The Seattle school board reviews are helpful. The Seattle city council reviews, OTOH get ever more hysterical.

Another great list of what not to vote for.

“…and closeted NIMBYs who probably would have opposed the expansion even if they got the community outreach they felt the County denied them.”

Why can’t those uppity brown people in the CID just shut up and take whatever they get? Don’t they understand poor brown people have rights only insofar as wealthy and/or white progressives so allow? What’s wrong with those people?!?

I so hope Tanya Woo wins by a landslide.

@5 this is a very clever comment, did you just make that up? someone as quick as you certainly isn't rehashing what people post at every SECB release?

Last time I checked, federal immigration policy was not part of the County Council’s purview. While I agree with the positions Baron took on this issue and greatly admire NWIRP’s work, it is not a reason to put him on the Council. They need to be dealing with issues directly affecting the County.

Yeah, the list of who to vote against is out! Funny thing, when we first moved here from DC we actually used this as a reference...then we learned how idiotic local lefties are compared to DC and the City Paper alt-weekly.

As a person into education, I wish the school board endorsements were useful, Pat. But I think it's just that most people don't know much about it, so they will believe something like that charter schools are one of the "most important" issues facing SPS. Charters are a non issue here. They are one nationally, but we have at most a thousand SPS students (out of almost 50,000) in charter schools which draw a little more from south end suburbs and overwhelmingly serve Black and Hispanic families who don't think SPS schools are serving their kids, unlike in other states where they often serve affluent white families looking to escape. The main issues here are the budget and spiralling SPED costs, partly meaning our general program is failing so many kids that they are designated SPED just by virtue of being so far behind academically. I don't really care who you vote for in district 3, but it definitely shouldn't be Evan, who has barely stood up a campaign and is the puppet of the less popular Chandra(she did all her speeches at LD endorsement meetings- typically candidates do their own), not actually Brandon, who is more popular in SECB circles. Liza and Debbie aren't functionally different though there is no universe where Liza is "effective." She is likable, which is obviously enough for the vibes based SECB.

Hey Stranger!

What is with you endorsing Liza Rankin??! Have you not heard about the Ingraham shooting that left one student dead and another in juvenile detention? Have you not heard Friends of Ingraham beg for district to acknowledge continued fears SEVEN months after the shooting- and when another kid showed-up with a gun in the parking lot?

And Rankin led the district off of a financial cliff with a budget deficit of $131M and another $100M next year.

In regards to Student Focused Outcome Governance, Cruickshank is spot on.

You have made a grave mistake.

@12
Liza did acknowledge that tho, she literally went there. I dont even know who I'm voting for in that race but I don't understand what this gripe is - what are you asking her to do that she didnt do? This seems like a closeted way of saying she didnt advocate for cops in schools and metal detectors - good for her.

Cruickshank isn't running (I know but most people reading this don't know what you're talking about) and what exactly should they have cut that they didn't?

I don't really like SFOG but unless we start paying the school board which are currently volunteers, it's unrealistic to expect them not to delegate some of the work to the superintendent they hire/monitor and the people the super hires/manages

@10
Thanks for the feedback. As school board races (like judicial races) have such a lower profile, it’s never easy getting useful information.
And@6 I wholeheartedly agree!

@Pat totally agree school board is like judicial races, low information in general so these have more sway. I also just have to similarly hope they are doing a better job on the port, because wtf do I know about the port. The school board ones are typically a bit weird; you can tell it's a young SECB mostly without kids or involved in the public school community.

AJ, with SOFG you lose a lot of Board oversight. I agree the Board members have tough jobs but giving the superintendent more power without oversight is wrong.

Sleeping Bear, very good comments.

As for my own thoughts - as an expert on Seattle Schools - I'll put it simply. The Stranger's endorsements for Seattle School Board are bananas.

Liza Rankin - Two words - Ingraham High School. Where is her concern and community engagement for a school in mourning and fear?

