Comments

1
"It’s important that those ideas that the party and myself brought to this election are birthed out of our lived experiences. Those are not lived experiences those two candidates share."

This is why she lost. Because people realize that the ability to make change in government requires more than "lived experiences." Just because Nikkita was homeless doesn't mean she actually knows how to solve the homelessness problem.
2
Sigh.
3
Nikkita Oliver sounds an awful lot like a sore loser. She won't endorse Moon or Durkan? Cary Moon could use the support, because Durkan is very much in the mold of status quo. I would love to support a candidate like Oliver but she has revealed that she believes far more in ideological purity than political compromise, a quality every leader must display because guess what, nothing is ideologically pure.

I don't love the fact that Cary Moon is so well off that she can totally self-finance her campaign but it spoke volumes about her character when she could have easily and legitimately claimed victory the day after the primary but consistently said that let's wait for all the votes and offered nothing but praise to Oliver.

It's time to extend the olive branch Nikkita.
4
Just like you read right here every day, Durkan's fans are going to insult Oliver and everyone she represents so much that Moon won't have to do anything except keep her mouth shut. If she does reach out a little and build some relationships, it's all over.

There is no vast untapped reactionary voter demographic in Seattle that you can energize by trashing the brown lady. There's a finite number, and they all turned out for Durkan already. They won't be enough.

Oliver is smart to play it this way and she is right. Wait and see.
5
For somebody who couldn't break 17 percent of the vote, and who turned a potential winning campaign into a losing one, she sure is playing the diva, isn't she? She refused to make any effort to broaden her base, she was invisible in parts of the city where she could have picked up votes, and it was almost as if her campaign was an exercise in self-marginalization, as opposed to one of movement-building.

Oliver got a lot of hype, and to be fair, she earned much of it. She accomplished more than anybody imagined she could, but she lost anyway. Kshama Sawant has the good sense and political smarts to attend Democratic Party meetings campaigning for votes, even as she publicly trashes the Democrats every chance she gets. Because a vote is a vote, no matter who it is from, or for what reason. Sawant will, deservedly, continue to be re-elected because she understands this. Oliver has yet to learn it, and she campaigned as if she didn't think it was either necessary or desirable to learn it. That she's not in the general election is her own damn fault and no one else's.

I think she should move into District 2 and run for the City Council seat Bruce Harrell holds. Harrell will probably retire if he sees her coming.
6
@5 The truth hurts. So many Oliver could've won, yet she, nominal campaign manager Gyasi Ross, hinted at not needing to win this race early on (see Breakfast Club interview). If that's not strange enough, failure to spend some $40-60K in CASH (no debt) at the finish line has either gross campaign negligence or self victimization written all over it. The campaign still won't give a straight answer on what happened there, stay tuned for a possible mis-reporting/ethics drama..
7
@1: I thought she did great considering the many many people in the running and had some good ideas, but this all or nothing attitude is how one ends up with the corporate candidate that takes care of none of your concerns. I'm sure she's hurting right now but Moon is much more in line with her ideology than Durkan.
9
Going to miss you, Tiniell. Never change.
10
I am sighing too. And having uncomfortable flashbacks to Nov '16. Cary Moon is a worthy candidate, and a better fit for Nikita's progressive voters than Durkin.

There is Progressive, and then there is "Uncompromising Progressive" that doesn't learn the lesson of Trump...

It is a narcissism that says "if I can't take the progressive lead than no one shall" and viola:
Trump.
11
Now it's the Rich White Lady vs. the Rich White Lady with Big Glasses. No wonder Nikkita is sitting this out.
12
@10--

