Fifty-one weeks of the year, we publish our feckless opinions. Respectable elected officials, well-intentioned neighborhood activists, and over-boiled cabbage headsâwe've disagreed with them all. But for the first issue of the year, we're letting them voice their opinions about us.
Most refused to participate.
For instance, failed mayoral candidate Peter Steinbrueckâwho we said had a vision for Seattle that was "the mid-1970s"âtold us he's "not interested." Another mayoral candidate, Kate Martin, was apparently still furious that we didn't invite her to an endorsement interview. "The thing is, I put The Stranger in a category of newspapers that I can not in any way support even with my readership," said Martin (we broke the news of her candidacy back when she felt differently). "I've stopped picking it up and stopped reading it online." But a few others did muster up their regrets.
Bill Bradburd, chair of the Seattle Neighborhood Coalition, has tried to stop the proliferation of microhousing (aka aPodments, the tiny, affordable apartments that Stranger news editor Dominic Holden lervz). Says Bradburd:
While The Stranger's support for district elections was somewhat tepid and their opposition to Peter Steinbrueck bizarrely irrational, it was beautifully countervailed by their vitriolic feelings for King Richard [Conlin] and frenzied support for Kshama Sawant. The sea change this election represents for the future of this city has me elated. My only regret is that I didn't get to burn a fatty with Dominic in an aPodment while it was still illegal.
We wrote lots of, um, blunt things about state senate majority leader Rodney Tom after he defected from the Democrats, thereby handing de facto control of the state senate to the Republicans. But rather than slap us back, Tom turns the other cheek. Here is Tom's regret from his spokeswoman, Carrie Shaw:
Deeds speak louder than words, according to senate majority leader Rodney Tom, pointing to the remarkable record put together by the new Senate Majority Coalition Caucus in 2013: an unprecedented $1 billion boost in funding for Kâ12 education, the first college-tuition freeze in nearly three decades, a sustainable new state budget that was balanced without a general tax increase, and keeping our promise with taxpayers that temporary taxes are just that, temporary. Despite predictions of chaos in Olympia, the final budget passed 44â4, a modern-day record for bipartisan cooperation. Tom regrets that when it comes to governing cooperatively, the "other Washington" has yet to catch up with the state senate.
Seattle city attorney Pete Holmes regrets that The Stranger opposed his effort to require a $50 fine for smoking pot in public (Seattle City Council member Nick Licata passed a $27 fine instead). Holmes regrets our coverage, but he does not regret puns:
As a churchgoing Catholic (and an occasional student of Slog Bible Study), I am mindful of Exodus 23:9: "You shall not oppress the stranger, for you know the soul of the stranger, having been strangers in the land of Egypt." Mindful of this, I will refrain from oppressing The Stranger, but I nevertheless politely suggest that The Stranger may regret implying that I'm some sort of anti-pot prosecutor for supporting issuing tickets to public marijuana smokers. I simply want to take the high road, bring everyone together for a joint meeting, hash it out, be blunt, stay out of the weeds, address any budding disputes, and prevent these chronic issues from letting our hard work on ending marijuana prohibition go up in smoke.
Kimberly Mills, the communications director for Pete Holmes, who's known for her dedication to her boss, regrets that she can't jettison Dominic Holden out of town:
As Pete Holmes's communications director, I regret that The Stranger didn't ask me what I regret. If I'd been so honored, I would say I regret I couldn't raise enough money through Kickstarter to pay Dominic's moving expenses to a city that's less progressive, thereby giving him even more opportunity to pen screeds against elected officials. 
