Posted Fri, Apr 20, 8:28 a.m.

In my experience, Governors have the opportunity to lead with a vision for the state for the next several years. Instead of doing sometime outside that process, how about demanding something from them? (I see signs of visions and plans coming from each campaign right now. So I think starting ...

Posted Wed, Apr 4, 8:38 p.m.

This park may be the most successful improvement per square in in the whole city. The lights at night are a bright relief in an otherwise bleak corner. The park is useful and safe. People are using it. The trees will grow. The alternatives are grim in comparison. It seems ...

Posted Wed, Mar 14, 4:01 a.m.

It is good that the writer disclosed a relationship with the Discovery Institute's Cascadia Center. It would also be good for Cascadia to disclose who is funding its promotion of DMUs and everything else. The regional governance proposal that was heralded by noting that there are 128 public entities involved ...

Posted Mon, Mar 12, 7:59 a.m.

The big problem for McKenna in all of this is that it is a repeating reminder that he's really just another run of the mill Republican, who are also part of the problem in Olympia and its inability to get its work done. He can no longer claim Democrats have ...

Posted Thu, Feb 9, 8:37 p.m.

@ animalal Not to worry. The bill the Governor signs into law on Monday says this: "(2) It is unlawful for any person to marry his or her sibling, child, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew." People who can marry now can already do it to game federal taxes. This ...

Posted Thu, Feb 9, 8:47 a.m.

Roger and Mossback see things about McGinn that remain elusive to most of the rest of the city.

Posted Thu, Feb 9, 8:21 a.m.

Maureen Walsh is one strong woman. She has already handily beat back a serious right wing challenge to her years long outstanding record on civil rights. The people of Walla Walla County and the Tri-Cities respect her integrity, her grit, her smarts, her hard work and one-of-a-kind charm and goodness ...

Posted Thu, Feb 9, 12:34 a.m.

Interesting analysis. It is difficult to see how McKenna can successfully thread the needle on this one. He might be ahead now. But he has Republican stamped on his forehead. The GOP is swinging pretty wildly to the right - looking hyper-unreasonable on a very long list of things. McKenna ...

Posted Thu, Feb 2, 6:42 a.m.

Any referendum on this topic will drive voter turnout in November - all kinds of turnout - but on balance, it will bring lots more Democrats to the polls. The expected media deluge in support of the measure will enhance the prospects of every democrat who has supported marriage equality. ...

Posted Tue, Jan 24, 6:15 a.m.

Seattle and Bellevue have grown together and are about to be more connected. There's no comparison to the Twin Cities - whose central cores are much further apart. It's easier to get to Bellevue from most parts of Seattle than it is to get to West Seattle - on a ...

Posted Tue, Jan 10, 5:55 a.m.

Great overview. Young has the timing right: 2012 is not the year to launch big new ventures in politics. It is the right time to prepare the University for the next generation of political leadership. It appears that the University has a far more important near term strategy: to put ...

Posted Mon, Jan 9, 8:23 a.m.

Traffic data is useful, but when it comes to the 520 experiment, post-toll data on public opinion will probably be a far more important indicator of the future. Had tolls been in effect on 520 prior to the November election, would 1125 have passed? We can't know. What's going to ...

Posted Sat, Dec 31, 9:34 a.m.

Comparing Portland to Seattle always reveals that it is much better for Portland to be compared to a far more worthy match, like Tacoma. Seattle has not stopped being funny. We elected Mike McGinn mayor. We have Ballard.

Posted Wed, Dec 21, 8:01 p.m.

Good. Finally. Too bad they emphasized their resistance for so long.

Posted Mon, Dec 19, 7:45 a.m.

The Ballard rail line was identified as a good route in planning studies in the 1960s. It was not original to the failed Monorail. Eric doesn't mention that in his post. Yet it has been a feature of plans since the 1960s. The Seattle Monorail died because it promised way ...

Posted Mon, Dec 19, 7:29 a.m.

