Washington state primary

 

The most important thing about the primary is to select Democratic candidates who are able to tack to the middle, thereby reaching the most voters—not the most ideological voters. 

 

I say “Democratic” because the Republican party that included governors Dan Evans (Washington), Jay Hammond (Alaska), Frank Sargent (Massachusetts), and Tom McCall (Oregon) no longer exists. So if you loved Stalin—the purges, fear, disregard for even communist law, the gulags, Lysenko pseudoscience, nutso economics—you’ll love today’s Republicans.

 

Some final reminders about levies and schools:

 

• Electing school boards is insane. Elected boards have no accountability, they engage in group think, and put decision-making in the hands of committees. Let’s do what other cities do: Make the mayor accountable for schools. Since that’s not going to happen here, the best we can hope for is to eliminate obvious crazies. I support charter schools, because, as in healthcare, competition is the only sure way to improve quality.

 

• Managing an operating budget by referenda—levies—is about as idiotic as requiring Congress to approve an increase to the debt ceiling to pay for what it already agreed to spend.

 

 

Ballot measures

 

King County Prop. 1. YES. This is the parks levy, replacing an expiring one. I hate levies, and I hate this levy, but we’re stuck with it. There’s no opposition to it, except, perhaps, by Republicans who want to drill for oil at Marymoor Park or Cougar Mountain.

 

Seattle Prop. 1. NO. This is a levy for the so-called “democracy voucher” program that few people understand or take advantage of: Fewer than 5 percent of residents participate it, as the Times has reported. And that would be OK if the unused money went back to the general fund to pay for housing, social services, and police. But it simply recycles into the program. It’s going to pass because “good” government groups are afraid to oppose its good intentions, despite its bad execution.

 

Shoreline Schools Prop. 1. YES. Just your usual levy to shore(line) up a dysfunctional school-funding system.

 

Fire Protection District 40 (Renton area). YES. Reduces the number of board members.

 

Public Hospital District 2 (Evergreen on the Eastside). YES. Increases taxpayer support for Evergreen Health. Whether it deserves to exist or should merge with Overlake is another question. In the next several years, Evergreen might bite the dust like Valley Medical is doing because of President Clown.

 

Legislature

These are districts where there’s more than one candidate.

 

Where more than one Democrat is a good candidate, I’m recommending the one with either the most endorsements or the most money, so the stupid top-two primary system doesn’t undermine the stronger candidate.

 

D=district

P=position

 

D5 senate (Issaquah). Victoria Hunt

D33 senate (Burien) Tina Orwall

D33, P1 (Burien) Kevin Schilling. Burien mayor. His opponent is also good, but Schilling is more of a centrist.

D39 senate (Snohomish, Skagit). John Snow

D41, P1 (Mercer Island, Newcastle): Janice Zahn. Long endorsement list.

D48 senator (Kirkland, Bellevue): Amy Walen. Ex-Kirkland mayor and state rep.

D48, P1 (Kirkland, Bellevue): Osman Salahuddin, incumbent. His other Democratic opponent brags that “I meet all legal requirements for office…”

 

 

King County

 

Executive: Claudia Balducci. Fellow councilmember Girmay Zahilay is running impressive TV ads, but has never run anything else. Claudia has been a workhorse for years.

 

Council Dist. 5 (South King): Steffanie Fain. Currently, president of the Harborview board. Has a balanced approach of police and services. Endorsed by a cast of thousands including Chris Gregoire and Steve Hobbs.

 

Council Dist. 7 (South King): We all know that 80-year-old incumbent Peter von Reichbauer is going to win re-election. But that’s not because he’s good. His biggest endorsement on his website is right-wing ex-congressman and Seahawk Steve Largent. But his opponents are unexceptional. Not a single community leader or politician seems to have endorsed either. That being said, Pahaliyah Brown, seems reasonable and says he values “tangible, data-driven results.” And tell Pete to stop dying his hair; it makes him look like Rudy Giuliani.

 

Cities

I won’t go through all the city races since I’m ignorant about their local issues. But if you live in Auburn, Bellevue, Black Diamond, Burien, Enumclaw, Federal Way, Kenmore, Kent, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, Milton, Redmond, Renton, Sammamish, SeaTac, Snoqualmie, Tukwila, or Woodinville, you’ll need to go through your voters pamphlet or and decide yourself by looking at what they say and their endorsements.

 

If you’re in Seattle, read on.

 

City of Seattle

Mayor: Bruce Harrell. No one would ever accuse him of having charisma, but in his slow, plodding way, he’s brought sanity back to city government. We’ve seen a lot of improvements under Harrell.

 

City Attorney: Ann Davison. She’s done what she promised to do: Prosecute jerks. Her opponents don’t like her because they question why she’s prosecuting those poor, misunderstood drug dealers, thieves, taggers, and vandals. After all, we should be grateful to our local criminals because they’re only exercising their First Amendment rights to express themselves.

 

Council Pos. 2 (south end): Adonis Ducksworth. He stands out. A former public defender and union member, he’s been endorsed by mainstream councilmembers including Hollingsworth, Solomon, Kettle, and Strauss; several minority organizations (he’s black); a bunch of unions; Larry Gossett; and others.

 

Council Pos. 8 (citywide): Alexis Mercedes Rinck, the incumbent, is going to win this, but she doesn’t deserve to win based on her Sawant-like agenda. I’m voting for Ray A. Rogers, whose credentials (BA in theology) seem fringe, but he’s articulate and runs a social services agency. “I’ll fight for a fully staffed and community-centered police department, so that every neighborhood feels safe. I’ll work to move people out of tents and into housing, with compassion and urgency. I’ll invest in youth programs, violence prevention, mental health support, and real economic opportunity—because I've seen what happens when we don’t. And I’ll stand up for the small businesses that keep our communities vibrant.” 

 

Council Pos. 9 (citywide): Sara Nelson. Boy, has she made enemies. Of course, anyone who gets things done will make enemies, and she’s made the best kind. One of her enemies is Kshama Sawant, the disgraced Marxist who got kicked out of Chicago and the Socialist Alternative for being too leftist, if that’s possible. If you love wasted addicts blocking sidewalks, or vandals busting storefronts, or think all cops are evil, then Sara’s not your gal. I think a well-trained police force, getting junkies off the street and into treatment, and helping downtown get back on its feet is important. And so does Sara Nelson.

 

Seattle schools

See my introductory comments about the stupidity of electing random people to school boards.

 

Dist. 2: Sarah Clark. She advocates common sense—as if no school board candidate past, present, or future didn’t promise the same—but has good endorsements.

 

Dist. 4: Gloria Suella Menchaca. Science and public health background. The incumbent, a labor rep, who will cave into whatever the union wants, doesn’t have the sense to change his photo in either the voters pamphlet or his website so he doesn’t look like a modern-day Alfred E. Neumann.

 

Dist. 5: Vivian Song. Maybe her MBA from Harvard will fix the district. Right. But Councilmember Hollingsworth and Mayor Harrell endorse her.