Comments

1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPIdRJlzERo

2

Think of it this way,,,,

It’s not that she lost more votes.

It’s just that Seattle decided to tax 55% of the votes to help her opponent,

See how that works?

4

Well written, Rich.

5

So much for magnanimity in defeat, I guess. Rich, there are enough sour grapes here to make a fine Chianti.

6

Seattle voters frequently ignore the remainder of the state. We who live outside Seattle are often asked to find projects that only benefit Seattiltes.

Tim Eyman is a bleeding chancre on the inside of Washington state’s anus. How is it that such an uncharismatic man wins so many ballot initiatives? Maybe it’s because, after almost twenty years, Sound Transit has yet to extend the light rail beyond King County. Voters in Tacoma and Everett are being asked to pay money now for a light rail station that will not open in their cities for another ten years. And for voters further afield, Centralia voters are never going to be served by Sound Transit anyway, so why vote to pay for it?

The entire state shifted to the right this election. Tim Eyman won two initiatives, one against public transit, and the other to uphold his earlier initiative against Affirmative Action. Every funding measure for state government failed. In Bellingham, Chanan Suarez, the only socialist candidate running outside Seattle, lost his bid for City Council. The catastrophe extends further beyond District Three. It’s a statewide contagion.

And I think the root cause behind this shift is, at the state level, the Left is not politically organized, whereas the political Right is. Right wing candidates get endorsed by other right wing politicians in other parts of the state. What candidates beyond Bellingham endorsed Suarez? Has Shaun Scott courted an endorsement from anyone outside Seattle?

The light rail is great if you live in South King County. It’s a white elephant if you live in Tacoma or Everett.

As for Sawant, she is the victim of Amazon’s money bomb. However, her election is still winnable. The right loves to declare her political career over every chance it gets, but she always comes back. This is a tough fight. So was the election against Richard Conlin. She won that one. She will win this one too.

As for everyone else, quit being so fucking provincial. You want light rail? You want Tacomans to pay for it? Ok, then extend the goddamn light rail to Tacoma. And don’t tell us to wait another ten years for it, either.

7

Rich Smith is Very Mad.

8

Hey Rich, Get your head out of Sawart’s ass. The air is much fresher.

9

" a coveted endorsement from The Stranger"

Is comedy the new poetry?

11

No one worried about Seattle's reputation when you guys voted Mayor Jenny into office, despite the fact that she was the former U.S. Attorney for Western District. During that time, Jenny was given over an 800 page Congressional investigation regarding WaMu crimes, which she alone could have prosecuted. She let Kerry Killinger skate on that crime spree.

And you losers think she is "progressive" because she's gay. Catch a clue.

12

This race isn't over. She was pulling 56% of the late vote citywide in 2013. That's about what she needs to get from here on out. And D3 is more liberal than the entire city.

13

Sawant's loss has nothing to do with Amazon, the overall political bent of the Council or any other factor besides Sawant herself. Seattle voters were sick of her narcissistic, divisive, anti-Semitic shtick. We wanted a grownup on the Council who would look beyond the national agenda of their political party and take a view that benefits the overall health of our city.

14

@13: Many self-called Jews reject the existence of the Zionist State, and like Us ADOS, most White Americans have always cheated against Us Reds as relates to fairness in both elections, taxation, educations and wages, ( not to forget the forceful SSKKKattering of 'Coloreds' from Alabama,Louisiana, Georgia, Mississippi & South Carolina so as to eliminate 'Negro' majorities). Reich-wing fucks have higher rates of birth than Progs.

15

Edit: And like ADOS, Is Reds have been cheat-fucked by most White Americans in almost every aspect of Life in the United States of America since Day Fucking One! Pfft.--- inequality.org & theyrule.net & fairvote.org.

17

Maybe what we wanted was a DISTRICT 3 representative. Amazon could have spent nothing, and the district would have remained unhappy with its representation. If Sawant loses, her supporters will come up with all kinds of spin but they won't mention that her office was notoriously apathetic about neighborhood issues. Yes, minimum wage, housing, etc., are important, so are potholes and parks. I'd like to see her in Olympia, that seems to be where her interests would naturally take her.