Before making any additional expenditures on sustainable development, federal agencies ought to be reformed. Otherwise, a meaningful federal role can't be sustained. We can't afford it. Fat chance without real leadership. There is none on the federal horizon. The author seems to be parroting wonky policy lingo that gets repeated ...

Posted Sat, Nov 19, 3:23 p.m.

If Michael Baumgartner is going to run for the Senate, we need to know if he's with Hastings on oil drilling in the wildlife refuge.

Posted Thu, Nov 10, 7:53 a.m.

Urban legislators face a new challenge: they face cuts in things that are vital because freeloading conservatives from more rural places - like Yakima - refuse to pay the bills for the things people in those places rely on. If urban Puget Sound got back what it pays the state ...

Posted Thu, Oct 27, 7:17 a.m.

Roger has done a great job of describing why i'm voting no on Prop 1. It raises the car tab by $100 at the wrong time, for the wrong people, for the wrong reason: to make it harder to drive. (Or bike.) Prop 1 appears to be the work of ...

Posted Sat, Oct 22, 5:51 a.m.

Nordstrom's is a much bigger asset to downtown than Westlake Park, which is a really lousy rallying spot. I use the street all the time, happy it works again. I'm thinking this occupation at Westlake is punishing the wrong people. Downtown retailers and the people who work in retail are ...

Posted Sat, Oct 22, 4:20 a.m.

I-1125 will fail for five reasons: 1. It drives up the costs of projects by stupidly letting legislators set tolls - an idea so profoundly dumb and costly that it doesn't happen in any other state. 2. People who don't use bridges and highways in urban areas shouldn't have to ...

Posted Mon, Oct 17, 7:24 a.m.

It cracks me up when old-timers bemoan the lack of regional leadership when the hardest thing to do for the old-timers (winning approval of regional rail) is now growing under our noses and being built by very current regional leaders. Ron Sims not included. It might be a good idea ...

Posted Sat, Oct 8, 5:02 p.m.

Judy did an excellent job here. And here's what we need to face up to: Things are not likely to get much better for at least five years, maybe longer. It may to 10 or 15 years before things really pick up in the ways they had before this really ...

Posted Tue, Oct 4, 5:59 a.m.

It would be good to know who is paying Cascadia's bills. It often appears to be a front group for people who will profit from things like small diesel trains, foot ferries and drawing up private deals to build public infrastructure. It had $10 million from the Gates Foundation - ...

Posted Fri, Sep 23, 9:01 a.m.

Joel has isolated one of Inslee's prime weaknesses: He can't seem to take advice that's contrary to his imagination and doesn't seem to get any from the circle he's kept around him. It may be the big reason why he might lose and the best reason for electing someone else. ...

Posted Thu, Sep 22, 7:51 a.m.

This is an excellent overview. In the long run, it appears that the people fighting these coal exports are powerless to decide how China delivers energy. It doesn't appear that the Sierra Club has much clout there. Coal will continue to be burned in China well into the future in ...

Posted Tue, Sep 20, 6:09 p.m.

It'll be hard to get my vote on this one. The thing reeks of pandering to special interest transportation lobbies as opposed to being based on a solid thoughtful approach to making the streets better. A yes vote would be viewed as an endorsement of Mayor McGinn's administration and transportation ...

Posted Wed, Sep 14, 8:14 a.m.

I commute on my bike every day. I have for a long time. I have never encountered any hostility. Many of the aware drivers are sometimes too courteous - stopping or slowing for no reason other than courtesy. Crazy speeding people on bikes are annoying and dangerous. Just like reckless ...

Posted Wed, Sep 7, 6:42 a.m.

I suspect that the prophet of any real regional government around here will not emerge from Seattle. People beyond King County, and many places within it, will view any Seattle-based effort to make a new real regional government as a self serving power play, with good reason. It is really ...

Posted Wed, Aug 31, 8:34 p.m.

Portland and Tacoma are great cities to compare to each other. Tacoma comes out on top, because of its local attributes and its proximity to Seattle and saltwater. And many other things. Just because some people must live in and around Portland, and it has been a good place for ...

