Washington 2020: The Calm Before the Drizzle

[KingSweden]

I think Durkan would be *ok* for urbanism. Not amazing, but okay.

Her against one of Farrell or McGinn is best case scenario. I don't live in Seattle but Farrell would be my choice if I did.

I'm starting to grow worried about Englund's fundraising prowess, though considering how Indian Redmond has become and how toxic Trump is there I still think Dhingra has a narrow advantage. I'm curious how many of the South Asian techie types are citizens and can vote, however

[publicunofficial]

I don't want to talk about the Seattle mayor race: THIS IS THE ONLY ISSUE WE NEED TO DISCUSS:

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Joe Fain is a disgusting weirdo.

[Seattle]

I like Joe Fain. He seems like a good guy. Which means he's probably not going down for a long time. *sigh*

[KingSweden]

Another Jinyeung Englund add on CNBC at work, this one where she talks about her background (leans HEAVY on charity work in Africa)

Thoughts:

1) she's one of the hottest politicians I've ever seen (though I've always found Asian women attractive so this is probably subjective)

2) she sounds like she's still 18 and about to bust out "like, OMG!" and then Snapchat her girlfriends a picture of a Starbucks cup

3) TLDR: I don't think she has Dhingra's gravitas either in appearance or demeanor

[publicunofficial]

Still undecided in the Mayor race, but I'm officially rooting for Grant in the council race.

I know King Sweden and others have voiced their distaste for him, but what he's done with the democracy voucher program has really impressed me and the appeal of a politician who is in no way beholden to anyone but the people he represents is very appealing to me. I like a lot of his policies as well, he's been very involved with the Seattle DSA.

The biggest criticism of him I've seen is that he's an abrasive left-wing dickhead, but as an abrasive left-wing dickhead myself I see no problem with that.

[KingSweden]

Still undecided in the Mayor race, but I'm officially rooting for Grant in the council race.

I know King Sweden and others have voiced their distaste for him, but what he's done with the democracy voucher program has really impressed me and the appeal of a politician who is in no way beholden to anyone but the people he represents is very appealing to me. I like a lot of his policies as well, he's been very involved with the Seattle DSA.

The biggest criticism of him I've seen is that he's an abrasive left-wing dickhead, but as an abrasive left-wing dickhead myself I see no problem with that.

Nothing wrong with being left wing and abrasive on a City Council in a city like Seattle provided that you're also good on urban issues, which Grant has left me unconvinced that he is (Mike McGinn remains the platonic ideal of this intersect, IMO).

FWIW from what I've seen you'd fit that mold, too, so please run for city council, preferably against Sawant

[publicunofficial]

Still undecided in the Mayor race, but I'm officially rooting for Grant in the council race.

I know King Sweden and others have voiced their distaste for him, but what he's done with the democracy voucher program has really impressed me and the appeal of a politician who is in no way beholden to anyone but the people he represents is very appealing to me. I like a lot of his policies as well, he's been very involved with the Seattle DSA.

The biggest criticism of him I've seen is that he's an abrasive left-wing dickhead, but as an abrasive left-wing dickhead myself I see no problem with that.

Nothing wrong with being left wing and abrasive on a City Council in a city like Seattle provided that you're also good on urban issues, which Grant has left me unconvinced that he is (Mike McGinn remains the platonic ideal of this intersect, IMO).

FWIW from what I've seen you'd fit that mold, too, so please run for city council, preferably against Sawant

Your chances are better than mine, I don't even live in King.

[KingSweden]

Still undecided in the Mayor race, but I'm officially rooting for Grant in the council race.

I know King Sweden and others have voiced their distaste for him, but what he's done with the democracy voucher program has really impressed me and the appeal of a politician who is in no way beholden to anyone but the people he represents is very appealing to me. I like a lot of his policies as well, he's been very involved with the Seattle DSA.

The biggest criticism of him I've seen is that he's an abrasive left-wing dickhead, but as an abrasive left-wing dickhead myself I see no problem with that.

Nothing wrong with being left wing and abrasive on a City Council in a city like Seattle provided that you're also good on urban issues, which Grant has left me unconvinced that he is (Mike McGinn remains the platonic ideal of this intersect, IMO).

FWIW from what I've seen you'd fit that mold, too, so please run for city council, preferably against Sawant

Your chances are better than mine, I don't even live in King.

Whoops

Maybe I'll run for Kirkland City Council someday, I think inoffensive Third Wayism would go over well here

[publicunofficial]

The Seattle Times endorses *barf* Sara Nelson for City Council 8.

Key excerpt:

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Because being beholden to the Chamber of Commerce and moneyed interests is soooooooo much better for the city than being beholden to an ideology.

[KingSweden]

So IOW she's worse than Grant on urbanism if ST is pushing that angle. Lovely!

The Times is such a rag

[publicunofficial]

So IOW she's worse than Grant on urbanism if ST is pushing that angle. Lovely!

The Times is such a rag

I said it when she got in, she's the Republican By Default in the race.

[KingSweden]

So IOW she's worse than Grant on urbanism if ST is pushing that angle. Lovely!

The Times is such a rag

I said it when she got in, she's the Republican By Default in the race.

*sigh* a city that really needs urbanism keeps attracting NIMBYs of all stripes. Seattle really can't win

[publicunofficial]

Mike O'Brien endorses Nikkita Oliver!

Second city council endorsement for Oliver after Sawant. O'Brien had previously donated both Oliver and Cary Moon, but this endorsement probably means Moon's chances have very clearly faded.