19

It's instructive that Rich, in choosing a story to illustrate his undying love for Sawant, picked on in which she did nothing of consequence, interrupted a progressive Council colleague, and disrupted a meeting. Given Sawant's lack of achievements as an office holder, he probably picked the right story.

20

17 really nails this.

Yes, Amazon and the PAC spend was a factor, but to Rich and the Denizens at the Stranger who know best what constituents should expect: its an elected REPRESENTATIVE for a District. By and large, the district agrees with her positions. It was her own office's operation that opened up the gap for the PACs to exploit. Not returning constituent calls, not responding to constituent letters, being openly disdainful of "parochial concerns", referring to parents' concern about child safety playing at Cal Anderson Park as"privileged", ignoring small business calls about municipal service, parking concerns, public safety.

She may yet win- and she is the only one raising the solutions she raises. Without her, its the same Seattle pablum that's been circulating since Wes Uhlman got elected. But don't be naive and lay this all "Amazon and PACs and Tim Burgess"--the job is to REPRESENT a district, ALL of it. Not just the people whose circumstance and situation appeal. The needs aren't the same. YouthCare, Lambert House, and social housing constituents have different needs than constituents in Madison Valley or Denny-Blaine. But an elected representative doesn't get to ignore the needs of people they represent. At least not without consequence. CM Sawant absolutely did that.

21

As @19 noted, Rich has mistaken CM Sawant’s photo-opportunistic followership for actual political leadership.

This may go a long way toward explaining the bewildered, impotent rage with which our melanin-challenged writer throws around divisive terms like “lily-white.”

22

She lost the labor vote. End of story.

23

If we were on fire, Trump would send us gasoline because we like socialists kind of like we like spiky hair. But the fact of the matter is, when it's time to go to work, we wash out the gel. Seattle is not socialist. It's the most wired capitalist city in America. We dress up like socialists for parties and quip like socialists in our texts. But when it comes right down to it, Seattle is here to make money and goddamn lots of it ... with as little trouble as possible (and within that caveat is where the socialists live.)

24

Someone should let Rich know that he missed the November Revolution by about a hundred years. Georgy Malenkov called and he wants his political theories and Lenin posters back. Rich is a rube

26

Your wheel spinning is outta control, Rich. Take a break. Eat a snickers. You're just making a fool of yourself with this crap.

As just about everybody but you has figured out, this isn't about socialism. This isn't about saying fuck you to Amazon or Bezos. This isn't about taking on the capitalist oligarchy. I'm wagering a solid majority of cap hill residents are still very much in favor of these matters. This is about a district that was tired of an ineffective, divisive and generally pretty embarrassing councilmember. She completely neglected local matters, which would be forgivable if she actually made any headway on larger social issues. If she could at least be viewed as a leader on these issues, ya know? But she was always there, over in her own corner, never even coming close to another 15/hr moment. It was time to move on.

Chin up. Even tho your reputation (and the Stranger's) is in the crapper right now, I very much doubt this is the last we've heard from her. There's the 1-2% chance that the remaining votes break hard enough in her favor she squeaks out a win. But more importantly she will be free of the constraints of the city council. The one thing people actually think of her as having accomplished (15/hr) happened before she was elected.

27

Where on this green planet is Revolutionary Marxism working out well? I await enlightenment.

28

"Having a council member who would do that—call out the bullshit, join the protesters storming city council rather than try to shut them out—is a service.

And it’s that sort of service the people of District 3, and the rest of the city for that matter, will probably miss if it's gone."

No its not a "service". Service would be doing her actual job. And nobody beside you dead ender minimum wage latte communists at the stranger is going to miss that abrasive clown.

29

Egan Orion made lots of progressive promises to win this seat. We will see if he actually meant them, or if he really is just a corporate yes man. The Orion campaign workers certainly seemed to believe he could not be bought, will they hold him accountable?

30

I voted for Sawant, and will be disappointed if she loses. However, I am not particularly a fan. I voted for her as a pragmatic vote against Amazon and as the most progressive voice left standing after the primary.

If there is a positive in Egan winning it will be perhaps the ascension of a new progressive candidate in 4 years. One that isn't as easy for big business to paint as progressive bogeyman. So assuming that most of the Amazon candidates have lost, I can accept this result.

31

It says that Sawant is an ugly person on the inside who doesn't inspire people, doesn't hold herself accountable, and doesn't have a real socialist vision, but rather a vehicle for her own personal power.

