Just before the August primary, we told
you to vote for someone other than Seattle mayor Greg Nickels. We
suggested a new guy named Mike McGinn. He wound up coming in first, and
another new guy came in second. Mayor Nickels is out on his
ass—the top two vote-getters advance to the general
election—and now Seattle voters are speed-dating the dreamy Mike
McGinn and the idiotic Joe Mallahan. (And we’re sorry, Greg, we didn’t
know our own strength—honestly we’d rather have you to kick
around right now than that T-Mobile idiot.)
So the lushes and potheads called it. Our enemies—and they are
legion—claim it’s just dumb luck and mutter about stopped clocks.
Don’t believe ’em. The Stranger Election Control Board is now the
ultimate, divinely ordained, final, and eternally binding arbiter of
electoral success in this town. Don’t fuck with the lushes and
potheads.
With great power comes great responsibility, and so at
Stranger election headquarters we rolled a keg into the
conference room, amassed a pile of voter pamphlets, and called a slew
of meetings with the candidates who made it through the primary. Did
Seattle city attorney Tom Carr get through our interview without having
tuna thrown in his face? Did we stay awake for city council candidate
David Bloom’s pitch? Did Mallahan win us over? Read our endorsements,
heed our city-shaking commandments, and vote, bitches, vote.
No
First: Fuck Tim Eyman.
His latest initiative, like all the others he’s dangled in front of
voters in years past, is appealingly simple. Initiative 1033 would
essentially cap the amount of money that the state, county, and city
governments could collect from taxpayers and base this cap on how much
those governments collected the previous year (adjusted for inflation
and population growth). Any surplus would go toward reducing property
taxes.
Almost sounds reasonable, huh?
But this initiative would lock Washington into its current budget
forever—the worst budget the state has had in decades, due to the
recession—and prevent lawmakers from making necessary investments
in people and infrastructure when the economy improves. Picture this
lean year, when we had to lay off roughly 3,000 teachers and cut basic
health services for 40,000 people, as the best it’s ever going to get
from here on out. Or picture Colorado. Years ago, that state passed a
similar law that devastated its education and health-care funding, even
eliminating vaccines for kids. Or California, which is an economic
basket case thanks to initiatives like this one. We shouldn’t make the
same mistake those states did. Hundreds of groups—including
virtually every Democratic organization in Washington—oppose
I-1033. You should, too. Vote no.
And, one more time: Fuck Tim Eyman.
Approve
Earlier this year, the state legislature expanded the rights of a
same-sex registered domestic partnership to include all the
state-granted rights of marriage—except it’s not called
“marriage.”
And if you thought Tim Eyman was fucked, the guys behind Referendum
71 are gaping assholes. They gathered signatures to put the state’s
domestic-partnership bill on the ballot—thereby allowing
right-wing bigots to vote on the rights of committed same-sex partners.
R-71 backers insist that they’re protecting families and children. But
that’s a canard. This petition was the product of Gary Randall, a
carpetbagging Oregonian who makes money running hate-mongering
campaigns and, according to the Clackamas County recorder’s office,
owes $36,012 in unpaid federal back taxes. Also behind the measure is
Larry Stickney, a thrice-married Christian extremist who allegedly beat
his wife and refused to pay for his daughter’s college education until
a judge made him, according to records in Kitsap County Superior Court.
The two lied every step of the way to get this on the ballot, claiming
in television ads and on the petition that the measure was the same as
gay marriage and that “public schools K–12 will be forced to
teach that same-sex marriage and homosexuality are normal.” None of
that’s true. Neither is their claim that this is about family: Stickney
and Randall are deceptive bigotry-mongers.
But now it’s on the ballot. A vote to approve R-71 is a vote to
uphold the domestic-partnership bill. If passed, it gives the
state’s 6,000 registered couples the right to take leave from work to
care for a critically ill partner, the right for public-sector
employees to share pension benefits with their partners, and dozens of
other rights that straight couples enjoy—and all committed
partners deserve.
Vote to approve Referendum 71.
Mike McGinn
Seriously, we couldn’t fit enough words into this tiny space to
fully explain how much we lurv Mike McGinn. But never fear! There are
about 1,000 words over here that you should check out. It’s the
second installment in our award-winning, million-part series, The Case
for Mike McGinn. Read our case for McGinn. Admire the portraits of him
we’re commissioning by local artists. Buy the commemorative plate. Vote
for McGinn.
Yes on All of ‘Em
What fuckwit wrote the King County Charter anyway? The thing was so
poorly drafted that voters have to approve an assload of amendments
every goddamn November. Was it written in Tlingit and mistranslated by
a room full of retards—oh, sorry. That’s rude. Let’s try this
instead: Was the thing written in Tlingit and translated by a room full
of “research fellows” at the Discovery Institute?
Okay, King County, we read all four of your stupid amendments, and
the only one we care about is No. 4. It would protect 156,000 acres of
natural open space that the county owns—including Cougar
Mountain, southeast of Bellevue—and set a high threshold for
changing the status of these “high conservation value” properties. If
the county wants to sell any of these properties in the future, or
change how they’re used, it will require seven votes on the county
council and public hearings. Good idea, since there will no
doubt be pressure to develop some of these lands as the county
population grows. Approve!
As for the others… Amendment No. 1 deletes references in the
charter to sections that no longer exist. Approve—why do we have
to vote on crap like this? Amendment No. 2 removes requirements for
outdated budget procedures. Approve—but who writes budget
procedures into county charters anyway? And Amendment No. 3
requires the county council to confirm appointees to the commission
that writes charter amendments—you know, all those ‘tards from
the Discovery Institute. Approve!
Dow Constantine
Dow Constantine’s opponent, Susan Hutchison, is a political
lightweight, a partisan extremist, a shitty fit for the most liberal
county in the state, and a blow-dried, brain-dead, lying, hypocritical,
and cowardly piece of shit. Oh, and she’s a closet Republican, too. You
have to be a self-defeating idiot—or a right-wing douchebag,
which is basically the same thing—to want her as county
executive.
Hutchison is a fan of George W. Bush, Mike Huckabee, Dino Rossi, and
Dave Reichert. She also hates county government more than
anyone—or, at least, that’s her “populist” platform—and in
pursuit of the votes of rural guv’mint bashers, she’s been wandering
around the region sounding like a Northwest version of Grover “Cut
government down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub”
Norquist.
Dow Constantine is on the King County Council, has worked in the
state legislature, and has been calling Hutchison out on her deceptive
bullshit ever since she jumped into this “nonpartisan” race (which is
only a nonpartisan race because Hutchison helped pay for a campaign to
make it so, allowing her to run as a stealth Republican). Sure, King
County has problems—budgeting problems, parks problems, and yes,
we know, terrible, awful, no-good dog-catching problems—but
Constantine has been in the trenches working to fix those problems and
will be in a better position to do so as county executive. He’s the one
you want in charge of the county’s forests and wetlands, its
controversial needle-exchange program, and its reproductive-health
services.
Vote for Dow. And when you do, consider the broader service you’ll
be doing for the country. Susan Hutchison, whose wide name recognition
comes from her years as a local TV-news anchor, is basically Sarah
Palin (minus the political experience). Only you can help prevent
another Sarah Palin.
Bob Rosenberger
Bob Rosenberger has worked as an appraiser for the King County
Assessor’s office since the Tlingit first sat down to draft the King
County Charter. He recently tried to retire, but then his boss
drunkenly plowed into another car while driving the wrong way up I-5
(the fool resigned and got eight months in the pokey). A chief deputy
at the assessor’s office was going to run to replace the fool, but was
hospitalized with a stroke and dropped out. Thankfully, Bob stepped out
of retirement and into the race, because all the other candidates seem
either inexperienced or crazy. (You’d think anyone running for KCA
would be a walking abacus, all calm and rational. Not so.) Plus,
Rosenberger vowed to fight Tim Eyman with everything he’s got. Vote
Rosenberger.
Rob Holland
We didn’t have to think too hard about endorsing Rob Holland.
Holland is progressive, intelligent, and charming, and his opponent,
David Doud, is a Republican and so stupid he could be a Discovery
Institute research fellow. Doud cochaired King County for
McCain—how’d that work out for you, Doud?—and says
he’s running because the job is “synergistic with my career.” Gee, it’s
your world, Doud. The rest of us just vote in it.
And we’re voting for Holland.
Um… A Greasy, Half-Empty Tub of Crisco?
Jesus Christ, this race gives us heartburn.
People hit the ceiling when we endorsed civic gadfly Tom Albro in
the primary, which we did because his opponent, union-man Max Vekich,
bombed in our interview. Vekich was vague, unprepared, and didn’t seem
to understand exactly why he was running or what he was running for.
Albro spoke eloquently about the need for transparency (because the
port is a scandal factory), protecting habitat, reducing fossil-fuel
consumption (with specifics about taxis, tugboats, and airplanes),
creating jobs, and saving public funds by overhauling the way the port
manages its massive real-estate holdings (nobody even knows how much
they’re really worth because, unbelievably, the port hasn’t appraised
them all).
