Shit Is Fucked Up and Bullshit, But Here Are the Stranger Election Control Board's Endorsements for the November 8, 2011, General Election
Plus Our Handy-Dandy CHEAT SHEET!
Photos by Josh Bis
BOBBY FORCH CROSSED WITH JEAN GODDEN Vote Forch.
You know what? Fuck this shit. Fuck this shit right in this shit's shitty fucking fuckhole. There's a revolution going on out there—a fucking revolution—and we've been stuck at our fucking desks cranking out fucking endorsements for fucking school-board races.
And this is an off-year election. Time we could've spent down at Westlake has instead been wasted on bullshit meetings with school-board candidates, reading the fine print on a Tim Eyman initiative, and wondering what the fuck to do about the incumbent protection racket that is our city council.
Stranger Personals
But in between covering the protests in Westlake Park, we made time to crank out our endorsements because, you know, this shit is important, too. And since filling out a ballot takes a lot less time than writing endorsements, don't tell us you're too busy protesting or whatever to vote. Don't you dare. Honest to ass-eating God, anyone who's stupid enough to tell a member of the SECB that he doesn't have the time to vote is going to get kicked right in the twat.
There are good reasons to vote this year, too. A filthy-rich Bellevue asshole—one of those 1 percent motherfuckers—and a few giant corporations have bankrolled two retrograde initiatives that appear on this ballot. You should be anxious to vote 'em down because they're bad ideas and to spite the 1 percent motherfuckers who think our democracy is for sale. And if we all vote against county council member Jane Hague, the King County Council will have a supermajority of Democrats for the first time in a long time. And if you vote you can replace Jean "Checked Out Since 2007" Godden with Bobby Forch, a bona fide progressive, and strike a blow against lifetime city council seats by voting against a couple of lousy incumbents.
Yeah, shit is fucked up and bullshit. But shit will be a little less fucked up if you vote.
The Stranger Election Control Board is Christopher Frizzelle, Goldy, Dominic Holden, Tim Keck, Cienna Madrid, Eli Sanders, Dan Savage, and Bruce Lee. The SECB does not endorse in uncontested races or races we forgot.
Initiative Measure 1125
Vote No
This is a Tim Eyman initiative. That's all you need to know, right? But for voters who want to do their homework—or want us to do it for 'em—here's the download: This Eyman initiative was funded by Bellevue Square owner Kemper "World's Biggest Asshole" Freeman, who earlier this year put up $1.1 million to run this thing (which is about 90 percent of all the money behind I-1125).
What does Freeman want? What he's always wanted: to destroy light rail.
On its face, I-1125 is supposedly about restricting tolls. It would take tolling authority away from an independent state body and put it in the hands of the legislature, require tolls to charge a flat rate at all times, and require that any toll revenue be spent on the same roadway it was collected from. But Freeman doesn't give a fuck about tolling. That's just pseudo-populist, recession-era bullshit. The point is to blow up plans to extend light rail over Interstate 90 to Bellevue—which voters approved in 2008—by preventing lanes on the I-90 bridge from being converted into light-rail lanes. Basically, Eyman wants to trick voters into fucking our region's transit plan at the request of a local millionaire developer.
This is not what democracy looks like. (Well, it's not what democracy is supposed to look like. But it's definitely what democracy looks like when dirty hippies don't vote.)
I-1125 would also screw drivers: That part about putting tolling in the hands of state legislators, which no other state in the country does, would scare investors away from Washington's toll-backed bonds. That, in turn, could screw financing for the new 520 bridge and the new Columbia River crossing, which are to be partly financed by toll-backed bonds, as well as a little tunnel in Seattle that you may have heard about.
So whether you're a car-loving, freeway-humping driver or a tree-squeezing, transit-riding hippie, you're going to want to vote no.
Initiative Measure 1163
Vote Yes
Old people smell bad. They're cranky, demanding, and difficult to care for. Sometimes, they even pee and poop themselves. (There's a reason we ask A. Birch Steen—and pretty soon Dan Savage—to file his column via e-mail.) Yet we want our cranky, poopy elderly to receive quality health care, because, as much as we love them, we don't want to have to change their poopy diapers ourselves.
That's why voters approved an initiative in 2008 that imposed basic training, certification, and criminal background checks on home health care workers who assist disabled seniors. Voters approved that initiative by a landslide 73–27 margin. But the state was broke and couldn't come up with the $9 million for the newly required extra training that year. Recognizing the emerging fiscal crisis, the initiative's union sponsors worked with the legislature to temporarily suspend their own initiative... only to see the legislature permanently suspend the measure last year.
To recap: The backers of a successful initiative worked with our state lawmakers in good faith, but our state lawmakers turned around and fucked them, seniors, and home health care workers. Well, now it's time for voters to roll our state lawmakers over and fuck 'em right back. Vote yes.
Initiative Measure 1183
Vote No
If voters pass the measure, according to retail giant Costco (which poured $11.2 million into this campaign), state revenues will skyrocket from additional liquor taxes, liquor prices will drop, liquor consumption will not rise, and unicorns that shit crushed ice and piss 7 and 7 will drop by your next house party.
I-1183 would close 166 state-run liquor stores and allow 1,400 grocery stores to start selling liquor next June. But liquor wouldn't be any cheaper under I-1183. In the best-case scenario, according to state estimates, liquor prices would stay the same. Worst case, the average price for liquor increases 20 percent.
And unlike I-1183's predecessor, Costco's failed liquor initiative I-1100 (which the SECB backed last year), this initiative transfers the state's liquor monopoly to a handful of large retail chains. Under I-1183, only stores with 10,000 square feet would be eligible to sell hard alcohol—that's stores like Costco, Safeway, QFC, and Trader Joe's. Your small local grocer won't be selling liquor if this thing passes. On top of that, I-1183 imposes a 10 percent tax on liquor distributors but creates a giant loophole that allows grocery chains—the big corporations who are bankrolling this thing—to bypass distributors and buy liquor tax-free. Once again: This is not what democracy blah blah fuckin' blah.
Vote no.
Senate Joint Resolution 8205
Vote to Approve
This fixes—gasp!—an inconsistency in our state constitution related to voter residency requirementzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. (If you must know: The state house and senate are unanimous in wanting to clarify that you can, indeed, vote in a presidential election after you've resided in the state 30 dayszzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Just approve this thing.)
Senate Joint Resolution 8206
Vote to Reject
This constitutional amendment is meant to pump up our state's rainy day fund, but it proposes to do this by taking money from necessary state services in hard times. And this joint resolution fails to tackle the fundamental revenue problems in Washington: our over-reliance on a regressive sales tax and our lack of a sensible income tax AND WE CAN'T BELIEVE WE'RE CHAINED TO OUR DESKS WRITING ABOUT THIS SHIT DURING A FUCKING REVOLUTION AND SAVAGE HASN'T SENT US ANY FUCKING DONUTS! ASSHOLE!