33

It means if a Socialist can't even win in Seattle... good luck in 2020.

34

U mad bro?

I'd criticize this article for racist and deeply prejudiced undertones but The Stranger doesn't even pretend to advocate tolerance to begin with.

35

So I don't know the details of how she worked out while she was in office, but I can tell you that to me, it confirms my impression of blue urban liberal cities that I've been harping on about for a couple years now- y'all aren't nearly so progressive as you think you are. But I'm sure the lesson you will actually take is "the US isn't ready for lefty politics if Seattle isn't" not "Seattle isn't nearly so left as it thinks it is".

I've been going on about this for a long time, but my impression of American politics is this.

In blue urban areas, most people tend to be liberal- there are far fewer Republicans. But those liberals do not see a full political spectrum, they are far less likely to see other perspectives and far less likely to be leftists.

In red rural areas, most people tend to be disaffected, sick of both parties, but most voters are Republican. But of the minority of non-Republican voters and the majority of disaffected nonvoters, people are much more likely to be more radical and more left than are liberals in blue states.

I keep saying this, and that's how I interpret these results.

But it could just be that Sawant was a bad council woman- were people generally happy with what she did? I dunno.

36

@35 I mean, Sawant was voted in twice before she was voted out. She was putting her Marxism front and center the whole time, too. I have trouble squaring this with the picture you're painting.

My own pet theory is that rural and urban voters aren't nearly as different as the Wednesday-morning electioneers would have it. There are a few loud complainers, a lot of affable people more or less going with the flow, and everyone's behavior is far more sensitive to their social context than anyone ever talks about.

37

It says Seattle is populated by intelligent people who learn from their mistakes.

38

One should not ignore the fact that the vote was also about Sawant's years in office: her condescending rhetoric and attitude, and not getting much done due to her inability/unwillingness to work with others.

39

For example, the democratic socialists are winning seats in Knoxville, Houston, Denver, Virginia, etc. So if they are losing in Seattle- a liberal city that a couple years ago elected the most conservative of their top three front runners to mayor- then maybe it's just that having the richest man in the world move to your town and expand it makes the demographics more likely to support the status quo.

Also you'll find a similar thing with the yellow vest movement- you cannot continue to just have taxes on average people, they eventually blow up against the pressure. What is car taxes there? Property taxes? Compare to Amazon taxes. People will revolt, and that can go either way. It's why the yellow vest thing included both lefties and reactionaries. People are rightfully sick of being expected to redistribute their own wealth and not all of them have the structural analysis to direct that anger at the 1% who are getting away with hoarding wealth instead of at the poor to whom people's wealth is being redistributed, and yet that group keeps growing.

So what happens is you put people who manage to do pretty well in our current system (not the super rich, but folks who make six figures and can afford to own homes and raise children in cities) you put them in a position of having to choose between defending their lifestyle against poor people or else being taxed at every turn to pay for support systems that never seem to solve the problem. It's a classic case of professional class liberals eventually choosing to side with the wealthy class 1% who cause their problems because they still have the option of being able to make it in the system. Everyone else is angry and poor and have nothing to lose.

Which is why liberals need to shake themselves awake and figure out what side they are on- neoliberalism is over. Either it's massive structural change or you just have to join the ranks of the 1% and accept that life is only good for the people who serve them and their interests, and that's going to be an increasingly small number of heavily defended folks.

40

it means they're finally waking up! Kshama is a sham.

41

Personality is 85% of political success, ideology 15%.

42

"neoliberalism is over"

Yes, lowest unemployment in 50 years and a decade of solid growth with rising wages in the US.

Don't confuse whining on Facebook and twitter with your "revolution" honey.

43

Pointing to Sawant’s ethnicity as the reason people didn’t vote for her is an insult to all of us regardless of race.
Her years in office highlighted her condescending rhetoric and attitude, and not getting much done if anything at all due to her inability/unwillingness to work with others.

46

Her loss says we reject the socialist takeover. Freedom, not Leftist oppression.

47

Maybe one day you'll realize only half the ballots were counted, and anything mailed yesterday won't even show up until the Friday afternoon count.

48

@38 Sawant's approach to governing was well established after her first term. She was reelected easily; the 3rd was fine with having a firebrand for a representative in 2015.

