So in talking with a friend, she said that she agreed with much what I said, but not everything. And I volunteered the space here for her to give her own recommendations. So here is Janice Coulter, formerly of the Social Security Administration, who does not have a blog, and is spouse to our resident Tolkien expert, Sacnoth:
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If
all politics is local then have I got an election for you. Aside from 1
fellow running unopposed in a judicial race and the three advisory
votes all the November 2, 2021 contests are on the county, city, and
even further down the ballot than that level. But that doesn’t mean that
this election isn’t important. Whoever wins these races is going to
have a serious impact on our lives so we’d best pay attention.
First
up the Advisory Votes. Think of these as gentle political warm up
exercises. You can stretch your political thinking to its limits knowing
full well what you decide will have no consequences whatsoever.
Advisory Vote No. 36 — You’re
asking me if I’m willing to pay 24¢ per month per phone line increasing
to 40¢ per month per phone line beginning in January 2023 for a suicide
prevention hotline? Yes I am willing to spend $1.20 per month (3 lives X
40¢) to save a human life. Maintained.
Advisory Vote No. 37 — I’d
be happier with this tax if corporations were also subject to paying 7%
tax on capital gains of more than $250,000 but for now I will have to
settle for taxing rich real people while the fake ones go scot free. Maintained
Advisory Vote No. 38 — Captive
insurers have done the near impossible. They’ve made traditional
insurance companies into almost sympathetic businesses. Maintained
Then
comes the slightly more rigorous King County Charter Amendment votes.
These votes have consequences but no one is going to suffer regardless
of how you vote. Except for maybe the team responsible for the typo
being corrected via Amendment No. 1. Let’s use this election to end
their suffering.
King County Charter Amendment No. 1 — I
have to look up the difference between insure and ensure every time so
my heart goes out to the folks who have been staring this mistake in the
face. It’s silly that it must be put to the voters and past time to
correct the mistake. Yes
King County Charter Amendment No. 2 — Speaking of silly questions, Yes King County should comply with Washington State laws.
Now
that we’re fully warmed up it’s time for the heavy voting. None of
these folks have access to nuclear weapons codes but that doesn’t mean
they don’t have the capacity to change our lives for decades to come.
Don’t take my word for it. Ask the people of Flint, Michigan if they
wished that they had been paying attention to who ran their water
district.
King County Executive — You
know what you did Dow Constantine! If you hadn’t disrespected Kent at
the start of the pandemic I would have happily voted you in for another
term. But you did and you’ve got a competent challenger so Joe Nguyen gets the vote.
Metropolitan King County Council District No. 5 — Dave
Upthegrove is another candidate that I would gladly have voted for
again if only … Multiple agencies that have endorsed him in past
elections threw their support to his opponent. How did Upthegrove go
about wooing them back? He demanded to know if they dropped him because
he’s a White Guy (apparently being openly gay doesn’t count as being a
minority in King County) and threatened their funding. He of course
denies he said any such thing. So what does he do with everything
hinging on his credibility? He claims credit for fighting Sound Transit
to “save a landmark South King County business.” While there’s no
arguing that Dick’s Drive In is a landmark Seattle business they opened
their first and only South King County restaurant on December 12, 2018.
So while he might not be technically lying he’s not being entirely
honest at a time when he’s up against a competent opponent. Shukri Olow gets the vote on this one.
Port Of Seattle
Commissioner Position 1 — Ryan Calkins is exactly the kind of policy wonk with fresh ideas that I enjoy voting for.
Commissioner Position 3 — Vote Hamdi Mohamed because Stephanie Bowman fought against the $15 per hour minimum wage.
Commissioner Position 4 — Vote Toshiko Grace Hasegawa because she’s willing to put actual detailed plans on the table instead of the usual platitudes.
City of Kent
Here’s where it gets interesting so I’ll get the easy endorsement out of the way first.
City Of Kent Council Position NO. 6 — Brenda Fincher has
been doing good work. She earned my good opinion when she responded via
email, telephone, and an in-person visit on a weekend the first time I
contacted her. She’s kept my good opinion by continuing to do good
work.
My
next two picks are about creating a team. If Dana Ralph is your choice
for mayor then you should also vote for Toni Troutner. Their views align
and they would work together to achieve their goals. If Dawn Bennet is
your choice for mayor then you should vote for Cliff Cawton because
their views align. Both teams share the same goals (reduce homelessness,
bring jobs to Kent, fight crime, etc.) but they have fundamentally
different approaches to solving our problems.
City of Kent Mayor — I’ve generally been happy with Mayor Ralph’s work but I am throwing this one to Dawn M. Bennett because
it’s time to try new approaches to the same problems we face year after
year. Both Ralph and Troutner want to continue to throw more and more
police at problems that Bennett says can be better addressed with a
different approach. Rather than have 7 full time police officers devoted
to working with Kent’s homeless population (they steer them towards
services, help them get SSN cards and IDs, etc) Bennett wants to have
social workers take on that job. She’s also the only candidate who is
talking about solving the affordable housing crisis by instituting
rental caps. How much Kent rents have gone up in the last few months is a
regular feature in the Kent Reporter. Prices are only going to get
higher with the light rail extensions opening in 2024. We really need to
do more than throw platitudes at this problem.
City of Kent Council Position NO. 4 — Cliff Cawthon because he would work well with Dawn Bennett.
Kent School District No 415 Director District 4 — Awale Farah gets
the vote because his opponent, Bradley Kenning, is intent on carrying
on the tradition that only the Germans should own up to their crimes
against humanity.
KSD No. 415 Director District 5 — Tim Clark gets
the vote because while both candidates seem genuinely concerned about
the students Clark has the credentials and experience necessary to make
the tough choices.
Public Hospital District No. 1 Commissioner District No. 2 — Dustin Lambro won on the endorsements. AG Bob Ferguson endorsed him for this nonpartisan position.
PHD No. 1 Commissioner Position No. 4 — Monique Taylor-Swan because she’s a board member of Caregivers Union SEIU 775 and the union should have a seat at the table.
***
Thank you, Janice. I'll do my own summing up tomorrow.
More later,