Completely agree. The Top 6 candidates were all various shades of progressive (I don't like Durkan, and I won't vote for her in the election, but I'm not going to say she won't stick up for many--but not all--of the values Seattle voters care for), so to me it was about personal integrity, character, demeanor. I voted for Bob Hasegawa because I felt he had the experience and temperment and was someone who could be convinced to be pushed more left (or more conservative, if necessary). Oliver always came off to me like a candidate more unyielding in her progressivism. I think there can be a nice balance between activist roots and a larger office like mayor where your constituents will most likely not be on board with your ideals lockstep. I think Moon is already showing the right levels of flexibility that make a good leader.
13
Nikkita Oliver's comments tonight seem to suggest she feels wealthy white liberals appropriated her message, although they lacked authentic poor-person street cred, and then won enough votes to deny her a deserved place on the November ballot. She seems to feel patronized and wants to withhold her approval from those same white liberals. She's venting a bit, and given the stress and pressure of a big-city mayoral campaign, who could blame her. That said, she also mentions "community" several times; indeed, throughout her campaign she touted "community." To my understanding, "community" entails empathy, forgiveness, and humility--for everyone, whatever their skin color. And whatever one thinks of Cary Moon and Jenny Durkan, they showed respect for Nikkita Oliver's campaign. Some of that show of respect is likely rooted in political calculation, but, regardless, they were respectful to Oliver throughout the campaign. Surely, they would seem to merit more respect than Oliver offered tonight. Perhaps as the weeks progress, a more generous-spirited, less spiteful, tone will emerge from the Oliver camp. And I think many in Seattle hope for that.
14
Weird, it's almost as if Oliver is more interested in maintaining her position atop a political faction than she is in advancing any of its stated goals.

No, no, I must be imagining things, reading too much into this or that... I'm prone to a bit of fanciful nonsense now and then.
15
I think people will remember that as far as Ms Oliver is concerned, If she isn't on the ballot then she honestly just doesn't care. That is not a viable or progressive political position to take if you are interested in pushing meaningful, positive change.
16
@13: "Nikkita Oliver's comments tonight seem to suggest she feels wealthy white liberals appropriated her message, although they lacked authentic poor-person street cred, and then won enough votes to deny her a deserved place on the November ballot. She seems to feel patronized and wants to withhold her approval from those same white liberals. She's venting a bit, and given the stress and pressure of a big-city mayoral campaign, who could blame her."

I don't think anyone is blaming her for feeling let down by otherwise allies.

But these ideas are not bad? Is she the only one capable of doing good? Would she prefer nobody execute them in her absence? Could she not work with and in Moon's campaign?

Hopefully she's being reached out to.
18
Thanks for proving me right, Candidate Oliver. Your sour grapes demonstrate a lack of maturity needed to build consensus, compromise with rivals and do anything other than talk your talk.
19
Isn't it weird how nobody is busy talking about what narcissists the dudes and the whites are? McGinn, Or Hasegawa? How come Daniel Beekman has no headlines saying "Durkan, Moon advance in Seattle mayor’s race — without Farrell's or McGinn's or Hasegawa's endorsement"? That other white lady hasn't endorsed either one. How come nobody is saying "If Jessica Farrell isn't on the ballot then she honestly just doesn't care"? Or " If Bob Hasegawa isn't on the ballot then he honestly just doesn't care"?

Is McGinn a sore loser? Hasegawa a sore loser? Farrell? She a sore loser?

It's so weird how the woman of color who was literally the only one -- the only one -- out of 21 candidates who was a bona fide voice for Seattle's non-whites, non-homeowners, non-techbros, or non-privliged urbanists? Out of all of them, she is the one whose endorsement is taken for granted. Why is that? Why is she treated as the one who doesn't belong? Why is she the one who has to come to you and prove she's worthy? And when she doesn't say the words you think she should say, then you think she's *done*. Maybe you're not the judge of what words she is required to say.

McGinn and Hasegawa and Farrell are allowed do not endorse anybody until someone earns their endorsement. Why only them?

It's fine, you know. So you have a kind of a blind spot when it comes to a woman of color from Black Lives Matter. It's just that Seattle is filled with these smug liberals who think they're all so woke. It's cool that you read Ta-Nehisi Coates and all that enlightening shit but when you've got this kind of double standard, you should be more humble. You have a ways to go. Maybe talk less and listen more. You might learn something.
20
@ 19 Oh, please. None of them were frontrunners. Oliver also didn't just choose not to make an endorsement she stated she wouldn't be doing so, essentially ever.

She consistently refuses to acknowledge that anyone other than she and her fellow travelers have ideas that may improve the city for everyone. She's an ideologue not a leader.
21
Neither one of them has a substantial ground game or organizing game in the city...