Posted Wed, Aug 31, 8:25 p.m.

Good for Grace. She's a generally capable person. Let's hope she learns to stop badmouthing her local transportation peers. It might save her if she encounters an snowstorm at BART, which will happen.

Posted Wed, Aug 31, 8:19 p.m.

Mark probably jumps to a comfortable point too quickly. Income levels at the edge are the biggest driver of failed mortgages at the edge. Gentrified people have generally done well during this record breaking downturn. People on the edge have suffered so much more. That's probably the real story here ...

Posted Fri, Aug 26, 7:38 a.m.

Except in a few cases, our state's highway department seems to have missed this boat. A big test will come over the next year: Will the state DOT actually embrace a robust set of investments to clean up the biggest cause and conveyor of water pollution around here: Roads. Or, ...

Posted Tue, Aug 23, 9:54 p.m.

Mossback deserves his name on this subject. God bless him. In my own personal world I agree. But that's not what it takes to solve the 520 replacement: it takes a region to find common ground. It has been found. It took about 20 years. I know. I have been ...

Posted Wed, Aug 17, 7:35 a.m.

"Our will is weak, our visions outdated, attention spans short, and money scarce — and that's for the stuff we decide to do." Mossback, on Seattle You usually get the city's vibe right Mossback, but on this one you're dead wrong. This city has aspirations to thrive well ahead of ...

Posted Wed, Aug 3, 7:16 a.m.

Mossback's comeback is weak. He appears to have been seduced by The Shark. Are assumptions outdated if they cast a future not so very different than the recent past - of a city largely built on the auto? Are they outdated if they assume that the city and the region ...

Posted Tue, Jul 19, 10:31 p.m.

God bless him. And thanks to him for all of his efforts large and small to enrich our city and this region. I see it every day. It lifts. It is a powerful legacy. Few have touched more.

Posted Tue, Jul 19, 10:22 p.m.

There's no comparison to the one mile of road underground that these 7 people are mad about and the earlier efforts to kill WPPSS and a coal fired future. These people lose credibility by aligning their campaign with the same vile anti-toll campaign Tim Eyman is promoting. Tolling is 100 ...

Posted Tue, Jul 19, 7:17 a.m.

Jordan is simply pointing out the reality: Moon and company don't have enough people on their side to get their way - so they've joined forces with the people who want to keep a freeway blighting Seattle's waterfront. It is the essential truth about the opponents of the tunnel. They ...

Posted Mon, Jul 18, 3:52 a.m.

People who work for the government in Olympia typically don't have much interest in supporting much of anything but what the government in Olympia does. These days. And those people dominate what the state legislature and the Governor see and do. It's dumb - but true. There's no better example ...

Posted Fri, Jul 15, 5:33 p.m.

Skye – Moon is more like Eyman. Her brand of obstructionism will cost all of us far more than any of the hyperbolic whoopers you promote about the tunnel. We all know they are whoopers. We’ve all seen them before, along with the rest of the story. She might also ...

Posted Fri, Jul 15, 8:16 a.m.

There really isn't much difference between the type of costly obstructionism Moon thrives on and Tim Eyman. Both Eyman and Moon are using simplistic rhetoric and spinning the lowest arts of politics into their campaigns. It is cynical politics at its worst. Basically: Let's have people vote on everything based ...

Posted Fri, Jul 8, 9:09 a.m.

I wonder if the studies Richard links to were done before, or after, the 2011 legislature in Washington state produced all of the outcomes that will boost competitiveness. One of the studies Richard links to appears to be the work of a political US Chamber group devoted to fighting organized ...

Posted Tue, Jul 5, 8:31 p.m.

Nice job David. You have successfully painted a nightmare that appears all to plausible. That's why we need to elect a new batch of people who are not identified with tunnel politics, which has now created a whole batch of silly tunnel celebrities. It is a mile in a big ...

Posted Thu, Jun 30, 8:03 a.m.