King County Council District No. 6
Richard E. Mitchell
If we could clone Richard Mitchell and run him for every seat on the King County Council, we would. Though considering his competition—Republican train wreck Jane Hague—even half a Mitchell would do. Where Hague dithered on Metro's $20 car-tab fee, Mitchell was unhesitating in his support. Where Hague generally sides with her fellow Republicans on transportation, revenue, and the environment, Mitchell would not only align himself with the Democrats on the council, he'd lead them.
With degrees in architecture, urban planning, and law, Mitchell is better prepared to address the county's problems than Hague, the degree-inflating, drunk-driving, cop-trashing 17-year incumbent from Bellevue Square. And while some might count Mitchell's stint as Governor Chris Gregoire's general counsel against him, he doesn't hesitate to criticize the governor's opinions, even her legal ones, on issues like marriage equality and medical marijuana (he supports both). Mitchell is his own man, if unfortunately only one of them. Vote for Mitchell.
King County Council District No. 8
Joe McDermott
Oops, Joe McDermott was so boring that we almost forgot to endorse Joe McDermott. Vote for Joe McDermott!
Director of King County Elections
Sherril Huff
Sherril Huff is not crazy, has been running the county's elections department since 2005, and does a good job. Her opponent, perennial candidate Mark Greene, says that he's discovered a secret conspiracy to make him lose elections, and that the FBI is investigating. Join the conspiracy: Vote Huff.
Port of Seattle Commissioner No. 2
Gael Tarleton
In her first term as port commissioner, Gael Tarleton removed 100 diesel trucks from South Seattle streets; revised agreements with the cruise-ship industry to prohibit ships from dumping waste into Elliott Bay; championed a grant to expand bike and pedestrian paths into Sodo, South Park, and Georgetown; passed an initiative that aims to reduce port-produced emissions by 2015; and had a steamy sex session with Ashton Kutcher in a hot tub in Vegas. (Anyone still reading this thing?) Meanwhile, challenger Richard Pope is a perennial wart on the ass of democracy who switches political parties nearly as often as he loses campaigns. Lance that ass wart for the 14th time: Vote Tarleton.
Port of Seattle Commissioner No. 5
Dean Willard
Port of Seattle commissioner Bill Bryant talks the talk on environmental issues, but he's voted against a motion to speed up the port's cleanup of truck emissions and for a motion that watered down the emissions standards. He says his priority is jobs that pay fairly, yet he opposed pay increases for blue-collar workers even while sponsoring a 9 percent pay hike to $400,000 a year for port CEO Tay Yoshitani. Even scarier are his long-term goals: Bryant would inevitably use this year's reelection as a stepping-stone for his ambitions to run for governor as a Republican. (Bryant has given $3,000 to George W. Bush and $5,000 to the state GOP).
Not on our endorsement.
Challenger Dean Willard, on the other hand, has demonstrated his environmental and labor values through years of Democratic Party activism. An IT security consultant and former T-Mobile VP, he promises to leverage port resources to "create the most jobs, with the least environmental damage." That sounds about right. And part-time port commissioners don't need to be experts, just conscientious watchdogs. Along with Holland, Creighton, and swing vote Tarleton, Willard would finally assure a reformist majority on the commission. Vote Willard.
Seattle City Council Position No. 1
Bobby Forch
Jean Godden ran for office in 2003 on a platform about how "mature" she was and how the council needed the "maturity" of someone really, really old like her. That was eight years ago, so now she's even more "mature." But age, as all those professors we slept with in college were always reminding us, is just a number. In Godden's case, it's a really big number. But we don't have an issue with an 80-year-old seeking a third term on the city council. The odds seem remote that she'll drop dead on the dais, accidentally overdose on Metamucil, or plow her car into a nail salon.
No, our concern with Godden isn't that she's 80, but that she votes like it's '80. She cast the lone vote against creating a phone-book registry (which allows you to opt out of getting piles of paper on your doorstep you don't need); was virtually silent on the issue of police accountability when the SPD was indiscriminately shooting, punching, and kicking brown people (sometimes to death); and she fiercely advocates for roads while doing her best to sabotage transit. She voted to freeze funding for the transit master plan. She also introduced a proposal that would've dedicated 75 percent of the car-tab fee measure's revenues on this year's ballot to roadwork, even though it was originally proposed to be spent mostly on transit and bicycle improvements (Godden was unsuccessful).
Bobby Forch may be less "mature" than Godden, but he'd make a better council member. The Municipal League rated Forch "very good" this year, while Godden was rated merely "good." Forch supports light rail, rapid streetcars, and density around light-rail stations. He's also got plans to shape up the police department, including requiring the police chief to be reconfirmed by the council every few years. He started working for the city 20 years ago on his hands and knees digging holes for parking meters, and worked his way up to project manager. He's a solid, smart progressive, and we think it's time to put an actual city employee on the city council. Vote Forch.
Seattle City Council Position No. 3
Brad Meacham
Brad Meacham, a former journalist and T-Mobile manager, would bring another progressive vote to the council. Meacham, who's earned the Sierra Club's endorsement, is a bus- and light-rail-loving transportation nerd who would push the council to complete the city's Transit Master Plan (which they've delayed doing) and start planning for light rail in the city's busiest corridors. He criticized the council for delivering a $60 car-tab fee to voters (instead of $80) to fund transit, road, bike, and pedestrian improvements.
It's not that we strongly disagree with the positions of the incumbent he's running against, Bruce Harrell. Under Harrell's tenure, City Light created a $100 million stabilization account to prevent rate spikes. Harrell ultimately voted for employee paid sick leave (after much waffling) and for the $60 car-tab fee (after much waffling). Our problem with Harrell—in addition to the waffling—is that outside of an election year, he's completely AWOL. Neither he nor his staff returns phone calls or e-mails about council business, and when they do, it's a week later. "I have very little patience for speeches and process," Harrell says. Uh, then what the fuck are you doing on the city council, Bruce?
Vote Meacham.
Seattle City Council Position No. 5
Dale "Totally Out of Touch" Pusey
Incumbent Tom Rasmussen is going to win this race. That's not in question. Dale Pusey is not going to win this race. Which is a good thing, because Pusey isn't qualified to sit on the city council. But we're voting for him anyway and think you should too.
