Offering daily news and analysis from the majestic Evergreen State and beyond, The Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's unconventional perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Tuesday, December 27th, 2016

Tim Eyman quietly abandons I-869 and resumes explicitly fundraising for himself

Tim Eyman has thrown in the towel on his most recent attempt to defund Sound Transit and Amtrak Cascades, even if he isn’t ready to overtly say so yet.

The infamous initiative profiteer, who fancies himself a road warrior, announced back in June that he would seek to qualify an initiative to the 2017 Legislature to wipe out billions of dollars in funding for transit at the state and local level.

Eyman created a campaign committee for the initiative (I-869) and printed up petitions, but never did much of anything else… evidently because he was unable to convince his wealthy benefactors to bankroll a signature drive.

Signatures for initiatives to the 2017 Legislature are due this Friday, December 30th, by the close of business, but Eyman won’t be showing up to submit any I-869 signatures to the Secretary of State’s Elections Division because he was unable to buy the labor he needed to get I-869 off the ground.

Eyman has all but admitted I-869 is doomed. For the past six months, his fundraising appeals have contained his obligatory reference to I-869:

Petitions for “We Love Our Cars” I-869 have been sent out (if you need more, just email or call).  Our polling shows it’s another big winner.  Please help us make it a reality.

But that paragraph was omitted from today’s fundraising email, which made no mention of I-869. Instead of asking for contributions to qualify I-869, Eyman asked for money for himself (something he’s become really good at):

If you like and appreciate our past, current, and future efforts on behalf of taxpayers, please send us a donation for $10, $25, $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000, $2500, $5000 or more (there are no limits on how much can be given). You can go to our website right now and make a secure on-line contribution by PayPal or VISA or M/C. OR, you can print this form, fill it out, and return it with a check or credit card information.

If Eyman’s past behavior is any indication, he’s not going to say anything openly about the demise of I-869 until he is ready to begin selling something else.

(As a salesman of bad ideas, Eyman must always have something to sell.)

When Eyman unveiled I-869 at the beginning of June 2016, it marked the third time in the span of six months that he had unveiled plans for a new initiative, with the previous two announcements having amounted to false starts.

In November of 2015, Eyman called a press conference in the statehouse to announce his intent to qualify a “Son of 1366” to the 2016 ballot. Eyman and his associates created a campaign committee to promote the new initiative that looked powerful on paper (the committee was loaded with over $1 million in loans), presumably to intimidate Democrats in the Legislature into complying with Eyman’s demand to sabotage Article II, Section 22 of the State Constitution.

However, Democrats were united in their refusal to capitulate, and the Son of 1366 committee ultimately became a liability for Eyman when NPI’s friends with Keep Washington Rolling launched a citizen’s action against him and the committee for failure to properly comply with Washington’s public disclosure laws.

In February, Eyman returned to the state capital (this time without his sidekicks in tow) to announce a new scheme to defund Sound Transit and Amtrak Cascades — I-1421. Again, Eyman made a big show of introducing the initiative, even symbolically becoming the first to sign it in front of the television cameras.

Tim Eyman signs I-1421

Tim Eyman becomes the first signer of Initiative 1421 (Photo: Andrew Villeneuve/NPI)

But though he did print petitions for I-1421, it turned out to be no more real than the “Son of 1366” he had announced in November. By June, Eyman had admitted to The Herald‘s Jerry Cornfield that I-1421 was doomed and would not qualify.

Six initiatives ultimately appeared on the 2016 ballot… none of them Eyman’s, for only the fourth time in sixteen years. Bereft of an initiative to sell, Eyman tried to make himself a player in the presidential election in other ways.

Eyman successfully lobbied the Sound Transit board of directors to get himself appointed to the committees tasked with writing the con statements for the voter’s pamphlet (a decision we strongly criticized here), and backed Rodney Tom’s attack campaigns against Justices Barbara Madsen and Charlie Wiggins, which were failures. Meanwhile, his initiative factory sat idle, with I-869 stalled inside.

Last month, with all evidence suggesting I-869 would meet the same fate as I-1421, we declared I-869 dead. Eyman did not dispute our assessment.

This Friday, we will officially add I-869 to Tim Eyman’s Failure Chart as its newest entry. We have no doubt I-869 will soon be scrubbed from Eyman’s website and replaced with something else, as if it never existed.

But we will celebrating I-869’s failure for many weeks. It is vital that we invest in mass transit to secure our state’s economic future, reduce pollution, and improve mobility. I-869’s demise means another threat to Sound Transit and Amtrak Cascades has fizzled out. Sound Transit, the public agency Eyman loathes above all others, is flying high, having had a stellar 2016, while Eyman is crashing and burning. That is a very good outcome for the state and region we love.

# Permalink :: Posted by Andrew: 12:12 PM | Comments (1) | Email to a friend
Thursday, December 15th, 2016

Seattle rallies to celebrate the Sounders’ historic MLS Cup victory

After an arduous election year with shocking results, Washingtonians were in desperate need of a feel-good story to close out 2016.

Panoramic view of Sounders' victory celebration

Cue the underdog Sounders’ barnstorming through the MLS Cup playoffs.

The unexpected loss of the team’s two top scorers and mid-season firing of head coach Sigi Schmid set the stage for a storybook turn-around that came thanks in part to the coming-of-age of two local sons; rookie forward Jordan Morris (Mercer Island) and long-time assistant turned head coach Brian Schmetzer (Lake City).

If just one Sounders victory had gone the other way, the team would have failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in their MLS history.