I don't find any of the "do-nothing council" explanations terribly convincing. Doing nothing is the very essence of conservatism, after all.

It was only when the council DID do something, passing a bill to fund housing by taxing businesses, that conservatives' heads exploded.

And what on earth does the 3rd need, really? It's the most pampered district in the city. You can't even find a pothole older than a week or so there, while certain other districts feature portals to the abyss that opened aeons ago, before the Time of Men.

I'm inclined to believe there were a bunch of small factors adding up to end Sawant's tenure on the council, but her podium-pounding, her legislative record, and her lack of interest in delivering pork all strike me as pretty small beer.

I'd note that this was the first campaign where Sawant went negative, and she went negative on her opponent's supporters instead of going negative on the candidate himself. That's a rookie mistake, but then Seattle is a small city that doesn't see a lot of political hardball, so there aren't a lot of players here who've had a lot of practice.

49

She's going to lose because she's a despicable person and her views are about hate and anger. Being a horrible person doesn't make you a good leader, it just makes you awful.

51

@47 I'm not sure you understand what King County Elections means by "ballots returned" when they report a count. They're not just kinda guessing the number of ballots they think might be in the post.

They're reporting the number they have in hand at the time of the snapshot. The discrepancy I'm curious about is between ballots on site the morning of the 5th, vs. ballots counted by 8pm that evening.

https://info.kingcounty.gov/kcelections/ballotreturnstats/default.aspx
https://aqua.kingcounty.gov/elections/2019/nov-general/results.pdf
https://www.kingcounty.gov/~/media/depts/elections/about-us/data-and-statistics/historical-turnout-data.ashx?la=en

52

Honey Boo, I'm not on Twitter as brevity is not my strong suit, and my Facebook is exclusively to share pics of pets and niece & nephew, and I'm currently involved with zero political activity, sugar tits.

Robot, aside from the fact that she seems herself not a great personality, what else changed between then and now? I followed the head tax thing, and from here it looks like shifting alliances due to changes in demographics & amazon more than anything. In rural areas, you have far fewer people whose class interests are aligned with the rich. What's the income demographic of people in her district, how has it changed since she was first elected, what is their personal tax burden (automobiles, houses, consumer products)?

53

The United States is very good at producing wealthy Socialists. After all they live like capitalists

55

It's a lot of things. Some of it sexist. Some if racist. Some of it Sawant dooming herself.

Her base is a subsection of Seattle politics that tends to towards the extreme left, which in terms of alignments is chaotic neutral. They want change. They want it now. They have no plan for it that seems passingly realistic in terms of execution or understanding about how people live or how to wind hearts or minds. My way or the highway is kind of the theme but there's like 16 highways going to nowhere because there's no unified idea of what the plan is.

She's got an abrasive communication style that would be rewarded if she were male and white. She is female and not white. The average Seattle citizen likes the idea of being progressive and supportive of diversity until the brown woman person gets uppity and shitty at them. Then that's a hard pass.

This really isn't surprising and I'm writing this as a person of color who is pretty moderately Democrat (I think the slur that extremely left parts of my part like to call 'Blue Dog) and I appreciated her willingness to cut the shit but much of what she does is extremely unfocused and nothing seems to prioritize except giving The Man the finger. The Man needs a finger but the city also needs to function. And you can't have both in the way she operates.

56

@3: What difference does Sawant's accent make? There are people who were came to this country as children with their parents who speak with accents. And where is it written that all immigrants MUST lose their accents? And since when do we even have only ONE "American accent" in this country? If you have an issue with what Sawant says, that's your call...but it's petty for you to act as though it should be an issue that she doesn't sound exactly like your notion of what a "Real American" sounds like. And coming to this country doesn't have to mean erasing who you were before you got here.

57

Rich,

Sawant lost because she couldn't convince a majority of voters in her district that she deserves another term. Her voters weren't apathetic or too racist to vote for a brown woman and didn't prefer a candidate who lied to them. Her voters didn't fail her, and it's not their fault she lost. She failed to convince them to support her, which is what she must to to continue to be an elected official. All it says about Seattle is that the people in her district preferred someone else.

