Comments

2
Um...is she comparing Jenny Durkan to Trump???
3
Eh, well. I'll take the non-"endorsement" endorsement.
6
@ 5 *your

If you're going to post threats at least have the decency to proofread them first.
7
@6: It takes privilege to proofread.
8
@5 I like how this kind of talk is totally okay on Slog and never gets removed
9
I like her position but didnt think she was ready to be mayor, which is why I voted for Moon in the first place. Kind of proving myself right
12
Editorial staff, can we get Charles Mudede to interview @11? Failing that, how about a comment from Goodspace guy?
13
@5: Alt-right troll posing as POC, pathetic.
14
@8: So report it? If nobody does, the shitposting doesn't get removed.
15
When's she going to say "there were good candidates on both sides"?
16
Nikkita Oliver is a selfish butthurt piece of trash. I'm very happy to know she'll be trainwrecking the Seattle socialist movement for years to come.
17
So disgusted by the churlish refusal of Bruce Harrell, Lisa Herbold, Lorena Gonzales, Bob Hasegawa, Mike McGinn and Jessyn Farrell to endorse anyone. So glad Seattle media have all run with this scandal and will continue to hold these six accountable for this outrage against decency and decorum.

Er, seven. I meant seven, not six. Almost forgot Nikkita Oliver. Well she did say she's voting for Moon. Which is actually more than we got from McGinn, Farrell, Hasegawa, Herbold, Gonzales, or Harrell. But still. Shame on her. This is unconscionable.

Also where are the parties? I want to thank the Seattle media again for the fantastic job they've done of holding the Republican Party and the Democratic Party and the Green Party and the Libertarian Party and Socialist Alternative for not endorsing either Moon or Durkan. You have ONE JOB, people! Endorse one! Now!

Oh, and the People's Party too. Kudos to the media for not letting them off the hook either. Never change, you guys.

18
So disgusted by the churlish refusal of Bruce Harrell, Lisa Herbold, Lorena Gonzales, Bob Hasegawa, Mike McGinn and Jessyn Farrell to endorse anyone.

The idea of McGinn endorsing anyone except himself is pretty darned funny; thanks for the laughs.

19
Her actual statements quoted here are too reasonable to criticize much. So certain folks go for her voting record or whatever.
20
@17:

I hear the Onion is hiring. It would be a great fit for you. Take DOUG. and Will in Seattle with you.
21
You have ONE JOB, people! Endorse one! Now!

Well, no. Oliver was a statement candidate, who was not going to be elected mayor. Therefore, her entire value is in the statements she makes, which is why an endorsement from her is important.

The other candidates were real candidates (McGinn excepted, of course) and can endorse or not as they please.

Since *any* non-endorsement defaults to supporting the front-running Durkan, she's the ultimate beneficiary of Oliver (and anyone else's) non-endorsements.
22
@21 "Statement Candidate" = Black
24
"Statement Candidate" = Black

Yeah, because Seattle never, ever had an African-American Mayoral candidate who succeeded, moron.

Here's a hint: a serious candidate, who had attracted thousands of votes on the first try, would be building on that success by energizing that base for the general election.
What's Oliver doing? Making statements.
25
Wow. It's worth listening to the entire interview, because it's jaw-dropping. Oliver bad-mouthed Cary Moon all the way through and then acted as though Moon needs to come lick her boots. Which she might -- but I don't think that acting entitled is how coalitions are built.

Moon should tread carefully, lest her campaign be co-opted by Oliver.
28
After looking at seattlepeoplesparty.com, I think it is sort of a phantom party. There is no information on where and when the party meets, how to join the party,how the party governs itself and who the current leaders, (besides Ms. Oliver) are. One can subscribe, or volunteer, but no specifics about events or party meetings. I would believe Ms. Oliver more, if there were the basics of organization represented on her website. Compare seattlepeoplesparty.com with the kcdems.org , the website for the King County Democrats for what I mean by organization.
29
@24 You didn't pay attention to her press concession if that's what you think. She's already laying the groundwork for future elections by hosting a general assembly for the party to recruit new candidates, planning a mayoral debate likely to keep her base engaged, and working to advance an initiative campaign on police de-escalation. Nikkita is energizing her base and working to build the Seattle people's party into a force for the long term.
30
@28 It's a 5 month old party with Nikkita being its first experiment in electoral politics. Within the next month(can't remember the exact day) the party will host a general assembly during which they'll fine tune the platform and recruit candidates besides Nikkita to lead the party into future elections.
31
She's already laying the groundwork for future elections...

