We wont ever forget this night.
We won't ever forget this night. Photo by Jonathan Vanderweit

Four years ago, we tried to find a silver lining in a long, dark night. But as we stood together, mostly crying, watching the math unfold on the big screen at our election night party at The Showbox, we knew we were "fucked. Fuck fuck fucking fuck. So fucked." That long night stretched out for years.

But then, over the weekend, cracks of dawn broke through.

Thank you for making that happen. Thank you for standing up with your neighbors to end the bleakest and most cynical term our nation has recently faced. As Kamala Harris said during her first speech as Vice President-Elect on Saturday, "Now is when the real work begins, the hard work, the necessary work, the good work, the essential work."

Today, we're thinking about how Stranger readers collectively spent over 1 MILLION MINUTES (!!!) reading the Stranger Election Control Board's endorsements last month. Those girthy endorsements were the result of months of Zoom meetings and years of reporting. We promise to continue providing these legally-binding recommendations for each election, even as we face unprecedented hardships.

We're thinking about how we need to thank so many people for the historic achievements made last week. Stacey Abrams. Arizona's Latino activists. The Navajo Nation. Black voters all over the country, but especially in Georgia and in Michigan's Washtenaw County and Wayne County. The spirit of John McCain, John Lewis, and George Floyd. Grassroots organizing in Pennsylvania. Madison. The Culinary Workers Union in Nevada. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

We're also thinking about how voters rejected all of Maia Espinoza's bullshit and prevented Washington from electing its own Betsy DeVos.

And also how Loren Culp didn't stand a chance, even with Facebook's blessing.

And how we need mask mandates nationwide, and how masks should include your noses!!

And finally, we're thinking about how we just PASSED our goal of reaching 1,500 new contributors by the end of fall. To date, we’ve had 1,560 new first time donors come in since the beginning of the season. THANK YOU, and please, if you haven't already, consider keeping homegrown journalism alive by making a small, recurring monthly contribution. Contributions as low as $5 per month make a HUGE difference to a small organization like ours and will ensure that we keep fighting the good fight for Seattle.

Without your unwavering support, we would not be where we are today. We remain truly grateful for our readers' generosity and look forward to covering Seattle as we head into this new era.