The Political Desk: Wrapping Up

So the election has come and gone, and in Washington State, we have to wait for all the mail-in votes to show up to be certain (which, by the way, is a good thing), but a lot of races have been decided by the votes already cast. So here are the results as they stand right now. I put results different from those I recommended in Red, and comments in brackets.

Proposed by Initiative Petition
Initiative Measure No. 1185
(Retain supermajority to raise taxes) - YES

[I will start on a downer, in that we have a blind spot about wanting government services (good schools, streets, that sort of thing), but as a people are allergic to anything that smacks of paying retail prices for it. This will pop up a couple times in this discussion.]

Proposed by Initiative Petition
Initiative Measure No. 1240 
(Approve charter schools) - YES

[Currently close, but I'm not seeing any movement on it.]

Passed by the Legislature and Ordered Referendum by Petition
Referendum Measure No. 74
(Marriage Equality) - APPROVED

[My Facebook page is aflutter with suddenly-announced engagements]

Proposed to the Legislature and Referred to the People
Initiative Measure No. 502
(Decriminalize and regulate marijuana) - YES
[Let me set out warnings - This is the start of the process. A lot (including how this fits in with the national picture) still needs to be worked out. What it specifically means is that, starting 6 December, you can have an ounce of grass on you and not be prosecuted. On a greater scale, it is an interesting twist on the traditional "Power of the States Vs. Federal Power".]

Proposed to the People by the Legislature
Amendment to the State Constitution
Engrossed Senate Joint Resolution No. 8221
(Changing debt collection and definition of general state revenues) - APPROVED

[So, we can't raise taxes, but we can shift around definitions. I think what sold this was the promise to reduce debt, and devil take the details.]

Proposed to the People by the Legislature
Amendment to the State Constitution
Senate Joint Resolution No. 8223
(Allow Washington universities to invest in private companies and stock) - REJECTED

[This was the most clear of the state economic initiatives, and once explained clearly, was rejected.]

Advisory Vote of the People
Advisory Vote No. 1
Engrossed Senate Bill 6635
(Close a Loophole) - REJECTED

Advisory Vote of the People
Advisory Vote No. 2
Substitute House Bill 2590
(Extend a tax on oil companies) - REJECTED

[I called it legibabble at the time and stand by that judgement.Most people saw the phrase "Shall this tax increase be maintained?" and gleefully voted against anything that was called a tax increase. Note to future initiative-writers - call everything you don't like a tax increase.]

King County
Proposition No. 1
Regular Property Tax Levy for Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) Services
(What it says) - APPROVED

President and Vice President of the United States
Barack Obama and Joe Biden

[I'd like to say that Mitt Romney was the best possible candidate the Republicans had this year. And still that wasn't very good. No, you won't do better if you go out and offend MORE people next time.]

[The Dems pretty much run the table on this from here down. Spoilers.]

United States Senator
Maria Cantwell

United State Representative Congressional District No. 9
Adam Smith

Governor
Jay Inslee

[The loser in this race is not Rob McKenna, who made a strong attempt to woo the populous King County, but the Seattle Times, whose owner threw away its journalistic integrity to run full page ads for McKenna. When you're getting beaten on your reporting by the liberal stoners at the Stranger, you have strayed far from the path.]

Lieutenant Governor
Brad Owen

Secretary of State
Kathleen Drew or Kim Wyman

[There is always one race like this one - so close that a recount may be needed, no one can call it either way. Both were good candidates, but it is ironic that the office that oversees elections has a really close race].

State Treasurer
Jim McIntire

State Auditor
Troy Kelley

Attorney General
Bob Ferguson

Commissioner of Public Lands
Peter J. Goldmark

Insurance Commissioner
Mike Kreidler

Legislative District No. 11
State Senator
Bob Hasegawa

Legislative District No. 11
Representative Position No. 1
Zack Hudgins

[Again you're going to hear me whine about taxes. Jim Flynn was a One Issue candidate, but it was an issue I support. This was a lopsided defeat, beyond even the comforts of incumbency, and shows that no, we are not ready to have that discussion.]