Instead, they never let their epic comeback slow down, knocking off (among others) top-seeded FC Dallas and Eastern Conference Champion Toronto FC, stacked with big-name attackers, to bring home the club’s first MLS Cup.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray was the first guest speaker to address the crowd, asking for a round of applause for the Seattle Police Department and the officer who was injured on duty in the earlier parade. He was joined on stage by King County Executive Dow Constantine and retiring Congressman Jim McDermott, both Sounders season ticket holders. As a fan since the club’s earliest iteration in the North American Soccer League, McDermott showed off his knowledge of Sounders history and claimed to have predicted the path to the MLS Cup after seeing his beloved Chicago Cubs claim their first MLB World Series title in 108 years.

Sounders' victory celebration

By winning the league, Sounders also earned a birth in the CONCACAF Champions League where they will represent the Northwest as stewards of diplomacy in the international competition throughout North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Congratulations, Sounders, and thanks for giving us something to smile about!

 

# Permalink :: Posted by Dominic Barrera: 11:35 AM | Leave a comment | Email to a friend
Tuesday, December 13th, 2016

Go Jay Inslee! Governor proposes $3.9 billion in new revenue for our K-12 public schools

Declaring that we have a duty to follow our Constitution and provide a quality education to every child in our state, Governor Inslee today unveiled a bold plan to fully fund our state’s K-12 public schools and end the McCleary litigation.

“We face an opportunity — and an obligation — in this upcoming session to not just put more money into the system we already have, but to invest in the kind of education system all our children deserve,” Inslee said in a statement.

Inslee’s plan calls for the levying of a capital gains tax and a pollution tax as well as the closing of tax breaks not in the public interest. The business and occupation tax would also be increased, but not on very small businesses. This would raise $3.9 billion in new revenue to invest in the state’s K-12 public schools.

Every school district in the state would receive a significant boost in funding — significant enough to allow for reductions in property taxes. In fact, the governor’s office estimates that 75% of households would receive a property tax cut.

In a post on Medium, the Governor offered these specifics:

Increasing the business and occupation tax rate for a broad range of personal and professional services from 1.5 to 2.5 percent, generating nearly $2.3 billion in the next two years. Washington, in general, does not tax services to the extent it taxes goods. However, consumers today spend a smaller share of their disposable income on goods and a larger share on services such as those provided by accountants, architects, attorneys, consultants and real estate agents. To make sure very small businesses aren’t impacted, the governor’s plan more than doubles the B&O tax filing threshold to $100,000, providing an additional 38,000 businesses some tax [savings].

Imposing a new tax on carbon pollution associated with the production and consumption of fossil fuels that would generate about $1.9 billion in the next biennium. Half the revenue would be reinvested in clean energy and transportation projects to lower consumer fuel bills and cut greenhouse gas emissions. Additional funds would support projects to build water infrastructure and improve forest health. Funds are also used to offset taxes to businesses and low-income households. The remaining revenue would go to the state’s education needs.

Imposing a 7.9 percent capital gains tax on the sale of stocks, bonds and other assets to increase the share of state taxes paid by a small fraction of the state’s wealthiest taxpayers. It would apply only to the capital gains earnings above $25,000 for individuals and $50,000 for joint filers. Retirement accounts, gains on the sale of residential real property and certain livestock and agricultural land would be exempt. The tax would generate $821 million in fiscal year 2019.

Closing or changing five tax exemptions to raise about $300 million, including eliminating the sales tax exemption for bottled water, limiting the sales tax exemption for vehicle trade-ins and converting the nonresident sales tax exemption to a refund program.

The governor will also propose more than $1 billion in his capital budget for school construction.

Governor Inslee is showing tremendous courage and leadership today by proposing a compelling, well-thought out plan for funding our schools that requires the wealthy to increase their investment in our commonwealth.

For years, the Legislature has procrastinated and punted on revenue reform, leaving us chained to a broken, regressive tax code that isn’t generating the funding necessary to comply with Article IX of our Constitution, which says:

It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.

This plan would begin to address both the inequity in our tax code and the chronic, unjust underfunding of our public schools.

Our research shows that strong majorities of Washingtonians back Governor Inslee’s revenue ideas. Last June, working with Public Policy Polling, we surveyed 679 likely voters and asked respondents if they believed our schools are underfunded and that we need to raise revenue to fully them. Our poll, which was in the field from June 14th-15th, has a margin of error of +/- 3.8% at the 95% confidence level.

63% of the likely voters who responded to the survey agreed that Washington’s schools need more funding. Impressively, 65% support a capital gains tax on the wealthy to make this happen, with 46% saying they “strongly support the idea”.

The specific language of the school underfunding question was as follows:

Do you strongly agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree or strongly disagree with the following statement: Washington’s public schools are underfunded, and we need to raise state revenue to fully fund them?

These were the answers:

  • Agree: 63%
    • 45% “strongly agree” that we need more revenue for schools
    • 18% “somewhat agree” that we need more revenue for schools
  • Disagree: 32%
    • 18% “somewhat disagree” that we need more revenue for schools
    • 14% “strongly disagree” that we need more revenue for schools
  • 6% answered “not sure” 

The specific language of our capital gains tax question was as follows:

Do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose taxing the capital gains of wealthy individuals to help pay for public schools, colleges and universities?”

These were the answers:

  • Support: 65%
    • 46% “strongly support” a capital gains tax
    • 19% “somewhat support” a capital gains tax
  • Oppose: 33%
    • 9% “somewhat oppose” a capital gains tax
    • 24% “strongly oppose” a capital gains tax
  • 2% answered “not sure” 

We began asking a capital gains tax question in our statewide polls after Governor Inslee first proposed levying one two years ago as part of his 2015 budget.

House Democrats responded to Governor Inslee’s idea by getting to work on specifics, but obstructionist Senate Republicans refused to play ball and a capital gains tax did not make it into the 2015-2017 biennial budget.

However, Governor Inslee’s proposal did resonate with the people of Washington, who our research shows have become increasingly supportive of the idea.