Here's why: Five city council members are up for reelection this year and only two drew real challengers. Rasmussen has been a weak and ineffectual member of the council, and should've drawn a serious challenger but didn't. Why not? Money. Rasmussen has raised $308,705, including healthy doses from downtown business interests, and that scared off all challengers. Now he's cruising to a reelection that should have been one of two things: difficult or impossible.
Tom Rasmussen has failed at his one real job: chairing the council's transportation committee. Rasmussen's committee oversees the most critical decisions facing our city: how to replace our decrepit freeways, how to fund multi-billion-dollar transportation projects, and how to finally—at long fucking last—expand light rail into a real mass-transit network. Instead of leading on these issues, Rasmussen has done real and lasting harm. He pushed to begin construction on the 520 bridge before Seattle's side had been designed (leaving out accommodations for light rail). The $4.65 billion project still lacks $2 billion in funding—Seattle's side of the project has no funding—but Rasmussen and his council colleagues signed off on it. Rasmussen was AWOL when the state worked out the deal for a wider bridge that delivers 50 percent more vehicles to Seattle but lacks resources to accommodate those vehicles once they get here. He was the city's lead man on the deep-bore tunnel replacement for the Alaskan Way Viaduct. (Love or hate the tunnel, you can't applaud a man who pushed the project for years and then, when asked pointed questions several months after he was presented with a draft impact study, said, "I have only read the first page.") At the same time he was green-lighting freeway projects, Rasmussen was slamming the brakes on transit projects. He led the charge in 2010 to freeze funding on the city's Transit Master Plan—not once, but twice—for a total of six months. Why? He was concerned the Seattle Department of Transportation's planning favored light rail. (Imagine that! A transit plan that favors transit!)
Rasmussen isn't all bad. He joined the council in placing a car-tab measure on the ballot that will fund transportation projects, stood up to help defeat Tim Burgess's misguided plan to penalize panhandlers, and voted in favor of paid sick leave. But he so thoroughly bungled his main responsibilities that he should have faced a tough reelection fight that forced him to answer for his lousy record on transportation.
But we're not giving our endorsement to the total joke in this race—that would be Dale Pusey, just in case you're confused—just because we're ticked that Tom didn't face a real challenger. We want to drive down Tom's percentage of the vote for a good reason—a reason we unpack in our endorsement in the Clark/Ferguson race, which you'll find below.
Seattle City Council Position No. 7
Tim Burgess
Tim Burgess says he's not the most conservative member of the city council. But he is the most conservative member of the city council—and we're endorsing him whether he likes it or not.
Sure, Burgess sponsored an odious anti-panhandling bill last year. The Seattle Human Rights Commission said Burgess had misrepresented facts, created a trap to arrest poor people, and failed the city's human rights standards. Burgess pushed it anyway, because he's a conservative nut. The mayor vetoed it. So why are we endorsing the bastard?
Because he's not a sniveling, do-nothing pushover like Sally Clark and Tom Rasmussen. Burgess is a smart, capable politician with a brain, a spine, and—most importantly—a liberal streak that we hope to see more of. As a former cop, Burgess led his public safety committee to issue an 11-point recommendation to the troubled police department (pissing off the teabagging police union). He backed paid sick leave without hesitation, he supported the phone book registry, and he came out for a funding package to improve transit. Asked about his support for a controversial proposal to allow 65-foot buildings near the Roosevelt light-rail station, Burgess answered with an unequivocal "yes."
Burgess's opponent, David Schraer, is a joke. His sole reason for running is name recognition so he can "get exposure" and run—for real!—in 2013. Schraer's politics are to the right of Burgess's on some issues, and on others Schraer is fuzzy or totally in the dark. Schraer got exposure, all right: He's exposed himself as an uninformed, entitled dolt.
Vote for Burgess.
Seattle City Council Position No. 9
Dian "Totally Unqualified" Ferguson
Same story as Rasmussen: Clark's weak enough that she should've drawn a real challenger, but she was able to raise enough money—$235,230—to scare off all legit challengers.
Clark was appointed to the council in 2006 and has spent the last five years in a state of constant indecision. Name the issue, and she can't tell you where she stands—but somehow she winds up voting with the council's conservative/moderate majority every single time. Asked this summer if she could cite a single example of her taking a progressive position and casting a progressive vote and losing—you know, taking a stand for something she believes in, even if it meant being in the minority—Clark answered that she'd voted against a tax to fund bicycle and pedestrian improvements. In other words, her one bold stand was conservative. Asked if she thinks her critics are wrong to assail her epic wishy-washiness, Clark actually responded: "It's up to you make that decision." (Asked at another time what she believed in, Clark told us, "I believe in neighborhood livability factors." Um, who the fuck doesn't believe in neighborhoods? And living?)
Even though Clark chairs the council's committee on urban planning, she still refuses to endorse a plan for the Roosevelt light-rail redevelopment project, where increasing density is ideal. "If you ask what I will recommend to the committee, I don't know," Clark told us. This issue has been in front of Clark for two and a half years. Instead, Clark has spent her time on the council doing whatever the rest of the council does and taking whatever legislation the mayor gives her and shepherding it to a vote. She's doing the work of an intern, but we're paying her $100,000 a year to do it.
Dian Ferguson—the dolt we're endorsing—is unqualified and her positions suck. Two examples: She opposes legalizing pot and opposes the car-tab funding package to pay for transportation improvements. A former public-access television executive, Ferguson launched her campaign in Tukwila and explains that she's a local by saying she "probably" has four houses. Probably? Ferguson sucks. And while Clark doesn't suck anywhere near as hard, Clark sucks hard enough that she should've faced a real challenger.
So why are we endorsing Clark's unreal challenger? Here's why:
Someone gets elected to city council—or, as in Clark's case, appointed—and so long as they play it safe and do the bidding of downtown business interests, they'll be rewarded with shitloads of money. That money scares off potential challengers; raising the money needed to take on a well-funded incumbent in a citywide election is just too daunting a task. And then—because the sitting city council member didn't have a real opponent in the general election—the incumbent racks up a huge percentage of the vote total in the general election. Those huge percentages make incumbents appear even more invincible, which also serves to scare off potential challengers. After all, not only does the incumbent have hundreds of thousands of dollars on hand, he or she won 70 or 80 percent of the vote last time out. Challengers look at the money an incumbent has on hand and the vote totals from their last election, which are huge because no one challenged them, and give up before the race starts. So mediocrities like Rasmussen and Clark limp from election to election and, thanks to their nonexistent and/or ridiculous challengers, they're never forced to account for their records.
This, unfortunately, is what our democracy looks like right now. Clark and Rasmussen are going to get reelected and, should they decide to run again (and why wouldn't they?), they're likely to get reelected once again. We can't jump in a time machine and find and fund real challengers for Clark and Rasmussen in this race. But we can deny them our votes and shave a few percentage points off the poisonously large vote totals they're sure to rack up.