Legislative District No. 11
Representative Position No. 2
Steve Berquist

King County
Sheriff
John Urquhart

State Supreme Court
Sheryl Gordon McCloud

Superior Court
Judge Position No. 42
Christopher A. Washington or Susan Parisean

[Future Hazy: Ask Again Later]

City of Kent
Proposition No. 1
Levy to Support Kent Parks and Street
(Yeah, that) - REJECTED

[Again, its that tax thing. ]

Are there lessons to be learned from all this? On a national level, the bulk of the people liked the centrist, wonkish leadership of the current administration, and have given the mandate to keep fixing the stuff we broke previously. On a state/local level, we're still grasping about on how to pay for the stuff we want. The good news is that the economy has been improving, particularly locally, and with that we will see some improvement to state revenues, but that's a dangerous thing to use for long-term planning.

More later.

The Political Desk: Summing Up

So, putting everything on the ballot in one place, here's what we have:

Proposed by Initiative Petition
Initiative Measure No. 1185
(Retain supermajority to raise taxes) - NO

Proposed by Initiative Petition
Initiative Measure No. 1240
(Approve charter schools) - NO

Passed by the Legislature and Ordered Referendum by Petition
Referendum Measure No. 74
(Marriage Equality) - APPROVED*

Proposed to the Legislature and Referred to the People
Initiative Measure No. 502
(Decriminalize and regulate marijuana) - YES

Proposed to the People by the Legislature
Amendment to the State Constitution
Engrossed Senate Joint Resolution No. 8221
(Changing debt collection and definition of general state revenues) - REJECTED

Proposed to the People by the Legislature
Amendment to the State Constitution
Senate Joint Resolution No. 8223
(Allow Washington universities to invest in private companies and stock) - REJECTED

Advisory Vote of the People
Advisory Vote No. 1
Engrossed Senate Bill 6635
(Close a Loophole) - MAINTAINED

Advisory Vote of the People
Advisory Vote No. 2
Substitute House Bill 2590
(Extend a tax on oil companies) - MAINTAINED

King County
Proposition No. 1
Regular Property Tax Levy for Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) Services
(What it says) - APPROVED

President and Vice President of the United States
Barack Obama and Joe Biden

United States Senator
Maria Cantwell

United State Representative Congressional District No. 9
Adam Smith

Governor
Jay Inslee

Lieutenant Governor
Bill Finkbeiner

Secretary of State
Kathleen Drew and Kim Wyman

State Treasurer
Jim McIntire

State Auditor
Troy Kelley

Attorney General
Bob Ferguson

Commissioner of Public Lands
Peter J. Goldmark

Insurance Commissioner
Mike Kreidler

Legislative District No. 11
State Senator
Bob Hasegawa

Legislative District No. 11
Representative Position No. 1
Jim Flynn

Legislative District No. 11
Representative Position No. 2
Steve Berquist

King County
Sheriff
Steve Strachan

State Supreme Court
Sheryl Gordon McCloud**

Superior Court
Judge Position No. 42
Christopher A. Washington.

City of Kent
Proposition No. 1
Levy to Support Kent Parks and Street
(Yeah, that) - APPROVED.

More later, but right now I need a bit of a lie down.

* So while I was writing this list up last night, I got a robo-poll from a group called "Preserve Marriage" or something like it. My choices were: Punch 1 to maintain marriage as one man and one woman, or Punch 2 to redefine marriage. No third choice was offered, so I punched 2. Apparently it was the right answer, since it quickly told me that was the end of the questionnaire. So you get a robocall like this, you can get out of it easily by punching 2, even though you're not redefining, you're recognizing. Pah-TAY-toe, Pah-TAH-toe.

**MASSIVE ERROR - I put the wrong candidate down here initially. See the Law and Order entry for the reasoning.Thanks to Wolf for catching it.

PS - And Furthermore, My friend and Tolkien Scholar Sacnoth is writing up his views as well.

The Political Desk: Picking Up The Spare.

So, we're done, right?

Not quite.

The city of Kent, my new home town, has been oddly quiet this year, with no one on the ballot for any of its positions. To which I can safely say, thank goodness for that. But it DOES have Proposition No. 1 - Levy to Support Kent Parks and Streets.

It is a tax increase, a property tax increase, to fund improvements to parks and streets. And they sent out some flier about which particular parks and streets would be covered by this. It's not like the money is dumped into a big bin and pulled out until the bin is empty. They've done the due diligence, and have a list and a schedule and ...

Hmmm. It looks like my road is on the list. OK, I'm surprised. Not because we can use some improvements - the area is seeing a massive increase in population of late, and the roads, while hardly a gravel path (that would be our driveway) are a Frankenstein-quilt of cuts and patches to handle both the additional locals and the increased car traffic. What surprises me is that we're so far up on the list, what with the Panther Lake neighborhood just joining Kent officially a few years back.

