FEDERAL

UNITED STATES PRESIDENT & VICE PRESIDENT
January 6. What else do you need to know?

Even if you don’t care about abortion rights, immigrant rights, climate change, or fair and reasonable tax policy, remember that he lost and he refused to leave. He tried to throw out my vote, and probably yours too. He invited an armed mob to the Capitol and urged his people to disrupt Congress, which they did. For first time in American history there was not a peaceful transition of Presidential power. The blame is 100% his.

It almost doesn’t matter who else is on the ballot, but it so happens that a Harris/Walz administration will protect abortion rights, won’t indiscriminately round up people presumed to be here illegally, will promote policies to slow climate change, and won’t seek tax breaks for the richest Americans. But all of that is secondary.

January 6. Never forget.


VOTE KAMALA HARRIS & TIM WALZ

UNITED STATES SENATOR
Raul Garcia outlasted nine other candidates in the August primary (including Goodspaceguy, who somehow got 16,000 votes) for the honor of being the fifth person to lose a general election Senate race to Maria Cantwell. Garcia has an interesting backstory, having fled Cuba as an 11-year-old, moving first to Madrid and then to Miami. He is now an ER doctor, and his firsthand experiences with the Fentanyl crisis seem to be what has compelled him to run for Senate, despite having no experience in government.

For a Republican, he is someone moderate on many issues, including abortion and immigration. But is Washington state really going to give one of our nation’s precious 100 Senate votes to a Republican? No chance.

Maria Cantwell first ran for Senate in 2000. I voted for her then, but I never have since. When she voted to give George W, Bush authority to attack Iraq in 2003, I vowed that I would never vote for her again, unless she really, really, really needed me to. Which, once again, she doesn’t.


VOTE DOUGLAS ROSS, M.D.

UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE, CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 7
Dan Alexander does not seem like a normal Republican. He’s lived in downtown Seattle for 14 years, believes that “arts investment is crucial for a healthy society,” supports the “right to choose,” wants to lift foreign sanctions, and increase trade. Tell me more, Dan! Oh, wait, your campaign website has been “currently under construction” for months.

Pramila Jayapal has been my representative in Congress for the past eight years. There is no stronger voice in the U.S. House for immigrant rights than hers, and that seems very important right now. (She also has a functioning campaign website.)


VOTE PRAMILA JAYAPAL

WASHINGTON STATE

INITIATIVE MEASURE NO. 2066
If enacted, Initiative 2066 would repeal a law known as the Washington Decarbonization Act, which was passed by the state legislature earlier this year. The goal of the Decarbonization Act was to transition Washington state energy users from dirty fuels like natural gas to cleaner fuels like electricity. Sounds good, right?

Well not to rich guy Republican donor Steve Gordon, who is the primary funder of this initiative. Steve and his gassy buddies claim that we “need the choice” to use fossil fuels even when cleaner options are available (it seems like the only time Republicans are pro-choice these days is when it comes to pollution), and that the liberals are coming for your gas appliances.

The fact is the Washington Decarbonization Act will not prevent you from keeping, buying and using natural gas appliances, it simply encourages and incentivizes other, cleaner and more efficient options. It’s a good law, don’t let these wealthy gasbags fool you.
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VOTE NO

INITIATIVE MEASURE NO. 2109
If you cast a vote for just two things this year, a NO vote on I-2109 should be one of them (the other is hopefully obvious). I-2109 would repeal Washington’s very, very limited capital gains tax (passed in 2021 and one of the few progressive taxes we have in this state), taking half-a-billion dollars a year from public education funds. Basically a few multi-millionaires and billionaires want fewer books for kids so they can get a little bit of a tax break for themselves. Monsters.

And when I say a “few” millionaires and billionaires, it really is just that. Only .2% of Washingtonians would pay anything. The tax exempts gains from real estate sales, retirement savings accounts, and a bunch of other things, so really the only thing taxed is stock sales, and even those have a standard deduction of $250,000.