Oddly, The Stranger didn't mention that Rankin is using endorsements from 2019 at her webpage (including The Stranger's). She even has one from MLK Labor (who endorsed her last time) when her opponent, Debbie Carlsen, is the sole endorsement for MLK Labor THIS time. Devious tactics.

On declining enrollment - If housing and birthrates are the only reason, then there IS nothing she can do besides complaining to the City Council and going to PTA meetings and urging members to make more babies.

What's hilarious is she brought an iPad to show them graphs and such AND sent several follow-up emails. That is CLASSIC Rankin who cannot keep two ideas in her head at once. She does this at Board meetings all the time.

And policy review? Why is that top of the list with SO many other issues? Hmm.

Memo to The Stranger - Rankin was a rank amateur board member when she got elected; ALL new members start from scratch. And every incumbent always uses that line.

Melissa Westbrook, writer/moderator, Seattle Schools Community Forum blog

Next, Lisa Rivera Smith and her endorsement.

The Stranger says "she likes to challenge the status quo at the Board." Name one time when she did it with force or courage? I'll wait.

The Stranger again says that the falling enrollment (which is going to cause schools to CLOSE by school year 2024-2025) just can't be because of SPS quality (or lack of). So what WILL Rivera Smith do about this is?

She has done NOTHING to shape SOFG. Zero. And mild is definitely the word to use for Rivera Smith. She never really stands up for anything.

Melissa Westbrook Writer/Moderator, Seattle Schools Community Forum blog

The Stranger's endorsement of Evan Briggs in Board district 3 is the worst of their endorsements. She's a hand-picked dilettante from director Chandra Hampson (who couldn't run because of her bullying of senior Black staffers as well as a lawsuit against SPS that Hampson is STILL carrying on today). If Hampson picks a candidate, vote the opposite.

And Briggs did what? The school she was pushing back against got too toxic so she ran off to another one? And she's in the PTA and that's a good reason to put her on the Board? Even Hampson was at least a PTA president.

"She also wants to work to find ways to more equitably distribute PTSA funds across schools and to dramatically improve community outreach."

So the $350,000 that the Green Lake Elementary PTA raised to put in speciality play equipment for kids with disabilities should have been spread out to other schools instead of using it for that project? Were those parents being selfish trying to help disabled kids who go to that school as part of a district program? You should have asked Briggs that question.

If The Stranger thinks - as they said in the Briggs endorsement- that the board is "a dysfunctional mess," why endorse Rankin and Rivera Smith, the incumbents? That's doesn't make for a good argument. And The Stranger complains about "low-quality community outreach?" This Board is THE poster child for that. Please.

Vote for Ben Gitenstein or Christie Robertson - much better and more thoughtful choices.

Melissa Westbrook Writer/Moderator Seattle Schools Community Forum blog

Gina Topp endorsement - well, she is the best candidate in the bunch.

However, this word salad is bullshit:

"She argued that if (Student Outcome Focused Governance) SOFG lets the board set policy and hold the superintendent accountable for results, which it does, and if the superintendent doesn’t deliver on implementation, which he might not, then the school board will still be able to delve into the policy work to ensure the district delivers on the board’s goals, which it could."

So even if the superintendent's actions do not deliver, blame it on the policies and not his work? Oh boy.

I almost fell out of my seat on the Rankin endorsement. To put it bluntly , Rankin was MIA as far as the D1 community is concerned. On the Carlsen front, Debbie tends to exaggerate her background. Debbie means well but it's transparent to most people that she is embellishing her background. There are 4 candidates running for position 1 so voters will be better served my choosing any other candidate other than Rankin or Carlsen. BTW Rankin and Carlsen have some very questionable campaign contributors, people would be wise to look into those.