OK, I'm sold. Vote Approved on this. Because I'd do the same to improve your roads.

More later,

The Political Desk: Law and Order

OK, let us move into Judges and the County Sheriff. I will only be making recommendations for races that are actually races. For some of the Judgeships, if a candidate gets more than 50% in the primary, they just go onto the final ballot without a challenger. Which is why you should vote in primaries (but you've already heard me go on about that before).

So, law and order -

King County Sheriff  - Normally this would be the entrenched establishment type against a new broom. The strange thing here is that the new broom is the incumbent, and the good old boys is the challenger. Steve Strachan was appointed to the office with the departure of the previous Sheriff, Sue Rahr, and has done a good job in moving the department forward. He's been progressive, positive, and has cleared away a lot of the debris that tends to grow up around any entrenched operation. That's a good thing (casting a baleful eye at the Seattle Police department, which now has to have the Justice Department holding its hand). His opponent, John Urquhart has been part of the old guard. I've talked to those who follow this sort of thing, looked at the Muni League endorsements, and I'm going with Steve Strachan.

State Supreme Court Justice Position No. 9  - Sheryl Gordon McCloud. She gets good marks from the Voting for Judges. I'm good for that. Her opponent, Richard Sanders has a strong libertarian streak that shows up in ill-considered, inflammatory  and often racist statements. He was a former Supreme and got voted out for his shenanigans before (like yelling "Tyrant" at a Bush-appointed AG), and now he wants to be back.Yes, go for McCloud.

Superior Court Judge Position No. 42 - I went for Sue Parisien in the primary, but am flipping for Christopher Washington. I was good for Parisien even though Voting for Judges gave Washington better endorsements, but since the primary there have been a spate of the candidate claiming endorsements that were not particularly true. I'm going to recommend Christopher Washington.

Just one more, then we sum up.

The Political Desk: State Legislature

Let me tell you something about the Washington State Legislature. It is triple-A ball. The minor leagues. The governmental equivalent of the QA department. It has a lot of gifted amateurs and first-time politicians with potential. And that's a very good thing.

Our state legislature is a part-time operation. It is not continually in session. The pay is respectable but modest (about 42k). As a result, it attracts people starting out, those who have a passion for governance, people with day jobs. This is a place where you have firemen, local council members, real estate agents, writers, florists, and others who are help running the state as a side job. Some are professional politicians  Many are not. Experience is preferred but not necessary. This is the entry-level job, where you get the experience.

And as a result, we tend to have a responsive legislature which is in contact with its constituency. And I'm good with that.

So, for the 11th District, here are my recommendations:

State Senate - Bob Hasegawa. Mr Hasegawa is an upgrade from Rep to Senator (he even just made a slight modification to his yard signs - thrifty!). He's in the department of experienced, and worth going up to the Senate.

State Representative, Position 1 - Jim Flynn. Allow me my pure personal preference on this. Both Jim Flynn and fellow Democrat Zack Hudgins are in favor of reforming our state budgetary mess by ditching our state sales tax and creating a state income tax, but Flynn is REALLY in favor, making it the centerpiece of his campaign. I'm always saying this would be a good thing, and this is a place to put my money where my mouth is.

State Representative  Postion 2 - Steve Berquist. Mr. Berquist wasn't even on my radar in the primaries, but his message is that if we're going to deciding education issues in the legislature, it makes sense to have at least one teacher present. He's right. And keeping with what I said above, the State Legislature is a great place for people to turn interest into concrete results.

So, having dealt with that, let me take a couple more swings at the Seattle Times. Here are their recommendations, written before they shredded their rep by paying for ads. Those ads which, by their own analysis, are not completely true. Go read it.

Their endorsements are Thomsen, Hudgins, and Berquist. That's cool - they have their opinions. But their logic is tortured to the point that we should bring in UN Observers.

Hasegawa is bad, apparently, because he opposed five bills the Times liked, and supports a progressive income tax, and his opponent, though lacking experience, is more in line with what they want. And that's OK, it is their editorial page. But then they note that Zack Hudgins ALSO opposed the bills that Hasegawa opposed, AND supports progressive income tax, but they're endorsing him anyway because his opponent is even more committed to a progressive income tax. So Hudgins is ... OK, even though he believes the same thing as Hasegawa? And while Hasegawa's opponent is OK despite a lack of experience, Bergquist's opponent is not OK because of a lack of experience.

