Yes, There’s An Election This Month
You’d hardly notice, but Washington state voters will have a ballot to fill out this month.
The suspense is, uh, not riveting. With the exception of idle curiosity as to how many votes the Palin-endorsed Tea Party candidate will siphon off from Dino Rossi’s coronation as the “Prefers GOP Party” alternative to Patty Murray come November, there’s not a whole lot going on this summer. The action this year is in the initiatives, which are on the general election ballot in the fall.
Nonetheless, some of us insist on filling out and mailing these silly pieces of paper (yes, it’s another all-mail election; ballots must be postmarked by August 17), and, worse, insist on trying to hazard an educated opinion as to which options are least worst. So, as is our time-honored custom, here’s the ETS! suggestions. The usual caveats apply: this is one opinion, that’s all. Do your own research, make up your own mind. And if you want meaningful change, get involved; don’t rely on voting. Even if we had an actual functioning democracy, that would be the last step, not the first.
Suggestions? Comments? Feedback? Post your comments on our web site, or send them to editorial@eatthestate.org, and we’ll run them before the election.
US Senator: As mentioned, the focus of this race–and this month’s election–is on the intramural Republican challenge to Sen. Patty Murray. With the fizzling of Richard Curtis’s campaign, there’s no similar strong challenge to Murray from the left, calling her to account for a record of 18 years of party hackery and legislative timidity that has only occasionally veered from the spine-free conventional wisdom of D.C.’s Democratic leadership. The closest is Bob Burr, a San Juan County Democratic Party activist who has very little traction but at least is using words like “plutocracy” in his attacks on Murray. Vote for him while you can. Bob Burr.
US Representative: Once again this year, in Seattle’s 7th District, Congressman-for-Life Jim McDermott isn’t getting what he needs most: a meaningful challenge, one which would make him work a little harder to translate his noble principles into actual, you know, legislation. McDermott once talked about retiring once health care reform was passed. Well, a very lousy version of it is now passed (underscoring, again, how little influence McDermott has in his own caucus), but Jim’s back on the ballot. Skip it.
Meanwhile, several better candidates are running this year in outlying districts. In the Eastside’s 8th District, Dave Good-Hair Reichert (“Did I mention I used to be Sheriff?”) faces a strong challenge from a genuinely progressive Democrat, Suzan DelBene. And two other activist candidates are running quixotic but spirited campaigns: up north, the 2nd District’s Rick Larson is being challenged by long-time Bellingham activist Larry Kalb, and down south, the open 3rd District seat being vacated by the repellent Brian Baird is being sought by Olympia peace activist Cheryl Crist. With our state’s top two primary and August date now rendering meaningful third party candidacies all but impossible, these two won’t be on the ballot come November, either, so voice your support now.
Washington State Supreme Court, Pos. 1: Were he not an incumbent, former Eyman lawyer and thorough reactionary Jim Johnson would probably be hanging out at Tea Party rallies. Let’s send him there. His opponent, Stan Rumbaugh, is strong on social issues and is campaigning against exactly the sort of corporate coziness Johnson champions. This would be a massive upgrade for the state supreme court. Stan Rumbaugh.
Washington State Supreme Court, Pos. 5: Incumbent Barbara Madsen is unopposed. Skip it.
Washington State Supreme Court, Pos. 6: Richard Sanders is a conservative, but he’s our kind of conservative: a cranky libertarian who consistently rules against expansion of state and corporate power and in favor of individual liberty, no matter whose ox gets gored. We don’t always agree with him, but his is a perspective the court needs. Richard Sanders.
All other court positions on the ballot locally are unopposed. You know what not to do.
State Legislature: Rep. Darlene Fairley is retiring in North Seattle’s 32nd District; of the two Shoreline politicians angling to replace her (in a district where every Democrat seems to hate every other Democrat), our mild preference is for Shoreline mayor Cindy Ryu.
In the 34th District, our lukewarm pick to replace Rep. Joe McDermott (see below) is Democratic Party stalwart Joe FitzGibbon. (Though challenger Marcee Stone is tempting, given her touted experience acting in 35 national TV commercials! If Olympia needs to decide which soap to buy, we know who to call.)
The most noteworthy state races this year are in North Seattle’s 46th District, noteworthy for who isn’t running for two open seats: any kind of choice. The execrable Sen. Ken Jacobsen is retiring after having kept his seat warm (but little else) since roughly the time of the Denny Party. But in case you thought we might get an improvement, fuggedabowdit. The local Democrats are anointing Rep. Scott White, a corporate nonentity who’s been in Olympia exactly two years, after beating activist Gerry Pollett for an open seat in 2008 with the backing of the party poobahs. He’s unopposed. And replacing him in the House is one David Frockt, also running unopposed. This is your “democracy” in action. This is why Seattle’s legislative caucus, Democrats all, is basically awful, filled with timid corporatists who think they’re entitled to lifetime sinecures. (Even when, as in the case of the 47th District’s Rep. Geoff Simpson, they’ve been arrested for domestic violence complaints. Twice.) This is why the state legislature keeps screwing the city of Seattle. This is why progressive voices are few and far between in Olympia, even when legislators represent progressive constituencies.
There are a few shining exceptions worth your vote (unless they’re unopposed, in which case, skip it; we’re not fans of North Korean elections). They are (district number follows each name): Rep. Bob Hasagawa [11], Rep. Zack Hudgins [11], Sen. Maralyn Chase [32], Sen. Adam Kline [37], and Rep. Eric Pettigrew [37].
Slim pickings, huh?
Oh, and in the 43rd District, House Majority Leader and corporatist autocrat Rep. Frank Chopp needs to go. He’s running against some Republican nut named Kim Verde. Vote for her. Seriously.
In other non-races:
King County Prosecuting Attorney: Incumbent Dan Satterberg is running unopposed. Ignore.
County Council, Pos. 8: Olympia legislator and Democratic hack Joe McDermott is running against nominal opposition to fill Dow Constantine’s unexpired term after Constantine became County Executive last year and the newly “nonpartisan” County Council deadlocked for months (along straight partisan lines) on who to replace him with before finally coughing up Jan Drago. Now McDermott is ascending to his throne. Skip this, too.
All in all, this is just about the dreariest election we can remember in the 14 years we’ve been doing this. Time to start thinking of who might run campaigns to offer some real alternatives in local elections in 2011. –Geov Parrish
Comments
By Fremont on August 16th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Oh, no! I see NO endorsement for U.S. House District 1, currently Inslee-occupied territory. Is this an example of net neutrality, which Inslee strongly supports, or is it an oversight, which Inslee tries to avoid?
Apparently, we’ll have to heed G.P.’s caveat: “Do your own research, make up your own mind.” Damn!
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