The ballots have shown up here at Grubb Street for the upcoming general elections in Washington State, and you're going to have to endure a bunch of relatively short recommendations for the next week. Hey, it's a tradition by now.
Let me start off by sending you in the direction OTHER people's recommendations and endorsements. The Seattle Times tends to be pro-business and centerish, and has been piling up their endorsements over time. The Stranger is leftish, hates cars, loves density, and is actually reported on races south of SODO this time, which is nice. Interestingly enough, these two major media outlets have been agreeing on a lot of candidates. Go figure.
There are currently 11 judgeships up on my ballot - State Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and District Court. All of the candidates in these races are running unopposed. I don't know if that's because we are cool with the idea of checking in the judges every so often and then just renewing their contracts, or we just don't have anyone interested in running against them. In any event, Grubb Street does not endorse in single-candidate elections, other than congratulating to those who get another term. If you happen to have multiple candidates on YOUR ballot, Voting For Judges is a good source of info, though they are still adding to their database at this late date..
Surprisingly, there are no referendums or initiatives on the ballot this year. Further There are also no local offices this time out for my locality. That's cool. I appreciate the break.
Where do we stand here at Grubb Street? We lean politely left. We even verge on our good days towards positively progressive. As such, we will not be consciously endorsing any Republicans this cycle. Now, not all Republicans are the current whackadoodles that show up on FOX and right-wing radio, denying elections, vaccines, and rights for other human beings. But those of the GOP that are not in this broad category don't have any problem support the ones who are. The saying is that Democrats have to fall in love, Republicans have to fall in line.
Looking at the rest of the local media blogroll, Crosscut put together a nice overview, the Urbanist talks about a smattering of race related to their city management viewpoint, and the West Seattle Blog talks about the proposed changes to Seattle voting procedures. Progressives are here. Conservation voters are here. I'll update this entry to keep you in the loop should others chime in.
And, of course, here is the Voters' Guide, in case one hasn't shown up in your mailbox.
As always, I encourage people to be informed voters - check sources and make the best decision. You may not agree with me, but that's cool. That's why I am not God-King of Cascadia. Yet.
But avoid the whackadoodles. Seriously.
More later,