I've read this a couple times, and it makes my head hurt with every iteration. I mean, it's their editorial page, and they are free to promote as they see fit. But if you can't maintain consistency of thought through a single article, you've got some problems going on. Were it a hardcore conservative (or progressive) screed, I could understand it, but the reasons given in paragraph five are completely subverted in paragraph seven. Do they not see the problems? Did three different people write this? Did the board provide a list of names and expect the writer to come up with something? Were they celebrating the passage of I-502 a WEE bit too early?

I mean, I expect this sort of thing from the Stranger, but not from a paper that purports itself to be Seattle's paper of record.

Next up, Law and Order (and I try to stop being such a hard-ass on the Times)

The Political Desk: State Executive

I think it is clear by now I have a political "type" - Wonky, goal-oriented, achievement-based, progressive-minded, centrist in results, consensus-driven. I WILL vote against a particular candidate from time to time, and there are a couple on the ballot that I will throw my weight against. but I'd much rather vote FOR someone. Just so you know.

In any event, Washington State elects it ENTIRE EXECUTIVE every four years, timed with the national elections. So we have a lot of ground to cover.

Governor - Jay Inslee fits the above-mentioned type I favor. Former US Rep, centrist, strong on green energy and jobs. Yeah, I think he's do the job. He doesn't make me take to the streets in support, but he sounds pretty competent. And he's pro-environment, but then, in Seattle, who isn't? (oh yeah, the guys who want to run coal trains through downtown to send coal to China) Vote Inslee.

By the same token, Rob McKenna has evolved into the type of candidate I will vote against. He strikes me as the cartoon-Republican we see parodied on the Daily Show. Runs as an outsider while he's been part of the administration for the past eight years as Attorney General. He started strong in that role, but is known best for opposing things (ACA, a case against the Bureau of Public Lands) than accomplishing things. And then losing in court in that opposition. Talks small government and thrift while his department got bigger and his paycheck heavier. Slew of gaffes early on, such that he's currently laying low with the aid of a compliant press and acting more moderate.

Yet, despite my misgivings, I still suspect McKenna is going to take this. We've had of lot of Democrat governance for the past decade and this could be a change election.  Plus, the Seattle Times is running its own ads for the guy, and should be expecting a payout if he wins.

And note to the Times: If you're going to trash your journalistic ethics to campaign for a candidate, the least you should do is make some good ads. The one in yesterday's paper would get lost on a mailer.

Lieutenant Governor - On the other hand, I will gladly endorse Republican Bill Finkbeiner. Finkbeiner was for marriage equality before it was cool, and is more to the left than the incumbent. Yeah, let's go with him.

Secretary of State. No endorsement, because I simply can't make up my mind. Both Kathleen Drew and Kim Wyman are excellent candidates. They have good endorsements and ideas. They would be challenged to fill the shoes of Sam Reed (the wise and understanding grandfather of Washington Politics) but either would be up to that challenge. I've written this paragraph five times, and each time ended up endorsing one or the other. Let me endorse both, then. I mean, its my blog, after all.

State Treasurer - Jim McIntire. Incumbent. Competent. Should be re-elected.

State Auditor - Here's the flip side of the Secretary of State. I didn't particularly care much for EITHER of these guys in the primary, but hey, we're a democracy. I'm going to go with Troy Kelley because he is less conservative and anti-government than James Watkins. And you really should have people in government that LIKE government.

Attorney General - Bob Ferguson shows up for the job and has a couple armfuls of endorsements. Opponent Reagan. Dunn is running off name recognition, the hope you won't notice his voting record, and deep out of state pockets. Said pockets (Karl Rove's Republican State Leadership Commission) are running a scare ad against Ferguson about him working to defend a cop-killer. Twenty five years ago. When he was a law student. And by "working for" we mean seeking to get death row criminals decent representation. Yeah, that's all they got, a lot of faux outrage. Did I mention that this outrage did not extend to the Washington State Patrol Troopers Association, which endorsed Ferguson? Well, now I have.

This ad has been running in heavy rotation during sports games for the past two weeks. The Times only has chosen to address it once the Dems starting running their own pearl-clutcher of an ad about Dunn making deals with criminals (which in the real world is called "plea-bargaining"). Because as a referee of public discussion, it only worth reporting if the other side hits back.

