If Issaquah residents don’t like the candidates in November’s presidential election, there is good news — a third-party candidate has arrived on the scene and will be campaigning downtown Issaquah in the coming weeks.
The popular new politician is Sammy the Salmon, who represents the “Findependent Party” in Salmon Days 2016.
The Issaquah Chamber of Commerce came up with the theme of “Findependent” for Salmon Days as a way to both play off of current events and add some light-heartedness to the tense political climate in the U.S.
Brian Twiggs, who is serving as the chamber’s interim festival director after the departure of former Festival Director Robin Kelley at the end of August, said that to find a theme, the chamber normally takes a hot topic in the media and puts a fishy spin on it.
At first, the chamber considered a Seahawks theme, but decided that this was “too obvious,” Twiggs said. The planners of the big festival instead turned to the coming change in government.
“We kept going back to the election,” Twiggs said. “Once we realized that Sammy could make a great candidate that both parties could identify with, we knew we had an idea to at least pursue further.”
The logo, designed to look like a campaign ad, features the word “Findependent” in bold with a salmon wrapping itself through the letters. Below this is the phrase, “Join the party!” The logo includes both red and blue, the respective colors of the Republican and Democratic parties, to appeal to all voters.
Robin Spicer designed the logo and “nailed it with her first attempt,” according to Twiggs.
Initially, the chamber had chosen “Red Fish, Blue Fish” as the catchphrase to represent both political parties, but realized that too many people would associate this with the Dr. Seuss book.
Twiggs and his colleagues hope that the “Findependent” theme can be not only an great way to attract visitors to the festival, but can also bring a smile to the face of anyone discouraged with current politics.
“If we could somehow be the comic relief in the middle of this unique election, we might have something that people would really gravitate towards,” he said.
For the second year in a row, the city of Issaquah made a video promoting the Salmon Days theme. This year’s ad features all of the phrases commonly heard in a campaign ad, but with a healthy dose of fish and water puns.
“In these stormy times, we need a candidate who can navigate the uncharted waters ahead … who will not flounder when the seas get rough,” the Findependent Party advocate in the video says before announcing, “That candidate is Sammy the Salmon.”
“Our team was very excited to ‘join the party’ and help announce the Salmon Days theme this year,” said Autumn Monahan, assistant to the city administrator, who collaborated with Communications Director Warren Kagarise and TV Coordinator Tim Smith on the video. “Videos are a great way to communicate — and Sammy the Salmon is a beloved member of our community.”
This isn’t the first time that the city has used videos starring a Northwest creature to promote tourism in Issaquah; the city’s Legendary Issaquah promotional videos, starring Sasquatch, have been a huge success in bringing people to town and have even won the city two national awards.
“Warren, Autumn and Tim from the city really wanted to make a video last year announcing the #soFlippinFun campaign. I was excited when they wanted to be a part of the process again,” Twiggs said. “They have video capabilities that we don’t have in-house so it makes the announcement of the theme so much more engaging and effective.”
Sammy the Salmon promises to be on the campaign trail in his favorite city in the weeks leading up to Salmon Days. To meet the piscatorial politician, just head to downtown Issaquah.
