Via email, from Bonnie (Jacobs?) (important parts in bold):
WHO ARE CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIVE LOCAL GOVERNMENT? Citizens for Responsive Local Government, CRLG, formed after the Council’s isthmus rezone vote, and after various public records requests revealed what Councilmember Kingsbury and some others were doing on their laptops during Council meetings. CRLG’s endorsement committee included a variety of politically engaged and concerned people from around town, including four people who have been active with Friends of the Waterfront (Bob Jacobs, Emily Ray, Thad Curtz and Walt Jorgensen). Also included was Janet Blanding, a reporter who has been covering the Isthmus issues for Works in Progress, the local progressive monthly that’s distributed from sidewalk boxes downtown.
CRLG spent four months asking people about possible good candidates, talking to a large number of people about20whether they’d be willing to run, interviewing a much smaller group of people who were willing to consider running, and eventually deciding to endorse three candidates –
Karen Veldheer (who is running for the open seat) Stephen Buxbaum (who is running against Jeff Kingsbury) Jeannine Roe (who is running against Joan Machlis)
CRLG will make a public announcement about its three endorsements soon. Our next email will include more information on their endorsement process, the candidates they’ve endorsed, and what you can do to help elect some new members of the council this fall.
An email that gets forwarded around is a public announcement, FYI.
John McCain only won 31 of the nearly 300 precincts in Thurston County.
Just a few thoughts:
1. The Republican ticket won just two precincts in urban northern Thurston County, one in Lacey and one in Tumwater. Those should be written off because between the two, McCain/Palin netted just over 50 votes, they were tiny precincts. Democrats rock urban Thurston County.
2. While Republicans dominated in the south eastern portion of Thurston County, their rural dominance isn’t repeated everywhere. The most lacking area is the northeast section, or the Thurston County portion of the 35th LD. Which is a major part of the newly interesting 3rd Thurston County Commissioner district.
3. That said, given all the red around Rochester, if a Republican can unseat a Democrat in that commissioner district, it will be from the south up.
4. In the east of Thurston County, I was surprised by how well the top of the Republican ticket did in an around Yelm. That might help explain how Randi Becker upset the lone elected Dem in the 2nd LD out there. Might also be a warning to newly elected Democratic county commissioner Sandra Romero. If the Republicans take that race seriously and put up one of their own that actually has a chance (instead of getting behind the least bad Democrat), they might have a chance out there.
Lacey City Manager Greg Cuoio told the group that the City of Lacey comprises 38,000 people in 16 square miles. The urban areas around Lacey hold 30,000 people in their 16 square miles. Cuoio said the general fund budget for Lacey is $38 million. If it were to annex the urban areas surrounding the city, it would receive only $10 million in tax revenue.
“That’s a deficit of about $28 million dollars a year,” Cuoio said. In addition he added, “it would take between a half billion and a billion dollars, to bring those areas up to city standards.”
Makes you wonder why Thurston County is having such money problems and Lacey isn’t, huh? Well, it likely isn’t better management, but just better annexing. Lacey has tons of shopping and very few actual residents. If it were to bring in the residential areas to the southeast, it would bankrupt the city.
But, as Ken points out, Lacey is already using the non-city residential areas to place city owned parks, senior centers and community spaces. Maybe they should just suck it up and start annexing their shadow city.
With the news that no special session will be forthcoming, this is a bit of a non-starter anyway, but what would prevent the governor from calling a special session somewhere other than Olympia?
Logistics, for one. All the legislative stuff is here. So, for a month long special session, it would be unworkable.
But, for only a few days, or even just one day, why not hold a special session in Ellensburg?
As far as I can tell, there’s nothing in the state constitution or RCWs that would prevent it. There is some language related to the “seat of government,” but I think that is more open to interpretation.
You would always assume that the state supreme court is a equal level of government as the state legislature. But, while they usually meet in Olympia, they never shy from taking their show on the road. Is Puyallup the seat of government in Washington State? Nope, but the state supreme court met there recently. And, no one really minds that.
Also, and most important to me. If the legislature passes a bill in Ellensburg (let’s just say for keeping certain pork products out of the state), Richard Roesler can write: Ellensburg says not to pigs.
Barring Erik Landaas running into the room saying he changed his mind, no one expected anyone to challenge Karen for the nomination. This doesn’t mean a Democrat won’t end up filing against Karen (I guess one already has), but they would do so without the expressed support of the party organization.
Not that I’m saying that would matter, I think the conventions on their own are crap.
But, that nomination sure seems to matter. Jon Halvorson learned that in a much more conservative district just recently.