Commissioner of Public Lands - Peter J Goldmark, unless you're a Redskins fan. Even then, you might think again.

Insurance Commissioner - Mike Kriedler. see above for Jim McIntire.

Next up, we go to the State Legislature, and I beat up on the Seattle Times some more.

More later,

The Political Desk: Federal Level

Grubbstreet endorses Barack Obama and Joe Biden for President and Vice President.

I know, you're stunned.

The simple fact of the matter is that Obama has done a lot of things that have been on the to-do list for some time. Saving the economy is one of those. So is getting Bin Laden. For most people, that would be enough., But there is a lot more, and here's a nice, boring list of some of thing accomplished by the Obama' administration. Here's another one, even longer and more acredited and therefore more boring.

Here's what I take away from all this - capable, competent, almost wonkish, a little boring at times, working within the framework to accomplish things. Deserving of a second term.

Perfection? Hardly. There is a lot I don't like about this administration. Gitmo, Drones. Hardline drug policy. And the ACA really could have used Single Payer. But the simple truth is that I don't seem anything getting better on these fronts from a Republican administration  and given that the GOP's current brain trust are the guys that got us into this mess in the first place, I really don't want to toss them the keys quite yet.

As for Mr. Romney, I have no doubt that he has some firm convictions and ideas, but I have no idea what they are. While I've gotten used to "Say-Anything" candidates, he's the first "Say-Everything" candidate I've ever encountered, where his statements vary according to audience, live mikes, location, time of day and phase of the moon. There HAS to be some version of Romney that you'd vote for in all that, but I have no idea which one is going to show up for work on Day One. (In the last debate, he moved from condemning the President's foreign policy to endorsing it over the period of three weeks).

I understand that some people may be repelled by both candidates, and for that reason I recommend cruising through the other names on the list, for no other reason to appreciate the two guys in the majors. I flirt with Libertarianism, for example, but what they have is socially progressive but internationally isolationist and economically crazy even by GOP standards. The Greens have that earnest, hey-kids-let-put-on-a-show vibe but the only ones who really want to talk about climate change. But, I point them out as a viable options if Biden backed over your dog, and then Ryan tied him to the station wagon's roof.

Also at the Federal Level, for Senate I recommend Maria Cantwell, who is also a deep-hearted wonk who has brought enough business into Washington State to make even the Times happy. Her opponent has attacked her for her support of the war, and I strongly recommend that the State GOP find more office-seekers like this and run them in races where they actually stand a chance.

And finally US Rep, I'm going to go with Adam (not the Wealth of Nations guy, the other one) Smith, who has been a workhorse as well, and looks to represent the new redrawn district well. This is a first-time vote for Smith, and we'll see where we go with this.

More later,

The Political Desk Opens Late

Sweet Mother Malarky, the ballots and voting guides have arrived, and we are little more than two weeks away from the elections, and I am rousted from my sluggard nature only by the fact that some of my regular readers (of which I have tens if not dozens) in Washington State have already voted. So now I am under the gun for a quick turnaround.

I've been doing this for a while now, and the regulars know that I'm a tad bit left of center in my recommendations. But let me point you to some other options as well, for the Seattle area. The online version of the Washington State Voter's Guide is here, and that for King County is here. Voting-For-Judges does a good job compiling judicial recommendations. The Municipal League is here for candidate and here for a couple ballot measures. If you like your recommendations liberal and foul-mouthed, the Stranger provides for that need here. If you go for a more lefty but polite version, here are some of Publicola's (they don't seem to compile them so you'll have to bounce around). And if you rely on the Seattle Times editorial page ...

Well, why would you do a damned fool thing like that?

The Times editorial page is conservative but not arch, and does lend its considerable weight to progressive causes and often endorses Democratic candidates. But it would, all things being equal, prefer to see pro-business Republicans in charge, and it shows strongly both on their editorial page and in their presentation of the news itself. They are more than wiling to carry water for the State GOP on the occasional hatchet job on Dem candidates, while keeping mum on GOP problems until they are commonplace on the local blogs (and/or in the pages of the aforementioned foul-mouthed Stranger). Democrat sins are to be dwelt upon on the front page, Local Section, while Republican candidates in dire straights merely "face challenges" and their travails show up deeper in the paper (sometimes after the comics). They just did a endorsement of Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell, but were so effusive about her Republican challenger I had to double-check the lede. Their own "Truth Needle" can be a flaccid thing, draped over the EMP. Such behavior is pretty much par for the course.