Which is the reason—and the only reason—we're for Ferguson. So vote Ferguson.
Proposition No. 1, Families and Education Levy
Vote Yes, Obviously
Only assholes oppose this seven-year levy. It allows the city government to assist our chronically underfunded school district with $232 million for school health clinics and early-learning and enhanced-learning programs that benefit struggling and low-income students. The only group that officially opposes this levy is the Seattle Republican Association. So vote yes.
Seattle Transportation Benefit District, Proposition No. 1
Vote Yes
First, let's jettison this argument that Proposition 1, which raises car-tab fees in Seattle by $60, unfairly targets car owners. Billions of tax dollars collected from car owners and non-car-owners are spent on road projects that primarily benefit... car owners.
Yeah, yeah: Car owners have seen their car-tab fees go up already this year by $20 to fund Metro, and another $20 to fund local transportation projects, so adding another $60 this year would mean car owners are paying $100 more than a year ago. Boo-fucking-hoo. Bus riders have seen Metro fares go up 80 percent over the last three years—for a regular rider, that could mean a $500 yearly increase in fare costs—so drivers have actually had it pretty good during the Great Recession. Hell, we're even building those whiners a $4.2 billion tunnel through downtown Seattle.
Plus, it's not like car drivers don't get anything for their $60. The number of roads repaired each year would double, and tons more potholes would be fixed.
What else does Prop. 1 do? With the estimated $204 million it'll raise over 10 years, Prop. 1 will fund hundreds of small projects that improve transit (consolidating some bus stops, coordinating traffic lights, building curb bulbs, etc.). King County Metro predicts that buses through 10 of the primary travel corridors would move up to 20 percent faster and deliver "immediate reliability improvements." Some 80 blocks of new sidewalks will be built. Forty new miles of bike lanes and sharrows will be laid down. And hot, STI–free bisexual chicks will be made available to all straight couples in Seattle seeking a third for a three-way, and you'll be able to have your three-way under Mike McGinn's desk in City Hall. (Just making sure you're still paying attention.) Vote yes.
Position No. 1
Sharon Peaslee
School-board races are like a multiple-choice test in which all the answers are wrong. Four years ago we endorsed now-incumbent Peter Maier, hoping the nebbishy attorney could bring some smarts to a board that rode the political short bus.
We got the nebbishy part right.
Maier has been complicit in a string of inexcusable board missteps, including the contract extension and then firing of former superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson, and the most recent round of ill-advised school closures, executed just before a spike in attendance. Maier also deserves blame for ignoring early warnings about a $1.8 million contracting scandal.
So now it is time to give challenger Sharon Peaslee a chance to fuck up. Peaslee, who has a master’s in English education from NYU and runs a not-for-profit math tutoring company, would at least bring some expertise in the field of, you know, educating to a school board that has become dominated by business executives. Vote for Peaslee.
Seattle School Board Position No. 2
Kate Martin
The incumbent in this race, Sherry Carr, has an impressive-sounding day job: management analyst at Boeing. But her management skills didn’t help prevent the embarrassing parade of recent scandals that caused everyone in Seattle to smack their heads in disbelief at our fucking incompetent school board. So the SECB has no qualms about picking Kate Martin, a consultant with a degree in landscape architecture, a mother of two recent Seattle Public Schools graduates, and a take-no-prisoners number cruncher who is ready to do hand-to-hand bureaucratic combat. One of her main gripes is with the district’s new math teaching program, which she said failed both of her sons. “We’ve taken the numbers and we’ve de-emphasized them, and we’ve emphasized words,” complains Martin, who is endorsed by fellow math crusader Cliff Mass. “What’s happened is, the kids can’t do math when they come out the other end of it.”
Martin’s other agenda items: “Stop coddling management” (aka principals and district officials) and end the “test obsession” (aka the overreliance on standardized tests as the only measure of success). Amen. Vote Martin.
Seattle School District Position No. 3
Harium Martin-Morris
Maybe it’s the sexy leopard-print dress and the high-heeled boots that have won challenger Michelle Buetow the endorsement of nearly every civic and Democratic organization in town. Or maybe it’s Buetow’s thorough and thoughtful critique of the district’s ills. Regardless, if Buetow were up against any other incumbent she would’ve won our endorsement. But Harium Martin-Morris is the one director up for reelection who shouldn’t get tossed out on his ass.
Martin-Morris has found himself on the right, if losing, side of a number of key issues. He voted against the sale of the MLK school building to First AME Church, against the controversial high-school math curriculum, and against the most recent round of school closures. He’s also the only incumbent who acknowledges the board’s missteps, and the only member of the school board with classroom teaching experience. Vote for Martin-Morris.
UPDATE on November 7: Remember how we told you to vote for Harium Martin-Morris? Holy fuck, were we ever stoned. Now we’ve put down the bong and are saying that you should vote for Michelle Buetow. Why? It turns out, as we reported on November 4, that Martin-Morris is trying to pass new rules that grant principals wide discretion to censor student newspapers for bullshit reasons. Specifically, Martin-Morris would prohibit everything from libel to content that promotes “widespread shouting or boisterous conduct.” In other words, student newspapers couldn’t report news that makes people, like upset or joyful. According to Martin-Morris, the district currently doesn’t have rules prohibiting students from libel and defamation—but he’s wrong. The district already has rules in place, rules that place less ambiguous restrictions on student speech. We don’t buy his argument that we need new rules that suppress student speech, particularly from someone who doesn’t even know what the existing rules are. When told that libel is already illegal in school newspapers, like, every other fucking newspaper in the country, Martin-Morris replied, “That may be true but…when you write it down, it’s real.” Clearly, Martin-Morris doesn’t think state and federal laws are “real” enough. We sincerely apologize for endorsing this frothing idiot. Vote Buetow.
Seattle School District Position No. 6
Marty McLaren
School-board president Steve Sundquist is a useless tool. He defends last year’s raise for superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson, who was shitcanned amid allegations of fraud and incompetence, by saying, “We believed that the superintendent was doing the job that the board asked her to do.”
Enter former teacher Marty McLaren, who believes Sundquist is guilty of pitting schools against each other as they scrap for resources (Cooper Elementary vs. Pathfinder), undermining teachers by hiring Teach for America college grads to compete for district jobs (earning him a vote of no confidence from the local teachers’ union), and otherwise “rubber-stamping a failing administration.”
Vote McLaren. 
This article has been updated since its original publication to correct the year when Sherril Huff began running the elections department.
When can we stick a fork in Eyesore's ass and call him done already?