[KingSweden]

Mike O'Brien endorses Nikkita Oliver!

Second city council endorsement for Oliver after Sawant. O'Brien had previously donated both Oliver and Cary Moon, but this endorsement probably means Moon's chances have very clearly faded.

He must really hate McSchwinn. I usually like O'Brien so that's too bad he's wasting his endorsement on her. Must mean Hasegawa is failing to get any traction, too

[publicunofficial]

Mike O'Brien endorses Nikkita Oliver!

Second city council endorsement for Oliver after Sawant. O'Brien had previously donated both Oliver and Cary Moon, but this endorsement probably means Moon's chances have very clearly faded.

He must really hate McSchwinn. I usually like O'Brien so that's too bad he's wasting his endorsement on her. Must mean Hasegawa is failing to get any traction, too

I'm starting to think McGinn might be somewhat of a paper tiger. A lot of people don't remember his term fondly, only got 29% in the primary as an incumbent, and might just be coasting on name recognition. I could see The Stranger choosing to endorse Oliver over McGinn, swinging enough votes to make a Oliver vs. Durkan run-off.

Oliver is actually leading McGinn in fundraising, too.

[KingSweden]

Mike O'Brien endorses Nikkita Oliver!

Second city council endorsement for Oliver after Sawant. O'Brien had previously donated both Oliver and Cary Moon, but this endorsement probably means Moon's chances have very clearly faded.

He must really hate McSchwinn. I usually like O'Brien so that's too bad he's wasting his endorsement on her. Must mean Hasegawa is failing to get any traction, too

I'm starting to think McGinn might be somewhat of a paper tiger. A lot of people don't remember his term fondly, only got 29% in the primary as an incumbent, and might just be coasting on name recognition. I could see The Stranger choosing to endorse Oliver over McGinn, swinging enough votes to make a Oliver vs. Durkan run-off.

Oliver is actually leading McGinn in fundraising, too.

That says a lot about how his campaign is going, in that case.

Durkan is meh to me, but Oliver would be a disaster as Mayor. Her in a runoff would seriously concern me.

[KingSweden]

How do we see a Durkan-Oliver runoff going?

Durkan would likely win, but it'd be too close for comfort

[publicunofficial]

Seattle Weekly endorsed Oliver, while The Stranger endorsed Cary Moon, with a dissent piece arguing for Oliver (The blurb on Moon's endorsement indicates the board likes Oliver, but thinks Moon would be the stronger candidate to beat Durkan).

[KingSweden]

Seattle Weekly endorsed Oliver, while The Stranger endorsed Cary Moon, with a dissent piece arguing for Oliver (The blurb on Moon's endorsement indicates the board likes Oliver, but thinks Moon would be the stronger candidate to beat Durkan).

Surprising board endorsement. I don't think they're wrong, though. Moon would be a solid Mayor IMO though I sense she's fading :/

[KingSweden]

Any thoughts on last night's debate? My Twitter feed predictably crowned Oliver as the winner, but obviously that isn't necessarily indicative of the general reaction to the candidates' performances.

The Stranger, which is usually a good read on lefty Seattle, basically shrugged and said "nothing we didn't know about any of them."

[Seattle]

So IOW she's worse than Grant on urbanism if ST is pushing that angle. Lovely!

The Times is such a rag

I said it when she got in, she's the Republican By Default in the race.

*sigh* a city that really needs urbanism keeps attracting NIMBYs of all stripes. Seattle really can't win

Argh, I'm so annoyed I finally sit down to respond to this and my facking internet craps out when I posted.

So, to make the most of my irritation without rewriting my lengthy post:

Sara Nelson: Not a NIMBY, not a Republican, is an environmental, small business-oriented former Conlin land use staffer. Far from publicunofficial's characterization.

Teresa Mosqueda: I'm voting for her, she's great. On many issues. Only real urbanist in the race

Jon Grant: Basically a NIMBY. Sawant is way better. She at least understand Seattle needs to upzone even if I think her belief in the need for pairing that with rent control and insane MHA contributions is a poor way of countering market failings.

Nikkita Oliver: Would be a good mayor; articulate and comes across as competent. Not a disaster for urbanists. Would send immensely important positive message to POC nationwide in one of the few cities actually capable of electing a BLM activist.

Farrell/Moon: Voting for Farrell the transit urbanist, but I of course like Moon, the equity urbanist. She's actually gained steam with all these endorsements, a turn around from June.

Prediction:

Durkan 22%
Oliver: 19%
Farrel: 18%
Moon: 17%
Hasegawa: 12%
McGinn: 7%
Others: 4%

Run off: 58-42 Durkan

[publicunofficial]

Nelson is the candidate looking to vouch for monied interests. I stand by my critique.

Mosqueda is great, I would support her over Grant if I found socialism too scary.

[Virginiá]

Argh, I'm so annoyed I finally sit down to respond to this and my facking internet craps out when I posted.

ftr, if you post something and your internet connection or the forum server sputters out and leaves you with an error page (and an unsuccessful post), you can just hit Refresh and it should ask you if you want to re-send the previous POST request. I always recommend people first copy their post to the clipboard before hitting send, especially if it's a large post, but that is an additional fallback option.

[KingSweden]

FWIW I think/hope Mosqueda wins in November, which would be my preferred outcome. She seems great.

Sadly I doubt Farrell makes the runoff she's such a great State Rep, Olympia really is losing a gem

[KingSweden]

I drove past Jinyeong Englund waving her campaign sign on 124th in Kirkland on my way to work today