WOW Stranger Election Control Board is full of idiots and morons. These are the people that just need to fall off the face of the earth before they breed more idiots and morons
Back to your wrongheaded endorsement of Martin-Morris over Buetow for seattle school board. Now the man is proposing to limit free speech in school newspapers. Dumb pick, Stranger. And staid KUOW broke the story instead of the Liberal Rebels you fancy yourselves to be. Too busy hanging out with the cool kids at Occupy to defend the cool kids in our schools? Snort.
@103
Roses, I agree with you the endorsement of Martin-Morris over Buetow was wrongheaded. I'm wondering if any of the Election Committee has regretted casting votes for HM-M, or changed a personal choice for Dist. 3 School Board director to Buetow prior to dropping the ballot in the mail in the next few days.
I heard Eli Sanders on KUOW this morning dissing Harium's censorship efforts. Remember to vote for Freedom of Speech and Michelle Buetow in Seattle School Board District III.
So another sorry election of holding your nose and watching incompetents with downtown business support sail to re-election on the city council. Why doesn't the Stranger start the campaign to change the City Council to represent Districts rather than at large so that qualified candidates don't have to get a ton of money to run?
@87 or bugjah, you can research the challengers like an intelligent person. Many new candidates do not have enough exposure because they do not have so much money as Clarks, Harrells, Burgeses, and Rusmussins, etc. If you go to forums and read what new candidates say you might learn a thing or two. I went to a number of forums and googled the election issues outside of the stranger-publicola nonsense that is written by some spoiled lazy college fund kids who are trailing behind the Occupy Movement now only because it made to the mainstream media. What I found is that Dian Ferguson and David Schraer for example go into great details to explain inefficiencies in our building codes and tax loopholes for developers under Sally Clark. That Clark's committee updated the code to allow developers to build bedrooms without windows and sell them as bedrooms! and that the money from the housing levy is funding developers of apartments where a studio rents at $974/m and is defined as 'affordable' by Clark and other incumbents.
But nothing is more important than to see the challengers talk about police accountability and how passionate and radical they are! To have the system that we have now, where people can not investigate the police unless they can hire a $20k lawyer, even if they just want to make a simple inquiry, paints incumbents as corrupt and bought by the police union, which they are. Clark, Harrell, and Rusmusen all endorsed by the police guild, an organization that has absolute control over taxpayers financially and legally. Current council members have done nothing to prevent this abuse of power for years and now they even got endorsed by the mob! Ferguson, Schraer and Pusey have a very strong platform on police accountability, calling for serious changes to the dysfunctional scam called OPA, that doesn't work unless you hire a high profile lawyer, meaning justice works only for the rich in this city. Recently it took nearly$60K for a citizen to make simple inquiries into the police department about the dashboard cam videos. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/lo… $60K!!!! Why are we even funding an organization that has so much legal and physical power over us? So please vote for reformers like Ferguson, Schraer, and Pusey! The stranger is doing a huge disservice to the people of seattle by sloppy articles like this by making it look like challengers are not serious or unqualified without even talking to them or looking into the issues that they bring up. Shame on the Stranger.
thank you guys so much for doing this every election! you are helpful and hilarious, a dynamic duo of awesome. now if only our city could get it's shit together...
2011 Election Lowlights
3) King County: Mitchell v Hague.
2) Seattle City Council: Kathy Allen-produced Godden hit piece on Forch
1) Seattle School Board: Stranger Endorsed Martin-Morris introducing policy to clamp down on student journalist freedom of speech, topped off by MySpace Ballard and The Seattle Times covering the issue better than the SECB. Dude-ettes, you F'd up.
You'll be delighted to hear that the SECB switched its endorsement after reporting on Martin-Morris's bullshit campaign to suppress free speech at school newspapers. We're now pro-Buetow (as we obviously should have been along). Sorry we fucked up! We'll be more sober next time!
Hey - why do I have to use a postage stamp to mail my ballot? Isn't that like charging admission to the election? I didn't have to pay to vote in person and now I have to pay to vote by mail. What gives?
Yippee! This was fun. Thanks @100 for your analysis on 1183. I was leaning for voting for it anyway. Now a done deal. I voted for Dian Fergusen. After reading up on her, I think she is qualified. She has a master's in public admin, she has headed up numerous non-profits, she is a small business owner (as am I, so I value the hard-headedness, industry and intelligence it takes). She also sounds articulate, courageous and has a good vision for Seattle! Vote Dian!
