Seattle’s Legislative Races

Early election results show Gael Tarleton, who might just be superhero villain Two-Face in a lady’s power suit, holding a devastating 56–42 lead in the 36th District bid for state representative over Noel Frame, whom the SECB endorsed and whose optimism shines brighter than the morning sun. In unsurprising news: 46th District position 1 candidate Gerry Pollet is wiping the floor with Sylvester Cann, 66–32. Meanwhile, over in the 46th District’s position 2, Jessyn Farrell is leading 63–35 over the delightful-but-doomed SECB favorite Sarajane Siegfriedt. (Thankfully, Farrell is one hell of a consolation prize.)

Attorney General

After one of the dirtiest campaigns Washington has seen in a while (KILLERS! JAILS!), Democrat Bob Ferguson appears to be pulling out a five-point victory over Republican Reagan Dunn. Ferguson hopefully will be nowhere near as crappy of a lawyer as our current attorney general, Rob McKenna. (McKenna may be best known for his failed attempt to overturn Obamacare, which, for the record, he claims to have won.)

Ferguson might have his hands full in the coming months with the passage of I-502, which legalized marijuana, and a potential federal challenge.

Sheriff

Over in the fight for King County sheriff, charming underdog John Urquhart is spanking incumbent (and SECB pick) Steven Strachan 57–42.

State Supreme Court

In judicial goings-on, Superior Court candidate Sue Parisien is holding a one-point lead over incumbent Christopher Washington—50.67 to 48.98. The SECB has endorsed both of these candidates at one point or another because, frankly, we felt many feelings about this race. Finally, in a striking testament that proves Justice isn’t blind—she’s got 20/15 vision when it comes to spotting people we believe are racist, sexist shitbags—state supreme court candidate Sheryl McCloud is leading with 64 percent over ex-justice Richard B. Sanders’s bid to remount the bench. He’s got a puny 35.5 percent of the statewide vote.

Anti-Tax Bullshit Initiative

Tim Eyman won again, that jerk. His latest anti-tax crusade, Initiative 1185, won with 64 percent support. Imagine that! People want it to be harder for the legislature to raise taxes. It’s not like we’re in the middle of a revenue crisis or anything, right?

The will of the people may not be the final word in this matter, though, as a state supreme court case brought by Representative Jamie Pedersen will be decided in the coming weeks.

Charter Schools Initiative

Proponents of charter schools in Washington may have won, and privatized public education in the process. With early returns, Initiative 1240 leads by only two points. The measure had a narrow margin of defeat in King County (A GOOD THING!) despite major contributors like the Gates family. Assholes. recommended