In 2015, when we first asked the capital gains tax question, we found 55% of respondents in favor, with 43% strongly supportive. Those numbers increased this year to 65% supportive overall, with 46% strongly supportive.

Respondents to our surveys have also expressed support for raising revenue to fund public schools by going after big polluters.

For the past two years, we’ve asked this question in our statewide polls:

Do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose implementing a cap-and-trade system, where polluters would be charged a fee to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and fund public schools and transportation projects?

Support for this idea also increased since we first asked about it. In 2015, 37% said they strongly supported this idea and that figure remain unchanged this year. However, the percentage of those somewhat supportive increased from 18% to 22%, for a total of 59% of respondents supportive this year.

Total opposition clocks in at just 36%.

In this plan, Governor Inslee is proposing pollution penalties instead of a cap and trade system. But the basic concept of going after big polluters and using the revenue to invest in our schools and in transportation projects is the same.

The Governor is offering a climate protection action plan and a school funding proposal in the same package. That’s really, really smart.

Governor Inslee’s decision two years ago to put versions of these same ideas on the table is paying off. Washingtonians have become more enthusiastic about levying a capital gains tax and imposing pollution penalties. The Governor is wise to reintroduce these ideas and insist the Legislature seriously consider them.

Hostile Republicans will undoubtedly have very unkind things to say about this plan and Governor Inslee’s forthcoming budget. They will be eager to denounce the Governor’s strategy. But they will not be offering an alternative plan of their own, because they are not interested in fully funding our K-12 schools.

Heck, Michael Baumgartner has introduced a resolution to repeal those introductory words of Article IX. To him and his fellow extremists in that caucus, following the plan of government our founders gave us is just too hard… so he’s proposing we just do away with the part that says it’s our paramount duty to amply provide for the education of our youth. That’s not leadership; it’s appalling cowardice.

Governor Inslee is showing us today what real leadership is. And we can’t thank him enough. Way to go, Governor! We’ll be showing up in Olympia next year to help you and Superintendent-elect Chris Reykdal fight for our students and teachers.

# Permalink :: Posted by Andrew: 2:12 PM | Leave a comment | Email to a friend
Saturday, December 10th, 2016

WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!!! Seattle Sounders FC win 2016 MLS Cup, defeating Toronto FC

Break out the blue and green victory banners — the MLS Cup is coming to Seattle!

MLS Cup

After many years of coming up short in the playoffs, the Seattle Sounders FC have finally won it all, defeating Toronto FC on their home turf in Canada’s largest city to bring home their first championship. It was a hard-earned win — the match was decided by a penalty shootout after neither team managed to score during a hundred and twenty minutes of regulation and extra time.

The winning penalty was scored by Roman Torres for the Sounders.

As reported by ESPNFC, the shootout went like this:

With Toronto FC shooting first, Jozy Altidore opened the shootout with a well-taken penalty and Sounders substitute Brad Evans answered.

Bradley was next and rolled a soft shot too close to the middle of the goal that Frei saved, before Andreas Ivanschitz put Seattle ahead.

Toronto sub Benoit Cheyrou converted, and the teams were back on level terms when Clint Irwin saved Alvaro Fernandez’s shot.

Will Johnson and Drew Moor were next to scored for Toronto, only for Joevin Jones and Nicolas Lodeiro to answer with powerful shots.

But Morrow’s shot hit the underside of the bar and stayed out, and Torres sent his shot down the middle to win the title.

And with that, the Sounders rushed onto the field to celebrate their thrilling victory.

All of us at NPI extend our delighted congratulations to the Sounders on winning their first MLS Cup. The Portland Timbers won the title last year, so the championship is staying in Cascadia — which is fitting.

With today’s win, the Sounders have joined the Seahawks, the Storm, and the Sonics in having won their league’s championship at least once. The Mariners are now Seattle’s only professional team never to have won a title.

Let’s hope that changes next year.

Congratulations again, Sounders! MLS champions!

Read More »

# Permalink :: Posted by Andrew: 8:35 PM | Comments (1) | Email to a friend
Friday, December 9th, 2016

Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) said to be Trump’s Interior Secretary pick

If news reports are to be believed, Donald Trump is on the verge of naming Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers as his choice for Secretary of the Interior. McMorris Rodgers has represented Eastern Washington in Congress for nearly ten years, having been elected and reelected five times.

Ms. McMorris Rodgers, the highest-ranking woman in the House Republican leadership, is expected to be announced as Mr. Trump’s secretary of the interior as early as Friday, two people close to the transition efforts said. Ms. McMorris Rodgers comes from Washington, a state with large federal land reserves, and she also had been critical of Mr. Trump at various points during the presidential campaign.

Aides to Mr. Trump did not respond to requests for comment.

McMorris Rodgers would succeed fellow Washingtonian Sally Jewell in that position if nominated and confirmed by the United States Senate. She would also have to give up her seat in Congress, triggering a special election this year in WA-05.

The law on special elections for U.S. Representative is as follows:

  1. Whenever a vacancy occurs in the United States house of representatives or the United States senate from this state, the governor shall order a special election to fill the vacancy.
  2. Within ten days of such vacancy occurring, he or she shall issue a writ of election fixing a date for the [Top Two] at least seventy days after issuance of the writ, and fixing a date for the election at least seventy days after the date of the [Top Two]. If the vacancy is in the office of United States representative, the writ of election shall specify the congressional district that is vacant.
  3. If the vacancy occurs less than eight months before a general election and before the close of the filing period for that general election, the special [Top Two] and special vacancy election must be held in concert with the state [Top Two] and general election in that year.
  4. If the vacancy occurs on or after the first day for filing under RCW 29A.24.050 and on or before the close of the filing period, a special filing period of three normal business days shall be fixed and notice thereof given to all media, including press, radio, and television within the area in which the vacancy election is to be held, to the end that, insofar as possible, all interested persons will be aware of such filing period.
  5. If the vacancy occurs later than the close of the filing period, a special [Top Two] and vacancy election to fill the position shall be held after the next general election but, in any event, no later than the ninetieth day following the general election.