Which will mean nothing if she and her "party" (see @28) are shown to be completely irrelevant in this election.

Within the next month ... the party will host a general assembly during which they'll fine tune the platform...

You have got to be kidding me.

This election may be effectively decided by Labor Day. A "general assembly" of a "5 month old party" (that you saw no conflict between those two phrases is just so precious) will accomplish nothing if Durkan is leading Moon 70% - 30% by then.

Ms. Oliver began her candidacy when Mayor Murray appeared to be cruising to an easy re-election. Once that changed, and she had two solid weeks of media attention as the votes were counted, that was her golden time to act. She should already have had a deal with Moon by the time the primary election was certified. That is what an actual political leader would have accomplished in that situation.

But she was always a statement candidate, not an actual candidate, and that reality showed in her (in)actions.
32
"Statement candidate"? She had no chance of winning and that makes her endorsement is important? What the fuckity fuck?

The special pleading never ends. Yesterday she was required to endorse somebody because she *did* have chance of winning. Since she came in third. Jessyn Farrell, in fourth place, is not going to be pilloried for what she doesn't say. Becuse of the new imaginary line between third and fourth place that somebody made up specially for Nikkita Oliver who happens to be the brown lady what a coincidence.

The simple fact is, you've got dude after dude after dude who is free to endorse if he wants, or not. White lady after white lady after white lady is not required to endorse anybody.

But the woman of color? All of a sudden she's getting bossed around by entitled pricks. The media is lining up to express shock and skepticism at her strange and questionable behavior.

It's a blatant double standard.
33
@31 The fine person above me said it far better than I ever could. But let me just echo the same sentiment with my own words: You can hold Nikkita to this ridiculous and unprecedented standard that she should endorse and rally her supporters around a candidate when you hold all of the other primary candidates to that same standard. And the last time I checked, nobody was batting an eyelash over Jessyn, Mike, and Bob staying quiet after the election. Maybe you should explain why Nikkita Oliver, person of color and all, is held to a different set of standards for how to conduct herself post-election than the other people who ran for mayor.

Secondly, your claim that her being a "statement" candidate is a steaming, load of shit. Building a party from the grassroots up so that it can recruit and run candidates in future elections, venturing out of electoral politics and into initiative politics, and hosting a debate with herself as a moderator are all signs that Nikkita Oliver's presence isn't fading anytime soon, and thank goodness for that.
34
Nikita Oliver can vote for whoever she wants. That won’t have any sway on who I vote for. She’s not my decision maker.
35
"Statement candidate"?

Yes:

ECB: Did you support the housing levy?

NO: Which levy?

ECB: The one that passed last year, that will bring in $290 million to build affordable housing.

NO: Honestly I don’t remember.

ECB: It was a property tax levy that doubled the amount the city is spending to build affordable housing.


Please don't take my word for it; read the whole thing. Oliver starts with such brilliant gems of modesty as:

The conversation around housing and homelessness, around what economics looks like in our city, the gap between the rich and the poor, what does racial justice and equity actually look like—those conversations have been substantively pushed to a place that they would not have been pushed to if the People’s Party and myself had not joined in the race.

(The real conversation, wherein real citizens made real housing policy in a real election, was not even worth committing to memory, much less bothering to look up prior to an interview in which she made statement after statement concerning housing and social justice.)

She had no chance of winning and that makes her endorsement is important?

Yes. If her surprisingly-good showing in the primary could energize a similar number of voters to support Moon in the general, Moon might have a decent chance of upsetting Durkan. It's very simple arithmetic; nothing to swear about, really.

Jessyn Farrell, in fourth place, is not going to be pilloried for what she doesn't say.

If everyone was hanging on every word Jessyn Farrell said, and utterly ignoring Oliver, you'd be yelling it was racist to ignore the brown lady -- especially given that Oliver received more votes.

The simple fact is, you've got dude after dude after dude who is free to endorse if he wants, or not.