Oh god please not another lawyer Ok I will bite! Why would Gina Topp want to be on the board? Something is fishy here. We need some public disclosure on Ms Topp the big shot lawyer. Lawyers never seem to get anything done while on the board, its just too risky for them. (they say)

Also lawyers on the board tend to talk down to everyone and are secretly hated by the other board members. Remember that Ms Topp

"While some of those people are cool, most of them suck. We would much rather live in your future than in theirs, so please vote!" I'm in the group that sucks, but I'd also like to live in world where college is free, medical coverage is free and rent is free too. I'm just really confused about who is willing to provide all those free services to us.

@AJ Worshan,

Rankin failed to hold regular community meetings with her constituents. Had she bothered to show-up for her community...she might know what is going on.

ABSOLUTELY - The Stranger editorial board is spot on and their school board endorsements matter much more than any other local publication. There is so much hate out there so THANK YOU editors for staying focused on what really matters for students.
And of course all those self proclaimed “district experts” from out of town with personal vendettas against everyone (Yes westello, I am looking at you) and “political activists” (Yes, Robby.. you) are up in arms because despite all their efforts The Stranger did not give a f*ck about their sorry agendas and endorsed whoever they saw fit.
THANK YOU! Liza, Lisa, Evan, Gina let’s get this done

Miss Apatos, it's no secret I don't live in Seattle. One of the oddities of COVID is that I was able to attend every single meeting the Board held, same as when I lived here. I still know the district better than most. I have no vendettas but I sure do believe that some candidates have not done a good job and there are better ones.

Hold the phone here people, this is a little off topic but I just found this :About Vivian Song Maritz

Director Song Maritz is a mom of 4 children, current and future Seattle Public School students. She is a private sector professional, with over 15 years of experience in finance and operations. She studied Economics at Harvard University and has a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

So this election gerrymander is from Harvard with a masters in business administration AND SPS is still this fucked up even with super brain Maritz on the board!!!! God I cant wait for her to interact with the daycare worker. People people people it just might be time to pull the pull on this experiment. I mean if a Harvard MBA cant fix it then what is the point.

You're too kind to Hanning. Hats off for being the first media outlet brave enough to use the D word but you still treat him like has ideas instead of as an empty shell who says words he thinks will get him elected. He'd be a density loving police abolitionist if he thought it would get him the job. He's just smart enough (literally) to know which way the wind is blowing. Too bad his feckless opponent thinks he can beat him by being him. Sixth District of Hell is what this is.

Oh boy I was checking on the PDC website looking at all the candidate's F1s and C3s ect and found something fishy. It looks like 2 of the school board position 1 candidates violated RCW 42.17A.700 that requires candidates to file an F-1 report within two weeks of declaring their candidacy, which was to have been filed no later than June 2, 2023. Ok here is where is get interesting its seems only Parce was sighted and fined $100.00 Carlsen was given a pass with no warning letter or $100.00 fine.
So does the PDC have it in for Native candidates or what. Im mean WTF if the PDC is going to play favorites then I say its time to eliminate the PDC. I wonder how many other favorites are getting passes by the PDC? Maybe Carlsen can donate the $100.00 to Blaine campaign how about it Debbie ?

@26
EEEEEWWWW really looking down the “daycare worker”?!?!? Classist much?
I have met and interacted with Song-Maritz quite a bit. Not the brainiac you think she is. Nice lady though. What stand out is how she manipulated the system to get a seat at the school board. Rented an apartment in District 4 so she had a higher chance against Laura Marie Rivera than Sanrju in district 5 where she actually resides. But it’s Seattle politics so everything goes, no?

@ 16,17,17,19,25
Nah, you just want to be right and have a toxic obsession for Hampson and cannot get over your high school drama with Dr Castro-Gil. You flaunt your privilege disguised in “support” by offering to pay for SPS teachers. Haha you are delusional - SPS will NEVER take anything from you. Get that through your tiny head.
So go ahead, by all means follow through with your plan to finance campaigns for the people you want to get elected. It’s not going to work. It worked when you leaked Emijah Smith’s record but that was it. You are irrelevant.
The Stranger did the right thing and the people they endorsed WILL get elected. But I admit I could be wrong. Something you are not capable of. SAD!