58

Park Place, no opinion on if Sawant ran a bad campaign or not- I'll take your word for it. Seems the consensus here that she's not very personable. But that bit about tech under capitalism is such obvious bullshit to be a trope by now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jTCBirELDU

59

If Sawant is voted out-she might still scrape through after all, she's been known to pick up a percentage point in a single vote drop-it will send the message that nothing Jeff Bezos doesn't approve will ever happen in this city again. If that message is sent, it means homelessness will never be fully addressed-forcing people into shelters can never address it and neither can arresting or institutionalizing people-it means that no means of reigning in exorbitant rent increases will ever be found, it means the Tenants Bill of Rights will be killed-it means this could be, for decades, maybe forever, a city where the wealthy will hold power over everyone else and will make everyone else bow and scrape to them. Who the hell, other than the wealthy, would even WANT to live in a city like that?

Liberalism that excludes the poor from gains, as "business-friendly liberalism" always has to be-isn't liberalism at all.

60

And liberalism that puts the rich above all others isn't liberalism, either.

61

@52 I wouldn't go trying to tell rural people where their class interests lie when they keep telling us we've guessed wrong about it, over and over again.

Yes, the 3rd's influx of yuppies seems a likely factor, though only partial-- even record rates of immigration take decades to move a political needle, and we're talking about a reversal that took place in 4 years.

In a similar vein, I'd attribute a smidge (but only a smidge) to the normalization of homosexuality, and the consequent gay cultural assimilation and deradicalization of gay political activism. We're in a transitional millleu where a liberal gay candidate can run well to the right of a progressive, but it's still difficult to mount a personal political attack from the left on said gay candidate. The same played out a bit in the last mayoral race-- The Stranger attacked Durkan's supporters but found it a heavier lift to attack her personally... and it didn't work then, either.

And finally, while I discount the claim that the substance of the head tax conflict had much to do with this, the spectacle might have had some effect. Sawant came out of it looking defeated, and while nobody consciously weighs it when voting, everybody feels a little better backing a winner. Trump's rhetoric about "losers" is infantile, but it's also effective-- particularly on those who don't keep score, and aren't entirely sure which team is ahead.

By contrast, in 2015 Sawant was riding the passage of the formerly unthinkable $15/hr minimum wage, and looked like a champion.

62

As to what her supporters should do to regroup: the first step should be to start statewide petition campaigns to overturn the state constitutions indefensible bans on rent control, income tax, and wealth tax-and to repeal the state sales tax when income and wealth taxes are put in place. There are a lot of people who would support those campaigns and most Washington residents would save money if they did. The bans on income tax, wealth tax and rent control were put in place in the "robber baron" era of Washington state history, and have no place in a modern society.

63

If Sawant loses, and if KOMO's Eric Johnson doesn't lead with "(Socialism in) Seattle is Dying!", I'll be disappointed.

64

@robot Thanks, that's interesting. Just to be clear, I wasn't saying that I thought the head tax fiasco contributed to her loss, just that it got national news coverage and demonstrated how Amazon both avoided paying taxes in all proposed scenarios as well as how they put their fingers on the scale in local politics. What I see/hear in Seattle among liberal homeowners is how much of a tax burden they are carrying. If you can't get the richest person in the world to pay and then those costs get passed down to middle class people, it's not surprising that the middle class people are going to get sick of it- and unfortunately they don't always direct that anger at the 1% who aren't paying (jobs providers) but rather at the politicians who keep increasing their taxes instead.

As for liberals telling red states and rural folks what to do- they literally do that all the fucking time, define the media narratives, and in fact sneer at us constantly. I think there is less of that going around these days. I remember shortly after the election Dan Savage making fun of people in a red state protesting about losing health care- as if its their fault it is happening. This is the urban liberal attitude I'm referring to that seems to miss the point of what is going on. I'm not above sneering myself of course, so I think it's interesting to see the liberal media try to figure out why red states are turning blue and why socialists are winning in red states while Seattle is becoming a feudal kingdom. But you are correct that the sneering is not a good look from either side, my primary motivation is to learn what is going on, but after being told how backwards Texas is for so long by smug liberals in urban areas whose states just happen to be blue because they live somewhere with only one large city and sparsely populated red surroundings, I do admit to feeling some unhelpful and obnoxious gloating.

65

Reading comprehension never was your strong suit, Alaskan.