Nobody cares if McGinn endorses anybody, because nobody except McGinn wants McGinn to have any power over us. That people cared (note: past tense) about Oliver's possible endorsement was (note: past tense) a recognition of her status as a potential leader, not a belittling of her.

It's a blatant double standard.

Based on her receiving more votes than any of the white guys.

You can hold Nikkita to this ridiculous and unprecedented standard that she should endorse and rally her supporters around a candidate when you hold all of the other primary candidates to that same standard.

So, you're claiming the actual number of votes each candidate received in an election should not count for anything in our democracy? We should ignore Oliver's having beaten all of the other losing candidates? Who, exactly, is being dismissive here?

Maybe you should explain why Nikkita Oliver, person of color and all, is held to a different set of standards for how to conduct herself post-election than the other people who ran for mayor.

I can explain it very easily: she received more votes.

Secondly, your claim that her being a "statement" candidate is a steaming, load of shit.

Please see her well-informed answer about our voter-mandated housing policy, above.

She’s not my decision maker.

Racist!!!1! ;-)
36
You sit here dismissing Oliver as a person and as a candidate, dismissing her politics, dismissing her positions, and dismissing her party. And most of all, dismissing her voters. Her party isn't a real party. Pretty much you trash her and everything associated with her on every level.

AND, you want those votes. Those idiots. Those dupes who voted for a non-candidate who can't win whose positions are not worth considering, who doesn't even represent anything except her own ambition and ego. The people who voted for that, now you want their votes. AND you think Oliver has the power to deliver them. You think Oliver and her People's Party, with a mere nod, can hand you Oliver's 30,000 votes.

If there is any truth to that, if Oliver does have the power to deliver those votes, if the People's Party is organized and disciplined enough to do that, if they have the ground game to turn out those 30,000 votes for whomever they endorse, then they are a real party in every sense. Look at all those unions that endorsed Farrell and Hasegawa. They didn't turn out jack shit. But apparently the People's Party has in its pocket enough votes to double Moon's total? If that's they case then they're the best run party in Seattle.

You don't believe any of that. You don't respect Oliver or her party, and you don't think they're capable of doing anything. You're here now to take shots at the brown lady. All these rationalizations are just cover for the real motive. You want Oliver gone, and you want to make this loss hurt bad enough she never comes back for more. You want other women of color to see how much shit Oliver had to put up with and think twice before they dare to upset white Seattle's pretty little system.

Here's some simple arithmetic: Jessyn Farrell's 23,160 votes, plus Bob Hasegawa's 15,500, plus Mike McGinn's 12,001 add up to 50,661. That's more than Durkan. Far more than either Moon or Oliver had. Simple arithmetic says those 60,000 votes are worth having. But not a word about their duty to endorse anybody.

Why do you even expect a non-Democratic party to endorse a Democrat? The People's Party doesn't owe the Democrats an endorsement. There were Republicans representing almost 20,000 votes. How come you're not demanding that party pick which Democrat they want? Because they're not fucking Democrats and you know that an opposing party doesn't owe your party jack shit. The People's Party doesn't owe your party jack shit.

And given the level of contempt you have for Oliver and the People's Party, in what bizzaro universe would they ever give you anything? You sit here and shit all over Oliver, shit on her party, and shit on her voters, and then whine that they're not rushing to do you any favors 24 hours after the primary is certified.

Maybe they just don't like you. Why should they?
37
#10:
Seriously? It's a sell out for Nikkita to vote for Moon just because Moon happens to be rich? In the name of working-class authenticity she should prefer Durkan, the one who's going to get big checks from Amazon and Microsoft and every other corporate behemoth in town?

38
#24: The statements she is making ARE energizing the base. The way you energize the base is to make sure that they know the fight is not over.

She couldn't have energized the base at all if she'd conceded on Election Night, or if she'd stayed out of the race.

And Moon's chances of defeating Durkan, the corporate candidate, are just as strong as they would have been if Nikkita had thrown in the towel when the first round of votes came in.

Her campaign was as legitimate as any of the other candidates.

What was she supposed to do? Apologize for even running? Declare herself a convert to capitalism(and in so doing forever abandon the poor like Norm Rice did)? Pledge eternal fealty to Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos? Commit seppuku in front of the Westin?