Stranger Readers, just to note. I sign my name to what I write. Miss Apatos does not. Hmmm

Melissa Westbrook
Seattle Schools Community Forum blog

It’s Eva, darling. Look me up.

Hahahahaha I can't believe they almost endorsed Tye Reed!

"We fought about it, then got drunk and tried to bury the hatchet, then fought about it some more."

It sounds like her insane tweets wishing death on a bunch of people and celebrating people getting hurt or dying were too much for even The Stranger. So they told her those tweets were bad, she blew up in their faces, they still wanted to endorse her because she was the most extreme so they tried to have a few drinks and forget about it, and then she blew up again at the next opportunity.

Kinda like when you're on a date with a really hot girl and she tells you something really really crazy about herself, and you try to just move past it because you still want the date to succeed, but she insists on revisiting it again and again until eventually you have to just accept that she's sadly too crazy to take home.

Shame Matthew Mitnick dropped out of the race early. It would've been funny to see the inevitable Stranger endorsement (accompanied by glowing reviews of his "enthusiasm" and "policy chops", and denouncements of all his opponents as NIMBYs) followed by humiliating backtracking and ass-covering when he dropped out later.

So now we have The Stranger and the Seattle Times battling it out over who can get the least-qualified candidate into the general election in the name of ideological purity. The worst part is that The Stranger seems oblivious to what happens in the general.

The Stranger's endorsements in D5 this year reminds me of D9 last year. Jenks = Thomas, ObeySumner = Oliver, Moore = Nelson. Memory a little foggy on all these names? OK, here is a quick recap:

Thomas was a very well-qualified progressive that had the support of various progressive leaders and organizations. She had a long list of accomplishments, like being instrumental in getting Seattle a $15 minimum wage. Oliver was famous for running (and losing) a race for mayor. Rather than treat Oliver as a wackadoodle (who runs for mayor without any political experience first?) The Stranger fell in love with their fiery speeches. Oliver had never accomplished anything from a policy standpoint -- Thomas had done a shit load, and would hit the ground running. So, of course they endorsed Oliver.

Meanwhile, Sara Nelson ran from the right (although not very far right). Nelson had money, prestige (she and Matt Lincecum do make good beer) and the support of the Seattle Times editorial board (which, like The Stranger, sometimes endorses qualified candidates). She also had political experience, having been a policy advisor for the Seattle City Council. Nelson got the support of those on the right, while Oliver got the support on the left.

In the general election, people focused more on Oliver, and what they had done (or not done). In the end, voters decided that Nelson was just more qualified. Moderate leftists (which is to say, the average Seattle voter) decided to go with Nelson, even if they agreed with Oliver on the issues. Thomas would have destroyed Nelson in the general election, but voters never got that chance.

The same thing happened in the City Attorney race. The Stranger's insistence on ideology (based on bullshit) instead of qualifications and relevant endorsements is responsible for Seattle government moving to the right in two races. Time will tell if there will be a third.

Hopefully people in the 5th will ignore this endorsement and join Fuse, The Urbanist, and various progressive, Democratic and union organizations in voting for Jenks.

@13

Debbie Carlson is literally running against Rankin because Rankin wasn't responsive to those in her community.

Rankin claims shootings are "community" not school issues. HellO...when a shooting happens in your own school- gun violence IS a school issue. The Stranger made a serious mistake in endorsing Rankin and the endorsement should be revoked on student safety- alone.

The superintendent is answerable to board members. Board members are answerable to community and elections are the way to hold board members accountable. t was incumbent upon Rankin to assure Ingraham community needs were met by the superintendent. if a superintendent couldn't support the Ingraham community that was shaken to its core due to a murder in their own school...than you have a serious problem.

Lastly, Stranger...cuts made to jazz program and mock trial were in the SOUTH end of town...you know...where there are large amounts of AA boys. As a matter of fact, Washington middle school had a focus on equity.

It is time to vote out Rankin.

Thank you sir may I have another ! Anyone voting for Rankin must like to be spanked over and over again.(YES) Let them eat cake! is what Rankin says while spanking you. (Those are her safe words)
LOL

With all the money these idiots spend running for school board we could sponsor a village in some shit hole place for 10 years.

What a shit show. BTW who the fuck is Robby?

@support kids,

Well have you looked at Debbie Carlsen's website ? Her in your face sexual orientation virtue signaling isn't cool. I think that is probably what turned off the Stranger, oh along with a lack a any coherent goals and her thin work history. You should spend a little time and review just who is bankrolling Carlsen's campaign. If you are truly worried about guns and gun nuts then Carlsen is not for you. Go ahead and travel straight to Carlsen's donation report and take a look. I will let you do your own self discovery.

I wonder if Carlsen has a concealed carry permit?

@Ross

I would hope the D5 city counsel candidates will work with the school board to stop all the criminal activities around Ingraham High school and unfortunately there was another murder yesterday very close to the school. People there is a crisis in North Seattle but no one seems to give a shit. In my opinion this is the most important issue in D5 and candidates who address the problem should be voted into office.

Oh @Miss Apatos why don't you leave Westbrook alone , at least she is doing work WTF are you doing Oh just shit posting here like me!

@Ross

I just reviewed Jenks's voters guide statement um not good. She thinks a gun buy back program lowers crime but every study ever complied shows that they don't work. Then she goes on to ramble about wild fires and houses for "unhoused" warning warning another activist who will do nothing. I'm afraid she just doesn't understand data or how politics works downtown. Voters will be better served voting for Cathy Moore.

Touch down Cathy!

Westello: Wtf are school board members supposed to do about guns in society?

Student mental health, sure, but they cant totally counter poverty. You say "Where is her concern and community engagement for a school in mourning and fear" like you didn't read my comment before responding: She did express concern and engagement. What is she supposed to do that she didn't do, specifically?

SeaJack: I'm afraid that when go on about "the criminal activities" and lie that those who disagree with you don't care about crime, you are showing it is you who don't understand data or how politics works downtown. "every study ever complied shows that" police "don't work" either, but you all just keep refusing to spend money on the causes of crime. If you want evidenced based solutions, you need someone who will focus on wild fires and houses for unhoused, and if you really want safety, you should consider joining us activists.

But you also think talking about LGBT rights in 2023 is "in your face" so Republicans like you are not the mainstream except maybe when you hide it behind hobo-phobia, the one bigotry homeowners will state openly.

There is a lot that hasn't come- out about the Ingraham incident where by bullets were flying in a crowded hallway that ultimately left one student dead. For starters, the murder suspect was known to the school because he brought a weapon to school one month earlier- see below. There is more to the story that has flown under the radar, as well. The superintendent and Rankin are ultimately responsible to assure the student didn't hurt anyone.

https://www.kuow.org/stories/ingraham-high-murder-suspect-brought-weapons-to-school-one-month-earlier-records-show

Rankin has not been receptive to those in her community and that is part of the reason Carlson is running.

Rankin tried to argue that the board should not vote on district plans that are legally required by the state. Other board members shamed her and she backed down. Rankin is all about giving away board oversight.

Rankin knows full well that advanced learning opportunities haven't materialized. She knows that the district hasn't used advanced learning dollars to assure effective differentiation; two board members voted down the district's advanced learning plan to OSPI because they knew the plan was bogus.

The Stranger got fooled.

Clarification: The student involved with the Ingraham shooting brought both a gun and knife to school one month before the fatal shooting.

@Support kids

All joking aside what are we going to do. Carlson(sic) is supported by several pro gun nuts, one is her largest contributor and another is close. When I say nuts I mean fringe crazy nuts. Carlsen is listed as endorsed by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense Candidate but Carlsen takes money from crazy gun nuts ? how does she even know these people. BTW all are from out of town so I'm sure its not random. Maybe Carlsen can denounce those two crazy gun nuts and also explain her connection to them before the general election day that is if she survives the primary with this screw up. Didn't Debbie's campaign consultant vet her contributions?

