What Bob is up to now

Brian Stryker / The Daily / The Daily

Former ASUW President Bob Ferguson is running for King County Council.

Brynn Partridge --- Contributing Writer

2003-01-16

When Bob Ferguson first arrived at the UW as a freshman in 1985, there was no "grand master plan" to become ASUW president, or knowledge that he would run for chairman of the King County Council.

Smiling, he said, "I was eased into campus politics; slowly becoming more and more involved in student life and student government and eventually, one thing led to another."

This snowball effect had its avalanche beginning when he was elected senior-class president at Blanchet High School. Armed with the knowledge and experience gained from his past high school presidency, he became involved in University politics by snagging a spot on the ASUW Board of Control. From there, it was only a matter of climbing up the rungs of the political ladder to achieve the position of ASUW president. Government, however, is not his only calling.

"When I pick up a newspaper, I do read the sports page first," he admitted sheepishly, "but the political section is next."

But for now, he is focused on politics. Ferguson is currently running for District 2 County Council. He said that, like his transition from high school to college, the skills he acquired in college are helping him today.

Even though the challenges he faced in the past prepared him for the present, Ferguson noted that running for office is a very different experience. Unfortunately, part of this new experience is dealing with criticism and personal attacks.

"When someone says, 'You're not going to win' or I know they're thinking it from the look in their eyes, it gets me more fired up and motivated to work harder," Ferguson said.

In the end, his personal characteristics remain the same, regardless of the circumstances. What typifies Ferguson's persona is his work ethic and the way he tackles political initiatives.

"If you care about a certain issue, there's a certain tenacity you have to have to stick with it and pursue it until you get what you need to accomplish, and that doesn't change."

It was this tenacity that professor Randolph Hennes, honors-program associate and adviser, admired in Ferguson back in the '80s.

Sharing a fanaticism for Husky women's basketball provided a strong basis for their friendship that's lasted 12 years so far.

He paused thoughtfully before relating how he remembered Ferguson as a student, and then said, "He was a good, average student who was always busy doing other things."

Not one to imply that an impressive grade-point average is the only barometer of intelligence, Hennes added that he "found [Ferguson] to be really bright, really intense, but not in-your-face intense."

Another long-time friend, Mike Egan, who was the ASUW president in 1990 and is currently working for Microsoft, expected Ferguson to someday ascend the ranks of politics.

"It's not surprising. It was always just a question of time," he remarked about Ferguson's political campaign.

He described his friend of 15 years as "driven."

"Bob finds things he thinks are possible and doesn't stop," said Egan. "He's been like that all the time."

Ferguson is hoping to bring new energy and a fresh perspective to the county council. The council is the legislative branch of King County government that adopts ordinances and motives, sets policy for the county and holds approval authority for the county budget.

His campaign trumpets the need to alleviate Seattle's traffic problem, fix the over-budget light-rail project and to preserve human services. Through hard work and community support he is committed in replacing his opponent, Cynthia Sullivan, who's served as the council's chairperson for the past 20 years.

"I am not doing this to lose. I'm not doing this get my name out there. I'm doing it to win. If you're going to win, you have to be able to make the commitment."

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