What possible point could there be in continuing to attack Nikkita? She's done nothing wrong and she's conducted herself with nothing but calmness, dignity, and positive energy throughout this campaign.

Yes, she fell just short of making the primary. But she ran well ahead of MOST of the pack, and did so with almost no money, while running a campaign that was purely positive and purely issue-driven. What the hell are people here so angry with her about?

It's simple.

Seattle is a city with a Left. Therefore, there had to be a Left candidate in the mayor's race.

Nobody here has any reason to bear a grudge against her.

Grow up already.
39
#35: Dude, she just personally ENDORSED Moon. She's also invited Moon to a forum where she will have a chance to impress Nikkita's voters. At this point, how much more could she do? the People's Party is a political party, not a sectarian cult-Nikkita can't just ORDER it to support Moon. Democratically-run organizations don't work that way.

Nikkita had to run in the primary. Nobody else was talking about the issues her party cares about. She couldn't have been true to her supporters and her principles and stayed out of the race.

Do you honestly believe Moon was simply entitled to the votes Nikkita took in the primary? Was simply owed them? If so...why?

Nikkita is doing what you want...why hurt your candidate's chances in the fall by dissing her?
40
Sorry for the dupe post. Could somebody there please delete one of those?
42
I think it's funny that Oliver thinks someone in their 50's having $80,000 to their name makes them rich.

Maybe she should take a personal finance class before she runs for mayor of a city with a $5.6 billion dollar budget.
43
@42 Having $80,000 to throw into a mayoral race indicates they have a lot more than that to their name. Most of the candidates only raised $150,000 total.
44
So, Oliver came up just short of advancing to the general election. How best to keep those 30,000 voters engaged, to advance the agenda of the new People's Party, and to keep Oliver herself relevant?

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Oliver should have cut a deal with Moon, trading the promise of support from thousands of engaged voters and a new party for the pledge of Mayor Moon working toward some goals of the People's Party. Oliver would then have had to sell that deal to the People's Party, to the 30,000 citizens of Seattle who'd voted for her, and to anyone who would have voted for her in the general election.

This is what leaders in a diverse democracy do: they recognize reality, make tough deals, and sell constituencies on the real need for those compromises.

Oliver did none of that, and now she, the voters who chose her, and the Party they represented will all get nothing.

Please, keep on telling yourselves that racism or whatever is the reason I'm calling her a statement candidate and a failed leader. I'm sure that will make you feel better.

(And, the kicker? I marked my primary ballot for Durkan, and will mark my general ballot for her as well. Thank you, Ms. Oliver, for making the victory of my preferred candidate that much easier.)
45
Huh -- the very first comment has been deleted. How ironic, in a post wherein Nikita Oliver's pledge to vote for Moon is in the very headline title, the comment which noted Oliver's sketchy voting history has been deleted.

Perhaps that perceptive comment -- especially coming as it did, first out of the gate -- hit a little too close to home for this post's author to tolerate?
46
So disgusted by the churlish refusal of Bruce Harrell, Lisa Herbold, Lorena Gonzales, Bob Hasegawa, Mike McGinn and Jessyn Farrell to endorse anyone.

Good news (for you)! Mike McGinn has endorsed someone!

I don't know why this was important to you, but since it was, I figured I might do you the favor of informing you about it, so you can do whatever it is you were going to do with this information, which is so important (to you).

You're welcome.

47
Dude, she just personally ENDORSED Moon.

Dude, read the first line of the post:

"Nikkita Oliver is voting for Cary Moon for mayor—but don't call it an endorsement."

Nobody else was talking about the issues her party cares about.

Actually, as I recounted in the very comment to which you're supposedly responding, she was still merely talking long after we voters had acted. It's just when she was lavishing praise upon herself and the People's Party for having beneficially changed the conversation, she didn't know what our conversation had actually been, nor the real outcome of it.

She couldn't have been true to her supporters and her principles and stayed out of the race.

Well, she's out of the race now, which renders the rest of your comment as irrelevant as the parts I've addressed.
48
"Moon should approach the party with an offer in exchange for an endorsement, Oliver said. "We're playing chess here, not checkers." "

Sounds dangerously like bribery to me. The very dealings Nikkita and her party criticize in politics.

Please wait...

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