So here’s a little math: If you sell stocks with a GAIN (not just a sales price) of $500,000 in a single year (must be nice!) the taxes you’d pay on that (at the flat 7% rate) is $17,500. You get to keep the other $482,000, which frankly you only “earned” by sitting on your ass. I think you can manage that, rich guy.
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VOTE HELL NO

INITIATIVE MEASURE NO. 2117
Initiatives like this one are why I no longer sign initiative petitions. Some rich dude comes to town and throws a bunch of money around to get crap like this on our ballot. And then he spends a bunch more money advertising false claims like, “VOTE ‘YES’ BECAUSE THAT WILL LOWER YOUR GAS PRICES.” It’s all a bunch of garbage.

What a Yes vote on I-2117 will really do is give a free pass to big polluters. Literally. In 2021, the Washington State Legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act, creating a “cap-and-invest” program which forced large emitters of greenhouse gases to pay for “allowances” to cover their emissions. I-2117 would repeal the Climate Commitment Act, and replace it with nothing.

Furthermore, the money that was being paid by these largest polluters was invested in clean climate projects throughout the state, including alternative transportation programs. If I-2117 passes, these programs would be gutted, making traffic worse and public transit (including the ferry system) less reliable. And guess what? It won’t do anything to affect gas prices. It’s a lose-lose for everyone except for our state’s biggest polluters.

Give a hoot, don’t pollute. And maybe don’t sign any more initiative petitions sponsored by rich dudes.


VOTE NO

INITIATIVE MEASURE NO. 2124
I-2124 is even more fun stuff from rich Republican donors messing with representative democracy. In this particular case they’re trying to significantly alter a long-term care insurance program created by the Washington Legislature in 2019. That program, called “WA Cares,” provides state residents with up to $36,500 to pay for certain long-term care services (i.e. med management, bathing, and dressing).

Currently the program is funded by mandatory employee contributions, which are relatively small—just .58 percent of wages. If I-2124 were to pass, the contributions would no longer be mandatory, giving employees the choice to opt out. The problem with that is it would effectively kill the program, leaving millions of Washingtonians with no affordable option for long-term healthcare. (Have you priced the private market lately? Ugh.)

Bang-for-your-buck-wise “WA Cares” is a smoking deal. Say you’re make a relatively small wage of $40,000 a year. Your annual contribution to this program is $232, and once you’re eligible for benefits (basically after 10 years), you can apply for up to $36,500 in care services.

As someone who took care of an elderly person’s finances for years, I know that $36k won’t pay for everything, but it does create a mighty nice cushion when you need it the most.
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VOTE NO

GOVERNOR
Frankly I was surprised that Trump fan-boy Semi Bird didn’t fare better in August’s primary election for Governor, registering only 10% of the vote. I had assumed that the only Republicans left in Washington state had gone full MAGA, and that Bird would advance to the general election. But apparently Dave “I Single-Handedly Caught the Green River Killer” Reichert’s sheriff star still shines somewhat brightly in these here parts. And he did prove himself sufficiently MAGA when he cheekily and quietly admitted that he would indeed vote for Trump in November—an admission which should disqualify him to be our Governor.

Bob Ferguson is everyone’s nerdy cousin. Wonky on policy and progressive on issues. Pro-choice, pro-union, pro-environment, pro-marriage equality, pro-democracy, and anti-MAGA. Reichert is none of the above.
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VOTE BOB FERGUSON

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
Our Lieutenant Governor doesn’t do much. The office presides over the State Senate and takes over the governorship should the current Governor get really sick or die. Bob Ferguson is relatively young and seems fit, so the next LG will probably have just one job—presiding over the Senate—which barely seems like a job at all.

Denny Heck has been Washington’s Lieutenant Governor for the past four years, and Denny seems to be doing this very easy job just fine.

