OK, folks, it all comes down to this. Election Day. Early voting has already started in a lot of states, and the ballots are out for Washington State. This year is important. Every year is important.
(And my ballot arrived while I was out at GameHoleCon, and excellent convention in Madison, WI, so I'm getting a late start on it this year. The Lovely Bride has already voted, and I will drive her to one of the convenient nearby ballot boxes to drop her vote in).
I really don't care how you vote, but I want you to vote. I'm obvious in my political views, so you'll find few surprises in this I provide these recommendations in the hopes of creating an enlightened and aware set of voters. They haven't drifted that far from the primaries. What I really want is competence and ability. These are people we are trusting with our money, out safety, and sometimes our lives. So this is important. It's not a wedding proposal, it's not a Saturday night date - it's a job hire.
But I want you to vote, not just vote for what I recommend. I provide other people's endorsements as well, and I'll update them as I go forward.
Here's the summarized endorsements from the Stranger, now under new management. The full endorsements are long and detailed and most of the candidates don't tick off all their boxes. That's the nature of life.
Here's the Seattle Times' endorsements, who has been grudgingly dragged more centrist over the years. The Times and the Stranger have been drifting closer together as time goes by.
There are others, with their own political interests. Washington Conservation Action is here. Progressive Blue Voteguide is here. The Urbanist is here. Crosscut/CascadePBS does a nice job summarizing the candidates and issues here. I will add more as I come across them.
I'm (politely) left of center. I'm going to be endorsing Democrats, which is a relatively easy thing to do in Western Washington. The GOP (nationally) is a bit of a snake pit, and even those that are not involved in some messy political stance or personal scandal are problematic because they DO support the folks who do..
But ultimately, it's all up to you. Even not voting is a choice (though I'll admit that its a bad one).
This is your chance, people. Don't pass it by. Don't blow it. For folk in Washington State, or wherever early balloting is permitted, you have two weeks. For everyone else, get out on November 5th.
More later,