It’s a commentary on the Arby’s employee from Missouri telling everyone else how backward they are.

Look at Rich’s fucking skin.

Or is he another one of those self-hating older dudes who have yet to figure out that if they think the white man should get out of governance for 200 years, their opinion is invalid?

Poor brown this, poor brown that.

66

Well...at least she has time now to primary Pramilla Jayapal

67

White power fists in the air, y’all.

Yes, yokel, Americans have accents.

Ours seems to match that of Toronto, somehow.

68

@57, you win the thread

69

"If sawant loses what does that say about seattle?"

Says to me what I've always known to be true, seattle isn't socialst and is only progressive to the extent it doesn't interfere with growth. Seattle has always been a place to make a quick buck. I'm okay with that. Obviously, it's why people want to live here. Once they make that buck, they usually don't leave.

Like the rest of the country, only a small, small, small % of the voting population really want anything resembling collectivism in the marxist sense. Social security, public schools, that sort of stuff is okay. But Capitalism works, we can tweak it to improve it, but it's the best system yet tried.

70

It's also possible that we district 3 voters aren't mindless sheep and can think for ourselves. Many of us are unhappy with her performance as district 3 representative, and aren't happy with her congress-esque inability to compromise in a city that is left of center as a whole. We're not interested in yet another in a string of endless politicians who shout people down and draw lines in the sand.

If she wants to run for national office, she should do so. In the meantime, we have potholes to fix.

71

@69 That's all fine, but it's not terribly helpful when some people think a $15/hr minimum wage is a tweak to capitalism, while others act like it's the Soviet Army landing a full armored assault at Duwamish Head.

72

@70 Where? Where do you have potholes to fix? You can't even trip over a crack in the sidewalk on Capitol Hill without a crew showing up within 48 hours to fix it.

Your parks are immaculately groomed, while other districts are overgrown. You have an embarrassment of transit options, your festivals are the city's finest, there's not a single empty storefront to be found, and new construction springs from the ground like autumn mushrooms.

What more do you want? The city already falls all over itself to shower your district in pork.

73

Rich: Sawant is losing for the obvious reasons many on this blog comment thread have noted: her dogmatic blaming, grotesque self-importance, and inadequate attention to local concerns are just the beginning of it. She's a village scold: she doesn't listen or learn, but lectures in the manner of an ideologue who KNOWS. Her (apparent) loss does not say Seattle is too cowardly for a real rebel. It does say Seattle is waking up from feeling intimidated by The Stranger, among other local institutions. Voters trusted their own sense Sawant wasn't an effective council member, and they decided to do something about it: with their votes. And I know many voters who don't like Sawant, and not one--not one--likes Amazon or would believe its propaganda. Sawant did not do a good enough job, Rich, and many voters are simply fed up with her brand of sanctimonious self-promotion masked by "I'm doing this for others" SJW rhetoric. Meanwhile, Trump needs to be out of office, and local transit projects are in serious trouble because of I-976's passing. Go ahead and ponder the real meaning of Sawant's decline in popularity. There are far, far more pressing matters at hand, and most of us don't have time to worry about whether Seattle is good enough for you and Kshama.

74

The real question is how long will The Stranger be around?

76

Maybe the problem with Sawant is that she paints every single landlord, every big business and every person of power or wealth as "the enemy." She would like to dismantle all the corporations, the police department, etc., etc. She is viewed as uncooperative, builds walls and expresses hate as consistently as the pig currently living in the White House. Just because she is on "the other side" does not mean she is on the right side, and she's certainly done nothing to build alliances.

77

@76 Well-said.

78

Big Ideas are fun—I've been plenty guilty of it myself—until you start to notice the day-to-day stuff isn't getting done.

79

@75 I suppose that would all depend on what you personally find boring or normal, but he was definitely the candidate furthest to the right.

I mean personally I can't think of anything on earth duller than Marxism, but clearly it excites you. Probably in ways I'd rather not learn any more about, either, thank you.

That's fine, though, we get all kinds in here.

80

@78 What day-to-day stuff isn't getting done in the 3rd? It's so well-kept up there it's practically Xanadu.

Hop into your late-model European automobile and drive "south" some time. That is, point your car at the mountain while on "city streets" (i.e not I5). This will feel a bit uncomfortable, but you'll be turning around and returning before too long.