His opponent, Dan Matthews, has a cool backstory: he was a USAF aviator and a 747 pilot. Dan now wants to “safely navigate” our state government “to every destination,” which weirdly includes “standing up to the war against women’s rights to fairly compete in sports.” Huh?


VOTE DENNY HECK

SECRETARY OF STATE
If Steve Hobbs wins this election, it will be the first time since 1960 (before the Space Needle was even born!) that Washington has not voted for a Republican for Secretary of State. Despite this fact, Steve Hobbs, a Democrat, is the incumbent. He was appointed to the position by Jay Inslee in 2020, when the sitting Secretary of State, Republican Kim Wyman, left the job to work in the Biden Administration. That’s right, Scranton Joe reached across the aisle!

Hobbs is running against Dale Whitaker, who lists “Executive Director, WBWV for the last 2.5 years” as one of his qualifications for office. WBWV is a Christian ministry, whose mission is to “provide resources to assist citizens in social, cultural, and governmental engagement based on Biblical truths and Constitutional principles.” Tellingly, they list The Bible as their #1 core value (the Constitution is #3). Personally I believe in a separation of church and Secretary of State. Does Dale Whitaker? It seems not.


VOTE STEVE HOBBS

STATE TREASURER
You can judge a person by the company they keep. Republican candidate for Treasurer, Sharon Hanek, held her latest fundraiser with Brian Heywood, the super rich guy responsible for the four crappy initiatives on this year’s ballot. Those initiatives would gut education, kill climate funding, and stifle progressive taxation. Do we want this guy having the ear of our State Treasurer? I do not.

Democratic incumbent Mike Pellicciotti has been a fiscally responsible Treasurer for the past four years, and now our state has the best-ranked long-term fiscal stability in the nation. We also have super sweet credit rating, which means we can borrow money for public projects at a lower rate than states who spend money like drunken sailors.


VOTE MIKE PELLICCIOTTI

STATE AUDITOR
It’s Ground Hog Day! The same two candidates who appeared on the August primary ballot, incumbent Pat McCarthy and challenger Matt Hawkins, are on the general election ballot. In the primary, McCarthy got 59.2% of the vote and Hawkins got 40.8%. Why do we do this? Has anything changed since then? Not really. Yes, there will be a bigger turnout in November than in August, but does Hawkins (who has firmly embraced I-2066, which he disingenuously calls “The Gas Ban”) have a chance? Uh, no.

Phony “gas ban” aside, there are two things to like about Matt Hawkins: he bears a passing resemblance to Walter White (season one at least), and he compares himself to a “natural pest control agent,” saying he will “be your ladybug to bring much needed oversight by auditing and cleaning up the wasteful monies.” That's cute, but supporting I-2066 is bad for ladybugs. And so is Matt Hawkins.


VOTE PAT McCARTHY

ATTORNEY GENERAL
Republican candidate for Attorney General, Pete Serrano, founded the Silent Majority Foundation. “Silent majority” sounds a little creepy, kind of like Jerry Falwell’s “moral majority” (which was neither), so I did a little research.

The Silent Majority Foundation drapes itself in the Constitution, but to them “freedom of speech” means not getting vaccinated, the Second Amendment is the best amendment, “parental rights” means banning books, and “freedom of religion” is prayer, prayer everywhere. Consider me a part of the Vocal Majority just saying no to Pete Serrano.

Nick Brown is a former Army JAG officer, a current U.S. Attorney for Western Washington (the first Black U.S. attorney in state history!), and a soccer dad. Nick will ably carry on the legacy of Bob Ferguson as Attorney General, protecting civil liberties, abortion access, and other rights in our state should Project 2025 find its way into the White House.
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VOTE NICK BROWN

COMMISSIONER OF PUBLIC LANDS
The Democrats nearly locked themselves out of having a candidate for Commissioner of Public Lands in the general election. Five Democrats ran for this position in the primary, splitting their 60% of the electorate into such small pieces that the two Republican candidates nearly beat them all. But in the end, Democrat Dave Upthegrove beat Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson for second place by a mere 49 votes (out of 1.9 million cast), advancing out of the top two primary.