In the last few weeks, the King County Citizens for Port Reform
campaign—which backs Holland and Vekich—kicked into
overdrive, trying to put a stink around Albro. And it’s working. The
Port Reform people are beating their gongs about Albro taking
significant contributions from folks and lobbyists who backed Pat
“Scandalpants” Davis and Mic “Scandalthong” Dinsmore. Albro also gave a
little money to Dino Rossi, and that sort of shit matters to us. And
Albro and David “King County for McCain” Doud share a campaign manager.
(Did we mention we really dislike Doud?)
We’re sticking with our original endorsement… sorta… but we
wouldn’t blame you if you voted for Vekich. Or a greasy, half-empty tub
of Crisco. We’ll be fucked either way.
Pete Holmes
We have it in for Seattle city attorney Tom Carr. This clown has
spent two terms in office harassing employees at bars and clubs (by
Carr’s own admission, his beloved Operation Sobering Thought, which
swept up more than 20 nightlife workers on picayune charges, ended up
undermining a far more important legislative effort to make Seattle
nightlife safer), aggressively prosecuting pot smokers long after
Seattle voters in 2003 made busting them the city’s “lowest
law-enforcement priority,” and throwing the book,
Mark-Sidran-style, at everyone from a guy who makes racy balloon
figures at Seattle Center to a troubled man who shoplifted a $1.72 can
of tuna. (When we brought the tuna case up in our meeting with Carr, he
accused the SECB of “bad lawyering.” What the fuck, dude?)
Pete Holmes, Carr’s first serious opponent in eight years, is the
former chair of a city board designed to hold police officers
accountable. He’s also an experienced civil litigator and an advocate
of the idea that the city attorney should represent the people of
Seattle rather than representing some self-serving interpretation of
the city’s best interests (which is how Carr operates). Moreover, in a
clear break with Carr’s policies, Holmes has promised not to prosecute
one more person charged inside the Seattle city limits with simple
marijuana possession. To quote: “Under my tenure, I will not charge
another minor marijuana-possession offense—either in
conjunction with other charges or standing alone. Period.”
Vote for Holmes.
Position No. 2
Richard Conlin
Richard Conlin is the current city council president
and—wonder of wonders—pretty sane about what’s really the
most urgent council business. (Though he is remarkably proud of writing
the legislation to legalize pygmy goats.) The guy should have run for
mayor. He probably could have slipped through the primary, given how
disgusted voters were with Nickels, and if he’d done that he’d be the
man in the race with the most political experience. If Dan Savage had
followed through on his
run-for-mayor-then-resign-and-make-the-council-president-mayor plan,
Conlin might still have a shot. But that was then.
On to his good decisions! Conlin spearheaded last year’s parks levy,
supported a light-rail extension to Ballard, and stood up to the
bullying tactics of Greg Nickels. Conlin’s opponent, David Ginsberg, is
a former “solutions architect” at Washington Mutual—there’s a
record you can run on, huh?—with zero political experience and a
campaign platform that, as far as we can tell, consists mainly of vague
opposition to the construction of the downtown tunnel. (We prefer Mike
McGinn’s specific opposition to the downtown tunnel.) Ginsberg couldn’t
keep track of time well enough to show up as scheduled to the Stranger
Election Control Board’s endorsement interview. And did we mention that
he was a “solutions architect” for Washington Mutual?
And did you know that Conlin decriminalized the possession of
itty-bitty goats for personal use in Seattle? He did! Vote Conlin!
Position No. 4
Sally Bagshaw
We wanted to love David Bloom, a man-of-the-cloth progressive with a
long history of advocating for the poor and the homeless. But while
Bloom’s bleeding heart is in the right place, his head is up his ass.
Bloom opposes streetcars (“they replace buses”), rejects light rail to
Ballard and West Seattle (“no extension of light rail”), and dislikes
any major investment in infrastructure (“if it comes down to a capital
project or people, I will invest in people”). He would, however, invest
in rebuilding the motherfucking viaduct! (Psst, David? People ride in streetcars, people take light rail, people rely on infrastructure for clean water, electricity, transportation,
etc.)
Bloom’s vision of Seattle is a city packed with buses spewing diesel
plumes over throngs of fat-and-happy homeless people. In interviews,
Bloom repeatedly said new construction should require a “one-for-one”
replacement every time less expensive housing is demolished. Asked
when—if ever—this idea has worked, Bloom cited one housing
development in Washington, D.C., and a neighborhood in Vancouver, BC.
But those aren’t citywide rules, which he wants for Seattle, and it
appears that widespread development would remain economically feasible
with the rule in place. He’s fine with increasing density, he says, but
in order to build, you have to do something economically unfeasible.
Uh-huh.
So we’re endorsing Sally Bagshaw, a former attorney in the civil
division of the King County prosecutor’s office. She isn’t the best,
either, frankly. When we asked what she has done to help the
downtrodden, Bagshaw told us about the time she helped victims of a
Metro bus accident. The moral of her tale: “Because they were so well
taken care of, they didn’t sue us.” Touching. But Bagshaw has a
résumé of effective work for the county, lives downtown,
and gets urban Seattle life. She’s also created legal clinics for
indigent women and helped create accommodations for homeless women at
the YMCA—so she’s done more for the downtrodden than she can
recall. In addition to being smart, practical, and progressive-ish, she
supports investing in rail transit and other municipal infrastructure
projects. She likes itty-bitty goats. Vote Bagshaw.
Position No. 6
Nick Licata
Nick Licata joined the city council at a key turning point… in the
American Civil War. Yeah, yeah: He’s been in there a while. But he’s
still alert and effective. In his most recent term, Licata has
delivered on key issues of social and criminal justice.
In 2006, he sponsored and passed legislation to increase
transparency of police records—even though the police guild
challenged the legislation. Licata also created a group to study
whether the city could avoid building a new $200 million jail. The
group supported diverting low-level, nonviolent offenders into less
expensive, more effective treatment programs. Licata also fought to provide better public defense for indigent people in the
municipal court system while raising standards for judges.
When considered along with his entire career on the council—he
secured funding for pre-arrest diversion programs, led the first
council discussions on reforming drug policy, and called City Attorney
Tom Carr on his bullshit—Licata has proved to be the strongest
council member on issues of civil rights and smarter criminal justice,
and a stalwart ally for nightlife. In the last few years, he’s passed
bills to provide more workforce housing, increase standards for
pedestrian safety, and get more police on the street.
He is wrong about the viaduct, though, and he knows it. Because we
told him.
We’re less impressed with Jessie Israel, a King County Parks
employee, who has strong ties to conservative police and fire unions
and has constitutionally dubious proposals for dealing with
panhandling. Israel wouldn’t bring the innovation to handling
criminal-justice issues to the council that Licata has pushed for
years—and we don’t want the council to forget those issues. If
Israel wins, she’ll morph into Sue Donaldson faster than the American
Chemistry Council can buy an election. “Sue who?” you ask. Exactly, we
say.
Vote Licata.
Position No. 8
Mike O’Brien
Mike O’Brien, who answers phone calls while riding his bike, has a
granite ass. If he doesn’t die in traffic before November 3, we want to
see his granite ass sitting on the city council. He’s an
environmentalist (former chair of the local chapter of the Sierra Club)
and a business wizard (got his MBA from the University of Washington).
O’Brien’s mix of idealism and realism in city planning is refreshing,
and we think his approaches to building a dense city and funding
transit represent the vision Seattle needs. But just as much as we love
O’Brien’s big brain and granite ass, we fear his opponent.
Robert Rosencrantz, a high-end real-estate broker and apartment
landlord, is disconcertingly conservative. Rosencrantz has favored new
roads and paving projects at the expense of building new transit, he
backs heavy-handed law-enforcement measures, and he prizes NIMBY
complaints over a vibrant nightlife. And on the issue of abortion,
Rosencrantz believes parents should be notified when a minor seeks an
abortion and he has refused to answer questions about abortion rights,
instead quoting Obama’s statement that we need to “honor the conscience
of those who disagree with abortion.” Yikes.
And, yes, yes, we know: The city council doesn’t handle abortion
issues. But city council seats—like heading up county
government—can launch someone into a political career that
eventually puts that person in a position where they are making decisions about women’s reproductive freedoms.
O’Brien is more progressive on almost every issue—on density,
pedestrian and bicycle improvements, and removing parking
requirements—than his opponent. He believes Seattle will become
more hospitable to residents and businesses by expanding transit
systems and making livable neighborhoods. We agree. Vote O’Brien.
Low-Income Housing Levy
Yes
We didn’t endorse David Bloom, but we support people! Up with
people! Especially poor people who don’t have homes! We want to get
them into homes built out of infrastructure using our tax dollars!
Because, hey, we’re not heartless!