Yippee! That was fun. I learned about all the issues in one night. I crammed basically for the last 2 1/2 hours. Read all your comments. @100 you are the most sane. Ballotopedia is very helpful website for ballot issues, like who's behind which initiatives.
I voted for Dian Fergusen. I think she seems capable, smart, in touch, and has a good vision for Seattle. She has a master's in Public admin (like Bruce Harrell) and has lead several non-profits. In addition she is a small bz owner, which I, as a small business owner, value, because your bz wont work if you don't have common sense, initiative, a good grip on reality and an understanding of the bottom line. All things that will make her a good council member. Go Dian! Also - yes on 1183 (read all other comments). No on 1163 - several friends who work in the field or who have disabled kids recommend against it. Too expensive for families right now.
@116 Or use the county provided dropboxes. There are at least three in Seattle, no?
and... I contend that you DID in fact "pay" to vote in person - while (thank gawd) there's still no requirement to put money IN the ballot envelope, then or now - there IS a cost to you the voter: Just like voting in a polling place , it's going to cost you a little Gas (or Calories) and Time for transportation and the attendance (not to mention the co$t of Parking for those of us who had, prior to votebymail, polling places like Town Hall).
There's no such thing as a truly Free election (or free anything provided by the gubermint, duh).
(And, you're years late to the bitch&moan party:
The change was apparently made since the cost of stamps tends to be less than gas/time/parking/shoe costs. That said, the change seemingly disregarded the plight of the abuse of spouse/parent voting influence that's now been given tacit free-reign with the home based voting of votebymail. But HEY, anything to save a buck, right? )
Some post offices have machines that can produce stamps with a date on it, so if it's after 5pm you still can get your ballot counted since it will be post marked with today's date. ALSO there are a lot of drop boxes where u can drop off your ballot without a stamp! here: http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/voti…
Vote for police accountability reformers: Ferguson, Pusey, Schraer, and Forch! and unseat all of the police endorsed incumbents on the city council! Same for the school board, unseat all of the dysfunctional incumbents!
The Stranger is Seattle's only *crappy* newspaper. Whining about not getting to be in the revolution, tongue in cheek or not, is the real fucking bullshit. All politics is local and we want your focus on that on you're not being a good local newspaper.
I guess saying "Grow up" would be too paternalistic, but please, fucking grow up. I learned a shitload more from the Municipal League on who to vote for than I did from you guys.
Now how about asking a good investigative question like why is Occupy at Seattle Central, hardly an institution to protest, instead of Bellevue Square?
btw-- notsosupermario i like your post. and while riding a bus is not only a way to get to work or get around, it's a way to learn the city and it's people and neighborhoods. There are a several beyond shitty bus drivers (with several handfuls of bus drivers par excellence!-- thank you!) who don't know how to drive in traffic, who bully their passengers, ignore and laugh at people waiting of a different race than themselves and worse. Still buses are very useful in some neighborhoods and not so much in other more distant places. Roads are the constant. I appreciate your concepts in illustrating that people pretend whatever they will, yet roads are the only way to get around.
Light rail was supposed to change all that but guess what-- Light Rail sucks!!! Like total fail light rail. You are a developers scam the likes of the SLUT but waaay larger of a slut. Maybe if you are just hoping a couple stops Light rail while over priced is your ticket. If you wanna get across town. Hell NOOES! The 194 bus from 2nd and Union to SeaTac: 20 minutes. In epic hell traffic: 33 minutes. The Light rail when it's freaking working: 45 minutes. When it's in maintenance mode: 2 hours. When you connect in the Westlake Tunnel but have to run up 40 stairs to buy a ticket and miss your connection. How is that helping people? What about my friend that can't run up the stairs, oh she has to buy a monthly pass to get to the doctors once a week. WTH. How does this convince me not to take a vehicle on the road? Bring back the 194 (and 174) buses. Light rail you have failed, as the monorail before you. So sad. Seattle you have all the right ideas and then you just let someone pull them from your hands and smash them.
Roses, I agree with you the endorsement of Martin-Morris over Buetow was wrongheaded. I'm wondering if any of the Election Committee has regretted casting votes for HM-M, or changed a personal choice for Dist. 3 School Board director to Buetow prior to dropping the ballot in the mail in the next few days.