Yet, they each received more votes than did you. Good to see you apparently learned nothing about the city you claimed to want to serve as Mayor.

Is McGinn a sore loser?

Yes, but that's not important right now. /Police Squad

Hasegawa a sore loser? Farrell? She a sore loser?

Did they churlishly refuse to endorse anyone else?

As others here have noted, leading in a diverse democracy involves building coalitions and making tough choices. Moon is simply closer in beliefs to Oliver than is Durkan, and so Oliver should have endorsed Moon. If Moon wins the general election anyway, she owes Oliver -- and any of Oliver's voting supporters -- nothing. If Moon loses because Oliver refused to endorse her, then Oliver has enabled the candidate farthest from her beliefs to win.

Endorsing Moon was a no-brainer from the perspective of practical politics. Obviously, Oliver wasn't interested, which validates the view that Oliver was never a serious candidate, only a statement candidate. Time for statements is over, please exit the stage now.
23
Jesus the butthurt!

Now the rule is that *frontrunners* owe you an endorsement? Farrell, McGinn and Hasegawa are not on the hook. Because of this new rule you made up five seconds ago.

White lady Lisa Herbold churlishly announced she would not endorse anyone at all. But that's fine. Bruce Harrell and Lorena González have simply looked down in regal silence upon this election. Not a problem?

Only the BLM lady. All these endorsement rules that she broke. Everyone else has a good excuse. What are the odds? Somehow this one woman of color threaded all those needles and found herself backed into this corner of mandatory endorsements. Her alone.

Let's go to the record books. Care to guess how many white men who placed a close third in the primary were pilloried for not endorsing anyone? Spoiler: it's not good optics for you people.
24
@22:

You barely beat out a candidate who didn't even bother to provide a photo or statement in the voters guide (and so far as I'm aware never made a single public utterance during his so-called "campaign") for second-to-last place in a 21 candidate race, AND you listed Kenny G and Bill Gates as your two "favorite Seattleites", what more do we need to know?
26
This debate that Oliver will be moderating might be, ah, quite the show. Think she'll let the candidates talk?

Not making any judgment of her as a person, but as a political leader I doubt she's getting too far until she learns to make more effective use of her emotions. I'd like to see her make it.
27
Almost every candidate on the ballot stunk and I'm happy I live in Bellevue now, where we have a full slate of adults running.
But I am at least content to see the Sawant endorsed piece of shit get defeated. Under absolutely no circumstances should someone who was homeless ever be elected to anything. If she isn't even smart enough to keep a roof over her head then she is not smart enough to run a damn city government.
28
So, the purity of her personal brand is more important to her than electing the most progressive viable candidate. Duly noted. While many of her supporters are too star-struck and personality-focused to hold her to account for this, hopefully this will motivate the smarter minority-report SECB members to be a bit more clear-eyed about her (and future candidates like her).
29
#8,

I'm surprised you didn't spell it "Knotzy".
32
The word is hubris - an excessive sense of self-importance; arrogance, pomposity and conceit. Thank god we won't have to put up with Oliver's nasty little version of it over the next three months.
33
@27
People aren't defined by their failures. We're talking about someone who went on to get a law degree as well as a masters in education. It's not like she was running her campaign from tent city, moron.
34
Nikkita Oliver: Narcissus wants his personal brand back.
35
Oliver is right about Moon.

4.1 million net worth, accrued mostly from the sale of her family's manufacturing business in Michigan. She touts that business as "partially employee owned." But that doesn't mean shit if you don't know the terms of that ownership. It could be a next to nothing fraction. Did those employees want to sell?

Her husband was a 35 year partner at a downtown high-rise high-end architecture firm. I'd be on the floor beside myself if her declared net worth also included his - that's a big-money career. LMN was founded by 3 white men, added white male partners. Take a browse of their hipped-up "people" page and tell me that under the edgy-cool sheen A) their racial demo is not whiter than the city in general, and B) partners and people in power are not overwhelmingly male and white. In 2017. Take a skim.

https://lmnarchitects.com/about/culture/…

The Moon clan lives in Pike Place. Not in the public housing of course. Rather a big, expensive, elite view property.