It might seem like a terrible time—with this recession and
all—to approve a $145 million property-tax levy to fund
low-income housing. But we think now is the best time for it. A vote to
approve is really a vote to renew the housing levy passed in
2002. And today, many of the construction projects funded by that levy
are moving forward—creating construction jobs, getting people off
the street. This levy would maintain the same level of
affordable-housing production and assistance as the levy voters passed
in 2002, while increasing the median property taxes from $39 a year to
$65 a year for inflation and increased building costs. Most of the
money would build about 1,670 housing units for the lowest-wage earners
in Seattle, with other portions going to provide emergency rental
assistance and help for first-time home buyers. We’d be getting people
off the street, which saves money on emergency services, while keeping
workers near their jobs and creating new construction jobs. Vote
yes.
District No. 9
Beverly Harison Tonda
Oh, Bev Tonda, flaxen Cleopatra of Maple Valley, coy queen of the
Cedar River: How ardently, how loins-burstingly, we endorse thee. Woe
betide the foes of Tonda—wastrels and heathens and pederasts
all—when, wild of eye and foamy of mouth, army of loyal
she-beavers at her back, Tonda bursts forth from her watery den to
crush and sweep aside the enemy like a cleansing rain. In the name of
all that is sacred twixt heav’n and earth, vote for motherfucking Bev
Tonda. VOTE THE FUCKING SHIT OUT OF HER.
Kay Smith-Blum
We identified two clear front-runners in this race during the
primary, and they both made it through to the general: Mary Bass, the
“dissident” incumbent board member and a longtime advocate for Central
District residents, and Kay Smith-Blum, co-owner of a “European
specialty store” called Butch Blum and a longtime fundraiser for public
schools.
Both of them are batshit crazy.
Which is exactly as it should be: You have to be nuts to want to sit
on the school board, grind your teeth through its decision-making
processes, and believe that someday, if you can just pass one more
resolution, you’ll beat a bunch of intractable problems that are mostly
beyond your control anyway.
The question, then, is who is the best kind of crazy for this job,
and while in the past we’ve been impressed with how successfully
bonkers Bass can be, her bonkers hasn’t produced enough tangible
results. Plus, we were blown away this year by Smith-Blum’s new style
of nutso. As we wrote in our primary endorsement: “Smith-Blum is
holy-shit-she’s-probably-right-and-she’s-going-to-chew-my-face-off-if-I-disagree-with-her
crazy. And that fresh brand of crazy—plus Smith-Blum’s track
record of strong public-school advocacy—is just what this
position needs.”
Yes, we know, it’s since been revealed that Smith-Blum claimed a
double major in marketing and statistics from the University of Texas
when all she really had was a major in marketing and some statistics
courses under her belt. Um. Who gives a shit? And we rest our case.
Also, the way Smith-Blum reacted to the news—by using it as an
opportunity to remind voters that she took a lot of statistics classes
and has always been committed to “data-driven” leadership—was
pretty slick. Like we said, don’t fuck with Smith-Blum. Also: Vote for
her. (Full disclosure: Smith-Blum’s business advertises in The
Stranger. The SECB does not take advertising into consideration
when making endorsements. If we did, we’d be running a write-in
campaign for the Rad Dyke plumber for county executive and backing a
slate of nearly naked American Apparel models for city council.)
Betty Patu
Just like Smith-Blum, Betty Patu, a three-decade veteran
teacher in Seattle public schools, stepped into a little bit of a
résumé scandal around the time of the primary election.
Patu had claimed a master’s degree in education from Antioch University
in Seattle when, in fact, she didn’t yet have one. Well, in late
September, Patu finished her master’s degree at Antioch and put the
scandal behind her (all while showing the children—think of the
children!—what you can achieve if your white lies involve a truth
that just hasn’t quite happened yet). Anyway, we still have love for
Patu. She’s a retired teacher from Rainier Beach High School, has that
rock-ribbed confidence that comes with toiling in the trenches for 30
years, and aims to represent Asian/Pacific Islanders and other minority
groups, all while—yes, this really happened—wrestling guns
away from students with her vocal chords.
Patu’s opponent, Wilson Chin, seems like a nice enough guy and has
been involved in public-school matters for some time. But not as long
as Betty Patu has. And when has he ever stopped a bullet with his
voice? Never. Vote for Betty Patu. Obviously. 
Sheesh, one bad interview and you throw Max Vekich under the bus! He’s definitely not as smarmy or well-practiced at gladhanding as Tom Albro.
You should check out Max’s looooooong list of endorsements: http://www.maxforourport.com/default.asp…
Highlights:
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell
Congressman Jay Inslee
Congressman Adam Smith
Congressman Jim Mcdermott
King County Labor Council
Sierra Club
King County Democrats
Every single Democratic LD
FUSE
Publicola (Josh Feit and Erica C Barnett)
SEAMEC
the list goes on…
You guys clearly never even looked at Ginsberg’s platform, because the viaduct not any part of his platform. He was a proponent of surface/transit rather than the tunnel, but that decision has been made and his opposition was actually more specific than McGinn’s ever was. I remember him saying that if we had unlimited funds the tunnel might be a decent solution, but we don’t and we need to make choices and with challenges like Peak Oil and Climate Change we ought to be investing in transportation technologies for the next century rather than from the last century, which sounds like a prudent and prescient stance to me. His platform, by the way, focuses on creating a local economy with opportunity for all, enhancing livability and affordability, and on increasing mobility and building a 21st century transit system with rapid, rail-based connections between our urban centers and urban villages and bicycle paths separated from moving traffic and parked cars, and his platform has far more specific policy proposals than any other candidate running for office in this city.
I checked all the candidates’ websites and on all but his all I could find was vague talk, but Ginsberg has posted more than 20 proposals designed to create economy opportunity, more affordability and better transportation. You should really take a look, and frankly checking everyone’s websites should have been part of your process to begin with. All the incumbent does is tread water, Ginsberg want’s to move us forward with bold initiatives to create a brighter future.
Ginsberg is the clear progressive in this race, if progressive means making progress. Oh, and Ginsberg’s stance on nightlife is far better as well: “Part of what it means to be a great city is for it to be fun and nightlife is an essential part of that mix”. VOTE GINSBERG!
I hereby nominate the SECB (Stranger Election Control Board) for SFCH (Stupid Fucking Credulous Hack) of the year.
Albro is being supported by right wing conservatives from Slade Gorton to evangelical ministers (PastorPicks.com). He’s taken money from a long list of corrupt interests from port polluters to worse.
And yet SECB is too stubborn to admit that they fucked up? That means you’re the SFCH this time.
Here at Port Reform, we appreciate that the Stranger ed board reconsidered its position on Port Position 4. Thank you. A tub of Crisco is better than a bad endorsement.
For more information on the port candidates, and why you should even care, check out http://www.portreform.org
Look — I’ve got a big booger, and it looks like Mike McGinn!
Just a heads up that the “cheat sheet” graphic has misspelled Pete Holmes name “Homes”. I hope that gets corrected before going to print.
I know why the lushes and potheads of the stranger are still endorsing McGinn; he’ll make it so that they can ride their bikes and walk to the jobs that they don’t have so that they can not earn any money and not contribute to the general well-being of the city while contributing to its noxious odor. McGinn has absolutely no plan for transportation in this city other than to magically make I-5 support an extra hundred thousand cars or so on the portion of it that is already a parking lot for most of the day. The people driving these cars are the ones who are driving them to the jobs that they do have and pay taxes on the money that they actually make to the city to fund projects that would benefit its population and allow future economic growth. Also, instead of a mayor who just fails to engage other local governments like Nickels, we’re going to have someone who is actively going to fight them. This is not “working with them” which is what we need.
The stranger is just appealing to their demographic, which is the lowest common denominator of society and frankly, fuck them. They can feel free to smoke pot and smell bad while the rest of us smoke pot, shower, and have good jobs.
If McGinn would just decide that it’s important to create a balance between getting cars moving and riding your bike, I’d probably vote for him, but as it stands I see him as a “tunnel bad, bikes good” candidate and I fear for my ability to actually work at my job should he become mayor. I think I’ll probably still feel a bit dirty after voting for Mallahan, but at least that dirt will wash off (those of you who don’t understand the process of washing might not care though).
But how do you really feel about Susan Hutchison? Hilarious.
Back to the School Board. As someone who has been an activist in our district for over 15 years (and I write for a Seattle education blog, Save Seattle Schools), I think I can add something to the conversation.
Honestly, it just doesn’t matter at this point who you vote for in either race. Mary would continue to be the passionate and heartfelt, if ineffective, director that she is. She is so smart it is just painful to say no. Kay Smith-Blum does act like a bat out of hell but kids, if you think she can get 1/10th of what she says she wants to get done in SPS, I’ve got a Viaduct to sell you. She’s going to come in and get a major sit-down from the other directors who are going to calmly tell her that other programs are already in motion, we have a Strategic Plan to see through and oh, by the way, you’re on a team. She’s smart, though, and has lots of useful connections to people throughout the city.