As I just emailed a friend, wroughting all over Austin J’s front yard turned out to be a big mistake, because, guess what guys. He freaking noticed: What hath Olympia wrought?
I guess its time to go over there and clean things up. That’s what 1-day sessions are for, no?
In “what ain’t metonymy,” Niki Sullivan at the TVW blog does a great job pointing to some end of session resources without bringing up our local wroughting problem.
Quick Update: Dear Seattle Weekly,
Your blog is not as cool as the Strangers. I think you know that and you’re ok with that. Which is cool in its own way.
So, Josh Feit (who is cooler than you) has stopped trying to ruin Oly (apparently). So don’t you either.
Yesterday, why did the ECS leave the march to the match before everyone else (i.e. the rest of the fans and the band)? Aren’t we all in this together? I’ve been hearing that the ECS has an elitist attitude but didn’t really buy it until I saw them ditch the rest of the march to the match yesterday. Why don’t you guys want to march with everyone else?
And a response:
I’ve talked with some of the leaders of the ECS, and apparently the guy who is in charge of the band is very resistant to working with ECS, and very into trying to bend them to his will. It’s a source of contention between the FO and ECS, and a source of contention within ECS (as in how do they respond to it?).
There seem to be a lot of stories of stress between ECS and the band, so read the entire thread.
If it is true that the band is deliberately leaving late, well that’s the bands fault. I did notice that the band didn’t leave at 6p, so if ECS members are worried about their general admission seats, the band should oblige.
From my point of view, the march needs to be one thing and both sides need to accommodate the other. If the organization wants to encourage fan support, they have to support the fan groups.
I took in my first game of the (MLS) Soudners (FC) this weekend, and thought before hand I should shoot some video from the phone to illustrate my thoughts on the whole gameday experience.
I left Olympia at just around 2p for the 730p game, so that gave me absolutely plenty of time. I found an insanely close free spot on Occidental just south of Safeco.
My buddy (Dan), who is a Tyee member and a Seahawk season ticket holder (game day experience expert), caught up with me a few minutes later. The first item on the agenda was getting him some Sounders gear. He had a bit of heartburn about wearing something with essentially an ad on it, but realized that in the long run, it is something he’d have to get over. He settled on a scarf, but every store around Qwest was sold out.
At the Seattle Team Store they said they were sold out until the middle of May. Dan reflected that someone at Adidas should be fired for not being able to keep up with demand.
Our first stop was McCoys, one of two Emerald City Supporter Bars (Fuel, the other). We got there pretty early (about 430p) and place wasn’t yet crowded. Some singing would break out every once in awhile.
After a couple of beers and burgers, we walked to get one of Dan’s pre-game ritual foods, a cookie from that cookie place (forget the name) in Pioneer Square. On the way we caught a glimpse of the Soundwave Band.
Coming back to hear the band before the March to the Match, we saw a guy in a Luche Libre mask, Drew Carey (who seemed like an honestly nice guy from ten feet away) and the ECS apparently organizing separately from the people who would eventually march with the band.
I tried to film ECS leaving early. You can also hear Dan comparing this to the experience before Husky Games (I close my eyes, it could almost be October).
I still can’t figure out why the ECS left the area towards the stadium before everyone else and the band did. Seems like a dick thing to do. If I was being really critical, I could imply they were doing it because we (with the band) were the newer folks and they as the real soccer fans wanted to show us up. I doubt that, but still would have been way better if we all marched together.
Speaking of the march:
Dan again: “Its like the Rose Parade!” His comparisons to college football were really on point.
For me, walking down the ramp into the stadium for the first time is an important moment.
Before the game:
After the game:
Yeah, it got a lot louder. To the point, that if I had the same seats (section 118, a few over from the ECS) I wouldn’t bring my three and one year old. Just too loud. Which, on my own was awesome, but someplace a little less loud for the kids, you know?
Just some random thoughts:
1. $20 for Section 118 is a freaking steal. Best value in sports in my experience. Better than minor league baseball or anything.
2. College football is the only comparison. The fever in the stands, the before game events, the feeling between fans (there were some Earthquake fans who were joshed with along the way), the only thing to compare it too is college football. Especially the interaction between Sounder and Earthquake fans. I have never spoken to a fan of an opposing team at a Mariners game, but you had to almost say something to the people in Quakes gear walking around. Nothing mean, just to let them know where they are.
3. Media fog. Driving home, I automatically turned to AM radio, on instict listening for a post game show. I listened to the Mariners post game, and waited on other stations for the Sounders post game, which never came. That is the weirdest part of the day, having gone to a major league event, and not being able to digest it on the way home with a real deal post game discussion on AM radio.
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