Comments

1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9MiS9tn_r4

2

Good work SECB, no matter one's politics.

3

It is always funny how right-wing organizations paint mainstream Democrats as radicals. I'm sure they attacked FDR back in the day ("The man is clearly a socialist! He proposes a mandatory pension program, that even has "social" in its name! Social Security -- you mean Socialist Security.") Gonzalez has the support of the majority of the Democratic organizations in the city, but you wouldn't guess that with all of the bullshit being pushed by the opposition. Likewise with Oliver. Nelson has the support of a few labor organizations, but the majority of the mainstream political organizations in the city support Oliver (https://ballotpedia.org/Sara_Nelson).

If the big money interests win this one, you can expect a lot of articles by The Stranger emphasizing the role that money played in their victories. Absent will be any soul searching. There will be little talk about how not too long ago, they ruled this town politically. Their editorials were so convincing, so sensible, that they would win every race, quite easily. I still remember the time they endorsed a reactionary candidate, because the alternative (a loon) was worse.

These races shouldn't be this close. Of course Bruce Harrell is a great candidate -- he has been for years. But he has always been a "second choice" candidate -- the one you want in charge if the alternative is terrible. But only the bumbling, stumbling acts of The Stranger allow him the chance to even compete with Gonzalez. The inability to point out the clear and present failings of Harrell while acknowledging that he is actually a good, decent man makes it all too easy to paint The Stranger as radical. The Stranger seems far more interested in protesting than it is in actually getting shit done.

Oh well. Let's hope that all the young folks actually get off their ass and vote. We haven't had a candidate for mayor as good as Gonzalez since Norm Rice, and yet she may fall short. Because politics in this city if fucked, and has been for a while.

5

Bad early returns in Seattle.

6

Davison's up by 22,000 votes. Nelson's up by 27,000. The late vote is gonna favor NTK and Oliver, but those numbers look insurmountable.

7

Early results show thousands of people split tickets, voting for both NTK and Bruce Harrell. I am not sure in what world that makes sense. But it does show how worthless the Gonzalez campaign was. Whoever ran that campaign should be embarrassed to show their face in Seattle politics ever again.

8

@3 Ross, that's a great comment.

9

The tone of this coverage reminds me, once again, why I will never donate to The Stranger's pledge drives. Good grief. Hyperbole much?

11

@7 Incredulity, "Early results show thousands of people split tickets, voting for both NTK and Bruce Harrell. I am not sure in what world that makes sense."

I think if you're a Dem voter, it makes sense because for a lot of them, voting for a Republican is out of the question, and with most people being low information voters, the only thing they may know about NTK is that she's not a Republican.

Then it just becomes whether they like Harrell or Gonzalez. Many Dem voters are fed up with left-wing policies on homelessness and crime.

12

So, so happy we are taking back the Democratic Party from the nutjob wing! Go Nelson! Go Harrell! Go anyone other than Thomas-Kennedy!

Was really hoping for coverage of sad Nikita Oliver’s fizzling election-night party, complete with defiant but hollow speech from Oliver themself, but oh well...

13

As predicted and expected.

15

@11

I voted for Harrell and NTK. Won’t stomach a Trump Republican. Ever.

I am also fed up with the City Council’s inaction on homelessness and the crime and filth associated with it. I am all for compassionate alternatives and I think the city should tax the hell out of rich businesses owners (the Bezoses of the city) to pay for extensive housing, addiction treatment and mental health services to help this population. I think this needs to be coupled with a crackdown on the tents, RVs, and general lawlessness downtown and in every neighborhood. The Progressive Left was in power as these problems exponentially increased in Seattle. Fair or not, they failed to own this problem and their policies made things worse. Gonzalez, Mosqueda, Oliver all failed to earn my vote this election. Perhaps with a more balanced council we can finally see some action on this problem that has beleaguered this city for the past half decade.

18

@15 j11, that is spot on.

Unfortunately, I feel the issues that Seattle faces are beyond the city's ability to address, no matter who we elect.

19

@7, @11 - voting for Harrell and NTK makes all the sense in the world. Harrell is a very reasonable centrist. Seattle could use some sanity. There was no such animal in the city attorney race. The choice there was between a kind of delusional "reformer" and a reactionary Trump-loving Republican. The first was clearly the better choice just because keeping the Trumpers away from any more elected offices is just about the most important thing we can do now. We're going to regret letting one of his minions have the keys to the city attorney's office.