@AJ, I don’t know if you know many Ingraham community members, but she was not responsive, never answered letters the PTA wrote, was not at any announcements Brent or the mayor belatedly did make, was absolutely absent in a very harmful way. There’s some stuff on the Friends of Ingraham page. The SOFG thing ppl have disagreements about, but Ingraham families have every reason to be pissed at her non responsiveness, and it’s imo a pretty rational thing to vote on. At least certainly should not have been brushed aside in this endorsement- it was a big failure. Personally it always feels to me that she doesn’t believe northend schools can have problems or that she is willing to advocate for helping them- even when one student shoots and kills another in a hallway in one.

(That said I do think her and Debbie’s votes on the dais would be pretty similar)

@34: Good Gravy, Ross, please give it a rest. There’s no more horse meat on those bones, and trying to remove any more of it with your whip just invites carpal-tunnel. Brianna Thomas had no hope of winning. In the primary election, Oliver and Nelson EACH received three times as many votes as did Thomas. I have no desire to re-fight this, so please see this comment thread, where we explained it to you: https://www.thestranger.com/slog-pm/2023/01/05/78801151/slog-pm-america-still-does-not-have-a-speaker-of-the-house-much-smaller-zillow-for-downtown-seattle-pro-nimby-state-rep-gerry-pollet-might/comments

The one new point you added deserves mention: “She [Thomas] had a long list of accomplishments, like being instrumental in getting Seattle a $15 minimum wage.”

Had Thomas run on this accomplishment, the Stranger would have utterly vilified her. The foundational lie of CM Sawant’s entire political career states unequivocally that she and she alone could bring the $15/hour minimum wage. The Stranger always backs every last one of Sawant’s lies to the fullest, and would have roared at Thomas’ inexcusable blasphemy. The Stranger would have made her Public Enemy #1 — and what if her opponent was Oliver, the Stranger’s darling “queer black woman of color”? The chance of Thomas getting many progressive votes as the Stranger constantly tore her down would have become slim to none.

@4 It's the anti endorsement. By getting TS to bad mouth you in their paper you get some extra traction as a legitimate candidate who isn't a loon with voters. There is no such thing as bad publicity after all. At this point I think its better to be on TS shit list from a credibility perspective than to be one of their anointed candidates. While that may get you through the primary by capturing the uneducated voter they eventually get destroyed in the general when faced with more scrutiny. I do think its amusing they actually learned something from the NTK disaster last round and shied away from Ty Reed. Of course Ty has been badmouthing them on twitter now so they completely stepped into that.

“Council Member Lisa Herbold ditched her West Seattle seat for fear of a challenge from antifa, or whatever the propagandists call the cool kids these days. The SECB thinks she overreacted. None of these District 1 candidates will usher in the revolution,”

The barely-mentioned Tavel (who seems to have taken advice from @47) came within 5,000 votes of unseating CM Herbold in 2019. That was when she had all the advantages of incumbency, was the protégée of the great Nick Licata, benefitted from citizen disgust at Amazon’s attempt to buy the election, and had promised “proper” funding of SPD. She soon set that last one ablaze with her support of the disastrous CHAZ/CHOP/defund. Tavel now gets to run for an open seat, so his chances of succeeding her have improved considerably.

I'm not a fan of seattle school district board member Rankin but at least she not a fraud like Carlsen. Carlsen consulting is a zombie company. Carlsen will fit right in with the current con jobs on the SPS board.

@43 Nothing wrong with being supported by people defending their 2nd Amendment rights! There's no other right subject to more attacks in this state.

Also, does anyone remember when The Stranger had sort of a more countercultural/rebellious feel to it, instead of just shilling for single-party control by ideologues? I guess I might've imagined that though.