Did the Moon children attend public schools in Seattle? Public colleges? I would be very surprised if they did.

I'd call Moon a Chardonnay on the Sound view deck progressive, but that's actually probably below her pay grade. Make it a Grand Cru Chablis. She's done essentially nothing but fail on the tunnel opposition. She's a classic up on high woman of the people, and rich and very privileged white woman of the people who, like so many others in Seattle, is utterly paternalistic in thinking her righteous opinions backed by her privilege make her suited to be in charge of us all. And yet zero actual connection to the constituencies she fantasizes about white-knighting for from the other side of the key-carded elevator behind the doorman.

Fucking bullshit I say, Oliver got it right.
36
@19 says:
--
"It's just that Seattle is filled with these smug liberals who think they're all so woke. It's cool that you read Ta-Nehisi Coates and all that enlightening shit but when you've got this kind of double standard, you should be more humble. You have a ways to go. Maybe talk less and listen more. You might learn something.
--
Look in the mirror, partner. Don't be shocked when you see a gaping brown hole. Because yours stinks just like everyone else's does.
37
@27:

You weren't smart enough to be able to figure out how to get more than 10 miles away from the liberal hell-hole you spent the better part of a year complaining about, instead of hopping a bus to the idyllic Libertarian paradise you dreamed of 2,000 miles further down the road - maybe you shouldn't be allowed to vote.
39
@27 anyone who's happy to be in Bellevue is a real boring piece of hoity-toity shit
40
#35:

Nice post. I agree that Cary Moon seems representative of upper class virtue performers.

Oliver may have gotten it right about Cary Moon, but that still wouldn't qualify her to be mayor. For all of the reportage, I've never seen any serious analysis of Oliver's work in the schools, or her legal work. It's always been facile references to her being "an educator and attorney". Nothing about what she taught, what her evaluations were, what sort of legal representation she did or the outcome of said representation. (Maybe it was seriously reported and I missed it; if it was it didn't make it to her campaign's web page.)

My quick review of her "spoken word art" was that it was highly mannered and pretty derivative. I'll give her credit for having stage presence but that doesn't make her a sensible governmental leader.

Then there's the fact that she's personally benefited from the establishment's eagerness to prove its progressive bonafides; viz her law school sponsorship/scholarship/whatever by Bill Gates, Sr. This rather contradicts her self-portrayal as one of the wretched of the earth.

And nothing's been said about her attending that evangelical madrassa known as Seattle Pacific University. How has that shaped her world view?

In all, whatever her cred among the "marginalized" (as if they're some political monolith; I suspect many 'people of color', 'sexual minorities' etc., etc. didn't vote for her) or her cred among white intersectionally enlightened yups, what I sensed was her campaign was being used as click-bait by the Times, etc.

Only time will tell if "Oliver's" movement has legs. We'll see if she soldiers on. But so far, it all has seemed rather opportunistic and self-aggrandizing.
41
Curious, I just checked the WA state Bar Association directory - Nikkita Oliver doesn't appear to have ever had a license to practice law, at least in this state. How do non-licensed law school grads get to call themselves "lawyer" when they are not active with the WA state bar and there is no indication she has a lapsed license?
42
I was homeless too! Am I qualified for mayor? Am I, am I? No. Neither is this person.
43
#27, LOL. You sound like the kind of Bellevue guys I dated years ago, a few times only, which led to me vowing to never set foot in Bellevue as an adult. I have been to Bellevue 5 times in 20 years. That may be a high estimate. So glad you found your peeps.
44
#35, how dare those successful people live somewhere nice with a good view. Curse them! And then to have the gall to run for office! OMG.
45
@35

I find it absolutely adorably that you couldn't resist working your own familiarity with fine wine into that rant.

@41

Nikkita Oliver is an active member of the Washington State Bar Association. Nice try, though.
46
Sure prosper, be a 1 percenter, enjoy. Having resources and social capital is pretty sweet. Just don't then pretend you're one of the little dots you look down on, or their patron saint of a white knight. Oliver was authentic; Moon is just another low key exterior big money interior knows better hypocrite.
47
45 thanks, opened a lot of bottles of wine waiting tables through too many years of higher ed. FWIW most GC Chablis is not worth the sticker shock.
48
"The Moon clan lives in Pike Place. Not in the public housing of course. Rather a big, expensive, elite view property."

