The last time I e-mailed Sam Bellomio, who is running for Seattle City Council, it was February. I'd asked why he called all the council members "terrorists," and if he would answer some basic questions about his campaign (what the council had done wrong, what he would do differently). I got an e-mail back last night:

You and I are having two different conversations. The questions you asked me drives the old conversation, the one that isn’t fixing anything. Your ego is too big, you are surround by a base of your own supporters and your journalism is not journalism at all. It is opinion news as bad as Fox news and I refuse to be a part of it.

The people need to StandUP and stop grinding the gears which are pushing us into the ground. Stop sitting down. Stop letting our local government get away with it. Our absence from the process tells our local government officials to go on with their arrogant little lives, not willing to be questioned, not willing to give answers, not willing to give a care because everything is still going great for them. Protecting our liberty is their job; this is the job we are paying them to do and they are not doing it. Want proof? Check out these two King County Council meetings. You can see for yourself how they respond to the concerns of the people.

If you want to be a part of the solution, have a dialogue with me and my fellow StandUP-Americans. We will meet on equal ground. We will reserve a room at City Hall so anybody who wants to can come. I am running for City Council not because I intend to act just like them—that would be ridiculous. That fact that you judge me by their standards only proves your ignorance to what the People need to get out of this mess. I am not intimidated by your opinion news. Can your journalism finally shine through and accept information that you don’t already believe? I hope so, we’ll see.

-Sam-

Wondering what "it" is that the council is "getting away with"?

Check out the videos sent by Bellomio (which I believe is pronounced "bella mio" not "blow me, oh"). They're after the jump. You should see for yourself—without my opinion getting in the way—what his group, StandUP-America, thinks is the best way to engage the King County Council. It's also a great way to see Council Member Larry Gossett—who is easily among the most bona fide, radical activists in town—laugh in someone's face:

And because there was another ordinance on the agenda, they got to comment on that, too:

This is theater, right?