaking the law or we weren’t being responsible,” Prince said in an interview. “That’s not the case at all.”

• Prince is paying back to the state about $14,000 in jobless benefits he received after resigning from a job. The payments were approved by his former employer locally but the company on a national level successfully appealed the payments.

• Prince said he objected to the way a debt to Merchants Credit was handled in 2008. He paid the $1,290 debt.

Prince said his family’s finances were thoroughly examined when he and his wife adopted their son last year.

Jones said the condominium default (he used the term foreclosure) was not an issue. “A lot of people have that issue,” he said.

But, he said, the incidents show a pattern that concerns him. “Here is a person who has always had to be taken to court,” he said.

As a city issue, the library helps establish how each candidate diverge on the public process.

The decision to build the library next to the Piazza is a done deal, Prince said. Although Jones disagrees, Prince said the City Council did listen to the public.

“If they tried to make everyone happy, government would come to a standstill,” Prince said.

Someone can listen actively or inactively, Jones said, and in the case of the library, the council inactively listened. A fundamental issue in the campaign, he said, is “who is the council representing?” he said.

CITY COUNCIL POSITION 5

Robin Jones

AGE: 48

FAMILY: wife Mary, no children

HOMETOWN: Denver, Colo., moved to Renton 1997; homeowner in Tiffany Park

EDUCATION: B.A. in History – University of Idaho, M.A. in International Relations – Lancaster University, Great Britain; Certified Project Manager – PMP; Project Manager The Boeing Company; currently serving in the Army Reserve as a senior officer

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES: Chair – City of Renton Human Services Committee 2008 – 2011, Member – City of Renton Human Services Committee    2002 – 2005, 2006-2008

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES: Candidate for City Council,  2003

MUNICIPAL LEAGUE RATING: Very Good

TOP THREE ISSUES:

1. Work to improve city revenue and provide city services during these tough economic times.

2. Preserve a safe community and a safe city.

3. Bring new objective leadership to the city council and improve the communication between the City Council and the citizens of Renton.

Ed Prince

AGE: 36

FAMILY: wife Meegan, son Alexander

BACKGROUND: Grew up in South Seattle, moved to Renton in late 2005. Student body president at Washington State University.

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES: Chair, Renton Planning Commission; President/ Founding Director, The Next Curve; Renton Community Budget Adviser; Past Chair, Citizens for Renton Schools.

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES: Ran for the Legislature in 2004.

MUNICIPAL LEAGUE RATING: Very Good

ISSUES: Public safety; support our local businesses (Economy); Budget (making sure we are as efficient as possible with taxpayer dollars)