Is that why she opposed the tunnel, because the high-rises going up in place of the viaduct would block her view?
49
@19: "Isn't it weird how nobody is busy talking about what narcissists the dudes and the whites are?"

They weren't statistically significant so not really. I think Oliver has a much greater possibility of uniting to meet universal needs for the needs of her community.
50
so.... is oliver not going to vote in the election?
52
@47

And even more adorably, you couldn't resist working in your higher education when asserting the blue-collar bonafides of your knowledge of fine wine! You are a treasure, you are.

In my decade in the industry, I didn't work a lot of joints with multipage wine menus, and when I did it wasn't the good stuff that got cracked open after the chairs were up. But then I was back of the house, and never had anything near the income of a server... did you guys just spend a bit of your tips on that kind of thing while we were taking out the mats, and then switch to the cheap stuff just to be polite?
53
By the time Moon earns Oliver's endorsement (if that's even possible) it will be too late to be useful. Not very classy, and certainly not practical. Sadly, many of Oliver's voters will sit at home while Durkan wins handily.
54
There are politicians who like to say that it's not about the person, but their ideas...until another person appropriates the ideas, at which point it becomes about...the person, and the unique insight they bring to the community, blah, blah.

These people typically make better candidates than leaders, partly because they also tend not to win.
55
"It’s important that those ideas that the party and myself brought to this election are birthed out of our lived experiences. Those are not lived experiences those two candidates share."

So naive. Categories aren't credentials Oliver. Play that shit on a blog, not on a real stage that requires nuance and actual results. If the corporate developer lap dog Durkan wins its on Oliver for being a short-sighted, selfish brat.
56
Sure, liberal democrats got women the right to vote, rebuilt the country after the great Depression, created Social Security, made racial discrimination a federal crime, passed the most sweeping civil rights legislation in history, created and funded thousands of programs for things like food stamps, medicaid, head start, welfare, jobs and housing, made affirmative action the law of the land, elected the first black president, nominated the first woman to ever run for that office, brought health care to millions, passed comprehensive LBGTQ rights legislation, blah blah blah, but it breaks my heart to think of what might have been if only our leaders had been communist spoken word artists with no governing experience and an attitude instead of lazy, wine drinking, libtards.
57
@55 that is the entire point of that entire section of the left wing.

"My identity my identity my identity. You cannot understand my experience because you are (insert too-privileged-to-get-it category here) but you MUST understand my experience to have a conversation with me. But you belong to [category] so therefore you can't understand anything and can't help me."

They're complete non-starting people. These days, if you hear people start speaking with "As an [label or category]" you can count on a lot of inactionable bullshit to follow.

We even have the weenier wing of BLM out here - further inland it skates towards "white people cause all of our problems" outright racist ideology but black people hating on other races is totally cool because we all collectively deserve it according to this whole thought-wreck.
58
#14, 45, 52:

robotslave:

I think I love you.
59
Nikkita Oliver is such a butt-hurt sore loser that she handed the election to the candidate further away from her platform. yup, gotta love how left is devouring and destroying itself. seattle sticks with the establishment candidate because the progressive candidate is white skinned.
60
... the establishment candidate...

Which, in modern Seattle, means the lesbian who sued the city over police mistreatment of minorities.

Looking forward to an election season where we debate how best to reform our police department, not whether we need a police department.
64
@63: Any candidate with a well organized campaign/party that can pull in 17% in a primary with numerous strong opponents is not irrelevant.

Aside from Sawant, what "activist mayors and CMs" are you talking about? McGinn of the Vulcan funded Great City Initiative? This city is by and large run by and for a neoliberal elitist oligarchy.

The "Adult in the Room" meme is condescending.
65
Ranked-Choice MANDATORY Voting would have PROBABLY seen a different rresult ( & no need for a second round . . . . ---http://www.fairvote.org ).

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