If McMorris Rodgers waited until after March 7th to resign, the special election to fill her seat would be held concurrently with this year’s local elections (the August Top Two and November general). There will be two special election windows in the first half of 2017, with one being in February and the other in April.

Any special election held outside of those already-designated windows would require extra planning on the part of elections officials.

State elections director Lori Augino offered this additional background in an email sent to reporters a few moments ago:

There are 427,853 registered voters in the 5th Congressional District. The counties located within the District are as follows:

  • Asotin
  • Columbia
  • Ferry
  • Garfield
  • Lincoln
  • Pend Oreille
  • Spokane
  • Stevens
  • Walla Walla (partial county)
  • Whitman

If a member of Congress resigns, the vacancy would occur upon the effective date of a resignation submitted by the incumbent to the Governor.

If a vacancy occurs on or before March 7: The Governor may select a date to hold the Special Primary and General Election. He must set those dates within ten days of the vacancy occurring.

The Special [Top Two] must be at least 70 days from the date of setting the election. And, the Special General Election must be at least 70 days after the Special [Top Two] .

If a vacancy occurs after March 7 and before May 19: If the vacancy occurs less than eight months before a general election and before the close of the filing period for that general election, the special [Top Two] and special vacancy election must be held in concert  with the state [Top Two] and general election in that year. The 2017 General Election will be held on November 7. For this provision to be in effect, the vacancy must occur after March 7.

The regular filing period runs from May 15 through May 19, 2017.

If a different election schedule is set by the governor, Secretary Wyman will set the filing period and certify candidates to the Special [Top Two] Election.

Democrats already have at least one declared candidate for McMorris Rodgers’ seat as of this morning: Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart.

“The people of Eastern Washington are tired of a Congress that does nothing but create obstructionism and fodder for political pundits,” said Stuckart in a statement announcing his run. “The people of Eastern Washington are looking for a representative with laser focus ready to grow our economy, protect Medicare and Social Security, tackle our out-of-control national debt, pay more than lip service to our veterans, ensure our farmers and job creators can get their goods to market, and value each person for the freedom, dignity and respect they’re afforded under the Constitution. This is what Eastern Washington values.”

Stuckart has been President of Spokane’s City Council since 2012. He is well known in the Lilac City and around the Inland Empire.

While McMorris Rodgers would likely pursue awful policies if she becomes Secretary of the Interior, she’ll at least be from around here, so when Senator Cantwell and other members of our state’s congressional delegation need to lodge complaints and protests, they’ll be speaking to someone they know.

# Permalink :: Posted by Andrew: 10:40 AM | Leave a comment | Email to a friend
Thursday, December 8th, 2016

Starting in 2017, WA initiatives will require an additional 13,250 valid signatures to qualify

Beginning in 2017, the number of signatures required to secure a spot on Washington’s statewide ballot will be increasing to nearly 260,000, the Secretary of State’s office announced in an advisory today,

The increase is a consequence of turnout in the Washington’s 2016 gubernatorial election. The Washington State Constitution says that the signature requirement for initiatives shall correspond to 8% of the people who voted in the last election for governor. For referenda, the signature requirement is 4%.

“To qualify for a ballot spot, initiative sponsors for the next four years will need at least 259,622 valid signatures of registered Washington voters,” explained Secretary of State Kim Wyman’s communications director David Ammons. “That is 8 percent of the total 2016 vote for governor, 3,245,282. The old number was 246,372.”

“For referenda, the new requirement will be 129,811. That is 4 percent of the total vote for governor and compares with the current 123,186.”

Note that these requirements are for valid signatures. To qualify, a campaign must submit additional signatures beyond the minimum number to have a chance of making it in order to offset likely invalid or duplicate signatures. A cushion of at least twenty percent is needed, and more is better. 20% of 259,622 is 51,924, so future initiative campaigns will need to be able to gather around 312,000 signatures total in order to qualify for the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 ballots.

The signature requirements are percentages, so they can fall or rise depending on how many people are on the voter rolls and how many turn out for a gubernatorial election. However, they’ve been rising steadily in four year intervals since 2000 due to robust turnout in presidential/gubernatorial years.

Turnout this year was down from 2004, 2008, and 2012, but the absolute number of voters voting went up, so the signature requirements will be higher.

This news won’t make Tim Eyman happy, as his business is qualifying initiatives, and the higher signature requirement means an increase in his costs.

But it may not matter. If Eyman doesn’t have his wealthy benefactors behind him pumping cash into his initiative factory next year — or any year in the future — he won’t be able to mount a signature drive anyway.

# Permalink :: Posted by Andrew: 11:45 AM | Leave a comment | Email to a friend
Tuesday, December 6th, 2016

Tim Eyman pal Michael Baumgartner prefiles amendment to repeal “paramount duty” language in Washington State Constitution

In a fairly blatant attempt to get some attention for himself and steer public discourse away from fully funding our public schools, extremist right wing Senator Michael Baumgartner of Spokane has prefiled a constitutional amendment that would repeal the memorable opening words of Article IX of the Washington State Constitution (“It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.“).

Baumgartner, who is one of Tim Eyman’s go-to guys in the Washington State Senate’s Republican caucus, appears to be borrowing a page from Eyman’s playbook by deliberately introducing an amendment he knows is nonviable but which he expects will rile up progressives and generate press coverage for himself.

Baumgartner is fully aware his proposal has zero chance of passing either the Senate or the House. Constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote of each house to pass, meaning any successful amendment has to have bipartisan support.