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It reports: "Sherril Huff . . . has been running the county's elections department since 1995."
In fact, Huff started at King County Elections in 2005. And, that's a good thing, as Huff was recruited from Kitsap County as a fix-it expert to conduct a top-to-bottom overhaul of King County's screwed up elections bureaucracy.
Over in Kitsap, Huff had been elected twice as the County Auditor. Kitsap's loss was definitely King County's gain, as Huff has been highly successful in remaking our elections division into a streamlined, responsive, professional entity. She clearly deserves reelection.
Now? Just now?
Please.
Oh, he's the only one on the current board who was once a teacher? Luckily, there's Stranger-endorsed Marty McLaren to fill the former-teacher slot.
Vote the full clean slate!
Still voting for Michelle Buetow & the Challengers!
If you hadn't been salivating over Beutow's high heels you might have understood some of this shit. At least you got one thing right. Beutow is hot. Harium is not.
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This is the man who has made clear that he believes the Board's job is to implement policies that the Administration wants, not to do their own research.
This is the man that proposed lowering the graduation standard for high school kids in Seattle in order to graduate more kids.
This is the man who steadfastly supported Maria Goodloe-Johnson, even up to the end, and all but stated he was voting to terminate her not because she was a complete failure, but because if he didn't he was afraid people would be think he was playing the race card.
I get it. Goldy's kids couldn't get into TOPS. But my daughter shouldn't have to suffer because he's still bitter.
Harium lectures his fellow Board members, from the dais, about questioning data/information from staff. OVERSIGHT IS THEIR JOB. And yet, he did that.
He supports TFA, supported Goodloe-Johnson until the bitter end, had early warnings about Potter (and, like most of the others, did nothing) and is not a visible presence in the community.
We need nuance and balance on the Board, not more of the same.
Vote Buetow (and I could care less if she wears a brown paper sack over her head) - she's the best candidate for the job.
Harium lectures his fellow Board members, from the dais, about questioning data/information from staff. OVERSIGHT IS THEIR JOB.
He supports TFA, supported Goodloe-Johnson until the bitter end, had early warnings about Potter (and, like most of the others, did nothing) and is not a visible presence in the community.
We need nuance and balance on the Board, not more of the same.
Vote Buetow (and I could care less if she wears a brown paper sack over her head) - she's the best candidate for the job.
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I'm shocked you didn't endorse Godden.
You do know she helped Edison invent the electric light bulb after shocking him with static electricity when they were fooling around on their bicycles on a date, right?
And what's this with the liberal puritanism on the liquor stores? Come on you know that Costco is one of a whole bunch of retailers that will do well if I-1183 passes. You know: QFC, Albertson's, Safeway, Cash & Carry, Trader Joe's, Wal-Mart, Grocery Outlet. We'll have a much better selection of booze, and cheaper prices.
The only loser is the clerks at the Soviet liquor stores. Boo hoo. I think 1183 will pass. See ya on Nov. 8th. This ought to be fun.
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Like TOPS has rigid admissions standards or something. Kids who "get into" TOPS get a lucky number in the school choice lottery, is all. Linking Buetow to that attitude isn't doing her any favors.
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The square footage requirement came from the butthurt opponents and their lame-ass commercials showing drunk kids scooping up bottles of booze at the corner convenience store.
Fuck yes, get the state out of the booze business. Fuck The Stranger for saying otherwise.
Perhaps your endorsements would have more credibility if they were less pathologically foul-mouthed. Your cheap thoughtless profanity convinces no one, and it shows how unserious you are. And I say this as a fan of George Carlin, Henry Rollins, and intelligent profanity.
What a load of BS.
I won't be voting for his opponent, but I also won't be voting for some asshole who thinks the best campaign strategy is to break the law more than everyone else. Fuck Forch.
32
Keep up the good work guys, and thank you.
Disagree: Harium isn't the only teacher Betty was at RBHS
Add: Betty seems nuts though
Agree: Political signs in right of way suck
Add: Saw a lot of Harium signs in right of way
Agree: Seattle thrives because of The Stranger
Add: Kecks a douche though; should have met me in 1995ish to talk about putting his rag on the Internet.
37
Additionally, while it is true that, on occasion, programs are expanded in boom times, more often than not there are capital improvements (highways, infrastructure, buildings, etc) that happen. And that is a good thing. Making more efficient infrastructure when we have the money saves money for when we don't. This amendment would disallow that.
It's a terrible amendment, and should be voted down.
I love the idea of voting for incompetents to oust the incompetents.
What a concept. And we all thought this only happened in the USSR.
Anyone voting for anything Eyman needs an enema.
No on 1183 is not only correct, it's CORRECT. Why would any thinking person want to cancel out Occupy Seattle and No to greed, with a yes vote on this? Don't these retail monsters (Costco, the supermarket chains, etc) already have ENUFF? If you need a bottle of booze, git yer butt to da liquor store and buy it. Stop trying to help the rich get richer.
American capitalism , as we know it, has got to die. It's time is past.
Jean Godden is a dinosaur, like all the other city council people.
Clean slate in November, people.
You're mad that little places can't sell liquor? Who cares? Get the gov't out of my liquor.
Just snap out of it Stranger! Times changed, get with the program.
Martin-Morris also voted to rid schools of counselors and hugely supported our now-ex superintendent. Two more things teachers opposed.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/ed…
AND THEN, read the COMMENTS for the truth about the utter chaos that is Seattle Public Schools. You don't know half of the shit that's gone on:
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.c…
Where is the Stranger when this shit needs to be exposed? The Seattle Times is completely owned by the education establishment so they won't write about it, and the P-I online? Who reads that?
Oh and I'm voting against the Families and Education Levy. SACRILEGE! I know, but Seattle Public Schools should quit squandering tens of millions of dollars before they get another dime out of me.
And I'm voting against the regressive $60 additional car tab tax. And so is everyone else. BOO FUCKING HOO. You coke-snorting hipsters on Capitol Hill need to understand that poor people DO own cars, because they depend on them to get from their crappy neighborhoods to their shitty jobs where and when the buses don't go and never will. Not everyone has the luxury to live where you don't need a car and can walk everywhere. I've given up on the bus; I don't have time to spend 1.5 hours to travel 8 miles. I shouldn't have to pay the same for tabs as someone who owns a $100,000 Mercedes. Fuck that shit.
@48: "Looks like research journalism is no longer a requirement for articles in The Stranger..."
This fucking paper is worthless. I've been reading it since the beginning, but mostly out of habit for the past few years. Really, I get more info from the comments section where astute readers deconstruct every stupid paragraph written by the lazy kids who are just playing "journalist" without doing the actual legwork.