81

Maybe all Sawant's loss says about Seattle today is that most voters in that district (and even the city as a whole) don't hold the same political views as most of The Stranger's staff.

It's The Stranger that's now out of touch with Seattle, not the other way around.

82

@81 But that's been The Stranger's brand identity from day one, when they were a couple of feisty University of Wisconsin transplants taking on the squares at The Weekly and siphoning ad dollars out of The Rocket's tank.

They've always hated everything Seattle tells itself about Seattle. It's the secret to their success.

83

@72, @80 / @robotslave - I live in Squire Park in D3 and I can assure you there are plenty of potholed streets that don't get repaired. I just checked my Find It Fix It log and I reported a handful of potholes 306 days ago that are still open cases. There are several vacant storefronts along Yesler between 12th and 23rd. Capitol Hill is a bustling business district, but there are still issues there that require city resources (homelessness, drug use, property crime, graffiti).

That said, I don't understand why so many voters believe these are a councilmember's issues. If I want potholes fixed, I go to SDOT. If I want park equipment repaired, I go to Parks & Rec.

84

Hey #8 “DPBEN”,

“Get your head out of Billionaire Bully Bezos’s ass. The air is much fresher”.

There, fixed that for ya!

:)

https://www.kshamasawant.org/

https://www.socialistalternative.org/

85

@82 - Successful with UW undergrads and a handful of pissed off political outsiders. You know a lot of people read The Stranger just to find things to do and upcoming events in and around Seattle.

86

Today's drop bumped CM Sawant by only .17%.
That makes a win almost mathematically impossible.

87

@84 You’ll be missed, Kshama.

88

@80 Wait, was that for me? I live a block off Mission and haven't owned a car in 25 years so... I'm not sure?

My point was local politicians prioritizing national and ideological issues while their constituent's top concerns (no doubt: homeless, cost of living, crime) have not been addressed with much success—however insurmountable regardless of your political leanings—really need to learn to work with people unlike themselves because the momentum of their ideas alone run out of steam pretty quickly.

90

I think Sewant, taken in a vacuum, could well be held as just loosing because of tone deafness. But, looking up and down the ballot, with Penderson leading Scott, with car tabs following the defeat of carbon tax and with even a general move toward vague feel-good politics over data and policy, I think it's a safe bet that we won't see much coming from the council except a lot of gesturing about how they are working on solving problems without any actual evidence of solving them (other than "we sided with business" over and over again).

When I was born not so terribly long ago, representation ostensibly meant "of people". It seems we've thrown out even the pretense: companies have all the same rights as people with few of the penalties, and they are overwhelmingly represented over actual people. I am a full on capitalist, but I see the system sabotaging itself to collapse and Seattle is the poster child for it this year.

92

Maybe Sawant and you could talk about how "inhumane" ICE is to the women being raped and people stabbed by illegals in WA. Seriously, be brave, very brave. Stand by your beliefs and tell it to them.

93

My my, what a generally angry, smug and often vindictive bunch of internet posters you all are. (Not everyone of course).
I note how the anti-Sawant commments tend to fully embody the content of their criticisms of her- they claim to know better than everyone, they are idealogues, they use big phrases they do not appear to understand, all the while railing-railing! Against a precived affront often alongside blaming The Stranger and Rich Smith for some vague thoughtcrime.
At the same time, the more favorable comments seem most interested in blaming others or condescending to people who aren't as enlightened.

And in the midst if the middens, there is the occasional thoughtful post. Robotslave has a few, along with some others that read like he's been into the cough syrup.
Mmmm...I wonder where I can get some cough syrup.... Maybe from the manicured lawns of district 3 after selling my kindeys to Jeff bezos.
Socialism ack! Capitalism ack!
The Stranger made me do it!

Seriously though, in conclusion you all need to calm the f down. Ideology will not save you.
As terribly as you all Drive, we all have to live in the city together.

94

Or maybe Sawant is a parasite who rightly surmised she could fool enough idiots into electing her for the sole purpose of advancing the socialist ideology and career, two things that have nothing to do with the district she supposedly represents.
Refusing to meet with constituents didn't help her cause. Making rent control a central theme when city council has no power over state law...I mean it's a lazy phrase to throw out there to the idiots.


Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.