But this past week, the Times has announced that it will now be writing, creating, and presenting their own in-paper political ads for a candidate, in this case Republican Candidate Rob McKenna, in addition to supporting R-74. They have stated that this is an experiment to show that newspapers still matter. This is not the owners of the paper buying space or keeping their opinions to the editorial page or supporting a particular initiative, but rather the newspaper's editorial board campaigning directly for a particular officeseeker. It is a pretty radical move, and its own reporters are pretty staggered by it.

This is, of course, a horrible idea, and puts into question their coverage of everything they report on, regardless of political slant. As the only daily paper in town, and a paper that is deeply proud of its independent roots, this one is a messy, self-inflicted wound. The Stranger (did I mention it was foul-mouthed?) is blatantly and obviously biased as well, but even it is not creating ads for its chosen candidates.

But here, have some ammunition. I will catch up when I can.

More later,

The Political Desk: Primary Results

We come to the conclusion of what feels like the most expensive push-poll in the world, where we winnow down the candidates to (generally) the Expected Republican versus the Expected Democrat. 

Conventional wisdom states that for a low-turnout (seriously low) primary, the GOP in general should do better than the Dems, who muster more effort on their GOTV (Get Out The Vote) for the November election. The results look fairly dismal for the Republicans in this light, as they in many cases trailed their Democratic challengers. This may be in part to the miserable state of the national campaign at the moment (Their motto: "He said WHAT?"), but I think this is rather the result of the state not making a voters' guide available in print to the bulk of the state. A number of the more populous, left-bending counties did pick up the slack, and given the numbers, had a more engaged electorate. In short - a low-information electorate is a low-engagement electorate.

OK, on to the result. 

United States Senator - Maria Cantwell (D) and Michael Baumgartner (R). Cantwell comes in at 55% and should be good for re-election. 
United States Representative Congressional District No. 9 - Adam Smith (D) and Jim Postma (R), with "Wealth of Nations" Smith getting 60% of the vote. 

Governor - Jay Inslee (D) and Rob McKenna (R). The weird thing here is that everyone expected the better-known McKenna to win handily - at the moment he's trailing by three points. Strange.
Lieutenant Governor - Bill Finkbeiner (R) and Brad Owen (D)  The more liberal one is the Republican, but Owen posts in at a meaty 50%.
Secretary of State - Kathleen Drew (D) and Kim Wyman (R), shaping up to a "no-lose" election in fall. Jim Kastama is a distant third since why would people vote for a Democrat who sides with Republicans when a real Republican is running?
State Treasurer - Jim McIntire got all the votes and had no opposition. Oddly, he'll still be on the ballot this fall since Treasurer is a "political position". 
State Auditor - James Watkins (R) and Troy Kelly (D). Pridemore didn't make it. OK, I can live with that.
Attorney General - Bob Ferguson (D) and Reagan Dunn (R) with Ferguson at 50%+. Both men are on the county council, making it for a direct comparison of apples and apples. 
Commissioner of Public Lands - Peter Goldmark (D) and Clint Didier (R), again with Goldmark at 50%+.
Superintendent of Public Instruction - Randy Dorn got 50% plus for this "Non-partisan position" (we don't tell you whose side they're on), so I think he just keeps the job, and the state saves on printer's ink for the fall ballot.
Insurance Commissioner - Mike Kreidler (D) at 54% over John R. Adams (R)

State Legislative District No. 11, State Senator - Bob Hasegawa (D) and Kristen Thompson (R), just like before the election.  Hasegawa at 68% and pretty impressive
State Legislative District No. 11, Representative Position No. 1 - Jim Flynn (D) and Zack Hudgins (D), with Hudgins at almost 70%
State Legislative District No. 11, Representative Position No.2 - Sarah Sanoy-Wright (R) and Steve Berquist (D). Wait, what? OK, its a crowded Dem field so the die-hard GOP votes will bring forward the only listed Republican, but Berquist was not even on my radar, and was overspent by Stephanie Bowman, who had a list of endorsements as long as my arm. I was not swayed by Berquist's "Put a teacher in the state house" argument, but apparently many were, and he takes in the lion's share and advances to the general. Congrats. 