Betty versus Wilson. First of all, and I’m pretty sure, Betty was not a teacher. Go look for her teaching certificate. (Details do matter, Stranger kids.)
Second, this is the saddest little race. Wilson, while bright, does not know this district, speaks in platitudes and seems to have little passion for being a director. So why run? On the other hand, Betty is full of passion but she has very simplistic answers to questions. She sent her daughter (her campaign manager) to a forum on Monday (because she was doing disaster relief for Pacific-Islanders) and if what her daughter said represented her ideas, then we’re in trouble.
But one of them will be the director for the SE region of the district and be a weak one at that. Not what that region needs.
Also, Mike McGinn at least understands the district, the issues around it. I interviewed him waaay before the primary. Mallahan? Can’t catch a break to talk to him. Whether the Mayor has any direct responsibility for schools doesn’t matter. The bully pulpit is a valuable thing to have and the district should understand that as should the Mayor. McGinn for education – he gets it.
Here’s a comment on the Tunnel.
My aunt works in the state legislature in an extremely powerful, influential position. The legislature is going to tell McGinn that it’s a state highway that he has no control over. It’s going to be ugly and I don’t think McGinn is going to win on this issue. It’s one thing to connect with the city and communities, it’s another to go up against the estbalishment — and they’re the ones who hold the cards.
Why can’t we push for BOTH options? Can’t we try to have a tunnel that supports cars who will use it, and find the funds — or obtain stimulus funds federally, which he plans to do to fund his other ideas — to support a surface/street option?
Wouldn’t this race be a lot more valuable to us all if we found a way to work with our City Council, state reps, U.S. Senators (Murray & Cantwell) and Congressional leaders?
And shit, maybe we should just beg Bill Gates & the superduper wealthy for money.
@7 I’m one of those bike/walk to work people. I’ve been gainfully employed most of my adult life. I live near the neighborhood I work in because I don’t want to own a car.
And have you come to any of the numerous town halls McGinn has had to voice your concerns? At the West Seattle town hall a lot of people brought up this concern and he was honest about his plan. Let’s give people the option of transit or driving by building a better transit infrastructure. When you give people the option, many do choose transit, and that frees up the roads who can’t or don’t want to take transit.
I pay my fair share of taxes, and want those tax dollars to go to Light Rail in the next 2 years instead of an antiquated highway project.
So I guess it would have killed you to have a follow-up with Max Vekich to see why you were getting creamed in the posts for your insider-pick last time. You’re still making the case for Albro because he talked pretty to you. You should have done more work and made less excuses. Should have cowboyed up here and admit you made a mistake and went for all hat and no cattle. Maybe it was your interview process that needs fixing? Maybe it was your assumptions that Albro was a local good-civic guy and Vekich was an unknown to you and not worth your time. Your opinion reeks of rancid Crisco.
@10 — #7 and I were both at the Bus Stop a while back, McGinn was kind of a douche to us then. Very generic — he’s improved greatly since then.
He laughed off my friend’s question — literally laughed it off — about commuting from Seattle to Redmond via 520, saying we need to focus within Seattle. Now he’s for lightrail. Genuine, or getting votes?
How come you’re endorsing in the one contested King County Council race this time? Four years ago, you pretty much ignored the County Council races.
A: Mike McGinn (and I’ll keep saying it, because it’s true) is a rude and pompous ass. He does not have the temperament to be an effective mayor, and will destroy what little positive relations we have left in this city with our neighboring cities, the county, and the State. He’s already picked a fight with the Governor, and with Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen (Chair of the Transportation Committee), and he’s still just a candidate.
But, more importantly, B:
Max Vekich is the real fucking deal. Tom Albro is a slimy piece of worm shit, who talks about transparency, but is really just Pat Davis with a penis (and a large forehead). Max wants to make sure our port is environmentally friendly, can expand and take on more cargo, keeping jobs in Seattle, and is against the 10% raise for the current CEO, who has failed as a leader of the Port. Max has the experience as a legislator, and with over 30 years dealing with port and maritime issues, to be an effective and smart choice for the Port Commission.
Tom Albro is a fucking douche mover. Plain and simple. Douche. Mover.
Nice work on noticing the Housing Levy, Prop 1. With all the well-deserved attention to Ref 71 and Eyeman’s latest attempt to crush civilization, this important program hasn’t gotten much air media air-time.
Housing is pretty basic and now is not the time to turn our backs on the most vulnerable among us like people with disabilities, seniors, domestic violence survivors and homeless LGBTQ youth.
VOTE YES on PROP 1! RENEW the Housing Levy.
http://www.yesforhomes.org
Albro is the right person for Port … IF … you want the same old same old. Did the Muni League ever raise a peep about Pat Davis? NO. They just kept endorsing her. Do you know where Albro’s income comes from? NO. Check it out, then report on it. We know what Max does for a living. What does Albro do? Is he going to be a hired gun for SSA and the other good old boys who live off the tax levy?
McGinn worked at Stokes Lawrence, which might as well have been called We Defened Shitty Corporations.
Then he went to Sierra Club.
So he was for the evil corporations before he was against them.
@12 I know he wants to plan for Light Rail all over the region. At the U-District town hall he talked about wanting to connect Ballard with Bellevue by Light Rail with the same ideas he’s been espousing for the Ballard to West Seattle line.
Since I’ve been hearing him speak he’s always been for taking transportation thought out of building roads to moving people. Really study the city and see how we can make it better for everyone that uses the streets.
@18 So right now I work at a company that helps Health Plans (those oh so evil HMO’s) save money by helping their members qualify for disability. This means that all of my efforts outside of work (and sometimes during) spent on promoting a single payer system are worthless because I need to keep a job where I make the money I need for bills, food and rent.
So, people are against McGinn because he MIGHT make their commute worse when the tunnel opens at some point 7 years from now, unless the viaduct collapses before then. Oh, and they want a nice waterfront, even though it won’t be finished for about 10-15 years.
Or they heard he did bad things at a law firm.
Or they don’t like the “Seattle Process”.
Or they’re tired of environmentalism.
Policies? What are those. We’re single-issue voters.
@ 21 –
McGinn is a single-issue candidate. At lease one issue that city can directly affect…well, two now that he wants the taxpayers to put high speed internet all over the city. (Schools and buses don’t count – not directly under the city’s control)
@18 –
Yes. (kidding). Of course not. But I’m willing to bet that you’re not a lawyer who’s job it is to screw over consumers in litigation. Working to keep costs down on the inside is genius. Working to screw over consumers on the outside, and then being “for the people” is disingenuous at best.
And by @ 18, I meant @21
@17
Tom Albro was the Chair of the Muni League, was that at the same time they were making those endorsements of Pat Davis? Maybe that’s why so many of Pat Davis’ donors have also donated significant amounts of money to Tom Albro.
Tom Albro offers more of the same. Just follow the money.
@22: Can you post the particulars of his career and the specifics behind his separation? Can you post any proof that what he had done in the past is a direct reflection of what he’s currently doing and may do in the future? Applying that reach in terms of Mallahan, does the fact that he did not vote in 13 out of 25 elections and has heavy monetary support from republicans mean he’s not being honest when he says he’s an involved and civic-minded social justice democrat? You know, lying about his cred? I mean, if we’re going to dig deep, here…
And let’s not forget that Mallahan spends the majority of his time talking about the tunnel. It’s not the most important issue to this city, but if you’re going to talk about it more than the person you’re blasting does, then perhaps you’re, ah, single-issue.
So you couldn’t just, oh, I don’t know, throw out what the candidates did? Couldn’t find it in you to just say “here are the candidates, make your own decision?”
I would love to read the Seattle Weekly, if only anyone else read it. Sadly, no, I have to go with the newspaper I hate because otherwise I’ll be left out of public discussion.
I fucking hate you, Stranger. If I must have one bias let it be this: Anything written by The Stranger that deals with politics is utter bullshit, and let’s face it, The Stranger is like nine tenths politics, one twentieth cafe/art-house bullshit art, one twentieth semi-decent writing.
If anyone is a “gaping asshole,” it is you, Stranger. It is *you.*
I know all the comments have been about the Mayor’s race, since that’s all anyone seems to talk about, but I was wondering if anyone else found it ironic that the Stranger continues to sing the praises of Mike O’Brien, who doesn’t support the streetcar or the tunnel, but bashes David Bloom for the same views? And even though Bloom is amicable to the surface/transit option that O’Brien and McGinn want, the Stranger would rather endorse someone who sat on the board that pushed the tunnel to the State Legislature. I’m curious, did the Stranger invent the phrase “cut off your nose to spite your face?”
Not to mention that Dominic wrote an entire article bashing Rosencrantz for such things as; being more conservative than his opponent, being endorsed by development interests and the Downtown Chamber of Commerce, and supporting the anti-panhandling ordinance, all things that apply to the Bloom/Bagshaw race. I suspect it would be silly to think the fine folks at the Stranger would attempt to have a constant ideology or manner of basing their decisions.