It’s doubtful Baumgartner would be able to even get most of his Republican colleagues to back this travesty of an amendment. There’s unlikely to be much of an appetite in the caucus for this, even though many other Senate Republicans are just as extreme as Baumgartner is (ahem, Doug Ericksen).

But he’s probably at least hoping to secure a committee hearing on this resolution of his. And he shouldn’t get one. The Washington State Senate has very important business to attend to this upcoming session, most notably complying with this very part of the Constitution Baumgartner wants to repeal.

No one’s time should be wasted debating this ridiculous amendment, which is a full-fledged assault on the values that Washington State was founded on.

Most of the men who participated in the writing of Washington’s Constitution were Republicans. Progressive Republicans. Were any of them around today, I imagine they’d be pretty disgusted to see an elected member of their party trying to wipe away perhaps the finest words they left behind for future generations.

Article IX, concerning education, dates back to statehood, as does its preamble. Only an extremist would seek to sabotage Article IX by repealing its preamble and inserting language explicitly allowing public dollars to go to privately-run schools — which is what Baumgartner’s amendment does.

Shame on Michael Baumgartner for proposing this nonsense, and shame on any of his Republican colleagues who dare give it any attention whatsoever.

This upcoming session needs to be all about increasing state revenue so that our kids and teachers get the resources they need. NPI’s research shows an overwhelming majority of Washingtonians believe our schools are underfunded and support reforms like a capital gains tax to address that funding crisis.

That’s what the Legislature needs to be talking about — not this silliness.

# Permalink :: Posted by Andrew: 8:17 AM | Comments (1) | Email to a friend
Monday, December 5th, 2016

LIVE from Seattle: Special nominating caucus to replace Pramila Jayapal in 37th underway

Good evening from Seattle. I’m here at the Rainier Arts Center, where the Democratic precinct committee officers of the 37th Legislative District are gathered to draw up a list of candidates to succeed U.S. Representative-elect Pramila Jayapal, who has submitted her resignation effective December 11th, 2016.

Because Pramila is heading to the Other Washington to represent Washington;s 7th Congressional District, a vacancy now exists for state senator in the 37th. The Washington State Constitution stipulates that the process for filling a Democratic legislative vacancy begins with the naming of three candidates from the same district and of the same party by the Washington State Democratic Central Committee (WSDCC) or the relevant county Democratic central committee.

The WSDCC, of which I am a member, specifies in its bylaws that when a vacancy is declared, the county or state party chair shall call a special nominating caucus of precinct committee officers from that district for the purpose of drawing up a list of three names to recommend to the King County Council for its consideration.

That’s what’s happening tonight. I will be updating this post at periodic intervals to summarize the proceedings that are taking place.

7:45 PM: The names of eight candidates have been placed into nomination.

  • Shasti Conrad
  • Juan Cotto
  • Jesse Weinberry
  • Rory O’Sullivan
  • Rebecca Saldaña
  • Bob Rosenberger
  • John Stafford
  • Sheley Secrest

The South Seattle Emerald has a primer on all the candidates.

Rebecca Saldaña is Pramila Jayapal’s choice for the job.

8 PM: Jesse Weinberry has withdrawn his name from consideration after using his five minutes to complain that only newly-elected precinct committee officers for 2017-2018 are allowed to vote in this caucus.

8:41 PM: The first round of voting has been completed and the results announced. 81 ballots were cast and 1 of those was spoiled.

  • Jesse Weinberry: 1 vote
  • Sheley Secrest: 2 votes
  • Juan Cotto: 3 votes
  • Bob Rosenberger: 5 votes
  • John Stafford: 6 votes
  • Shasti Conrad: 7 votes
  • Rebecca Saldaña: 28 votes
  • Rory O’Sullivan: 30 votes

8:54 PM: A runoff was held to determine who would be ranked first on the list of three. The results of the runoff were as follows:

  • Rebecca Saldaña: 35 votes
  • Rory O’Sullivan: 46 votes

Rory’s name will appear first on the list of three names.

9:14 PM: A third round of balloting, to determine the second name on the list, has just been completed. 78 ballots were cast in the third round of voting (with none spoiled) and these were the results:

  • Jesse Weinberry: 1 vote
  • Bob Rosenberger: 2 votes
  • Sheley Secrest: 4 votes
  • Juan Cotto: 5 votes
  • John Stafford: 6 votes
  • Shasti Conrad: 14 votes
  • Rebecca Saldaña: 46 votes

Rebecca received more than a majority, so there will be no runoff for second place. Her name will appear second on the list of three names.

9:27 PM: A fourth round of balloting has been completed, to determine the third-ranked name. Seventy votes were cast. Results were as follows:

  • Bob Rosenberger: 1 vote
  • Sheley Secret: 5 votes
  • Juan Cotto: 12 votes
  • John Stafford: 20 votes
  • Shasti Conrad: 32 votes

There will be one final round of balloting — a runoff to determine third place.

# Permalink :: Posted by Andrew: 7:00 PM | Leave a comment | Email to a friend
Wednesday, November 30th, 2016

LIVE from Seattle’s U District: Bernie Sanders joins supporters to discuss Our Revolution

Good evening from the University District, and welcome to NPI’s live coverage of the Seattle stop of Bernie Sanders’ Our Revolution book tour. Senator Sanders is joining a packed house of supporters at University Temple United Methodist Church to promote his recently-released book and talk about the direction of the progressive movement as America enters the Trump error.

Senator Sanders is due to be introduced in a few minutes. We have a full house here, with this event having sold out several weeks ago. Ticketbuyers received a copy of Bernie’s book as part of the price of admission.

The Senator is scheduled to speak for around twenty to thirty minutes and will then take questions from the audience. I’ll be updating this post frequently with highlights from the remarks and Q&A. Enjoy!