State Supreme Court - Justice Position No. 2 - Susan Owens at 63% keeps her job
State Supreme Court - Justice Position No.8 - Steve Gonzalez at 57% keeps his job, though the highly-endorsed incumbant lost in every county that did not provide a voters' guide. Low-information voters, indeed.
State Supreme Court - Justice Position No.9 - Sheryl Gordon-McCloud and either Bruce Hilyer or Richard Sanders. It is still close, and while Hilyer had endorsements, the ... um ... quirky Sanders has name recognition. 
Superior Court Judge Position No. 25 - Elizabeth Berns at 50.17% MAY get the gig, or will have a run-off with Roger Davidheiser
Superior Court Judge Position No. 29 - Sean O'Donnell at 76% will not appear on the ballot this fall.
Superior Court Judge Position No.30 - Doug North at 57% will not appear on the ballot this fall.
Superior Court Judge Position No.42 - Sue Parisien at 44% will run off against Chris Washington (talk about your name recognition).
Superior Court Judge Position No.46 - Judy Ramseyer at 61% gets the gig. 

And that's it for a couple months, until the election heats up again. 

Political Desk: The Jeff Recommends

So it is interesting to note that when I'm talking local politics, the number of hits on this site just plummets. But yet I persist. And while we're more than a week out from when the ballots need to be mailed, so let's summarize the past week.

King County Proposition 1 Children and Family services Center Capital Levy - APPROVED

United States Senator - Maria Cantwell
United States Representative Congressional District No. 9 - Adam Smith

Governor - Jay Inslee
Lieutenant Governor - Bill Finkbeiner
Secretary of State - Kathleen Drew (though Kim Wyman get good marks)
State Treasurer - Jim McIntire
State Auditor - Craig Pridemore
Attorney General - Bob Ferguson
Commissioner of Public Lands - Peter Goldmark
Superintendent of Public Instruction - Randy Dorn
Insurance Commissioner - Mike Kreidler

State Legislative District No. 11, State Senator - Bob Hasegawa
State Legislative District No. 11, Representative Position No. 1 - Jim Flynn
State Legislative District No. 11, Representative Position No.2 - Bobby Virk (though Stephanie Bowman is also good).

State Supreme Court - Justice Position No. 2 - Susan Owens
State Supreme Court - Justice Position No.8 - Steve Gonzalez
State Supreme Court - Justice Position No.9 - Bruce Hilyer
Superior Court Judge Position No. 25 - Elizabeth Berns
Superior Court Judge Position No. 29 - Sean O'Donnell
Superior Court Judge Position No.30 - Doug North
Superior Court Judge Position No.42 - Sue Parisien
Superior Court Judge Position No.46 - Gary Ernsdorff

And that wraps us until the NEXT big collection of elections in the fall. I know, you're as excited as I am.

More later,

Raucus Caucus Redux

So I gave you the set-up, so I feel obliged to tell you how things turned out for the GOP caucus.

As promised, I slept in, though that had more to do with the head cold I'm nursing than any strong political attitude. However, it seems that not everyone had that level of common sense, and most of the staff of the Stranger went to caucuses, in some cases ending up running their precincts and being selected to go to the next level for nomination. Yeah guys, very funny.

The caucus was accompanied by a preference of candidate (which is termed a "beauty contest" but is really just a non-binding straw poll), and Huffpo reports with 90% of the vote in, we have Romney at 36.6%, Paul at 24.9%, Santorum at 24.4%, Gingrich at 10.6% and Others at 3.5%.  The votes also award 30 delegates to Romney, and 5 each to Paul and Santorum. This last bit is both premature and wrong, since there with be a county-level winnowing process, and then the state delegation selected from this.

Now, this winnowing can go two ways at this point. By the time of county and state, Romney can have enough delegates piled up elsewhere, which means everyone falls in line and goes with the inevitable. By the same token, a stated tactic for the Ron Paul supporters is to get into the process in this step as potential delegates for another candidate, and then declare for their man at a later stage (which is fair under the rules). Heck, enough members of the Stranger staff are going over to the next level to make up their own voting bloc.

The caucus did not go off without a hitch. The Paul supporters challenged the mainstream leadership, and there were cases of voters being turned away because the chosen venue was too small (that's good news for a party worried about a lack of enthusiasm, but has already raised the tweets of shennanigans).