This is an interesting race. It looks like Inslee's to lose. That's what the polls show. Along with the long line of fleeting statewide GOP candidates who have been introduced with similar clever hyperbole - and crashed. McKenna has never had a hard fought statewide race. Campaigns for AG are ...

Posted Sat, Jun 18, 9:57 a.m.

The state really ought to be looking at the trade-off between about 300 jobs in Whatcom County and the potential to wreck the economic futures of all of the state's urbanized job centers downstream. A train each hour - 24 long slow coal trains each hour - in addition to ...

Posted Mon, Jun 13, 6:13 a.m.

The headline is right: When it comes to Mayor McGinn, bad polls don't tell the whole story - things are much worse than than McGinn's bad poll numbers. It seems pretty clear at this stage that McGinn does more harm than good for the progressive causes he champions. The big ...

Posted Thu, Jun 2, 7:23 a.m.

It couldn't be a Mike McGinn press release without throwing passive aggressive bombs at anyone who drives and grandstanding over a mile of road under the city as if the future of the planet depended on it. Big difference.

Posted Sat, May 28, 7:31 a.m.

In Seattle, ECB alone would make correcting basic factual errors a full time job.

Posted Fri, May 6, 7:14 a.m.

Mossback has been a mouthpiece for the Montlake activists for years on this topic. Mayor McGinn's recent vote to delay 520 again is just more proof of how completely ineffective he is. McGinn lifted no finger to make 520 better for Seattle: he just spent a few minutes grandstanding, while ...

Posted Fri, Apr 22, 6:48 a.m.

Your are right on Mossback. The state DOT is lousy at design. Instead of focusing on fighting about really minor traffic engineering differences, city and state leaders ought to be insisting on design to match the landscape here. The DOT crowd seems to consider design to be what sort of ...

Posted Thu, Apr 21, 9:23 p.m.

I like you Rueven. But should you really write about how ineffective you are? In politics, it is never a good idea to indicate that you are the smartest person in the room. You seem to be trying to say that. And indicating that all the interests that matter don't ...

Posted Wed, Apr 13, 12:20 p.m.

The "Party of the Future" seems to be stuck in the politics of the past. I'm looking forward to a fantastic new waterfront not clogged by cars and a City that is focused on that future.

Posted Sat, Apr 9, 8:29 a.m.

David Bricklin comes across as s sore loser with a law degree. And another attorney seeking to draw attention - to himself. It is ridiculous to assert that the environmental impacts of the tunnel have not been adequately studied. The surface option died years ago. The Viaduct is already coming ...

Posted Wed, Mar 30, 7:56 a.m.

I see fewer similarities than Mossback. While all that freeway fighting was happening, Seattle's population was shrinking. Now it's growing. There's now mega policy to stop sprawl that comes with an urban growth boundary. It is and environmental imperative that more focused development happen within Seattle. That's city policy. The ...

Posted Tue, Mar 29, 4:40 p.m.

Roger rewrites history to suit his deceptive narrative. What "popular upheaval against the tunnel?" 21% support for a surface option? Roger's post epitomizes the type of communication that won Mike McGinn the support of just 28% of people in the latest poll. And it's the reason why a one trick ...

Posted Sat, Mar 19, 8:50 a.m.

What war? Oh right. The McGinn shop is treating the tunnel like a war - throwing everything at it at the cost of everything else. Thankfully the City has figured out how to proceed with things despite the 7th floor. But what a waste - of the resources of the ...

Posted Tue, Mar 15, 7:40 a.m.

Let's see whether Andi Hill or Steve Litzow or Joe Fain (a new trio of GOP Senators from King County) represent the new Republican party or the one that Jim Horn and Kemper Freeman decimated with their ham-handed ideology. We'll know whether any of these new promising young Republican are ...

Posted Wed, Mar 9, 6:48 a.m.

Locke also had a chance as Governor to leave a meaningful imprint.

Posted Tue, Mar 8, 8:03 a.m.

The last weeks of this legislative session will make the first weeks look like a picnic. What we're seeing from Zarelli and Murray is mature political leadership, so far. Times are tough. Hewitt, Zarelli and Murray are taking the high road, mostly. The more reasonable people in the Senate GOP ...

