The Renton Reporter is endorsing candidates in three City Council races and the race for a sole position on the Public Hospital District Board of Commissioners. The endorsements are made by our Editorial Board, comprised of Publisher Ellen Morrison, Editor Dean A. Radford and community members Jim Medzegian, Armondo Pavone and Pat Auten. The candidates in each race were interviewed, then the board deliberated before voting. The interviews are continuing through early October.

The Renton Reporter endorses Robin Jones in his race to replace retiring City Council member King Parker for council Position 5.

Jones brings a maturity in his viewpoints and in the way that he presents those views that his opponent, Ed Prince, is still developing. As a Boeing project manager, Jones has had to look at the big picture, which is important when making decisions affecting everyone in a city of about 93,000 people.

Jones is a deputy commander of a U.S. Army Reserve brigade and he has served as a member and chairman of the Renton Human Services Committee.

Combined, that experience in leadership and in making a group work shows he is someone who can get the job done.

The Editorial Board in August did not recommend that Jones advance to the general election. The intent then was to offer our counsel in what essentially was the nominating process. We recommended Prince and Mark Martinez; Prince won the primary with about 41 percent of the vote, while Martinez and Jones roughly split the other 60 percent.

The three generally agreed on the issues the Editorial Board raised in the primary election interviews.

We still applaud Prince for his hard work to learn how Renton works. He is a leader for the future. But we saw a different side of the two candidates during the second interview, when they were questioned more in depth and had a greater chance to interact with each other.

Right now there’s a need to elect a City Council member who will bring a fresh perspective in dealing with the difficult issues the city is facing. That’s better provided by Jones.

Jones would need to listen, too, to fellow council members, realizing that governing is about compromise. But his experience and voice are needed on the City Council.