When did Tricia Romano allow us to become slaves to poor reporting and, even worse, her loose, unprofessional, and biased editing? She is a horrible mentor.
This might explain the fall of the Stranger. We just hung on thinking it would get better.
Are all the rhetorical comments her goal? If so, she is the hallmark of the new media. Poor and inaccurate reporting are not a problem, in fact, its a priority: because we are all click bait to a failing rag. Are we having fun yet?

Given the number of candidates in the city council races it would be nice if you had at least given some comment about all of the candidates, not just select ones that you felt like mentioning. I know this is not your traditional way of doing things, but some of us want more than "the Stranger Endorses XYZ and here are some funny comments".

I vote in the 5th and you guide us towards ChrisTiana ObeySumner because of the specifics of their responses, but we will never know what those were. You even comment on their use of consultant speak. Their voters pamphlet statement and website are so jargon dense that I as a professional amateur political junkie, have no fucking idea what it means. I was disappointed that you dismissed Tye Reed because of your idea that peral clutching moderates would be horrified by her anger at the systemic murders of black people by the police. Tye's positions and statements are very thoughtful and progressive.

Vote the opposite of this list and we might actually be able to live in a city that is not a total sh*thole once again.

I've been reading the Election Control Board posts for as long as they've been doing them. What is that, 30 years now? They've always endorsed the most left-ward candidate in every race and good for them! But then people pretend to be shocked and dismayed when they do it yet again.

Its a weird ritual.

@54 You have to give the crew credit for seeing right through Carlsen's LGBTQ pandering. The ST somehow thinks Carlsen is some sort of financial genius. I'm guessing the ST never looked into Carlsen's credit history or balances. The lady is a preschool helper nothing more nothing less and that's ok. Just don't make her out to be some sort of consultant to the world of finance.

@54 I suspect some commenters are truly shocked and dismayed. It's hard to take the Stranger endorsements seriously if you follow them over time, because eventually the Stranger ends up complaining about candidates and policy positions they endorsed in the past.

No individual more responsible for increasing the number of guns on the streets of Seattle in the last three years than Andrew Lewis. I thought the Stranger would be against that.

Is this really the last odd-year election for King County elected officials?(*) I can't believe that King County voters were so fooled by CM Dembowski's sloganeering that even-numbered elections for county issues and candidates to county office would be more “equitable.” (More likely forgotten and left on the ballot cutting-room floor.)

Note: Except for King County tax issues, which will undoubtedly be staged in the most under-participated spots on the election calendar.

Where is the discussion on school leadership with respect to covid? We're heading into another surge, nationwide, and based on wastewater readings. And while our government lies to us about the pandemic being over.

Are these classrooms using Corsi Rosenthal boxes with Merv 13 level filters? They should be running all day long in every room, not to mention the cafeterias and gyms. I haven't seen anyone mention it, as either an accomplishment, or something they actually understand the science behind -- i.e. the airborne nature of covid - or as anything they want to implement, and because incumbents haven't, and as covid spreads.

This is something that truly effects the rest of us, whether or not we currently have kids in the schools. Whether the schools are breeding grounds for the pandemic, and into the general community. A

Also, I'm taken back by the Stranger's minimization of cutting to programs like mock trials and jazz bands. These programs are crucial to quality education, have life-time impact on students. That's a BS cop-out, Stranger. You threw the kids under bus. She should have to answer to that, if that's what she did.

I would rank Tye Redd over ObeySumner. I like both but I trust Tye Reed's values more, especially if push comes to shove. She just strikes me as more down-to-earth and straightforward. Also, to my understanding, ObeySumner is with the mayor's plan to stick all of the more affordable housing along the loud and dirty highway routes. Reed wants to integrate the housing more in other neighborhoods, so the working class can also live like human beings, with cleaner air, and quieter environments. Ranked choice voting would be good for these elections, but in the meantime, I think people should pick Reed first (and ignore the snotty Stranger).