And I got a bit of chuckle from this amusing typo in the Seattle Times reporting on Paul's electability versus Romney's:

Larry Hughes, a 71 year-old retired IT professional with a neat, thin gray moustache, shook his head. He recalled believing that Barry Goldwater was a much-need change agent, as Dukes sees Paul now, only to see Goldwater badly beaten.
“I see Goldwater all over again,” said Hughes.  Romney is the only candidate who can be Obama, he said.

(I think the speaker meant "beat Obama" as opposed to "be Obama", but I guess Romney could be Obama if he tried. I mean, he's been everyone else so far).

In any event, if you are interesting in how YOUR state is handling the primary season, a great resource is The Green Papers, which is process-wonk's Nirvana of all the minutiae involved in the primary and caucus process, and gives a ring-side seat to the convoluted and often messy process of democracy. Go take a look.

More later,

Politics: Reps as Dems

Yeah, I've been putting off talking politics, keeping to some local stuff. But as things heat up for next election, where we're not only choosing a president but the entire Washington State government, we'll get more notes here. In this case, we're in that wafer-thin space between the last debate and the first primaries and caucuses. Most people haven't been paying attention, and we've already seeing dropouts even before the first vote.

Now, for those new to the 'street, let me be clear - I'm a leftie. You can call it progressive, but I will go with old-school liberal. Worse, I am one of the goo-goo types (goo-goo being short for good government, a Chicago term), who believes in seeking consensus and using process to advance your cause and honoring the spirit of the rule as opposed to just the letter. And while I am to the left of the current occupant of the White House (who will be his party's nominee, and as such is bad television), I still can see daylight between the two parties, even if I think both are being too conservative and/or corporate.

So I'm not going to concern-troll here. There very little that will make me vote for any of the folk running for the GOP position (yeah, I voted for Ford back in the day, but that was forever and a half ago, so calling me a former Republican is like calling me a former child). I would prefer to see a Republican candidate who, if elected, would do a good job as opposed to a nutter that hopefully be unelectable (though Americans are often punished by getting the leaders they deserve).

All that said, I think that the problem for the Republicans is that they are acting like Democrats. The GOP is supposed to be tight, small, organized, and heavy on message discipline. And most of all, following Reagan's Commandment of "Thous shall not speak ill of another candidate". This bunch? Not so much. In fact, it looks like they looted the political graveyards of previous Dem candidates in order to pull their gang together. I mentioned this four years ago, and it is even more clear this time out -  I mean, look at the comparisons:

Romney - A Massachusetts, non-protestant who supports universal health care and is accused of flip-flopping on his nuanced views? Meet John Kerry.

Gringrich - A charismatic, intellectual populist intensely disliked by Washington and known for adulterous relationships? Why don't you just nominate Bill Clinton and be done with it?

Paul - Equal parts enlightened and scary with a good ground game and organization, passionate, young supporters, ignored by the mass media until they find the right tool to slam him? Say hi to Howard Dean.

Santorum - The political bad penny. Odious and sanctimonious, he leaves you wondering how the heck he keeps showing up at the weirdest moments. Assumed to be running for VP. When he grows up, he'll be Lieberman.

Perry - A tough one. But he was considered an obvious contender until he actually entered the race, upon which he was set upon, dismembered, and left for dead. Let's go with Bill Bradley or Mario Cuomo.

Bachman - There are candidates that are not running for president or to make sure their issues are heard so much as maintaining their brand, so that after the inevitable defeat they can appear on TV shows as representing a particular demographic. The Dem version? Al Sharpton.

Huntsman - The candidate that everyone supposedly loves, but has no chance of winning. And if he ever got over single digits would be immediately savaged. Treated as a punchline by the cogonesti. The liberal version is that perennial short straw Dennis Kucinich.

(Cain) - Already dropped - Complete non-politician with hardcore following and makes whacky statements - Lyndon LaRouche.

(Palin) - Never declared but made a number of headfakes, looked at as being the great hope who would ride to the party's rescue - Wesley Clarke.

(Trump) - Another one dedicated to his personal brand, willing to run a third party despite the fact that it would be ultimately bad for his side of the argument - Ralph Nader.

(Palenty) - Here's an apparently nice guy for a politician, but never really gets any traction, could be confused with most of the rest of the Senate. Gephardt. I mean Edwards. I mean Richardson....

What's missing from this collection? A centrist who gives a good speech. Of course, we already HAVE one of those running as the Democrat.

More later,