@53 well spoken, thank you for your common sense point of view.
Like you said: Shit is Fucked Up and Bullshit.
Isn't he the owner of Bellevue Square?
Wouldn't light rail that stops near Bellevue Square be a great thing for his business?
Do you have any idea who actually wrote I-1183?
It was written by Costco themselves.
"Oh, and small grocers will not be able to carry liquor?"
Correct. And why would Costco want their competitors to sell booze? They hate competition which is why I-1183 is in their favor, not yours, unless you get off on buying booze from a big mega store than some small state run liquor store.
But hey, at least you can buy liquor at Costco now! Doesn't mean it's going to be any cheaper but if you like more taxes on booze, by all means, vote yes but don't be mad at the state because you can't buy liquor at smaller stores.
This initiative is Costco's baby.
I doubt it. The real shoppers drive.
@ Johnny Anonymous again: Of course I know who wrote 1183, but it is not Costco that doesn't want liquor in small stores, it is the voters. Costco wrote the initiative last year as well and it did not have a size restriction. It was written this way this time because you people voted it down the other way. You are the gullible one if you believe there is more taxes or that Costco is going to jack up liquor prices. Don't be fooled by the ads, the no campaign is funded by the national liquor distributors (corporations)who stand to loose if this passes. Right now I get my liquor when I am in California and Costco's profit margin on liquor is 10% or less. Right now the State run liquor stores mark up 52%. There is a new fee of 27% paid by merchants to sell the liquor when added to the 10% markup comes to 37%. Last time I checked my simple math 37 is less than 52. Also, at times, I am sure places will even have sales where they have little or no profit on liquor just to get people in to buy other stuff. It happens on other products all the time. The state should not be in the business of selling liquor and no, I won't be mad at the state for liquor not being available at smaller stores. I am not sure what kind of size stores you are wanting it sold in but as I stated earlier, stores two thirds the size of walgreens (that's smaller than)would qualify to sell liquor. That is pretty small. Also, all the existing liquor stores are eligible to be bought and grandfathered in to sell liquor.
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Since, as The Stranger notes your choices are between a Giant Douche and a Poo Sandwich, Write in MARLIN HATHAWAY. Your unofficial Occupy Seattle Candidate.
Maybe what you are asking yourself is "How do I fit in?" or "How can I help?" or "What is it about?"
What are the Occupations about?
The occupations are about unity with other people who are concerned about our future. All people are needed in every occupation. It doesn't matter what your concern is, heck, we are overwhelmed with concerns at this point. What matters is that you speak up about what matters to you. Most concerns can be traced back to greed. That is why you keep hearing that the occupations are about "corporate greed".
How do I fit in?
You fit in because your future is at stake. You fit in because our children are at stake. You fit in because you eat poisoned food, drink poisoned water and breathe poisoned air. You fit in because you see the wrong all around us. You fit because you strive for a better world. You fit in because you are tired of seeing our soldiers in an endless war. You fit in because you have lost your job, your home or your stability. You fit in because you care. You fit in because you want to make a change.
http://www.occupytogether.org/
How can I help?
-Close your bank account
- Tell or Discuss this with 5 different people every day
- Print posters, flyers or signs
- Plug your occupation on radio stations -
- Write to your mayor -
- Donate - Donate - Donate! -
- Send Pizza - Food / Coffee -
- Send Care Packages through Snail Mail -
- Donate to the Livestream media teams -
- Go there today, Go there tomorrow, Go there on the weekend - JUST GO!
- Contact local organic farms that deliver
- Take out ads in your local newspaper under "announcements" or other areas.
- Participate in Civil Disobedience whenever possible
- Send up fundraisers
We are growing, our voices are being heard, forces are joining and we need you to be there! General Assemblies (GA) is where your voice is heard. You get to be part of decision making, the process and we need you to be there! Things are growing organized, people are beginning to find their spots and we are strong.
Much Love to you all !!!
Maybe what you are asking yourself is "How do I fit in?" or "How can I help?" or "What is it about?"
What are the Occupations about?
The occupations are about unity with other people who are concerned about our future. All people are needed in every occupation. It doesn't matter what your concern is, heck, we are overwhelmed with concerns at this point. What matters is that you speak up about what matters to you. Most concerns can be traced back to greed. That is why you keep hearing that the occupations are about "corporate greed".
How do I fit in?
You fit in because your future is at stake. You fit in because our children are at stake. You fit in because you eat poisoned food, drink poisoned water and breathe poisoned air. You fit in because you see the wrong all around us. You fit because you strive for a better world. You fit in because you are tired of seeing our soldiers in an endless war. You fit in because you have lost your job, your home or your stability. You fit in because you care. You fit in because you want to make a change.
http://www.occupytogether.org/
How can I help?
-Close your bank account
- Tell or Discuss this with 5 different people every day
- Print posters, flyers or signs
- Plug your occupation on radio stations -
- Write to your mayor -
- Donate - Donate - Donate! -
- Send Pizza - Food / Coffee -
- Send Care Packages through Snail Mail -
- Donate to the Livestream media teams -
- Go there today, Go there tomorrow, Go there on the weekend - JUST GO!
- Contact local organic farms that deliver
- Take out ads in your local newspaper under "announcements" or other areas.
- Participate in Civil Disobedience whenever possible
- Send up fundraisers
We are growing, our voices are being heard, forces are joining and we need you to be there! General Assemblies (GA) is where your voice is heard. You get to be part of decision making, the process and we need you to be there! Things are growing organized, people are beginning to find their spots and we are strong.
Much Love to you all !!!
You're full of shit, and I'll tell you why:
In any distribution system, you'll get heavy usage customers and light usage customers. A heavy usage cable customer is the nerd who lives downstairs who records Glee and sends it to the rest of the world so they don't have to wait for
it to be broadcast in their home country. A light usage customer is your old gran, who only ever checks her Juno email once a week. The system is designed with this in mind so that light usage customers foot the bill to keep things running and heavy usage customers are tolerated because there aren't enough of them to be a problem. This is true of cable internet, health insurance, professionals kept on retainer, everything.
Roads are the backbone of our infrastructure and by extension our society. It would have been great if Karl Benz had designed one of those bittorrent-for-cars monorail systems instead and we'd built our society around that instead, but roads are what we've got so suck it up. Roads are awesome. They don't require as much maintenance as subways or elevated systems, basically anyone can access them with basically anything, and basically everyone does. Let's abandon them, let them fall to shit and only build footpaths and bike trails. Meat will become much fresher as cowboys reappear to drive cattle directly to the market. Heart attack? Don't worry, the paramedics are only a 20 minute ride away, and hey the guy who pumps your septic tanks just bought a brand-new zeppelin.