But nothing is more important than to see the challengers talk about police accountability and how passionate and radical they are! To have the system that we have now, where people can not investigate the police unless they can hire a $20k lawyer, even if they just want to make a simple inquiry, paints incumbents as corrupt and bought by the police union, which they are. Clark, Harrell, and Rusmusen all endorsed by the police guild, an organization that has absolute control over taxpayers financially and legally. Current council members have done nothing to prevent this abuse of power for years and now they even got endorsed by the mob! Ferguson, Schraer and Pusey have a very strong platform on police accountability, calling for serious changes to the dysfunctional scam called OPA, that doesn't work unless you hire a high profile lawyer, meaning justice works only for the rich in this city. Recently it took nearly$60K for a citizen to make simple inquiries into the police department about the dashboard cam videos. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/lo… $60K!!!! Why are we even funding an organization that has so much legal and physical power over us? So please vote for reformers like Ferguson, Schraer, and Pusey! The stranger is doing a huge disservice to the people of seattle by sloppy articles like this by making it look like challengers are not serious or unqualified without even talking to them or looking into the issues that they bring up. Shame on the Stranger.
comments, views and especially humor.
3) King County: Mitchell v Hague.
2) Seattle City Council: Kathy Allen-produced Godden hit piece on Forch
1) Seattle School Board: Stranger Endorsed Martin-Morris introducing policy to clamp down on student journalist freedom of speech, topped off by MySpace Ballard and The Seattle Times covering the issue better than the SECB. Dude-ettes, you F'd up.
You'll be delighted to hear that the SECB switched its endorsement after reporting on Martin-Morris's bullshit campaign to suppress free speech at school newspapers. We're now pro-Buetow (as we obviously should have been along). Sorry we fucked up! We'll be more sober next time!
I voted for Dian Fergusen. I think she seems capable, smart, in touch, and has a good vision for Seattle. She has a master's in Public admin (like Bruce Harrell) and has lead several non-profits. In addition she is a small bz owner, which I, as a small business owner, value, because your bz wont work if you don't have common sense, initiative, a good grip on reality and an understanding of the bottom line. All things that will make her a good council member. Go Dian! Also - yes on 1183 (read all other comments). No on 1163 - several friends who work in the field or who have disabled kids recommend against it. Too expensive for families right now.
and... I contend that you DID in fact "pay" to vote in person - while (thank gawd) there's still no requirement to put money IN the ballot envelope, then or now - there IS a cost to you the voter: Just like voting in a polling place , it's going to cost you a little Gas (or Calories) and Time for transportation and the attendance (not to mention the co$t of Parking for those of us who had, prior to votebymail, polling places like Town Hall).
There's no such thing as a truly Free election (or free anything provided by the gubermint, duh).
(And, you're years late to the bitch&moan party:
The change was apparently made since the cost of stamps tends to be less than gas/time/parking/shoe costs. That said, the change seemingly disregarded the plight of the abuse of spouse/parent voting influence that's now been given tacit free-reign with the home based voting of votebymail. But HEY, anything to save a buck, right? )
Check your envelope. Voters in Seattle, at least, have postage-paid ballots.
Vote for police accountability reformers: Ferguson, Pusey, Schraer, and Forch! and unseat all of the police endorsed incumbents on the city council! Same for the school board, unseat all of the dysfunctional incumbents!
I guess saying "Grow up" would be too paternalistic, but please, fucking grow up. I learned a shitload more from the Municipal League on who to vote for than I did from you guys.
Now how about asking a good investigative question like why is Occupy at Seattle Central, hardly an institution to protest, instead of Bellevue Square?
Light rail was supposed to change all that but guess what-- Light Rail sucks!!! Like total fail light rail. You are a developers scam the likes of the SLUT but waaay larger of a slut. Maybe if you are just hoping a couple stops Light rail while over priced is your ticket. If you wanna get across town. Hell NOOES! The 194 bus from 2nd and Union to SeaTac: 20 minutes. In epic hell traffic: 33 minutes. The Light rail when it's freaking working: 45 minutes. When it's in maintenance mode: 2 hours. When you connect in the Westlake Tunnel but have to run up 40 stairs to buy a ticket and miss your connection. How is that helping people? What about my friend that can't run up the stairs, oh she has to buy a monthly pass to get to the doctors once a week. WTH. How does this convince me not to take a vehicle on the road? Bring back the 194 (and 174) buses. Light rail you have failed, as the monorail before you. So sad. Seattle you have all the right ideas and then you just let someone pull them from your hands and smash them.
Gee wiz! again! for the 37th voteing year in a row?
Tomorrow Microsoft will be trying to sell its Windows 8 voting software to America?