Posted Tue, Mar 1, 10:39 p.m.

Knute is right: Mayor McGinn is very good at making good ideas look bad. He's the worst enemy of the progressive causes he champions. It appears to be a genetic trait that won't change anytime soon, or without a serious 12 step program. Not looking good. The first step would ...

Posted Wed, Feb 23, 8:54 p.m.

While many of the changes in style are welcome, Mayor McGinn's deficiencies as Mayor won't be solved by changes in form. What's required is a fundamental reform in function. Same staff. Same ideology. Same failures to represent the whole city. Same tone deaf failure to articulate a problem without lamely ...

Posted Fri, Feb 18, 6:14 a.m.

I will have a hard time voting for any increase in taxes in Seattle as long as Mike McGinn is the Mayor. No way around it. I support the schools and the goals. I've never voted against one of these. I'm surprised that the people behind this have used McGinn ...

Posted Fri, Feb 11, 7:53 a.m.

Obama was not elected for his liberalism. He was elected because he was a very promising counterpoint to Bush/Cheney, the fear mongering Republicans who started foolish wars, made the rest of the world hate America, ruined the American economy and piled up an enormous mountain of debt. We're still digging ...

Posted Thu, Nov 11, 2:54 p.m.

Thank you Feliks. I found it just as fun to witness Dave's joy that year as it was to watch the team. Many of the giants of radio in the Northwest did not evolve. For whatever reason, they left the stage. Dave turned out to be the amazing survivor on ...

Posted Fri, Nov 5, 7:50 a.m.

Effective advocacy groups can be edgy and aggressive, well connected and honest. Cascade's advocacy has suffered in the honesty department and has too often alienated friends (through insults and silly slime ball tactics) to the point that it is losing money for bicycle safety and failing to move safety legislation ...

Posted Tue, Nov 2, 10 p.m.

Early election returns: Small wave. GOP wins House. Democrats keep Senate. Washington keeps Murray in the majority in Senate. Rossi - three strikes you are out. Overall win for Democrats, who beat expectations promoted by Chris Vance and the GOP.

Posted Tue, Nov 2, 9:56 p.m.

Thanks Joe. Looks like a typical election in Washington.

Posted Mon, Nov 1, 6:01 p.m.

I can't take seriously the idea that the former chairman of the state GOP will "sort through spin" for me or present a reasonably objective analysis. Chris Vance just proved why.

Posted Fri, Oct 29, 2:49 a.m.

It doesn't look like Adam Smith is in trouble. It does look like the race is much closer than anyone expected.

Posted Sun, Oct 24, 8:05 a.m.

Good grief. I have now seen enough to be confident that Chris Vance is using Crosscut to promote a Republican narrative in the run up to the election. This appears to be necessary to counter evidence in every recent poll that Murray is beating Rossi, by a hair, in a ...

Posted Tue, Oct 19, 4:27 p.m.

I'm not seeing wildly inconsistent polls when it comes to what matters: who is winning. Every recent poll has Murray winning: 49-51%. In other words, they are all saying pretty much the same thing, when you consider the margin of error. Elway, CNN, SurveyUSA, Washington Poll, and even Rasmussen. The ...

Posted Mon, Oct 18, 6:20 a.m.

It looks like Chris Vance has some explaining to do, again. Stuart has pretty well cleaned his clock.

Posted Fri, Oct 1, 4:58 p.m.

Parking costs in private spaces have gone down as the economy has gone down. In Seattle and Bellevue. But that's no reason to raise parking taxes, and meter rates, when far too many buildings downtown Seattle are practically empty. For a guy who says he wants to grow green, Mayor ...

Posted Fri, Oct 1, 4:44 p.m.

The exodus would be far larger under McGinn were it not for a really lousy job market and cuts happening all over government. The real story may be about the very talented, yet very demoralized people, still hanging on.

Posted Thu, Sep 30, 6:59 a.m.