The overwhelming majority of road damage is caused by environmental conditions and heavy-duty vehicles; the kind that delivery your packages and your groceries and your bus-riding ass. These are the heavy-usage customers, and they can go about their merry way because there are 16 cars on the road for every mack truck. The more cars on the road, the more light-wear heavy-paying customers the system will have, and the better the conditions will be for everyone.
So what's wrong with Ferguson?! Do some legit research before making fool out of yourself, like the Stranger is doing right now. What kind of Occupier are you if you don't even know the issues... Watch some RT America and go to Seattle Channel to watch candidates talk at least... or skip The Stranger's pathetic articles and read the comments, you'll learn much more.
The robocall group, Stand for Children, is backed by some of biggest contributors to keeping last year's I-1098 (state income tax) from passing. That's the tax that would have actually provided steady funding to school kids.
Stand for Children (Stand for Charters) is a totally bogus "1 Percenter" PAC and Steve, Harium and Sherry ought to be ashamed for taking money from the group and its backers. Actions speak louder than words.
76
The last time a "1163" idea came around as usual it did not figure that there are many people who don't speak a lick of Cambodian or Chinese or Thai and that a family member is really the only care givers that will obviously work (and I mean Obviously) You don't need to be a 8th grader to understand America and out wit people like Rick Perry and typical white and black trash that only see the Nation from a tiny speck of a Broadway hood that's more into looking for fashionable underwear and trying to be cool?
Do you want some jerk with a food handlers card cooking for you or do you want your Mom to cook for you and get paid to take care of your ass that's been trashed by the streets you live on.
Open your eyes!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elect-Dian…
She also just made a long overdue statement about the incumbent Sally Clark on her website http://www.dianferguson.com/
Besides the fact that Clark is endorsed by police, she is terribly overfinanced for this re-election! $236K worth of special interest contributions for a city council seat?! is she running for a governor?? wow.
I strayed from the cheat sheet in one other instance. Where does the money come from to pay for training long-term care givers--slashing more state jobs?
-----
Dear Stranger Editor,
I was really disappointed to find that The Stranger has come out in support of Initiative 1163.
I had hoped that you would have taken the time to really read and understand this initiative and the impact it would have on the disabled and their families.
Initiative 1163 sounds really good on the surface. I mean, who doesn't want the best care and safeguards for the elderly and disabled, right?
However, the reality is that it is far too general and wide sweeping in it's scope. I won't go into fine detail but I can tell you that, as a parent of a disabled child, this initiative would make finding a caregiver for my son more difficult, too complicated and very expensive. The caregiver we currently have for our son would never have agreed to take on this less than part time job if she had been required to take 72 hours of training. She isn't a caregiver for the elderly or disabled as a career. She has one client, works for us because she knows and loves our son and wants to help us out. The requirements for training would be the same for in-home caregivers, parents of the disabled and people hired to work nursing homes and institutions. Does this make sense?
Many arguements against the Initiative focus on the cost and the State's budget woes. I think this just clouds the issue. It's a bad initiative regardless of the State's ability to pay for it.
Another arguement is the "SEIU is just lining their pockets" arguement. I have lots of feelings about that, and tend to agree with it, but it is also beside the point.
Please reconsider your support of this initiative and inform your readers. It wasn't a good plan two years ago when the first initiative passed and it isn't a good plan now.
85
Poor people need transit more than anyone & everyone benefits from butts in bus seats rather than driver's seats.
Go have a donut!
For real? First, I doubt that you know EVERYONE in this city. Second; you haven't been to every part of it, have you? What if you had to catch a bus from SW Roxbury St, or the south end of MLK South, or NE 145th st. Why do people live out there? BECAUSE IT'S CHEAP, much cheaper than your fancy apartment or condo in Capitol Hill. Trouble is, you need a car, especially if you work an odd shift or in an industrial park even farther out in the 'burbs. I'm all for funding public transit, but the $60 car tab fee is a shitty way to do it.
YOU STATE: “This constitutional amendment is meant to pump up our state's rainy day fund, but it proposes to do this by taking money from necessary state services in hard times. “
The underlined text is wrong.- Seriously wrong
Section 2 (the SJR proposal) provides two separate restraints on putting money into the budget stabilization account:
((A)) the state must have “extraordinary revenue Growth” BY DEFINITION , DURING HARD TIMES THE STATE DOES NOT HAVE EXTRAORDINARY REVENUE GROWTH. now
And
((B)) “no transfer of extraordinary revenue growth ......shall occur ... (when) annual average state employment growth averaged less than one percent per fiscal year
FURTHER MONEY CAN BE WITHDRAWN
( i) when Governor declares STATE OF EMERFGENCY..(& majority votes of each house
(ii) If the employment growth forecast for any fiscal year is estimated to be less than one percent......................
(iii) on Favorable vote of at least three fifth’s of the members of each house of the legislature.”
from:
A Loud Howell
The local (U.Village) liquor store has shelves full of of small batch, quality Washington and Oregon-produced booze. You think any the outfits listed above are going to do that? Ever try to get something special ordered at Safeway?
Look, if the choice is between "government does it all" and "government colludes with big business to keep small business out of the game" then I'm going with government, right until someone puts forward a "privatization" scheme that isn't even more of a naked power grab than the last one.
So what do I do? I get what I want out of state. Even if I have to drive several miles to one of the big liquor-only retailers (such as Binny's, the one in Chicago) that will surely enter and offer great selection, it'll be a hell of a lot easier than driving to California.
For my daily drink, I'd prefer not to be so shamefully ripped off. Compare, for example, the price of Knob Creek bourbon in a Soviet store to the price in the free world.
On one side, Yes on I-1183:
Who:
Costco, other retailers etc.
What they want:
1. - They want to be able to sell alcohol to make a lot of money.
2. – They want to be able to buy directly from the manufacturer to create competition, and cut the state and the distributors that add cost to the product.
3. – Update a provision law of the 1920’s that many other states did long time ago.
Who benefits:
Costco, other retailers, etc. also the consumers (you, and all of us)
The other side, No on I-1183:
Who:
Distributors
What they want:
1. - They want to be the only ones that can sell alcohol.
2. – They want to be the only ones that can buy from the manufacturer to avoid competition, and add cost to the product. (This is how it is right now, and if I-1183 does not pass, is going to be very difficult to change it in the future)
3. – keep a provision law of the 1920’s, so they can keep making money.
Who benefits:
Only the distributors.
I’m voting yes on I-1183!
When I vote I don’t believe on the advertisement, I research the facts, “Who, What they want, who benefits” and only then I vote, if I don’t know the facts or I don’t have time to find out, I simple don’t vote, like I did on this elections, I’m only voting for 3 initiatives, to me the most important.
I do not expect you to vote like I did, I'm just telling you why I voted the way I did.
If you want to pay extra for your drinks, and like having the state tell you where, when, and at what price, it’s fine with me, but I don’t like that!
On one side, Yes on I-1183:
Who:
Costco, other retailers etc.
What they want:
1. - They want to be able to sell alcohol to make a lot of money.
2. – They want to be able to buy directly from the manufacturer to create competition, and cut the state and the distributors that add cost to the product.
3. – Update a provision law of the 1920’s that many other states did long time ago.
Who benefits:
Costco, other retailers, etc. also the consumers (you, and all of us)
The other side, No on I-1183:
Who:
Distributors
What they want:
1. - They want to be the only ones that can sell alcohol.
2. – They want to be the only ones that can buy from the manufacturer to avoid competition, and add cost to the product. (This is how it is right now, and if I-1183 does not pass, is going to be very difficult to change it in the future)
3. – keep a provision law of the 1920’s, so they can keep making money.
Who benefits:
Only the distributors.
I’m voting yes on I-1183!
When I vote I don’t believe on the advertisement, I research the facts, “Who, What they want, who benefits” and only then I vote, if I don’t know the facts or I don’t have time to find out, I simple don’t vote, like I did on this elections, I’m only voting for 3 initiatives, to me the most important.
I do not expect you to vote like I did, I'm just telling you why I voted the way I did.
If you want to pay extra for your drinks, and like having the state tell you where, when, and at what price, it’s fine with me, but I don’t like that!
104
Roses, I agree with you the endorsement of Martin-Morris over Buetow was wrongheaded. I'm wondering if any of the Election Committee has regretted casting votes for HM-M, or changed a personal choice for Dist. 3 School Board director to Buetow prior to dropping the ballot in the mail in the next few days.
106
But nothing is more important than to see the challengers talk about police accountability and how passionate and radical they are! To have the system that we have now, where people can not investigate the police unless they can hire a $20k lawyer, even if they just want to make a simple inquiry, paints incumbents as corrupt and bought by the police union, which they are. Clark, Harrell, and Rusmusen all endorsed by the police guild, an organization that has absolute control over taxpayers financially and legally. Current council members have done nothing to prevent this abuse of power for years and now they even got endorsed by the mob! Ferguson, Schraer and Pusey have a very strong platform on police accountability, calling for serious changes to the dysfunctional scam called OPA, that doesn't work unless you hire a high profile lawyer, meaning justice works only for the rich in this city. Recently it took nearly$60K for a citizen to make simple inquiries into the police department about the dashboard cam videos. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/lo… $60K!!!! Why are we even funding an organization that has so much legal and physical power over us? So please vote for reformers like Ferguson, Schraer, and Pusey! The stranger is doing a huge disservice to the people of seattle by sloppy articles like this by making it look like challengers are not serious or unqualified without even talking to them or looking into the issues that they bring up. Shame on the Stranger.
comments, views and especially humor.
3) King County: Mitchell v Hague.
2) Seattle City Council: Kathy Allen-produced Godden hit piece on Forch
1) Seattle School Board: Stranger Endorsed Martin-Morris introducing policy to clamp down on student journalist freedom of speech, topped off by MySpace Ballard and The Seattle Times covering the issue better than the SECB. Dude-ettes, you F'd up.
114
You'll be delighted to hear that the SECB switched its endorsement after reporting on Martin-Morris's bullshit campaign to suppress free speech at school newspapers. We're now pro-Buetow (as we obviously should have been along). Sorry we fucked up! We'll be more sober next time!
115
I voted for Dian Fergusen. I think she seems capable, smart, in touch, and has a good vision for Seattle. She has a master's in Public admin (like Bruce Harrell) and has lead several non-profits. In addition she is a small bz owner, which I, as a small business owner, value, because your bz wont work if you don't have common sense, initiative, a good grip on reality and an understanding of the bottom line. All things that will make her a good council member. Go Dian! Also - yes on 1183 (read all other comments). No on 1163 - several friends who work in the field or who have disabled kids recommend against it. Too expensive for families right now.
122
and... I contend that you DID in fact "pay" to vote in person - while (thank gawd) there's still no requirement to put money IN the ballot envelope, then or now - there IS a cost to you the voter: Just like voting in a polling place , it's going to cost you a little Gas (or Calories) and Time for transportation and the attendance (not to mention the co$t of Parking for those of us who had, prior to votebymail, polling places like Town Hall).
There's no such thing as a truly Free election (or free anything provided by the gubermint, duh).
(And, you're years late to the bitch&moan party:
The change was apparently made since the cost of stamps tends to be less than gas/time/parking/shoe costs. That said, the change seemingly disregarded the plight of the abuse of spouse/parent voting influence that's now been given tacit free-reign with the home based voting of votebymail. But HEY, anything to save a buck, right? )
Vote for police accountability reformers: Ferguson, Pusey, Schraer, and Forch! and unseat all of the police endorsed incumbents on the city council! Same for the school board, unseat all of the dysfunctional incumbents!
I guess saying "Grow up" would be too paternalistic, but please, fucking grow up. I learned a shitload more from the Municipal League on who to vote for than I did from you guys.
Now how about asking a good investigative question like why is Occupy at Seattle Central, hardly an institution to protest, instead of Bellevue Square?
Light rail was supposed to change all that but guess what-- Light Rail sucks!!! Like total fail light rail. You are a developers scam the likes of the SLUT but waaay larger of a slut. Maybe if you are just hoping a couple stops Light rail while over priced is your ticket. If you wanna get across town. Hell NOOES! The 194 bus from 2nd and Union to SeaTac: 20 minutes. In epic hell traffic: 33 minutes. The Light rail when it's freaking working: 45 minutes. When it's in maintenance mode: 2 hours. When you connect in the Westlake Tunnel but have to run up 40 stairs to buy a ticket and miss your connection. How is that helping people? What about my friend that can't run up the stairs, oh she has to buy a monthly pass to get to the doctors once a week. WTH. How does this convince me not to take a vehicle on the road? Bring back the 194 (and 174) buses. Light rail you have failed, as the monorail before you. So sad. Seattle you have all the right ideas and then you just let someone pull them from your hands and smash them.
129
Gee wiz! again! for the 37th voteing year in a row?
Tomorrow Microsoft will be trying to sell its Windows 8 voting software to America?
Also by Stranger Election Control Board
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The Biggest Winners and Losers
Who Really Kicked Ass and Who Really Got Their Ass Kicked
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