UPDATE, 7:18 PM: Bernie arrived a few minutes ago to a standing ovation. He launched right into his remarks upon taking the stage, introducing himself as the husband of Jane Sanders. He touched on the recently-concluded presidential contest immediately, asking the audience to remember that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton is winning the popular vote nationwide.

He then began a concise rendition of his stump speech, highlighting the need for bold progressive solutions to address the climate crisis, money in politics, systemic racism, and income inequality. Many of the ideas that progressives support are ideas that the majority of Americans also enthusiastically support, Sanders noted.

UPDATE, 7:25 PM: Turning his attention to Donald Trump, Sanders lit into the neofascist tycoon for falsely proclaiming that he would have won the popular vote were it not for fraudulent votes. “We’re getting used to having government by tweet,” Sanders said. “A hundred and forty characters or less.”

The real purpose of Trump’s tweet was to encourage Republicans all over the country to pursue voter suppression schemes that will disenfranchise Democratic and progressive voters, Sanders added.

UPDATE, 7:30 PM: We cannot compromise with bigotry, Sanders told supporters, declaring that it’s up to all of us to fight to expand freedom, even with the Democratic Party out of power at the federal level.

“What we say to Mr. Trump [is]: We have traveled too far in the fight against discrimination. We are not going backwards,” Sanders said, as the audience jumped to its feet to give him another standing ovation.

UPDATE, 7:35 PM: Sanders says he thinks Donald Trump won by “speaking to the pain and anxiety people today are feeling” and by skilfully exploiting America’s big media (which is discussed in the last chapter of his book Our Revolution).

UPDATE, 7:41 PM: The despair in many pockets in America over declining quality of life has gotten so bad that it’s driven people to abuse opiates and alcohol and commit suicide, Sanders says, noting that the big media doesn’t do a very good job of covering these issues… but Donald Trump saw them and took advantage by preying on people’s fears and anxieties.

UPDATE, 7:44 PM: “For better or worse, I’ve been made a part of the Democratic leadership in the Senate,” Sanders said, explaining that he will be responsible for outreach on behalf of the caucus and will need his supporters’ help.

POSTSCRIPT: See also Paul Constant’s writeup at the Seattle Review of Books.

# Permalink :: Posted by Andrew: 7:04 PM | Comments (1) | Email to a friend
Tuesday, November 29th, 2016

The counting is over: Washington counties certify results of 2016 general election

The counting of ballots in Washington’s 2016 general election has come to an end, with counties certifying the results a full three weeks after election day.

King County Elections reported that final voter turnout was 82%, exceeding the statewide average of 78.75% across all thirty-nine counties.

“The department certified the results, which officially declared winners for candidate offices and declared whether ballot measures passed or failed. Candidate concessions or the media announcing a winner of a race are not official declarations,” said the Elections Division in a news release.

Franklin and Stevens counties are still working on finishing up their work. All the other counties have submitted their final reports to the state as of 4:45 PM.

Total statewide voter turnout statewide will be lower than the 2012, 2008, and 2004 elections, which were all above eighty percent. Secretary of State Kim Wyman had suggested turnout might be record-breaking, but it wound up being less than each of the last three presidential elections, continuing a downward trend that we have seen in Washington State over the past few years.

# Permalink :: Posted by Andrew: 4:48 PM | Leave a comment | Email to a friend
Tuesday, November 29th, 2016

Big milestone for Sound Transit: Ridership on Link light rail has surpassed that of ST Express

Ridership on Sound Transit’s Link light rail line just keeps going up.

Today, Sound Transit released its latest ridership numbers, showing a 71% increase in Link light rail ridership compared to the same period in 2015. The massive growth is being driven to a large degree by the University Link extension, which brought light rail to Capitol Hill and the University of Washington back in March.

The number of people riding Link has now surpassed exceeded the number of people taking ST Express buses for the first time in Sound Transit history.

Importantly, though, Link’s big gains have not come at the expense of ST Express ridership. The data shows those ridership figures on the agency’s network of regional express buses have basically remained unchanged.

Sound Transit says average weekday boardings came to 65,805, which is an 8% increase over the second quarter of 2015.

Critics of Sound Transit occasionally like to allege (without foundation) that introducing light rail service will cannibalize bus ridership. However, the experience of other cities has been that building rail increases transit ridership overall.

And that is what we’re now seeing here in our own region.

We’ve now added three new light rail stations this year: Capitol Hill, UW, and Angle Lake The result has been a net win for transit, which is an excellent outcome for our region. As we connect more neighborhoods to the rail spine, we’ll likely see further jumps in ridership. Meanwhile, we will continue to have Express bus service as part of our multimodal transit network, while adding two BRT lines with ST3.

Sounder commuter rail continues to see ridership gains too. Like ST Express, it was introduced years before Link began operations, so it is a more mature transit service. Yet it’s still growing. Ridership is up over 2015, with average weekday boardings at 16,186. That is a 12% increase compared to the second quarter of last year.

Ridership on the Tacoma Link streetcar is down slightly, which was not wholly unexpected. Plans are underway to extend the streetcar so it goes further, and when new stations open, that should help drive ridership back in a positive direction.

The next Link light rail stations to join the system will be U District, Roosevelt, and Northgate, all slated to come online in 2021. The opening of those stations will revolutionize travel between downtown and neighborhoods in North Seattle, providing people with a gridlock-free alternative to Interstate 5.

# Permalink :: Posted by Andrew: 4:02 PM | Comments (2) | Email to a friend
Friday, November 25th, 2016

It’s the day after Thanksgiving: a good day to “Opt Outside” and buy nothing

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and the media, in concert with most retailers, is amping up the pressure on everybody to go out and buy stuff.

America’s retailers actually started the “Black Friday” hype weeks ago with promo emails, full page spreads in newspapers, television spots, and social media ads, so the term “Black Friday” is even more of a misnomer now than it used to be.