Murray's former staff members who are now lobbyists learned all about this from former aides to former Senator Slade Gorton, who do the same thing.

Posted Mon, Sep 27, 7:30 a.m.

Roger Valdez seems to be on his way to becoming the Glen Beck of the anti-tunnel party. Richard Conlin appears to have done the right thing and has been completely transparent about it. McGinn, now with some haze from Roger, appears to be the one promoting a deception in this ...

Posted Sat, Sep 25, 7:39 a.m.

It is not clear there's a bright spot. You know when someone reaches for the rule book, there's trouble. McGinn's relationships with the Council, and a wide range of interests. have already deteriorated to the point where it may prove impossible to do any heavy lift with McGinn leading, as ...

Posted Fri, Sep 24, 7:57 a.m.

I checked the anti-1098 web site. I did not see a broad and diverse coalition. I saw groups in the state who owe their existence to the donations of time and money from the wealthiest 1% of the state. Elites.

Posted Thu, Sep 23, 6:52 a.m.

Kemper Freeman and Phil Talmadge are out to lunch on this topic. They can't help themselves. Freeman has been spending millions to fight light rail for decades, costing us all billions in delay, and tying things in knots. The 18th amendment is an anachronism. Just don't expect repeal to be ...

Posted Tue, Sep 21, 8:14 a.m.

"If Muri is surging, all Republicans are surging"? These analysis would be more credible if they stuck to the data. There does not appear to be data to support a Muri "surge." (46%) But there is lots of evidence to demonstrate that "all" Republicans are clearly NOT "surging." Case in ...

Posted Fri, Sep 17, 5:59 a.m.

Could the fact that Rossi is now shown to be losing again simply reflect the fact that he's a ho-hum candidate and is running a ho-hum campaign? Rossi's downward trend has been confirmed by his recent demand for more TV debates - standard practice for desperate candidates. Rossi is not ...

Posted Tue, Sep 14, 7:14 a.m.

Roger's case would be stronger if: 1. Most people in Seattle waited for pizzas for two hours. They don't, not by a long shot. Most people avoid ferry lines if at all possible. People in Seattle hate lines. 2. If it was obvious that the surface option is actually the ...

Posted Fri, Sep 10, 9:03 a.m.

Gates deserves a medal for his work on this. The big names opposing this represent the state's past. Gates is focused on the state's future. Looks like he might win.

Posted Thu, Aug 26, 8:15 a.m.

Yes, there are a lot of people around who refer to McGinn as Moonbeam. My bet is that few of them, unlike Mike Royko, are even close to considering another nickname. McGinn does appear to be similar to Jerry Brown, who, as Mayor of Oakland, delayed the re-building of the ...

Posted Tue, Aug 24, 6:01 p.m.

I ride to work almost every day, and all over town all the time. Every time I read a bicycle post, I get the feeling I am surrounded by a bunch of whiners. And I ride a bike most all the time. Think of what this must sound like to ...

Posted Sat, Aug 21, 8:35 a.m.

People not only want affordable solutions, the economy requires that solutions be affordable. You won't find "affordable" in the promotional materials for most of the environmental groups in this state, some of which are using climate as a front for other goals, driving up costs and driving away the public ...

Posted Wed, Aug 18, 8:47 p.m.

You can't blame Chris Vance for hyping a GOP comeback. He's been doing that for years and can't help himself. Dino Rossi got almost 34% of the vote in an open primary - NOT GOOD. By any measure.

Posted Tue, Aug 17, 7:43 p.m.

It isn't even cleat that they lost billable hours. It appears they were slightly inconvenienced by a visit from the President of the United States to their building and Michael wants us all to hear the whine.

Posted Tue, Aug 3, 11:19 p.m.

The Muni League does have some explaining to do about that ridiculous Mallahan rating. I don't blame Knute for building a column around it. They might also explain how they were fooled into rating McGinn: "Good." Nobody gets it right all the time.

Posted Thu, Jul 29, 7:39 a.m.