The Stranger has been railing for a long time about having true believers running for office, and when they finally get one, they throw him under the bus faster than you can say “rapid transit.”(something Bloom supports)
I-1033 is a wealth transfer scheme. It takes tax dollars paid by everyone and uses them to pay property taxes for just those that own property. It is a giant tax shift that hurts lower income folks and mainly benefits those with lots of property.
Danny Westneat’s article today in the Seattle Times says it all with his headline “I-1033 A Windfall for the Rich” Read the article to find out more about the fatal flaw in I-1033 that will get people to vote No.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/da…
As Westneat says
“He could have targeted his tax relief to help those who most need it. But he didn’t. This is the rotten core of his initiative.
Forget all the caterwauling about spending cuts. At its heart this is a massive giveaway to the rich that does little or nothing for the poor.”
A vote for I-1033 will help millionaires pay their property taxes. And one third of Eyman’s tax rebate goes to pay property taxes for commercial real estate.
If you don’t want your tax dollars to be used to help pay the property taxes for Boeing and Weyerhaeuser and Microsoft and all the other corporations and apartment owners and shopping mall owners and real estate developers vote No on I-1033.
Keep Tim Eyman’s hands out of your pockets.
It does seem really strange that you didn’t do your homework on checking out Albro and where he gets his money and where he GIVES his money. This is NO SMALL DETAIL.
I vote for people based on many things: their views, their record, and WHO endorses them. Luckily, I’m looking beyond the Stranger’s wishy washy Crisco-coated backpedaling and I’m going to vote for Vekich because he’s endorsed by gay groups like Seamec and environmental groups like the Sierra Club and representatives I respect like Jay Inslee and Jamie Pedersen.
Crisco is full of shit no one wants or needs. We need real information and not some slick fake lubricant that sounds good but is full of chemicals.
The Stranger ECB asked me 10 questions via email, which I’m happy to post for you all to see here along with the answers I gave. Apparently not only did they not even check my website to familiarize themselves with my platform, but they also didn’t even bother to read my responses to their own questions much less the document I sent them outlining specifically how to realize the three key planks of my platform (document available here: http://www.davidginsberg.org/tools/files…).
Wow. This is as big a disservice to the voters in this election as The Stranger’s opposition to the Commons Park in the mid 90s. Keep up the good work guys, maybe you can help ensure that we never make any real progress here.
Here are the questions asked by the Stranger and my answers:
1. Why are you running for this seat and how would you do a better job than Conlin?
I’m running for this seat because I’m frustrated by a lack of progress on key issues facing this city, and I believe that the incumbent’s penchant for endless process is at the heart of the problem. Twelve years ago voters were concerned with a handful of issues that still figure prominently in this year’s election: transportation, poor land use, affordability, quality of life, failing schools. I know that the incumbent is fond of saying he has a record of getting things done, but the question I’d pose to voters and to the Stranger ECB is are those things that are at the forefront of voters concerns? And the answer is a resounding no. Even among some of his strongest supporters, when I ask them to point to two or three great things the incumbent has done not one has been able to do so. That is an indication of his lackluster record of accomplishments on the issues that matter most. And on the most significant issue of our time—sustainability—the incumbent has had little to no impact despite having been on the Council for a dozen years. This is an issue we have a moral obligation to future generations to solve, and the biggest impact we as a municipality can have on sustainability is through good planning for land use and transportation. On both of those counts we’re worse off now than we were twelve years ago when he took office.
We’ve seen the character of our neighborhoods damaged by poor development that does little to increase sustainability. Those four and six-pack townhomes that now dot our neighborhoods don’t provide enough density to make transit work or to foster vibrant neighborhood business district,s and the majority of the big box condos that have gone up lack character, lack opportunities for interaction and community building, and both types look like they were designed by committee rather than by architects. And largely they were—they are the direct result of poor planning and land use code enacted during the incumbent’s tenure on the Council.
On transportation things are even worse—we’ve missed the boat on building rapid transit to serve every corner of this city for too long. Our roads are already suffering from gridlock and we’re expecting at least 140,000 people to move here in the next several decades. There’s no way we can absorb that many new residents driving cars.
Our failure to adequately plan for either sufficient housing or transit amounts to a massive failure of leadership on the biggest issues of our times. The voters know it, and it’s time for a new generation of leaders who understand the problems we face and have the courage to make the tough decisions required, both in terms of policy and in using the bully pulpit of public office to move the city forward. I’m part of that generation, and I love this city too much to let another precious four years slip through our fingers because nobody was willing to challenge the incumbent Council President, so I’m happy and ready to lead on the key issues of our time.
I have a record of accomplishments in my professional life that demonstrate a willingness to to challenge orthodoxy and ask tough questions that lead to better decisions. I have a reputation for bringing people together around a common vision and for executing on that on-time and within-budget. I’m ready to step up to serve this city, to build a brighter future for the next generation and those who will follow.
2. What has Conlin done in his 12-year tenure that indicates he shouldn’t continue on the city council?
I find nearly nothing of significance, which is why I’m challenging him. He’s done a decent job at constituent services, and I think he’s an adequate bureaucrat. But challenging times like these require true leadership and a willingness to take political risks to move the debate on critical issues forward so we can find solutions. There’s been a void of leadership on the Council, and we can’t afford to muddle through without progress on transportation, affordability and our failing economy.
If we don’t build enough housing for all those who will come, we’ll price even more of our own kids out of the market here. If we don’t make investments in a good multi-modal transportation system we’ll doom ourselves to idling ever more hours in traffic at great cost to our economy and personal happiness. If we don’t make smart choices to improve the business climate in Seattle we’ll continue to lose companies and jobs to the surrounding area and the great engine of our regional prosperity will slowly be dispersed.
The clock is ticking, it’s time for bold and decisive action to meet the challenges we face. After twelve years of talk and endless process, it’s time for a more results-oriented generation of leaders to join the Council and make sure that our processes yield progress and deliver on what this city needs.
3. How do we achieve density around light rail stations where neighbors oppose upzones?
One of the things we have to recognize is that we’ll never make everybody happy. More people are coming to Seattle. We could simply say we won’t allow any more housing to be built, but then we’d end up pricing young people out of the market and finding it difficult to attract and retain the talented workforce that’s so vital to a vibrant economy. Also, part of the responsibility of a leader is to make decisions for the future, and that includes balancing the needs of future generations against the desires of some who are here now.
I do think, however, that we can accomplish greater density in our urban villages and urban centers while improving the quality of life in our neighborhoods. These two are not mutually exclusive. Who wouldn’t like to be able to walk to great cafés, restaurants, shops, etc.? This can be a win-win for those of us who are already here and those who will come to join us.
4. What specific piece of legislation would you seek to pass if elected to the city council?
I’ve made more than twenty specific policy proposals which I’ve consolidated into a single document, sort of a roadmap to an ecologically, economically and socially sustainable Seattle. That document goes public tomorrow, but I’ll attach a copy of it here so you guys can have a first look. I’ll give three specific pieces of legislation, one for each of the three key issue areas I’d like to focus on:
For a better economy I’m proposing the establishment of a local currency along the lines of BerkShares in Massachussetts, which I’m calling Emerald Dollars, which will help keep our money invested right here in the local business that are the engines of economic prosperity and innovation.
For better development, greater affordability and more livable neighborhoods I’m proposing we replace our overly complex and bureaucratic planning and land use code with “smartcode” that encourages walkability and includes design guidelines and greater flexibility that frees architects to design solutions that fit the specific neighborhood location rather than the one size fits all cookie cuttur construction we’ve seen in the last decade. This has been adopted in other communities and Seattle in particular would benefit from it’s adoption here. It’s time we fix our broken land use system so we can start designing more beautiful and functional buildings that compliment the great natural beauty of this region, rather than just the next round of future tenements.
For better transportation I’m proposing that we develop an actual transportation system that will serve Seattle for the next century or more, including a rail-based rapid transit system as the backbone to connect our urban villages and urban centers to each other, streetcar connectors along key business corridors to allow people to get back and forth easily without a car, and bus circulators to get people who don’t live within walking distance to a transit station. This whole system needs to work together if we’re going to make it easy for people to get around without cars, and mesh with the network of greenways I’ve proposed with bicycle paths separated from both moving traffic and parked cars to permit our families and elderly to also get around by bicycle safely.
5. Do you support the tunnel, why or why not?
The tunnel was not my preferred option and I see it as a tremendous misallocation of public resources. While it’s important to maintain and enhance our existing road infrastructure, I believe we should be saving major investments for transportation solutions for the next century rather than holdovers from the last century. Portland is making the kinds of investments that will make it a great place to live even in a world of increasingly scare oil supplies. They’ve built a light rail system with a new line that just opened in mid September. And they’re using federal stimulus funds to enhance bicycle paths and walkability in their neighborhoods. That’s the sort of smart development I’d like to see here.