“Black Friday” has seemingly evolved into “Shop Till You Drop November”.

Still, the day after Thanksgiving continues to be breathlessly promoted as a day to head to the store to get great deals — or go online and do the same. (“Cyber Monday”, for all intents and purposes, is just an extension of “Black Friday”).

With all of the pressure to BUY, BUY, BUY!, it’s worth remembering there is no law that says you have to go out and make a purchase today. Much of what’s being advertised as on sale or a good deal isn’t actually a good deal.

As Brian Chen recently noted in a piece for the New York Times:

We all know the drill by now.

Retailers’ sales promotions begin weeks before Thanksgiving, with a smattering of modest deals that eventually build up to the shopping bonanza that is Black Friday — the day after Thanksgiving.

That is followed by Cyber Monday, a so-called online shopping extravaganza that takes place the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend.

To whet shoppers’ appetites further, it has become increasingly fashionable for online retailers to build up anticipation for Black Friday with so-called flash deals. These last only a few hours, putting pressure on consumers to make purchases with little or no research.

Yet, however you shop, the chances of snatching a great deal for a quality item are slim, largely because Black Friday is mainly for retailers to clear out unwanted goods and because best-selling products rarely drop much in price.

Emphasis is ours.

Serious bargain hunters know that Black Friday/Cyber Monday is simply not the deal-clinching opportunity it’s portrayed to be in mass media. Years of reputable research supports the conclusion that Black Friday is a good day not to shop.

Shop Till You Drop November is all about exaggerated discounts. Check the price history of an on-sale item with a tool like CamelCamelCamel, and you may find the item had a significantly lower price at a different time of the year. It pays to do your homework before parting ways with your hard-earned money.

But an even better idea is to not worry about buying new stuff at all, at least not today. The day after Thanksgiving is a great day for activities like:

Instead of going shopping, enjoy the possessions you already have, and learn something about where they came from by watching The Story of Stuff:

There will be plenty of time to pick up gifts, if you’re so inclined, before the winter holidays hit. We’re a month away from Christmas and Hanukkah. And retailers aren’t going to stop inviting you to browse their wares between now and then.

# Permalink :: Posted by Andrew: 8:58 AM | Comments Off on It’s the day after Thanksgiving: a good day to “Opt Outside” and buy nothing | Email to a friend
Tuesday, November 22nd, 2016

Chris Reykdal set to become Washington’s next Superintendent of Public Instruction

State Representative Chris Reykdal (D-22nd District: Olympia, Tumwater) is set to become Washington State’s next Superintendent of Public Instruction after fresh results show it’s become mathematically impossible for him to lose.

“We are up over 28,000 votes with less than 18,000 to count in our race. We have achieved a mathematical victory,” Reykdal noted in a Facebook update for backers of the campaign. “Thank you everyone for your incredible support!”

Chris Reykdal speaking at NPI's 2014 Spring Fundraising Gala

Superintendent-elect Chris Reykdal speaks at NPI’s 2014 Spring Fundraising Gala (Photo: Lincoln Potter/Samaya LLC)

The election is due to be certified in a week, and Reykdal will formally take over for incumbent Randy Dorn in January. Opponent Erin Jones has conceded the race in one of the classiest concession messages we’ve ever seen.

She writes:

It is time to concede the race for OSPI to my opponent, Chris Reykdal. He ran a great race, and I wish him all the best in his new role.

As for me, I believe there is a reason for everything. I believe the right doors will open to do the right work. I just need to be patient and listen. There have been multiple job offers, but I won’t commit to anything right away.

Thank you so much to my friends, colleagues, students, and, especially, family, for your support! Thank you for continuing to believe in me, no matter what! Thank you for being my strength when I was weak, for being my courage when I was afraid.

Thank you, most of all, for your love!

The video is even better, and we recommend watching it from start to finish.

Reykdal is the first candidate in years to jump straight from the Legislature to the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

Supporters say Reykdal’s legislative experience and relationships will be useful over the next few years as the Legislature grapples with McCleary compliance.

Current Superintendent Randy Dorn has been very vocal in chiding the Legislature for failing to meet the state’s paramount duty, but his demands for more school funding and an income tax have gone unheeded.

Meanwhile, his decision this year to sue seven school districts for illegally relying on levies to fund basic education was met with widespread condemnation.

Dorn is loud, but very ineffective, critics say.

Reykdal’s tenure as Superintendent promises to look rather different. Reykdal backers say he’ll be a bridge builder who will make the position of Superintendent much more relevant, particularly with respect to addressing McCleary.

(The Superintendent doesn’t have a vote on the budget like lawmakers do, and doesn’t have veto power like the Governor does, but does have a bully pulpit and can be an effective advocate for school funding.)

Reykdal is notably a father of children currently in public schools — his kids Carter and Kennedy often accompanied him on the campaign trail, demonstrating incredible patience and maturity at events their father had been invited to participate in — and has experience as a teacher and a school board member in addition to a state legislator. Reykdal’s record in the House is very progressive; he memorably voted against new tax cuts for Boeing and sponsored legislation to increase transparency and accountability of Washington’s initiative process.

The voters have now chosen him to join the state’s executive department.

We at NPI congratulate Chris on his victory and look forward to seeing him take over as Washington’s next Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2017. We stand ready to work with Chris to ensure our paramount duty is met as quickly as possible.

# Permalink :: Posted by Andrew: 6:53 PM | Comments (1) | Email to a friend
Monday, November 21st, 2016

Steve O’Ban’s scheme to mess with Sound Transit’s governance should be rejected

Recently reelected Republican State Senator Steve O’Ban announced a few days ago he plans to file a new bill that would dramatically change how Sound Transit is governed. O’Ban’s proposal would replace the agency’s effective federated board with a brand new board of transit commissioners that right wing millionaires like Kemper Freeman, Jr. could attempt to stack in periodic elections.

