On a Monday night in December almost two years ago, the Spokane City Council was having a contentious session over important decisions about the city’s convention center.

An elected official and a citizen volunteer had come in for rough verbal treatment that night.

For at least one member of the audience, it was too reminiscent of an era not long past when the council, and the city, had a reputation for dysfunctionality.

Dismayed by what he was seeing, he walked to the public rostrum to make a calm and eloquent plea for civility.

He challenged the council’s practice of chastising citizens “whose only crime is to have the temerity to come before you to represent what they honestly believe to be in the best interests of Spokane.”

The citizen was businessman Chris Marr, whose respectful approach to public service is now available to Spokane in a formal capacity if voters in the 6th Legislative District elect him to the state Senate in this fall’s general election.

Marr, a Democrat, is challenging Republican state Sen. Brad Benson in a high-profile race that has gone up a notch over this weekend’s news that Marr once settled a sexual harassment suit filed by an employee at the auto dealership he previously owned.

That issue bears discussion, but first it’s important to know something about the two candidates.

Benson has represented the 6th District in Olympia for a decade, the last two in the Senate.

They have not been especially productive years, even as he has gained seniority.

This year, for instance, only a handful of minor bills sponsored by Benson made it into law, an outcome he blames in part on the fact that he and his fellow Republicans are in the minority.

That obstacle would be removed, of course, if Marr replaced him.

As an individual, Benson is a decent and dedicated public official, but he reflects a rigid ideology that opposes civil rights for gay and lesbian citizens, reproductive freedom for women, or taxes of any kind, regardless of the purpose.

The 6th District, and the state, deserve more thoughtful leadership.

Marr offers it.

His credentials are virtually unheard of in a first-time legislative candidate.

He’s a regent at Washington State University, a former chairman of the Washington state Transportation Commission, on the board of Empire Health Services, past president of the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce, and former owner of an $80 million a year business.

The trust and responsibility associated with those and other roles demonstrate Marr’s capacity as a leader and problem solver.

Add to that the courage and principle displayed when he defied his own automotive industry to advocate publicly for stricter vehicle mileage standards.

Between his business knowledge and his dedication to community values and well-being, Marr would enter the Legislature as a commanding influence on behalf of the Spokane area and its economic development.

The disclosure of a sexual harassment action obviously comes at a politically awkward time, and some voters may be put off by it.

He was named as the employer, not the perpetrator, and he sharply denies the allegations that he knew about misconduct and failed to intervene.

Sexual harassment in the workplace must be taken seriously, but these claims are disputed. Marr insists the absence of such incidents during his 20 years in business here demonstrates his zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Sixth District voters have a rare opportunity in this election.

They would be shortsighted to pass it up.

7th District, Senate: This race is between Sen. Bob Morton, R-Orient, and political newcomer Chris Zaferes, a Democrat from Tonasket.

Morton is one of the most respected members of the Legislature.

From his position as ranking member of the Water, Energy and Environment, Agriculture and Natural Resource and Parks committees, Morton has delivered for his district.

Last session, Morton teamed up with a West Seattle Democrat to pass landmark water-storage legislation that will help quench the parched farms of the Columbia Basin.

The way he went about accomplishing that long-sought goal says a lot about how lawmakers can solve problems when they set aside ideology and old grudges.

He assured passage by bringing environmentalists and the governor’s office into the process early.

He also was willing to compromise.

Largely because of that bill, Morton was named Legislator of the Year by the Association of Washington Businesses.

Morton also helped keep the CW Rail Line in operation, for the time being, which is vitally important to grain producers.

The owner wanted to close it, because it could make millions by ripping up the steel rails and selling them.

Zaferes, who moved to Okanogan County from New York 14 years ago, is in a tough spot. He has solid ideas about education, health care and other issues, but Morton delivers in so many other areas that it would be a big gamble for the district to vote him out.

He’s earned another term.