The tunnel is more of a state issue than a city issue, however—Seattle’s portion of the costs are costs are for seawall replacement and utility relocation that will need to take place no matter what solution is implemented. The one silver lining in all of this, and it is significant, is the opportunity to reconnect downtown with it’s waterfront and create a really special public space, an opportunity we may not get again. It’s hard enough to get a decision made in Seattle that I’m not inclined to re-open the debate on this issue unless there are significant developments in terms of costs, safety or mobility.
6. The King County Council recently extended the “lifeboat” of human and social services through the end of the year. But next year the county faces another $50 million shortfall—and will be forced to cut services yet again. Should the city step in to help fund these programs if the county can no longer fund them?
I think the ciity should step in to the extent possible in tough times like these, particularly for services that are provided to residents of Seattle. Unlike a business, government services are in greater demand in times of economic hardship, which is why it’s so important to maintain a lid on costs during good times so we can weather the bad times without making drastic cuts to services our residents depend on.
Some of the most prosperous years in Seattle’s history were squandered and now we’re faced with tough choices on social services. It didn’t have to be this way, and we must do better going forward so we’re better prepared.
7. The city council passed the Pedestrian master plan on Monday—and remains unfunded–yet the city is facing an estimated $72 million budget deficit. In future years, what would be your priority for the pedestrian master plan? What would you cut to fund it?
The Pedestrian Master Plan is key to creating a more walkable city that will help us meet the population, climate change and peak-oil related challenges we face. It should be fuly funded. As I mentioned above, Portland is using federal stimulus dollars to fund pedestrian improvements (meanwhile we’re only asking for money for Mercer, which granted does include some pedestrian improvements though that is not at the core of the project). I happen to think we can fund these improvements without making cuts elsewhere. I believe the budget shortfall can be taken care of with a combination of re-evaluating middle and upper management positions within the city and implementing zero-based budgeting across the city so each department starts out justifying every dollar it’s requesting. Money for pedestrian and other transportation improvements could come from a variety of sources, including federal stimulus funds, implementation of a transportation benefit district, or potentially from cost savings if we end up with a less expensive solution to the viaduct replacement.
For areas of the city that don’t have sidewalks, I’ve proposed making it easier for neighborhoods to propose and create local improvement districts so that they can get sidewalks built more rapidly if they so choose. The city could provide matching funds, and this would be a fair approach to those infrastructure investments, since the areas that did get sidewalks were built by the developers who built them, meaning the costs were built into the initial purchase of those properties rather than borne by the city at-large.
8. As it stands, the noise ordinance allows new residents to challenge noisy bars—even bars that have operated for decades—that are audible in brand new buildings. Should long-established bars and clubs be exempt from residential noise rules in new buildings very close by?
Absolutely. That provision of the noise ordinance is ridiculous. I’ll author the revision to exempt long-steablished bars and clubs from the noise ordinance, and will look into exempting entire areas from the ordinance. We need a vibrant and active nightlife in this city if we’re going to attract and retain talented young people to Seattle. Part of what makes a city great is fun, and we need to respect and encourage that.
9. Where should we extend the streetcar line? First Hill? First Avenue? Where on First Hill should it go—near the hospitals or along 12th, or a forked hybrid plan?
Since the funding is already there for the First Hill line that should be the first extension, and I personally prefer the 12th Ave loop idea that has been proposed by residents on the Hill, so that it serves both Broadway and 12th Ave.
10. Do you believe we can avoid building a new jail? How?
Absolutely. If the County continues to change it’s focus to diversion programs, and we fully fund our own community-based diversion programs we can reduce the number of people we’re putting in jail at a greatly reduced direct cost to taxpayers and indirect costs to the economy.
We also need to empower our police to be able to send people to community diversion programs where they can be given a chance to avoid jail. The County needs to proceed with it’s plans for a regional detention center in Kent, and we should help fund that.
Tom Albro looks like the neighbor guy who molested me when I was 11. I am not going
to let him to it to me again.
David Ginsberg has been unfairly overlooked, based upon what I’m reading and what I saw on Chnl. 21, where you can watch the debates.
** David — comment on your WaMu experience, which might turn off voters.
I wonder how many at SECB are being blown by Conlin? Your treatment of Ginsberg is, to be charitable, disgusting and juvenile.
@8 “Mary would continue to be the passionate and heartfelt, if ineffective, director that she is. She is so smart it is just painful to say no.”
Mary HAS been effective…She worked 8 years to get this new assignment plan for strong neighborhood schools adopted. This is a great move towards getting quality schools in every neighborhood for every student.
The Supreme court agreed with her position that race should not be used as a tie-breaker.
She fought successfully against charter school legislation and won–3 times.
See, Mary gets the big picture. For her it’s always been the kids and quality schools. Not putting money in corporate pockets.
She challenged the fiscal chaos and corruption that continues to reign in the SPS..and was right on!
She demands that issues be seen through the lens of equity and challenges the placement of so many kids of color in special education. Is that their failure or that of of school system?
Mary Bass has it together. Her lone voice has been the reckoning tone to raise the issues that must be addressed if we are to have quality schools.
If there is no Mary to speak up for our kids–all our kids in all our schools–we will have a rubber stamp board of business executives trying to make the bottom line look good for their wealthy “investors”–those folks who spent over $100,000/ candidate in the last election (on campaigns that usually amount to $20,000) to buy their puppets.
Mary has a strong union backing and stands up for labor. Is that why so many business folk would like to see her out of office? You bet!
Mary is the only member of the current board who carries the wisdom of the past and SPS in her perspective. She’s lived in Seattle all her life, has gone to public schools here, is a member of a family of highly respected educators, and has earned credibility in both the minority and European-based communities.
Re-elect Mary Bass for the sake of our schools and the students they serve!
Re; Mary Bass for School Board@34″…Her lone voice has been the reckoning tone to raise the issues that must be addressed if we are to have quality schools.”
It’s not just that Mary votes “no” a lot by herself. It’s that she’s right!
I was so PO’d at the closing of schools last year. Mary Bass told everyone that we needed to take a look at demographics and that we weren’t getting all the info we needed to make a wise decision about closures. She fought tooth and nail to prevent closures and, of course, was voted down.
Now the district has to spend–is it millions of dollars?–to reopen some schools that it has closed. Wasted money closing schools and now wasting more money reopening them. Mary knew this. she told them. But no one would listen.
@8…I went to lots of Mary Bass’ community meetings. She shared all kinds of information with us just like she did with the other board members.
She listened to the folks from the CD and found the answers to our questions.
If she could explain to us so clearly about what was going on in our schools, why didn’t the other board members pay attention to her?
I think she’s a threat to them with their business backgrounds and big money backers.
Mary Bass is the people’s member on the board. she’s behind our kids all the way.
You guys have it all Bass ackward, so to speak. Mary Bass is the conscience of the school board. she has my vote!
I’m happy to comment on my WaMu experience. I was initially hired at WaMu in 2003 as part of an elite group of technology professionals brought in to help modernize the bank’s somewhat backward technology, implement best practices and build and document processes to streamline delivery of services and reduce costs. One example: we quickly reduced the average time to deliver for one of our major metrics from 90-120 days to 10-15 days. Based on our successes the Enterprise made a decision to disperse us through the organization, so that we could spread our knowledge, best practices and relationships throughout the organization. Within a period of a few years we brought WaMu from the technological stone age to leading the way in technology in the financial services industry. We managed to reduce technology infrastructure expenses year after year, sometimes by as much as 20%, while increasing our level of service. I’m proud of the work I did at WaMu and the people I worked with are among the best and brightest anywhere.
For the ECB to imply that any of the 4,000 people laid off from WaMu, other than perhaps a few at the very, very top, had anything to do with the failure of WaMu shows a dangerous lack of knowledge about what actually happened there (and in the economy at large) and smears thousands of smart, hardworking and dedicated employees who worked long hours and gave their best to help make WaMu the only local bank not to get swallowed up by a larger competitor during two decades of banking consolidation; to create a banking experience that was recognized throughout the industry as the best in it’s class; and to do that all in a way that showed our humanity:. What do I mean by showing our humanity? One of the primary reasons that non-profits are hurting so bad right now is because those ~4,000 employees donated a good chunk of our salaries to local charities. I’ll defend my work and the work of my co-workers to the end, and I can tell you based on the quality we’re seeing out of The Stranger these days that none of these clowns would have made the cut at WaMu. If I’d done work like that I would have been laid off in the first round of cuts, rather than getting promoted at the nearly unheard of rate (for a bank) of once per year.
The loss of WaMu is tragic for this region, and not only for those of us who worked there. The blow to our economy from the loss of those nearly 4,000 very high-payinhg jobs will be felt for decades to come, and is one of the reasons for my focus on revitalizing our local economy by focusing on small business development. The 20,000+ jobs that have been lost are largely highly skilled, intelligent workers who undoubtedly have much to contribute to our local economy. It was the aftermath of the Boeing SST failure that sowed the ground for the technology boom years later, and I think we have an opportunity to help launch a green technology boom out of the ashes of our financial system collapse.