This actually isn’t a new idea — someone comes along and proposes it almost every legislative session. We’ve been editorializing against various incarnations of schemes to mess with Sound Transit for almost ten years here on the Cascadia Advocate.

But this promised bill doesn’t deserve to gain any traction during next year’s long legislative session, so we encourage other organizations and individual activists to join us and Seattle Transit Blog in speaking out against it now.

O’Ban obviously doesn’t care that Sound Transit just won a mandate from voters to expand light rail, Express bus service, and Sounder commuter rail with the passage of ST3, or that the Legislature itself made ST3 possible last year when it approved the Connecting Washington package, which gave Sound Transit the revenue authority it needed to finance the projects in the ST3 package.

No, O’Ban — like other members of the Senate Republican caucus — want to put as many bad ideas on the table as possible as the upcoming session approaches, both to distract us and dominate the public discourse.

Republicans want the narrative coming out of session to be driven by their agenda. They don’t want progressives going on offense again like we did in this recently-concluded election, where we advanced the causes of economic justice, gun responsibility, clean elections, and transit for all through a host of successful ballot measures. But staying on offense is exactly what we need to do.

Sound Transit leaders need to focus on delivering what the voters voted for, and we’re confident that they will — the important and necessary work of implementing ST3 has actually already begun.

Legislators like O’Ban, meanwhile, need to do their jobs.

The Legislature is presently in contempt of court for failing to uphold Article IX of our state Constitution (“It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.”)

Legislators like O’Ban — and Doug Ericksen and Michael Baumgartner — should be devoting their energies to complying with the Supreme Court’s orders to get our schools properly funded, not introducing bills to mess with Sound Transit’s governance or criminalize protests against the fossil fuel industry.

The critics don’t like to admit it, but Sound Transit already happens to be governed by individuals directly elected by voters in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. The only member of ST’s board who isn’t an elected official is the Secretary of Transportation (currently Roger Millar). The rest of the boardmembers are mayors, county executives, county councilmembers, and city councilmembers.

We trust and empower these same people to make important regional and local decisions about land use, stormwater runoff, building codes, and a host of other issues. The beauty of the federated board model is that it brings together elected leaders from both levels of local government (county and city) who have expertise delivering public services to the people of our region.

It’s been twenty years since the Sound Move vote of 1996, but it’s apparent there are still people out there who seem to not understand what Sound Transit actually is or really does — which is odd, considering ST’s high profile.

Sound Transit exists because visionary leaders like Ruth Fisher realized decades ago that building a useful regional transit system could not happen without regional cooperation. And so the Legislature created the Regional Transit Authority (which we know as Sound Transit) to enable central Puget Sound to come together to determine how best to link together its communities with high capacity transit.

Sound Transit was designed as a vehicle for cities and counties to join forces, pooling resources to improve mobility for millions of people. ST is not just a municipal corporation. It’s a forum — a space for collaboration.

A space where partnerships can be forged.

It is therefore appropriate that ST has a board consisting of city mayors, county executives, and city and county councilmembers, because ST’s most important partners are its constituent cities and counties.

But the list doesn’t end there.

Sound Transit does a lot of planning in-house, but it relies on partners to construct and operate all of its services. Its frequent project partners include the federal government (Federal Transit Administration), Washington State Department of Transportation, the Port of Seattle, and the University of Washington.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe operates Sounder commuter rail, King County Metro operates Link light rail, and Pierce Transit, Community Transit, and Metro each operate the many ST Express routes you’ll see on ST’s system map.

An even longer list of contractors and union workforces, meanwhile, provide the capital and labor needed to construct the infrastructure required to bring the projects Sound Transit and its partners conceive to fruition.

Now, governments everywhere regularly utilize partnerships to get things done. But Sound Transit doesn’t just utilize partnerships to succeed — it depends on them. The agency would be nowhere without its partnerships.

Sound Transit is fortunate, then, that it is governed by the people who represent its most important partners (counties and cities). And we, in turn, are fortunate Sound Transit was well designed, because transit for all is an essential need.

We want results, and ST is getting results for us.

It is a testament to CEO Emeritus Joni Earl and her staff that they have been able to bring all parties to the table to deliver Link light rail, ST Express, and Sounder to an increasing number of neighborhoods. This year alone, Sound Transit opened three new light rail stations: one at the southern end of the line and two at the northern end. More stations are already under construction.

Voters like what they see, and want more just as soon as can be arranged.

ST’s critics have been saying for years that Sound Transit’s governance stinks, even as the agency’s track record has gotten better and better.

But let’s face it: these critics want to shake up Sound Transit’s governance because they’re not in control of the agency and they want to be. They cannot credibly claim to have Sound Transit’s best interests at heart. They are not rooting for Sound Transit to succeed. They haven’t in the past and they are unlikely to in the future.

They do not want Puget Sound to invest in a rail spine that will liberate people from being forced to drive to get to where they want to go — even though that’s what the majority of the people keep demonstrating that they want.

Sound Transit is not like a port, school district, or water district, and it shouldn’t be managed like one. The people who keep insisting that we need to have a bunch of transportation commissioners running Sound Transit instead of the federated board we have now are principally insiders who want to stop Sound Transit from doing what it is doing — even in the wake of a successful public vote.

There is no outcry from the riding public to change how Sound Transit is governed.

Replacing Sound Transit’s current board won’t make it more accountable, won’t speed up delivery of projects, and won’t lead to better outcomes. Steve O’Ban’s proposed bill is counterproductive and doesn’t deserve to pass Go.

# Permalink :: Posted by Andrew: 4:12 PM | Comments (1) | Email to a friend

  • RSS Recent entries from the Permanent Defense Media Center