Facing off against Upthegrove is resistance hero Jaime Herrera Beutler, who as a member of the House of Representatives in 2021, was one of 10 Republicans to vote to impeach Donald Trump for attempting to overthrow the U.S. government, which essentially cost her her seat in Congress. Should we reward Jaime for standing up for freedom and democracy by giving her a new job? Hmmmmm.

Jaime spent 12 years in Congress, aligned with a party who puts big business over clean air and largely denies that humans are responsible for a rapidly changing climate. Guilt by association? Maybe. But it’s a bad association.

Dave has degrees in Environmental Conservation and Energy Policy, and as a member of the state legislature was Chair of the House Environment Committee and was named Washington Conservation Voters’ Legislator of the Year. And come on, “UP THE GROVE?” The dude was born to speak for the trees. It’s nominative determinism!
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VOTE DAVE UPTHEGROVE

SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION
David Olson is a former diver for the U.S. Navy and the current School Board Director for the Peninsula (i.e. Gig Harbor) School District. His website has a lengthy (some might say meandering) outline of his accomplishments and vision for Washington schools.

It’s a bit hard to follow and apparently plays a little loose with the facts on where our state’s students rank in academic success. Would he be an improvement over incumbent Chris Reykdal? No sir.


VOTE CHRIS REYKDAL

INSURANCE COMMISSIONER
In August’s primary election, eight candidates ran to replace sitting Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, who is retiring after holding the position for over 20 years. Most candidates were largely unqualified and it was no surprise that Patty Kuderer and Phil Fortunato, both sitting State Senators, made it through to the general election.

Fortunato is fully in the bag for big insurance companies, while Kuderer has experience fighting (and beating!) them on both a personal and professional level. As a mom, Kuderer fought her insurance company to cover her family’s health care needs, as a trial attorney she handled cases involving insurance claims, and as a state legislator and senator she sponsored legislation to create a public option for healthcare in Washington state. This vote is so obvious, even a caveman could cast it.


VOTE PATTY KUDERER

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT 43, REPRESENTATIVE POS. 2
Do not vote for Andrea Suarez. Andrea Suarez is terrible. You’ve probably seen her signs on the streets or received her flyers in the mail, which practically scream “I’M A DEMOCRAT” (something she literally did at my front door this summer).

One of the reasons Suarez doth protest too much, methinks, is she was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at a King County Republican fundraiser in May (she later backed out, probably realizing that raising money for the Republican party was not a good look for a “Democrat”). Another reason she screams “I”M A DEMOCRAT” is she has appeared on several right wing radio shows and podcasts, and not as a dissenting voice. She has also hired a far right activist to shoot her campaign videos.

But that’s not the worst thing about her. She founded a group called We Heart Seattle, whose mission is to clean “garbage” out of city parks and open spaces. The problem is, it’s not all garbage. Look, I don’t like people camping in parks and I hate litter, but throwing stuff away without knowing if it belongs to someone is just plain wrong. Most offensively, she doesn’t have a permit to do this work, and when asked by a reporter why she didn’t bother with permitting she replied, “Did Jesus need a permit?”

Andrea Suarez is terrible, and I do not want her anywhere near City Hall.

I supported Shaun Scott when he ran for the District 4 Seattle City Council seat in 2019, narrowly losing to Alex Pedersen, and I’m happily supporting him again. Don’t believe the propaganda coming from the Suarez camp—Scott is not some super scary communist who will let crime run rampant on the streets of Seattle. He’s a smart guy, engaged with policy, who actually thinks and listens before he acts. And he probably won’t trash your stuff.
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VOTE SHAUN SCOTT

WASHINGTON STATE COURTS

SUPREME COURT JUSTICE POSITION NO. 2
This seat is up for grabs because sitting Washington Supreme Court Justice Susan Owens is retiring as required by our State Constitution, which decrees that justices must step down at the end of the year in which they reach their 75th birthday. What a concept.