Stranger Election Control,
Why are you endorsing Bob Rosenberger over Lloyd Hara? I have to disagree with this blanket endorsement – all other newspaper articles and blogs comment on how Rosenberger is funding his own campaign and making false white lies that he is endorsed by Mallahan (not that is much to brag about). Google is your friend. Hara is endorsed by the community and clearly more qualified for the position. Also, the Redmond reporter is biased against Hara and misquoting the facts…such as how Hara was supposed to stop scandals before he even entered office as port commissioner. http://lloydhara.com/factchecks/
I have voted for Mary in the past but I can not do it again. What has Mary achieved on the board? What idea has she brought forward in her eight years? I think the fact that Kay has had children in the SPS is important. I think that she has ideas that can make every students experience better is important. I think that because Kay has advocated for music programs across the district is important. But what I think is most important is that the board needs someone who will direct the Superintendent and Mary has proven she is not ready for that job and therefore I can not vote for her again.
Re: Mary Bass –
She’s considered ineffective because over 8 years, and numerous turnovers on the Board, she still can’t put together a coalition. Her rambling is unintelligible, at best, and wants to do public-private partnerships with churches. Churches!!!!
My daughter goes to a District 5 school, and I want someone on the board to represent her EFFECTIVELY. Just casting a “no” vote doesn’t matter if you can’t instead work towards a better policy.
And the idea that because she went to public schools she understands is crap. In case you missed it, Kay Smith-Blum has children that just graduated from Seattle Public Schools. She has been a very effective fundraiser, worked with schools on curriculum issues all over the city, and comes in with strong ideas that are based on data and facts. Mary would just continue to be a lump that doesn’t really do much of anything.
Oh I should say I will vote for Kay!
Conliar? Are you f’ing kidding me? That lying bastard is the last holdout from the ‘nickels for god’ contingent – why not just elect Joni Balter? CONLIN MUST GO – do nothing who spends all his time in meetings and DOING NOTHING!
Ginsberg all the way!
conlin has helped my street settle a very nasty transportation issue. he still has my vote.
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Richard Conlin??? Are you fucking high? The dude, or should I say dud is backing Nickels illegal gun ban.
“But this initiative would lock Washington into its current budget forever” … two years, forever – eh, close enough for The Stranger staff and their impressive collection of state university degrees
Oh, and I totally didn’t get to jump into the Rosencrantz diatribe here.
A: when was the last time a Seattle City Council member sought and won higher office?
B: I’ve had the chance to speak with Mr. Rozencrantz on this very issue. He has stated, unequivocally, that he supports a woman’s right to choose. He doesn’t believe that doctors should be forced to perform elective abortions, or that medical staff should be forced into assisting on elective abortions, but I can’t think of anyone working for a provider that was pro-life, and if they did, they’re an idiot.
With respect to parental consent, he has plainly stated that he believes teenagers should consult with their parents. However, he also recognizes that there is a safety issue with some of these teenagers if they tell their parents they have sex, or are pregnant, and as such does not believe any law should require parental consent.
Instead, he thinks that government officials should focus on prevention of abortion through access to family planning services and education. If he’s pro-life, than so is Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
That’s a tired attack that Mr. Rosencrantz has made clear is untrue.
Now, on nightlife, Dominic is right on, and I don’t think anyone, even the Rosencrantz camp would disagree there. Just stick to facts, not rumors, and you’ll be a-ok!
How the fuck do you control an election by telling people to make their own decisions? The SECB has a fiduciary obligation to its shareholders to control elections, not just observe them.
I don’t always vote with you guys, but I always love your recommendations. You have the best voting guide. xoxox
I used to work at Butch Blum. Kay Smith-Blum is a terrible manager. She bullies everyone, pays peanuts, and doesn’t listen. If she is on the school board, she won’t listen to the parents she will just try to force her ideas down everyone’s throat. She will be so busy lording her data and statistics over the other board members that nothing will get done.
@ 52
That’s funny, because I know a few other folks who used to work at Butch Blum, and absolutely love Kay.
The fact is that she has ideas, and her ideas are good ideas, and she will work tirelessly with her fellow board members to make schools better.
Her opponent hasn’t done anything like that over the last eight years. Time for a change.
Vote Ginsberg on a hunch – now I feel REALLY good.
David – you got it – stay in the game – and run again if you don’t take out goat guy silly smile blah blah Ricky.
Stay in David – you got it.
Thanks for the cheat sheet, Stranger! Once again I will take it to heart as I fill out my ballot and vote the opposite of everything you have recommended.
You make it so easy. Now, go smoke another joint while you contemplate the lame ineffective drooling you call The Stranger.
Steve Zemke is not telling the truth. He hates Eyman and will do anything to hurt him.
I’m voting for I-1033 because I don’t trust milkweeds like Zemke.
Just to get everybody upset, I’m also REJECTING R-71.
SB5688 is badly written legislation. It needs a rewrite and the Pro-R71 folks are being misled. I read it and there is no reason to redefine husband and wife. The Pro-R71 folks will not talk about this point – I asked directly on a live radio show why the legislation redefined husband and wife in the RCW, and the Pro-R71 PR gal denied it did. I does over 75 times I LOOKED IT UP,
5688 will be job stimulus for the legal world. Cash this state cannot afford. Screw the parasitic lawyers, send this legislation back to the red ink hell from which it came;
Reject R-71
Vote Yes on I-1033
Just voted! Couldn’t have done it without your help!
I filled out my ballot over a bowl of Cheerios… What a country!
I just finished voting… and I think I discovered the real secret behind the SECB’s endorsements…
They just fill the first bubble!
20 out of 23 (on my ballot) of their endorsements/votes were the first option.
They are so smart!
I knew nothing about David Doud until I read this article, but I already knew I was going to vote against him. His radio ad where he called ACORN “that voter fraud group” turned me off instantly. He’s clearly a dittohead.
Hey guys, I know you don’t really care about the Assessor’s race, but please vote for anyone but Rosenberger. I worked with him for a few years, and I can tell you he’s a grade A asshole, and totally incompetent. All the candidates seem crazy, but only he’s scary crazy. His plans make zero sense if you actually research them. His nickname down here is Sideshow Bob.
Plus, you guys knock Mallahan for funding his own campaign, then endorse this Rosenberger clown who’s thrown $100,000 of his own money to his campaign, a totally batshit insane amount for an assessor race. Please don’t vote for him, I beg you. Write in “Santa Claus” for all I care.
I laughed /hard/ when reading your endorsement of Beverly Harison Tonda.
This, despite the overwhelming feeling that I’m missing out on an inside joke. Can someone explain it to me?
I laughed /hard/ when reading your endorsement of Beverly Harison Tonda.
This, despite the overwhelming feeling that I’m missing out on an inside joke. Can someone explain it to me?
I wish the Stranger would follow Snohomish County politics. In the judicial election the bar association rated Scott Peterson as the least qualified candidate.
What makes Scott Peterson unqualified? Certainly not his 9 wins out of 10 appeals in Snohomish County. No, its because he sues lawyers. Want to hear that again? HE SUES LAWYERS!
It looks like all the lawyers have ganged upon on him because everytime those lawyers violate the rights of Scott’s clients, he sues them in federal court.
Gotta love it. A lawyer, who sues lawyers, is running for judge. And all the lawyers in Snohomish County are running scared.
Dear Strange: please cover this race! Two candidates have run ins with the law, one candidate claims to support “small businesses” like his employer Farmers Insurance, and one candiate sues lawyers.
In The Port of Seattle Race (Position 3): Vote for Rob Holland. David Doud is a Republican hate-monger!
@56 – Just when I thought we wouldn’t have enough of a vinegar and water douche, here you are, delivered to our doorstep. Way to go, crazy! I see why you have the Satan-style smily face. Take your meds so that we can all further avoid a good hearty laugh at your expense.
APPROVE REF 71!!!!
VOTE NO ON 1033!!!!
Um, I already voted. I decided to ignore some of the recommendations, and instead went with the endorsements of the 43rd District Democrats at http://www.43rddems.org – since they were better.
Tim Eyeman is a fucking hero…
Tell those politicians (who derive their power by spend your money on some of the most wasteful bullshit ever invented) to cut all the fat out and use our money to pay for whats needed, schools and teachers for starters… not massive administrative burdens.
Hi,
Just a quick e-mail to let you know that I’ll be voting against Ref. 71, though I am totally for it.
I am sick and tired of The Strangers callous, clueless non-stance towards maritime and labor interests. You “non-endorsement” of Max Vekich is both offensive and clueless. Somehow your writers can discuss an issue intelligently when it revolves around gay rights, but are unable to give a shit or write intelligently about an industry, maritime, that is a major employer in this city. Your sententious, monomaniacal, clueless commentary has consequences. Wake up!
Vote for Ref. 71? Hell no. I might as well vote for used cooking oil.
The fact that McGinn’s campaign isn’t winning tells you about how money controls all but also about how he’s not focusing his campaign correctly.
