Praise be to the new city council districts system. While there was something kinda fun about watching Jean Godden run a campaign by refusing to answer questions and alienating young people, we’ve been rolling every night since she lost the primary election. (If you’re wondering whether that’s a drug reference, it is.)
Both Michael Maddux and Rob Johnson, the two dudes who made it through to the general, are more progressive than Godden. So now this race is about exactly what shade of progressive Seattle wants to be. Transit advocate Rob Johnson is an establishment environmentalist with a real Mormon missionary vibe. He is generally decent on the Big Issues, but he hasn’t convinced us he’d be willing to stand up to the mayor or a more conservative council majority. The kind of incremental, lukewarm, go-along-to-get-along bullshit Johnson represents is part of what has gotten Seattle to where it is—still talking about maybe someday doing something about mass transit while shredding $100 bills to fill Bertha’s rescue pit.
Michael Maddux is the opposite of all that. Sure, Maddux might have a secret anger problem, and we still don’t believe he doesn’t know what a quaalude is. But in our mind, that just makes him one of the normals—a gay single dad, a paralegal, and a parks activist who’s unequivocally supportive of social services and has one of the best gender pay equity platforms in this whole general election cycle. That’s normal, right?
More in NEWS
Local (and not-so-local) news from your favorite writers.
