Happy SECB to those who celebrate: The moment you’ve all been waiting for is finally upon us. The Stranger Election Control Board, in our infinite wisdom, have chosen our champions for the 2023 election. I think I speak for the board when I say, holy shit, I am soooo glad our endorsement process is over! We endorsed candidates for the County Council, City Council, Port Commission, and School Board races. We even made a a lil cheat sheet to jog your memory when you fill out your ballot, which should be in the mail. I am personally very proud of the package we put together despite some pretty intense discussions. I truly believe we made the right choices, but if you disagree, run a good campaign and fuck up our slate! Or just complain on Twitter. Also valid!
Other considerations: The SECB tore into the candidates’ policy positions, but if you want to consider someone’s vibes before you cast your ballot, I would suggest you read up on what you missed at Candidate Survivor earlier this week. Top fundraisers competed against each other in a talent show, a lip-sync battle, and a Hot Ones-inspired interview. Personally, I like a politician who can be a little silly-goofy, so I think there’s some insight to glean from a candidate’s performance.
What should I wear? Unsurprisingly, we are in for another beautiful day. In the morning, you can expect sunny skies and temperatures in the mid 60s. We’ll crack into the 70s by 1 pm and then peak around 76 degrees at about 6 pm. If that’s not summer enough for you, remember that we will hit the mid 80s over the weekend.
Control birth easier than ever: This morning, the Food and Drug Administration approved a birth control pill available without a prescription, a big barrier to accessing safe contraceptives. This may be a first for the US, but more than 100 countries already allow the sale of over-the-counter daily birth control pills. The advancement could not come at a better time, considering the Supreme Court decision enabling states to force birth.
Tacoma tenant toss-up: The Tacoma City Council approved ballot measures for two competing packages of tenant protections in a meeting earlier this week. Obviously both of the packages would be an improvement for renters, however one is significantly better—the original community-created initiative, not the watered down version that landlords support. Tacoma voters will get to make the call in November on how far the City should go to protect renters from bad landlords. For instance, should landlords have to give tenants six months notice before hiking up rent like the OG community initiative demands, or should the City only mandate four months notice? Should Tacoma give into community demands for a $10 cap on late fees, or should they implement a sliding scale up to $75. How ever will they pick?!
Rent control: Council Member Kshama Sawant hosted a town hall about her rent control trigger law last night on Capitol Hill instead of during her usual Friday morning Renter’s Rights and Sustainability committee meeting, which is hard for working class people to swing because they have jobs, duh. A bunch of people expressed their support for the policy, and then a handful of landlord simps argued that rent control would stifle housing production and hurt real estate interests.
A vote 10 years in the making: Sawant will bring her trigger law policy to a vote in her committee next Friday. We still don’t know for sure where everyone on council stands. The speakers last night seemed especially concerned that Council Members Tammy Morales, Teresa Mosqueda, Lisa Herbold, and Andrew Lewis have not spoken out in support. If they must add nuance (read: water the bill down), City staff has asked that council members submit any amendments by end of day today, so central staff has a chance to prepare. This is not a legal deadline, so council villains could propose last-minute changes that give weak-willed council members an escape route.
Real Estate developer LOVES the plan for the new CID light rail: Earlier this year, Sound Transit decided to move forward with studying a last-minute proposal to build new light rail stations by the jail and in SODO instead of in a much more convenient location on 4th Avenue. Some community members feared that construction on 4th Ave would bring more traffic into the neighborhood, but that does not appear to be the concern of some in leadership like the Mayor and King County Executive. It would seem the most important voice to those dudes is a big-time developer, Greg Smith of Urban Visions, who advocated for the southern placement on the property they own. For what its worth, Greg Smith donated more than $1,000 to Mayor Bruce Harrell’s 2021 campaign and more than $5,000 over the years to King County Executive Dow Constantine. Urban Visions also kicked Harrell $10,000.
In defense of Hitler: In a tweet, the newest member of the Seattle Times Editorial Board, David Josef Volodzko, argued that Hitler gets a bad reputation despite doing what he thought was best for society, whereas Lenin killed people indiscriminately, and so Lenin is technically worse. I don’t buy that Hitler ordered a genocide of 6 million Jewish people, including 1.5 Jewish children, out of the goodness of his heart. The Stranger‘s resident philosopher Charles Mudede goes in on Volodzko here.
In fact, while Hitler has become the great symbol of evil in history books, he too was less evil than Lenin because Hitler only targeted people he personally believed were harmful to society whereas Lenin targeted even those he himself did not believe were harmful in any way.
— David Josef Volodzko (@davidvolodzko) July 8, 2023
God forbid poor people enjoy themselves: Someone set up an inflatable pool outside in Highland Park this summer. To any normal person, that sounds fine, but neighbors who can’t mind their goddamn business are mad that the poor people get to use a pool to beat the heat. As KOMO reported, someone inflated a pool at a Highland Park encampment near the freeway, which some say is a slap in the face to people who are concerned about safety. KOMO did not explain why a pool would make an encampment less safe, but rather used the outrage over a very innocuous addition to the community as a launch pad to talk about how scary poor people are. It just seems like some neighbors see other people’s joy as their suffering, which is a very sad perspective. I hope everyone in that encampment gets housing with a community pool so they can take a dip in peace.
Bye, bye: The Russian government suddenly removed senior Russian general Ivan Popov, who was in charge of troops in occupied southern Ukraine. Popov says they gave him the boot because he accused Russia of not providing enough support, which he said amounted to a betrayal of the soldiers.
This one’s for the musical theatre lesbians. You’re welcome:
