Yet I’ve yet to fill out my ballots.  This wasn’t for laziness, or because I was unsure of which candidate to vote for (save the occasional exception, which I’ll get to below).  It was because I so relish the experience, the process, and the last minute details that come out during the election cycle, that I didn’t want to end it prematurely.  During the primary, I voted day 1, and then felt like I missed out on all the other pressing issues.  I’d meet candidates at local political events, shake their hands, but once I told them I’d already voted, they’d move on to someone else they could flip.

So here, now that there’s only two days left to get the ballot in the mail, I give you my 2009 General Election Endorsements.

I’ll list them in the order I find personally most important, because it’s my blog.

Initiative 1033 - NO!

Referendum 71 - YES!

King County Executive - Dow Constantine

Seattle’s Proposition 1: Low-Income Housing Levy - YES!

Seattle Mayor - Mike McGinn

City of Seattle Council Position 2 - Richard Conlin

City of Seattle Council Position 4 - Sally Bagshaw - kinda

City of Seattle Council Position 6 - Nick Licata

City of Seattle Council Position 8 - Mike O’Brien

City of Seattle Attorney - Pete Holmes

That’s all I got.  At least for now.

And his current initiative is so much worse.  Initiative 1033 would cut state spending by holding it at the previous year’s level with adjustments ONLY for inflation and population growth.  The excess revenue would be used to reduce property tax values.

The description is terrifyingly simple, and leaves out the fact that state spending levels need to change each year for many different reasons.   As just one example, the cost of health care rises drastically faster than the cost of inflation, meaning the state would lose money each year.  The only escape, putting potential tax increases to the voters.

It also would start using this year’s state spending, the year we’ve had the worst Washington State budget since the Great Depression.

The bill is already a train wreck, but consider that all of the refunds will go towards property tax reductions.  Washington State already has one of the most regressive tax systems in the country (consider I paid equally into our taxes during the six months I was unemployed and had 0 income).  Low income WA residents will be denied necessary state services, continue getting stuck with an unfair and rather high sales tax, and the people who own billion dollar malls will get a better deal than we currently give them… which is already pretty fucking good.

Colorado released a similar bill (TABOR) in 1992, leading to drastic cuts in State Spending on schools, health care, and other services states should provide.  Initiative 1033 is stricter.  Vote No.

For more info, I’d recommend checking out:

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/10/13/washington-is-a-low-tax-state

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2952

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Eyman#List_of_initiatives_and_outcomes

http://publicola.net/?p=16481

http://no1033.com/

This year Governor Gregoire signed into law Senate Bill 5688 - expanding the protections offered to State Registered Domestic Partners.  Coined the “Everything but Marriage” bill (although there’s still so much missing), this bill provides all the protections to State Registered Domestic Partners (of which there are approximately 6,000) that Washington State provides to married couples.

The bill is still unable to provide the benefits awarded federally to married couples, such as the right to immigrate to this country or not pay income taxes on shared health benefits, etc.

I was at the hearing for both Senate Bill 5688 and its house equivalent 1727.  We were all surprised to see how many bigots showed up to protest the bill (see my coverage here), I think past years gains in gay rights gave us all a false sense of security.

There was pushing, shoving, name-calling, as well as out-and-out lying.  This front-and-center bigotry hasn’t changed much as it transitioned into the Referendum, and here we are today, asked to codify a slightly lesser disparity in gay rights through popular vote.

In effect, vote yes on this Referendum to provide some level of equality.  We’re already letting the religious nut-jobs who believe marriage is a straight person right set the bar, and after conceding that we wouldn’t ask for Gay Marriage in this state, they’re now trying to push us back even further.

I’m personally sick of this debate.  There are a lot of more important things to worry about, but each year we have to defend these rights is another year we can’t work on more pressing issues.  Fix it and forget it.

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/why-do-you-hate-me/Content?oid=2156227

http://approvereferendum71.org/

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/how-they-lie/Content?oid=1930457

Dow won my favor over Larry Phillips because he seemed to be everyone’s champion.  He had favorable marks from the gays and people of color.  Not only that, he was a progressive champion of everything else under the sun, including a stalwart defender of puppies and kittens.  How could you not love him?

During the primary, he was also the only candidate to call out Susan Hutchinson’s ludicrous assertion that she was non-Partisan.  Hutchinson has only donated cash to Republican candidates (Bush, Rossi, Huckabee) and once sat on the board of the Discovery Institute, a hyper-conservative group looking to teach Intelligent Design in schools.

Hutchinson has name recognition from being a news-anchor on KIRO TV.  This recognition has helped her in the polls - ironic, as she left KIRO with a bitter lawsuit and lots of burned bridges.

Other than that, she’s run on empty pleonasms for her entire campaign (”bringing people together”, “non-partisan solutions”, “outsider”).  She seems to have NO idea as to what she’d really do for the County (or has an idea and won’t tell us) and comes across rather vapid in most of her public appearances.

And trick-or-treat, the King County Executive used to be a partisan position, and candidates had to declare their political affiliations.  Susan Hutchinson was part of the campaign to make the position non-partisan.

Keep her out, Vote Dow in.

Some great other resources:

http://publicola.net/?p=16466

http://www.prochoicewashington.org/news/press/200906181.shtml

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/closet-case/Content?oid=1393918

Imagine my surprise and nostalgia when that same child was on the flyer for the Low Income Housing Levy.  A grown woman now, she’s now one of the many people who have been helped by Seattle’s low-income housing options.

