Typo in first paragraph. Not District 3.

Does Ms. Porter agree with the way the Democrats on the City Council have fawned over the racist and excessively violent Seattle Police Department or is she critical of cops who murder? Does she go out of her way to thank cops who punch handcuffed women in the face like Bruce Harrell does? Or is she just another Democrat of Color making the world safer for a police department still under the oversight of the DOJ for racist policing and excessive force? And why doesn't the Stranger ask these questions?

By the way, if you want to label people as such, Bruce Harrell is mixed-race; his mother is Japanese-American.

Oh, and another correction...democracy vouchers limit spending to $75,000 for the primary and a cumulative $150,000 for the general; try to get some of the basics correct.

@5 Yeah, but they're all straight white men who can find gainful employment in the private sector.

@5

You've mistaken the council for the mayor's office.

The mayor is the one who is supposed to provide competent managerial skill, since the office, by design, has no power to make policy. You want the mayor to be an Administrator. The council is where you want people with policies you agree with, who are good at communicating and convincing and negotiating and getting those policies passed into law. You want council members to be Politicians.

And effective politicians, as you might expect, tend to have experience in government.

I kind of like having a good old-fashioned communist on the council-- it keeps things lively, and you get to see how that ideology plays out in practice, for better or worse. I wouldn't mind having an old-fashioned W.F. Buckley-style harrumphing conservative on there as well, for the same reasons, but that's a rare creature in this country these days, let alone this city.

8

Now that would certainly be entertaining.!

@9

I mean, none of the current council are exactly Gore Vidal, either, but one can dream, no?

Leadership doesn't have to endlessly amuse and entertain with explosive denunciations and feuds. A leader finds the sweet spot between strong, unshakeable principles and sensible, fair-minded negotiation and compromise. Blame-fests, insult-laden stereotypes, and knee-jerk accusation might titillate, but building relationships based on fairness, empathy, and respect enables win-win negotiation. Seattle has that tradition in its DNA, and it's been far more good than bad for this city. I rue its decline. And, with that in mind, I'm saddened by how many in Seattle now equate moderate with milquetoast, sell-out, and weakness. Moderate often entails mature appreciation for life's genuine complexity and the need to listen, not holler dogma at "enemies."

@3 - Because they'd appear more unhinged than they already are?

@5 -- -maybe somebody who can get things done instead of having some manifesto on minority issues.

What the fuck are you talking about. Her focus is on biking and public safety. How the fuck is a manifesto on minority issues to want safer streets? Oh yeah, because she is black. Got it.

-- doesn't arrive in office with a chip on their shoulder.

I didn't see chip; I see someone trying to improve the city.

-- somebody that doesn't have a career as a public employee --everybody on the damn council is a former public employee.... or used to suckling the tits of government agencies.

She is a fucking teacher, you dick. Why do you hate teachers, anyway? As it is, she taught at a private institute for a while (does that make you happy?). Holy shit, public experience makes sense if you are running for a public job. You have to be pretty fucking stupid to think that private business runs the same way as public institutions. Our current President had no public experience, and has completely fucked up government operations. Even dumb-ass Republicans realize that.