Election time!
I've written up my election choices before, and enjoyed doing so. Even though it's probably too late to help most people at this point, I'll write them up again.
This time around, I looked at endorsements from The Seattle Times, The Stranger, and Cascade Bicycle Club.
Where I hardly comment, I considered it a pretty obvious choice, possibly because all of my information sources agreed. I'm not bothering with uncontested candidates. I generally vote for uncontested candidates to avoid a random write-in winning.
I-1033 (incredibly tight spending controls) No
R-71 (expanding same-sex partner rights) Approve
Seattle Prop 1 (low-income housing) Yes Read the Times or the Stranger for why.
King County Charter Amendments 1, 2, 3, 4 Yes Read the Stranger (ETA: or the Progressive Voters' Guide)
Port positions #3 Rob Holland, #4 Tom Albro Read either Times or Stranger (ignore their cheat sheet on this one, read the full writeup).
King County Executive Dow Constantine. The Stranger adequately points out why you shouldn't vote for Hutchison. The Times adequately points out why you shouldn't vote for Constantine. Oy. I was really torn, until I read this article in the Times. Fine, Hutchison is an even worse choice than Constantine.
King County Assessor Albertini. I was torn on this one. In the end, I decided that the Times was right; Albertini's combined background of teaching and practical experience as an assessor is a good mix for him growing into the role of assessor. The Stranger has good points about his opponent.
Seattle Mayor. Ugh. I'll post again on this one. I have been favoring Mallahan, and have donated to his campaign, but, to quote the email I just sent him, "I'm surprised that you don't take the same stance on the BGT as you have (commendably, I feel) on the viaduct/tunnel, that it's decided and it's time to move on and implement that decision instead of revisiting it." We'll see whether I hear back before I have to finish and submit my ballot. ETA: The Progressive Voters' Guide has a clear explanation of why you want one or the other, without favoring either candidate (at least for this particular election). I'll be adding that guide to my list of sources in the future.
City Attorney. Holmes Yes, his opponent is a bike commuter. However, they have very different visions for what this office should be. It seems like Carr doesn't have a good sense of setting priorities. I like the vision Holmes has, and the Times and the Stranger agree with me, even if the CBC doesn't.
Seattle City Council. Conlin, Bagshaw Stranger and Times agree. Licata After reading the Times endorsement of Israel, I decided that I was quite fine with one contrarian on the council. Rosencrantz See the Times; yay affordable housing! The Stranger's characterization of the housing seemed misleading after reading the Times, and frankly, I'd rather let 520 be the region's test of congestion pricing and user fees before considering it elsewhere; O'Brien wants to move faster here. I think if we move faster, we'll piss too many people off as it gets implemented, and it'll die completely before we have a chance to see how well (or poorly) it works out. (Note that the Progressive Voters' Guide is Not Impressed with Rosencrantz.)
Seattle Schools. Smith-Blum Stranger and Times agree. Position 7 I'm sleepy, and I'm not a parent. If Times and Stranger disagree, they must both be at least somewhat reasonable; I'll let the parents decide. Abstain.
In the end, the Cascade Bicycle Club endorsements turned out to not factor in to my decision-making process at all, except possibly for mayor (where I haven't decided yet).
This entry (and comments) are public!
This time around, I looked at endorsements from The Seattle Times, The Stranger, and Cascade Bicycle Club.
Where I hardly comment, I considered it a pretty obvious choice, possibly because all of my information sources agreed. I'm not bothering with uncontested candidates. I generally vote for uncontested candidates to avoid a random write-in winning.
I-1033 (incredibly tight spending controls) No
R-71 (expanding same-sex partner rights) Approve
Seattle Prop 1 (low-income housing) Yes Read the Times or the Stranger for why.
King County Charter Amendments 1, 2, 3, 4 Yes Read the Stranger (ETA: or the Progressive Voters' Guide)
Port positions #3 Rob Holland, #4 Tom Albro Read either Times or Stranger (ignore their cheat sheet on this one, read the full writeup).
King County Executive Dow Constantine. The Stranger adequately points out why you shouldn't vote for Hutchison. The Times adequately points out why you shouldn't vote for Constantine. Oy. I was really torn, until I read this article in the Times. Fine, Hutchison is an even worse choice than Constantine.
King County Assessor Albertini. I was torn on this one. In the end, I decided that the Times was right; Albertini's combined background of teaching and practical experience as an assessor is a good mix for him growing into the role of assessor. The Stranger has good points about his opponent.
Seattle Mayor. Ugh. I'll post again on this one. I have been favoring Mallahan, and have donated to his campaign, but, to quote the email I just sent him, "I'm surprised that you don't take the same stance on the BGT as you have (commendably, I feel) on the viaduct/tunnel, that it's decided and it's time to move on and implement that decision instead of revisiting it." We'll see whether I hear back before I have to finish and submit my ballot. ETA: The Progressive Voters' Guide has a clear explanation of why you want one or the other, without favoring either candidate (at least for this particular election). I'll be adding that guide to my list of sources in the future.
City Attorney. Holmes Yes, his opponent is a bike commuter. However, they have very different visions for what this office should be. It seems like Carr doesn't have a good sense of setting priorities. I like the vision Holmes has, and the Times and the Stranger agree with me, even if the CBC doesn't.
Seattle City Council. Conlin, Bagshaw Stranger and Times agree. Licata After reading the Times endorsement of Israel, I decided that I was quite fine with one contrarian on the council. Rosencrantz See the Times; yay affordable housing! The Stranger's characterization of the housing seemed misleading after reading the Times, and frankly, I'd rather let 520 be the region's test of congestion pricing and user fees before considering it elsewhere; O'Brien wants to move faster here. I think if we move faster, we'll piss too many people off as it gets implemented, and it'll die completely before we have a chance to see how well (or poorly) it works out. (Note that the Progressive Voters' Guide is Not Impressed with Rosencrantz.)
Seattle Schools. Smith-Blum Stranger and Times agree. Position 7 I'm sleepy, and I'm not a parent. If Times and Stranger disagree, they must both be at least somewhat reasonable; I'll let the parents decide. Abstain.
In the end, the Cascade Bicycle Club endorsements turned out to not factor in to my decision-making process at all, except possibly for mayor (where I haven't decided yet).
This entry (and comments) are public!