20

@11 What Trump Republican are you talking about? The one who voted for both Clinton and Biden? Always amazes me that lefties are the ones who whine about “low information voters” when their information is so frequently 180 degrees away from the facts. But I guess if you fucking love science all is forgiven.

21

@19 dvs99, also spot on, as usual.

22

@19: how is someone who voted for Biden a Trump-loving Republican? Explain please.

Is this actually the Stranger line? What exactly are you peoples’ other news sources? It seems to be a common delusion in responses here.

24

Yeah the "trump republican" label is just a scare tactic people use to support NTK, who is obviously a thinly-disguised anarchist (and cop-hater... mind you, I don't like cops, but it's absolutely asinine to put a rabid cop-hater in the position she was running for) who started de-emphasizing her "abolitionist" bullshit because she realized it's not palatable even to most of the left.

And it's kinda hilarious to see the SECB make fun of people who think 3rd Ave is dangerous because of "not being the suburbs." I've been standing on 3rd between Pike and Pine waiting for my bus daily for about 6 years and it has DEFINITELY become mega-sketchy to the point where I actively watch my back the entire time I'm out there. There's blood on the sidewalk on a regular basis. This nerd finally knows how to score heroin because it's not concealed in any way. McStabby's has a sign out front declaring how many billions of knife wounds they've served. Y'all remember the night 7 bystanders got SHOT there? If it's after dark I walk 4 blocks south to Seneca because the sketch factor is way, way lower and I've never seen a single act of violence.

25

I was inclined to vote Harrell but couldn't be bothered to make it to a dropbox, and sure as hell wasn't going out of my way to vote for Gonzalez or NTK. Eat it, lunatic fringe. We've seen what you did to Portland and San Francisco.

26

Really though, if you want a more progressive, less corporate mayor, give us a viable alternative. We're all astronomically lucky that you didn't give us another 4 years of Trump (or more).

29

Anyone still believe the big lie of political extremists (left and right): "There are no swing voters"

30

@27 It's a referential joke. What's now the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board used to be named the Washington State Liquor Control Board.

The first dozen or so years I lived in Seattle, I voted with the SECB about 97% of the time. Now it's down to a couple of Port Commission seats. (Other recent votes, for reference: 2016 Bernie primary and donor, Clinton general; 2020 Bernie primary (steamed open my ballot to switch from Warren after she dropped out the day before I mailed it), Biden general.

31

Harrell is quintessential Seattle: a moderate, former UW football player and law school grad, former council member. His father was one of City Light's first black executives. I think he'll be a fine mayor.

As for the city attorney race - it was the wrong candidate, with a confusing message, delivered poorly, and without much vigor.

32

@24 shhh, you'll wake the "but the 80s in Seattle were by far more murderous and grungy!" crowd from their grumpy old white guy naps.
why, they used to see a man get beat down and stabbed every single day downtown, I tell ya. and all before lunch!

33

I realize this is puerile but...NEENER NEENER NEEEEEEENERRRRR all you far-left dupes.

34

420blazeit, it was actually the 70's that were creepy. Serial killers! Arsonists! The Monastery!

35

@4: Indeed! Terry McAuliffe is pickled with obnoxiousness that classy Virginians were desperate to expel.

37

Sawant should start packing up the office.

38

The immaturity on display in this article is incredible. You love to see it. Cry harder into your whiskey soda. Don't bother actually covering the event you're attending. Just repeat your talking points and write juvenile insults about the people who tried to talk to you.

40

Seattle voters have just expressed long-simmering dissatisfaction with the direction of our city. Many votes remain to be counted, but this seems to be the definitive statement many on the left thought would never come. In particular, Kenneth Wilson's performance against Teresa Mosqueda almost defies belief, as does the magnitude of Bruce Harrell's lead (granted it will shrink in the coming days). Those "undecideds" seem to be closet moderates who finally gave themselves permission not to care if their progressive friends disapprove of their politics. Too many in Seattle obsessively fear being thought conservative. There is something more important in this world than labels like "conservative," "centrist," or "progressive." Start with "honest." Start with "authentic." Start with "open-minded." And if occasional disagreement means someone calls you a "fucker" or "asshole," that's on them. Let's welcome, not fear, real discussion, respectful listening, and reasonable compromise. The feelings behind these election results didn't suddenly emerge--and they won't suddenly disappear, either.