Dave Larson and Sal Mungia were by far the most qualified of the four men (yes, all men) who ran for this seat in the August primary, so unsurprisingly they will face off in the general.

Larson seem okay. He is currently a judge for the Federal Way Municipal Court, and a member of the Therapeutic Courts Committee who believes that the courts should “prioritize therapeutic approaches to get to the root of why people commit crimes and to help them resolve underlying issues, rather than relying on a punitive system.” That sounds good, but his overall vibe comes across as a little too Father Knows Best.

I’m supporting Sal Mungia, who is a trial and appellate lawyer with over 40 years of experience in the legal field. He’s also been a cooperating attorney for the ACLU of Washington since 1986. He has fought against racial discrimination in jury selection and is endorsed by eight of the nine current Supreme Court justices. And “Justice Mungia” just sounds cool.


VOTE SAL MUNGIA

KING COUNTY COURTS

SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE POSITION 41
Paul Crisalli was appointed to the King County Superior Court by Jay Inslee in 2023, replacing retiring Judge Matthew Williams. Crisalli is now running to replace himself. He is endorsed by every Washington State Supreme Court Justice, dozens of Court of Appeals Judges, and a crap ton of King County Superior Court Justices, active and retired. When he’s not judging, he spends his time “improving (or improvising) recipes.” How spicy!

His opponent, Andrew Schach, is endorsed by nobody, has no judicial experience, and really no platform. He says his reason for running is, “Seeing all 54 King County Superior Court Departments were running unopposed, I felt it was necessary to step up for my community,” which is kind of noble (but do you cook?).


VOTE PAUL CRISALLI

CITY OF SEATTLE

CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 8
Tanya Woo has the power of incumbency in this race due to some fishy back door City Council dealings that would've made Boss Tweed proud

Last year, Woo lost her District 2 council race to Tammy Morales, and then (when District 8 councilmember Teresa Mosqueda left to serve on the King County Council) was immediately appointed to this Seattle City Council position by a City Council made up of members who openly supported her against Morales. It was all so sketchy, and Woo’s appointment should’ve come with the caveat that she would not seek re-election to this council seat. But she is, and I will not be voting for her.

Instead I’m voting for Alexis Mercedes Rinck, who overcame a tough childhood to graduate from UW with a Masters in Public Administration. She is now the Assistant Director for Policy at UW, a fine background for navigating the city council.

Her focus on public safety is less about more cops, and more about better cops and alternatives to cops. She’s a renter, so knows firsthand what a crunch the cost of housing in Seattle is, and will seek progressive revenue to help fund more affordable housing. Finally, she rides the bus and light rail on the regular, which I’m guessing Tanya Woo does not.


VOTE ALEXIS MERCEDES RINCK

PROPOSITION NO. 1,
PROPERTY TAX LEVY RENEWAL FOR TRANSPORTATION

It sucks that we have to fund almost everything in the state of Washington with regressive taxes, which (make no mistake) housing levies are. Why can’t we exempt, say, the first $250,000 in property values when assessing levies? Or use a marginal taxation system? Nope, just a flat rate. How lazy and unimaginative.

That said, one of the better things to do with the “house wealth” in Seattle is build and maintain transportation infrastructure. New sidewalks, more bike lanes, safe bridges, and, yes, even pothole-free roads make for nice neighborhoods.

This transportation ordinance isn’t perfect—only 30% of the levy goes to pedestrian, bike, and transit infrastructure—but it’s the best we’re going to do in our current climate, where fighting against the stubborn car culture in Seattle is a never-ending battle of frustration. Sure, we’ll never be Copenhagen or Amsterdam, but maybe we can shoot for Minneapolis maybe?


VOTE YES