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Jul 15, 2015
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Vote for Rick Burke in position 2
http://www.rickburke4schools.com/
SECB's discussion of this race is totally lacking any mention of relevant issues in this campaign, of the very existence of other candidates, or of Gonzalez's policy positions (assuming she has any). Really weak.
Second, good picks for Seattle School Board with Geary and Harris. These two are dynamic, smart women with specific skill sets to bring to the table. (And Geary won't need to "bully" anyone - common sense and persuasion are likely to do the trick. We need more common sense on the Seattle School Board instead of the majority who bow to staff wishes and City bullying.)
Third, there WILL be other School Board races to vote on in November; it's just that there are only two people in each of the other two races so The Stranger didn't have to interview them yet. But early call for Rick Burke in Position 2 and no idea in Position 1.
I like most of the picks but I say Bill Bradburd is a better choice. He's just got the fire in the belly that she doesn't.
Also, ANYONE but Burgess. Stranger absolutely nailed it on this entire commentary on him. (To note, he went on and on about how many seats would be created with the new Seattle Preschool Program, up to 2,000. Understand those are NOT NEW seats; rather, the majority will be existing preschool seats run by a previous operator who will now run them under the City's plan. That's not helping kids who need preschool seats.)
You know who likes working with people who think they are the smartest in the room? Nobody.
The Stranger uses a heavy thumb looking for confrontation. Confrontation that ultimately does not advance a progressive agenda, but is more about tapping populism and grand standing. Banks will be far more responsive to the needs of the district rather than building a populist base for greater ambitions.
Sawant is given credit for "$15 Now" and takes it at every opportunity, in spite of the fact that she voted against the eventual negotiated legislation. Negotiation doesn't seem to be her thing, although I've heard it can be pretty useful in passing legislation.
He is the real deal, and his level of dedication, service, activism and involvement is impressive. He has no ties to large corporations or developers; his key issue is fighting for affordable housing in our wonderful city.
I got a campaign phone call last evening for Grant, and found out during the conversation that HE is also a supporter of Bradburd. The Stranger is supporting Grant, so....well--you took the chapter on logic in freshman geometry, right?
The Stranger has a tendency to voice the most passive aggressive endorsements such as the one for Adam Klein who thankfully retired and was widely despised in the legislature or again with Pettigrew and Santos Tomas... and with Bruce Harrell
As for the endorsement of our Mayor that was also quite much ado about nothing as this douche is the bag we elected.. I did not vote for him.. oh wait wasn't Harrell running then yet no endorsement there... why?
We need to remind ourselves that we need to start electing people who actually want to represent the people and be the voices of the people. That voice part we have a problem here in Seattle as we actually don't like 'loud" talking, confrontation and conflict. We just want shiny pretty things.
And look at the state of the city.. we gots the shiny, we gots the pretty and we pay for it and then you look down on the ground and the option B for poors is tent towns or garbage dumps. We are becoming a company town in every sense of the word. Let's vote for a candidate who wants to call Seattle instead of the Emerald City - Amazonia. Far more appropriate and those H1B1 Visa holders will be leaving in 2 years and can't vote so huzzah, more overpriced dumps, bad food and traffic!
When I read about how much money was spent for things like the April special election, it seems that you have a perfect scenario for multi-factor identification with a code on the voter registration card and a code on your mailed informational package that could enable authenticated online voting for some of these special elections that get 24% return rates.
I frequently use the SECB cheat-sheet endorsement list as my go-to guide. This election it looks maybe 75% reasonable, which is well below average.
Fuckin embarrassing, guys.
then, seize the port.
So I voted for Farris.
http://www.voteseamec.org/2015PrimaryRat…
Because he is an actual environmental scientist with decades of experience, I voted for Felleman.
For the same reasons mentioned by @7 and @37, I voted for Bill Bradburd. @44 is right--your failure to even mention Bradford is egregious, and indicative of how this year's election coverage has been lackadaisical compared to detailed and incisive coverage in recent years.
Your most spectacular fail is your lukewarm endorsement of Bruce Harrell in D2. Bruce Harrell is not only the wealthiest Seattle City Council Member, he is also arguably the most conservative. He claims to be a man of the people, but he lives in a $2,000,000 house in a posh neighborhood and constantly brags about having been "a top notch lawyer." He did all he could to block, and in the end weaken, the $15/hour wage ordinance with as many loopholes and elaborate phasing as he another RW members of the council could pile onto it. Unlike Sawant and Licata, he was nowhere to be seen at any of the public meetings in which the Seattle Housing Authority rolled out "Stepping Forward," a disastrous attempt to impose 400% rent hikes on some of Seattle's poorest citizens, huge numbers of whom are immigrants, people of color, single-parent families, and residents of D2. Harrell has talked about police reform, but SPD remains shockingly unreformed in spite of the Justice Department decree, which was signed three years ago. Harrell is an enthusiastic supporter of the youth jail, and I actually heard him say in a candidate forum, "Some brothers need to be in jail." His top priority is adding 100 SPD officers to D2, Seattle's poorest and most non-white district. Harrell seems not to understand that this is certain to increase lethal encounters between the cops and people of color. Harrell has had 7-12 years to do something--anything--for all residents of Seattle, but as far as I can tell, his biggest accomplishment has been talking his talk.
@51, You are right about the retired; the elderly are being pushed out of Seattle. I think, though, that there are still a lot of unemployed people living there.
But really, after reading the Jean Godden non-endorsement I have to say it's a very good thing that the SECB wasn't here in the 70's. If they are so faint-hearted with all the "rent hikes, hate crimes, and racist cops" we have nowadays, try living in a city where a third of the workforce had been laid off or drastically affected by the Boeing Bust, the city was still very much redlined and the cops and the WSLCB were operating a protection racket on gay and minority owned businesses. Then throw in Ted Bundy and the George Jackson Brigade.
She endorses community input into the density debate, instead of the developer dominated decisions our current council has endorsed. O'Brien favors destroying neighborhoods by allowing rampaging development in the name of density.
And so does the Stranger, for that matter.
We don't have to live like rats crammed into a box. We don't have to have buildings up to the property line, we don't have to have concrete poured over every inch of ground, and we don't have to live in between the pollution trapped between tall buildings. But that's exactly what the Stranger and the present officials want for our future.
Vote against these incumbents. Murray and O'Brien might as well be Republicans - just because they favor gay rights, and say the magic word 'density', that doesn't make them progressive. Their policies enrich the 1% of the 1%, while cramming as many of us as they can into tiny apartments.
Just say NO.
Ever seen the movie, Cinderella Liberty,?
Or there's the John Wayne film "McQ". What was that other one - "Harry in my Pocket"? All show the faintly sinister Seattle of yore.
It's the only thing that's guaranteed to win.
There are far better choices, also much better to write in a choice than reelect Gregoire to the Port of Seattle, she should be voted out!
Best write in choice: Cleve Stockmeyer, who is the honest and honorable person we can count on in Seattle!
(Agree that Juarez is yet another horrible Stranger endorsement. Reminds me of how Dan Savage gushed about the illegal Bush crime family invasion of Iraq, only to go in the opposite direction; then Savage gushed about Ted Olson when he did a bit of pro bono work on marriage equality at the vile shyster firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, only to go opposite after Olson came out with his book taking credit for marriage equality throughout the nation, and most recently on Savage's gushing about Bruce TransJenner, neocon and self-appointed spokesobject for LBQT, etc.
As the blackagendareport.com said, why in the hell would Banks ever run against Kshama Sawant?
Unless she's representing the Community Development Roundtable, of course!
I would think carefully about each and every one of their endorsements. While some may make sense, I would definitely not take their word as the final truth on any of these matters. I used to value their endorsement much more; I have since learned better.
In addition, some of their criticisms of candidates are full-out libelous attacks without any substantiating positions on the issues. "This person sucks," and apparently, the editors and writers don't think they have to say anything else.