41

Also you gotta love how when SECB first got to Davison's party, everyone was extremely kind and gracious to them, so much so that they were forced to acknowledge "everyone was nice to us despite them all being awful people" in their initial update.

By the time the second update rolls around, Davison has won, SECB is drunk and being boorish to everyone, and furiously writing this article about how all those kind, gracious people are HORRIBLE AWFUL SCUM OF THE EARTH FUCK YOU.

How does anyone take this childish publication seriously? How can anyone have such low self-respect as to put this stuff out, with their name on it, and not spend the rest of their life cringing in regret at the memory?

43

@dvs99 @jzerep11 @Pretty in Pink. It sounds like you are upset with the status quo of the last many years, and are looking for a change... so you vote for the guy who was City Council president up until January 2020. Our problems did not start in 2020. Harrell did nothing on housing and homelessness for over 10 years, why would you expect him to change? A veto-proof progressive majority has only existed on the council for less than 2 years, but they have moved much more aggressively to buy up property for transitional housing and create tiny home villages than during any time Harrell was involved. If you liked the fecklessness of the Durkan administration, you will love Harrell. There is no more disingenuous politician in Seattle than Harrell; he will continue the long Seattle tradition of saying you support something popular while quietly killing it on behalf of your rich supporters.

The only hope is if the Federal Government actually starts taking its responsibility regarding housing seriously. When it was only the west coast, it would never get national traction; but the crisis is affecting enough other states (including Republican ones) that we might actually see national political action around housing. If Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina didn't determine our national elections, we would have heard more about housing much sooner.

44

@42 I strongly, passionately oppose Trump and his movement, and I've disliked him for decades. He's a classic narcissist and demagogue, and I'd rather starve than vote for him. That does not mean I should hate all who identify as conservative or moderate, and I will continue to listen to and consider their viewpoints. I believe in synthesizing from diverse perspectives, not buying some whole ideological package and accusing those who don't of being cowards or traitors. And as for The Stranger: it has become the Fox News of the left, replete with knee-jerk hostility, mindless stereotypes, and intimidationist name-calling. The Stranger is the closest thing the left has to the Trump cult. Same shaming, same intimidation-style name-calling. And because of this it's lost influence and credibility. Is The Stranger synonymous with the left? Does its absurdly self-important "Control Board" get to determine who should be elected and who shouldn't, who is a good person and who isn't? Why has anyone ceded a scintilla of self-respect to its puerile, pouty self-indulgence? Again: self-respect, including my right and responsibility to consider diverse viewpoints, not capitulate to ideological bullies who respect nothing but a worship-or-snark paradigm.

45

This, sigh, is what democracy looks like.

SECB needs to take a long hard look at itself.

On the other edge of the flat political earth, the City of Sequim seems to have cleaned out their QAnon Mayor's pet city council majority.

46

@43 Incredulity, that assessment is largely spot on.

However, I'm not a Harrel supporter, and while I cast a ballot, I didn't vote for either. The Repubs are nazis and Dems are dumbfucks. The entire system is broken.

Repubs and centrists will take all the wrong lessons from this and make it about something it's not. The left-wing will learn nothing and double-down.

The word "progressive" has been co-opted by every side to mean whatever they want it to mean, so it no longer has any meaning.

Like most "progressive" liberals, I'm in support of more housing, transitional housing, social services, etc. But there's a limit to that, and I don't like the direction it's been going in. And the crime situation is a REAL problem, and unless the left-wing wakes the fuck up on that issue, we're going to start seeing a lot more movement towards conservative and centrist candidates getting elected.

47

It's still early and it sounds like half of ballots have yet to be counted however based on initial night results there seems to be a few trends emerging both here and nationwide.

The abolish/defund the police movement has been a disaster. NKT and Oliver here in Seattle seem to have lost. The provision to abolish the police In MN went down in flames. Eric Adams won in NYC and the socialist candidate in Buffalo lost to the incumbent as a write in candidate.
The local political organizations in Seattle no longer represent the Dem party and have been corrupted by fringe elements. The 34th, 43rd and 37th District Dems endorsements of the far left slate and in some cases non Dems demonstrated how little credibility they have with the general voting populace.
The disinformation campaign by The Stranger and some of the other local media publications (The Urbanist and Publicola come to mind) didn't resonate this time because low information voters didn't bother to vote. I'd love to believe the influence of The Stranger is waning but their horrible endorsement of NKT proved they still have the ability to influence those last minute voters who don't put much thought into their ballot.

The council will move a little more to the center but not much. Mosqueda will no doubt be the council president and if you think she'll play nice with Harrell after he took out her BFF you're delusional. Mosqueda, Morales and Sawant will continue to drive much of the agenda on the council but with Nelson joining Peterson and Juarez on the more moderate side you could see the opportunists Herbold, Lewis and Strauss drift back to center. They are not true believers and go with what they think is the opinion of the moment. Herbold could face a tough re-election campaign in a couple years after she endorsed NKT. I think Sawant prob survives the recall effort and continues to act as the council jester.
We'll see less of the activist community driving the agenda and more inclusion of other voices which will be a great thing. Solving the big problems of public safety, housing affordability and climate change will continue to be difficult as there will continue to be competing visions between the council and the executive branch. Harrell needs to prove he can make a difference by going around or through the council and if he can do that voters will reward him in two years but voting in a more friendly council.
The Dems are in big trouble come next year. The race based campaigns they have been running are becoming tired and stale and quite frankly most people can see through them for the bullshit that they are. They still have a few more months to regroup and come to the American people with a compelling vision for the country and proof they can govern this country. If they are unable to get their act together we'll see a resurgence of Trumpism and they'll have no one to blame but themselves.

Thanks to everyone who voted and made their voices heard.

50

The outcome should satisfy both sides. The moderates gained influence and the fruitcakes got their asses reamed.

52

@26 Four more years of Trump will be coming in 2024. Unless Democrats wake up really quickly and rid themselves of the politically correct plague that has been taking over the party. For people that claim to be grounded in science they don't seem to understand that math is part of science. While it may tug your heart strings to rally around gender pronouns and guys in skirts, the aggregate of nature's whims and aberrations does not yield more than single digits. And even those are not necessarily an homogeneous voting block. Just ask Caitlin Jenner.
If you don't want Trump then perhaps make the places you run inviting to everyone. Not just deadbeats, drug addicts, hairy women and dudes that never want to leave the parents' house. What Democratic governance has done to Seattle, Portland, San Francisco etc. amounts to rolling out the red carpet for Trump. All you need to do is show voters in swing states the images, the insane slogans, the wokeness and they can't fill their bubble fast enough for Trump.
That's is troubling as the country needs leadership that deals with climate change. But "progressives" rather insists on wokeness than on solving actual problems. It is all about emotions and nothing about science. But then the Bernie cult has more in common with Trumpers than what separates them.

53

It's obvious to anyone but the most humorless, obtuse people that "The Stranger Election Control Board" is an amusing affectation, as is the coverage.

As the kids say, "Lighten up"

55

@22- I know who Davison says she voted for. Maybe she actually did. But if you JOINED the Republican Party during the Trump years, you either tacitly support him or your are extremely naive, enough so to think the party has not turned into a far-right cult of personality. Neither inspires any confidence in her judgment. Let’s hope she does not listen to Republican leadership on anything important.

56

@54 Sure, meeb. I always knew that Bill Maher is an "anti-lgbt, racist pieces of shit".

57

@55 Seriously, dude? You think that Davison will make a call to Florida every morning to check whether to prosecute this or that guy? Have you any ability to separate local and national issues? If in the US there would be more parties than just (R)s and (D)s that have a chance to govern plenty of folks would jump at the chance to pick someone else. Instead, we are stuck with vomit and puke. In this local area here, I don't blame anyone for going (R). The fact that the local (D) organizations backed NKT tells you everything what a lost cause (D)s in the Seattle area are. It is great to see the pendulum swing back a little.

59

No, I don't generalize. Neither the (D)s nor the (R)s are monolithic voting blocs.


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