Here’s all he has to do to win.
(1) Run ads and every time he speaks, say this:
“Joe Mallahan is a good man, but hasn’t voted 13 times in 9 years, including two primaries for the very office he’s trying to get elected to.
“He has not done anything for the city of Seattle, not one civic or neighborhood achievement.
“Although raised in Everett, Joe moved to Seattle 9 years ago after living in Chicago and other areas for many years.”
Then Mike could easily point out the various public, civic achievements he has made on various levies and other issues that he has won on at the ballot box and other areas.
This should not be hard — he’s running against a nice man with good values but someone who has contributed nothing to his city, not even his vote.
@30 oops… I wrongly vote, hopefully the other guys has the same attitude about transportation that you do. Good luck!
@30 oops… I wrongly vote, hopefully the other guys has the same attitude about transportation that you do. Good luck!
So lame to brag about having the power to sway voters. How cool! How high school! Everyone will do what the popular kids (“The Stranger” staff) say!! Even though they are just as bad as the wasted bike riding kids who hang out at the Cha Cha all night!
Our city has serious fucking economic issues to consider. These issues are (gasp) bigger than whether or not people get fucking bike lanes, and much more serious than the stupid idea that Seattle is the “global environmental decider.” People in this city think that environmental issues are number one. I cannot wait until you are the victim of a serious crime, and see how understaffed our resources in the city are (on all levels) and when you whine to me about it I am going to say: “Oh really? Well hop on your Marin bike, eat some fucking almonds, and go buy an organic cotton top.”
So how do you feel about this?, one wonders…
Lessay a Seattle lib type made a dicey decision to join the military, of all (well, SO many/most) things anathema to said person’s values. And, let’s also say that this person, for mailing address reasons, is now registered to vote in a place like, say, Woodinville.
I submit that this voter would have less regular access to information concerning candidates and issues that concern him/her. I, therefore, suggest that the election board (for those of us that have been readers/nodders/frequent agree-ers for years but might, er, know someone in the previously detailed milieu) make some extra-municipality-related suggestions?
King County’s exoskeleton, methinks, might benefit from your guidance more than the heart of the city’s electorate.
So how do you feel about this?, one wonders…
Lessay a Seattle lib type made a dicey decision to join the military, of all (well, SO many/most) things anathema to said person’s values. And, let’s also say that this person, for mailing address reasons, is now registered to vote in a place like, say, Woodinville.
I submit that this voter would have less regular access to information concerning candidates and issues that concern him/her. I, therefore, suggest that the election board (for those of us that have been readers/nodders/frequent agree-ers for years but might, er, know someone in the previously detailed milieu) make some extra-municipality-related suggestions?
King County’s exoskeleton, methinks, might benefit from your guidance more than the heart of the city’s electorate.
*GRUMBLE*
Strange quasi-updating page. *GRUMBLE*
what did they update, s3th?
I wish we could go back to the primary and vote for Greg Nickels, Dan Savage or the can of Crisco.
These mayoral choices are both awful, and in four years we’ll be voting the winner out in a landslide.
But tilting at windmills got McGinn this far – maybe he can try to stop the train tunnel to the U District or something, to keep the anti-hole crowd active. (Why do we philosophically oppose holes anyway?)
I’m sorry I missed your endorsements as I actually voted for a couple of them and I wouldn’t have if I had known… An endorsement from The Stranger is a dealbreaker for me!
XOXO
Gossip Girl
@ 76-77 At this point, I suppose it is redundant to agree with you, but it is past time the SECB covered more of the races within the Stranger’s physical distribution footprint. Come on! There are plenty of bars throughout this node of the archipelago and your bus passes are honored out here. Hell, there are even racks for your fixies.
It’s really hard to take your attempt at journalism seriously, when every other word in any sentence is “f” this or “g-damn” that. Your reporter sounds like a 15 year old working on a high school newspaper, trying to get a rise out of the principal, etc. Grow up.
What about all the Bellevue Council positions? Ignoring large suburbs is silly in my opinion.
That is why God gave them up to shameful lusts. Women have changed their natural way to an unnatural one. And men likewise have given up the natural relation with a woman and burned with lust for one another, men doing the shameful act with men and for their error getting punished in themselves as they must. As they refused to know God any longer, God gave them up so that their minds were degraded and they lived immorally.
Romans 1:26-29 Reject R-71
Plus Bellevue is key in getting trains on the bridges.
I have read the same anti-I1033 mantra found in your comments from several sources. It turns out to be spin from the very well funded No on I-1033 crowd. Did you bother to look at funding from outside of Washington State for No on I-1033? It’s over a million dollars from PACS outside of Washington State. Here is a partial list:
Washington DC’s AFSCME — $329,519 and counting
Washington DC’s NEA — $334,775.62 and counting
Washington DC’s AFL-CIO — $25,000 and counting
Washington DC’s IBEW — $50,000 and counting
Washington DC’s Int’l Union of Firefighters — $25,000 and counting
SEIU — $290,000 and counting
WA Council of County & City Employees — $122,500 and counting
WA Federation of State — $75,000 and counting
AFL-CIO WA St Labor Council — $28,632.22 and counting
Washington DC’s Int’l Union — $75,000 and counting
Why on earth does ANYONE in our nations capital give a damn about I-1033 to the point of sending HUGE checks to stop it. What’s more interesting, SEIU a group with strong ties to scandal plagued ACRON gave $290,000+ to defeat I-1033.
Can you just let me know which mayoral and city council candidates will reverse the requirement that I keep last Saturday’s fish dinner in a different container under my sink to add to my yard waste (which I don’t always have) on Friday. Besides stinking up the container and sometimes the kitchen, I sincerely doubt that a roughly 3 pound coffee tin of smelly leftovers is going to impact the landfill volumes.
Vote for legitimizing the use of the word fuck in ordinary discourse!
Tim Eyman can lick the encrusted sweat off of a dead horse’s balls. I wish someone would push him off of a peer. Not to kill him, just to ruin his day.
Oh fack me…here I am, liberal transplant from Seattle to the Eastside (and before you judge, know that I got a job over here and I’m so hip I can only fathom life as a bicycle commuter) with no input from the Stranger to familiarize myself with the ins and outs. Stranger, what do you say? Can you see assisting us out here in the nether-regions with your political insight?
Why do you leftist fags always want to vote “yes” for “affordable” housing? Do any of you dipshits even own a fucking house? My property taxes are already hitting $3,400.00 a year, and I’m supposed to support every shit brained, tap water idea that spews forth from the anal recesses of your minds? Go fuck yourselves. The only thing the Strange Cheat sheet does for me is help me pick the right candidates, by choosing the opposite ones you so cravenly endorse. Fags.
Nickels is a douche, yes. But i voted for him in the primary because with him we got better recycling, the beginnings of light rail and my neighborhood near the late Chocolate City Club has improved immensely. and there are other progressive and environmentally conscious things to come about under his watch. Sure he blew it with the night life scene but even though i live on capitol hill, i got 2 kids and rarely go out anyway. so i don’t really give a shit. and at least when i do go out, i don’t get shot at and i don’t smell like an ashtray when i come home to tuck in my kids.
With McGinn its like you’re trying to have your cake and eat it too. but the cake is made out of tofu with little chunks of granola in it. I’ll eat it but I WONT LIKE IT.
For Port of Seattle position 4, I’m writing in Robert Walker, the guy that you guys should have endorsed in the primary. http://porkland.org/
The Tlingit?
In the Puget Sound area?
ABSOLUTELY NO on Beverly Tonda!!! She is 100% insane, and you do not want to give her any position of power. Read something she’s written or watch an interview with her before you even think of voting for her.
Jan Inslee (my US rep) and Sen. Maria Cantwell both support Max Vekich for Port Commissioner Pos 4 and after reading The Stranger’s view of Albro, that’s good enough for me.
McGinn not Mallahan. Mallahan drives SIX BLOCKS to work, thinks everything is a T Mobile managment issue, is lukewarm (at best) to cyclists, rail/public transport and has NO VISION!!! I’m not a pot-smoker, slacker hipster. To all the Wall Street pawns/tools who accuse McGinn supporters of this assertion: eat your bullshit freakanomics and social injustice.
Remember what happened to Marie Antoinette. Better a populist soft-talking former corporate attorney who couldn’t live with himself helping the bad, corrupt system and CHANGED than the guy who’s to blind with his personal success to see how much he props up the USA’s failed approaches.
Envision a future with a real vision: McGinn ALL THE WAY.
I took the liberty of condensing your article…
http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/1289772/…
OK, I guess type in wordle *dot* net and then paste in the rest…
/show/wrdl/1289772/The_Stranger%27s_2009_Seattle_Election_Endorsements
What you should know about port candidates Tom Albro (http://bit.ly/4gpg5h) and David Doud (http://bit.ly/CbiIs) before you vote.
I think I might just write-in the Rad Dyke Plumber for every position.
Thanks for the recommendations, it helped!