I’ve always been a compassionate person, and I’d have voted for the levy without realizing it was helping someone I knew.  But seeing this woman there reminds me that we’ve all come into contact with those that are slightly less fortunate than us, whether it’s for a short period of time (we’re still at around 10% official unemployment rate, which means closer to 20% of our population is really unemployed or under-employed) or for life.

Vote to take care of those who need it.  It could come back to help you.  And even if somehow it doesn’t, you’re a better person for it.

For additional info:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorials/2010080331_edit19levy.html

http://publicola.net/?p=16499

Within minutes, I was working alongside fellow twenty-somethings with time to give and a penchant for McGinn’s grasp of the issues, care for the city, and electric biking.

In contrast, Joe Mallahan’s campaign has been run by high-paid staffers who protect him from the media and try to prevent as many blunders as possible (e.g. “Africans endorse me”, “Hello my Brothers and Sisters”, and of course, everything he’s said during his multiple debates).

McGinn threw multiple town halls throughout the city (I attended three).  During each, he was able to charm Seattle’s citizens with ease (he’s got a killer wink) and show that he really understands the issues at hand during this election.

The viaduct replacement, a $4.2 billion dollar tunnel that won’t even have any exits in downtown Seattle, has been a contentious issue throughout this entire campaign.

Many Seattleites (rightly) fear the viaduct will end up falling down before our local government acts.  Washington State Department of Transportation released a video of what would happen to the viaduct if a strong enough earthquake hit us.

And McGinn’s protests about the tunnel stoked some of those fears.  At the same time, the current tunnel budget leaves Seattle paying nearly a billion dollars for a state highway that runs through it, AND leaves the city on the hook for all overruns.

After the city council entered into an agreement with the current wayward Mayor Nickels, McGinn has signaled he would no longer oppose the tunnel (what’s done is done) but will continue to fight the provision leaving Seattle on the hook for overruns.

Deep bore tunnels don’t have the best track record for coming in under budget (few government projects do), but some estimates show the tunnel coming in another $2 billion over.   This would (according to McGinn) saddle Seattle taxpayers with potentially $15,000 in taxes for the average family of four.  At a time when we’re already heavily hit, that money could instead be invested in things that I (and I’d say most of Seattle) cares for.

Like:

Expanded Light Rail: While neither candidate is against Light Rail, McGinn wants to put Light Rail expansion up to the citizens for a vote within two years, and connect our high density neighborhoods:  Wallingford, Fremont, Ballard, Queen Anne, Belltown, and West Seattle.

http://mcginnformayor.com/issues/transportation/

Offer a Publicly Owned Fiber Optic Network for Internet:  Some people see him as a crazy dreamer for trying to offer such a “luxury” as a public utility.  The Internet is not a luxury, any more than roads or running water is.  In this day and age, the Internet is an economic engine of it’s own.  At the same time, local Cable companies have shown no interest in upgrading their services despite a desire to continue to increase prices.  A public option (as in health care) would create a stronger infrastructure, and be offered to Seattleites for less money.  This is a good idea. Period.  Send.

http://mcginnformayor.com/issues/internet-infrastructure/

And more - http://mcginnformayor.com/issues/

Some other good references:

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/hes-the-change-we-need-in-the-mayors-office/Content?oid=2418755

http://publicola.net/?p=16484

Video debate - McGinn vs. Mallahan:

http://www.komonews.com/home/video/65923832.html?video=YHI&t=a

While I applaud Ginsberg for emulating a good man, it seems like we’d likely be better off sticking with the guy who created Ginsberg’s template.

http://publicola.net/?p=16475

At the same time, Sally Bagshaw seems to be a pretty swell chick, if not somewhat pro-establishment.  During the City Council Candidate Survivor, Bagshaw admitted to having sex on a plane, and was charismatic when I met her when I was drunk at a Politico event.  (She was quick to tell me she supported defending the rights of Trans people who are incarcerated, which is good, but seemed a bit like pandering.)

I was also a little too in love with Dorsal Plants, the youthful activist who ran against both of them in the primary.  Sally came in with over half the votes.  Her win may be a foregone conclusion.

I think I’ll fill in the bubble for Sally, but I can’t say I’m doing it with the same conviction I have about the other candidates.  You’re on your own.

Here’s two good endorsements of each candidate.  You choose.

Friends of Seattle’s Primary Endorsement of Bagshaw

http://www.friendsofseattle.org/2009-voters-guide-primary-election/seattle-city-council-pos-4/sally-bagshaw

Publicola endorses David Bloom

http://publicola.net/?p=16451

After the primary, it seemed like Israel continued to go negative on Licata, touting his record of being a “No Vote” against the rest of the council.  This didn’t seem to be based on any statistical record of Licata’s, and I also didn’t really care.

By failing to show me what she was able to offer, she lost my interest.

Licata, on the other hand, has been on the side of increased police accountability (while also offering better services), been a nightlife advocate, and created a study to see if we could avoid building another Jail here in Seattle (we shouldn’t).  Keep him in.

O’Brien has an MBA from the UW, an economic degree from Duke University, and has a comprehensive view of what we need to improve pedestrian and bike safety and accessibility in this city.

His opponent, Robert Rosencrantz, refuses to answer his positions on abortions (opting instead to quote Obama’s “agree to disagree” stance, and just kind of comes across as a weasel).

Vote Mike O’Brien.

http://www.friendsofseattle.org/2009-voters-guide-primary-election/seattle-city-council-pos-8/mike-obrien

http://publicola.net/?p=16496