Jim Compton Faced with voting for incumbent Jim Compton or voting for Compton's challenger, John Manning--who had been disgraced by a domestic violence arrest--nearly 2,000 voters opted to write in another candidate. Meanwhile, 44 percent actually went for Manning! Compton, reelected nonetheless, wanted to be council prez!?! He got the water and sewage committee assignment instead.

Yes for Seattle Progressive advocacy group Yes for Seattle had a bad 2003: In late July, their creeks initiative, I-80, was knocked off the ballot, and in December, their cause célèbre--daylighting Thornton Creek--was left off the city's Northgate plan. In 2004, watch for YFS to get behind Dennis Kucinich.

King County Monorail In 2003, Citizens for King County Monorail blanketed Seattle with petitions seeking support for a $5 billion countywide monorail system. The group needed 45,000 signatures to put the proposal on the ballot. It got 10,000.

Ken Saucier Seattle Police Department rank and file want a leader, not a talk-radio host.

District Elections District elections boosters tried it three times before. The last time, in 1995, voters told them to take a hike (54 to 46). In 2003, they put up yet another proposal to switch from an at-large to a districts-based system. Voters still told them to go to hell (54 to 46, again). Now they're talking about trying once more. What part of "no" don't they understand?

Transportation Funding It's been more than a year since Referendum 51, the proposed statewide gas-tax increase, imploded at the polls. The latest plan--a $10 billion-to-$14 billion regional roads package that would rely heavily on increased sales taxes--was panned by two-thirds of voters in a recent poll. Our only hope: the monorail gets to West Seattle before the viaduct falls into the ocean.

Biotech Listening to Mayor Nickels hype biotech is like listening to a T.G.I. Friday's waiter hype their brand-new pan-Asian menu!

Dick Falkenbury The monorail godfather and underemployed cabbie made a quixotic bid for Margaret Pageler's city council seat, raising only $11,000. Knocked out in the primary, Falkenbury went on to write a sour-grapes essay for The Stranger decrying the growing role of money in city elections. Now, Falkenbury wants to form a citizen commission on campaign finance reform.

Rob McKenna Watch for the Republican star to lose his state attorney general bid with Sidran Republicans (Ă  la Reagan Democrats) making the difference.

"No Iraq War" Signs Huh? Reality check, people! Take them off your windowsills. Take them out of your car windows. And please file them away with your "Jimmy Carter in '80" yard signs.

Margaret Pageler Hey, Margaret, I hear the chamber of commerce is looking for an intern.