Mayor McGinn would have a hard time convincing people that he's not using fear. uncertainty and doubt to an unreasonable extent to fuel his campaign against the tunnel. That's a fine way to run a campaign. It's just a lousy way to run a City. We have yet to have ...

Posted Mon, Jul 26, 6:37 a.m.

Or, we could quit scaring people by being so radically nutty about this topic and find 60 votes in the US Senate.

Posted Thu, Jul 22, 8 a.m.

It does not appear to me that the McGinn crowd has the creative class in mind on most of what it is up to. It appears to me mostly about single minded focus on some pretty radical environmental dreams using tactics Karl Rove would applaud. There was also an element ...

Posted Wed, Jul 21, 9:40 p.m.

Sonntag's biggest obstacle will be his performance as a performance auditor. And then there's his support for a while bunch of Republican candidates.

Posted Wed, Jul 21, 9:38 p.m.

Will Rob McKenna defend Christine Gregoire and the state agencies he represents in a lawsuit brought by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation today? EFF claims the Governor's Executive Order on a Carbon Cap and Trade is unconstitutional and seeks to stop agencies from spending any more money to carry it out.

Posted Fri, Jul 16, 5:42 p.m.

Quasi In 2000 the Blue Commission did recommend the switch, combined with the transition of the existing Transportation Commission to a nine member Accountability Board. Yes, the idea had been around for a long time, even during the Gardner administration, especially after the state DOT sank the I-90 "floating" bridge ...

Posted Fri, Jul 16, 9:29 a.m.

John Carlson and Kirby Wilbur - using Fisher Broadcasting's KVI radio - were the people behind the gas tax rollback initiative in 2005. A majority of voters in many Washington counties, throughout Puget Sound, and even in Walla Walla County, rejected that initiative. MacDonald incorrectly assigns credit for that failed ...

Posted Wed, Jul 14, 10:41 p.m.

I think we've figured out that Mayor McGinn is capable of stopping something - his veto is evidence of that. But is there any evidence yet that he can actually do something as Mayor? I get the impression that the 7th floor of City Hall is not the place to ...

Posted Mon, Jul 12, 7:57 p.m.

Anything that removes the blight of a freeway over Seattle's waterfront is worth a few billion. I'm not sure the best word to describe the reporting in the Stranger is "sober."

Posted Mon, Jul 12, 7:54 p.m.

I think Knute gets it. He just doesn't agree with it. I feel the same way about Mike McGinn.

Posted Sat, Jun 26, 8:20 a.m.

Thank you Knute. This is an incredibly enjoyable read.

Posted Tue, Jun 22, 7:14 a.m.

It remains to be seen whether McGinn is any leader at all. For now, he has successfully created a new power center at City Hall - the City Council - and pretty much marginalized anything that happens on the 7th floor. I do agree that he might have a chance ...

Posted Fri, Jun 4, 7:23 a.m.

I happy to pay Metro's bus drivers a fair wage. Any compare between metro driver wages with other systems ought to also include performance compares: retention, efficiency, safety record etc. We often get what we pay for. In my experience Metro is the best bus system I've encountered anywhere. The ...

Posted Thu, May 13, 6:58 a.m.

The South Park Bridge would seem to be a unique example of what happens in King County when a bridge is not a high priority, not an example of overall regional failure to address priorities. Efforts to replace the sinking Viaduct and 520 bridges are just two big examples of ...

Posted Thu, May 13, 6:37 a.m.

And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Matthew 7:3

Posted Mon, May 10, 5:56 a.m.

How is it that Mayor McGinn's fibbing on this and other topics is acceptable? People are generally held to a higher standard of honesty than this guy seems to be. Whole truth matters. All of this McGinn business looks like silly gamesmanship, or maybe "Viaduct" is simply his default "change ...

Posted Fri, Apr 23, 7:11 a.m.

It will be interesting to see which community leaders show up with Mayor McGinn today for the Veto Show. It seems like Mayor McGinn is exploiting divisions within the City instead of bringing people together. But on this topic, that might depend on who shows up with the Mayor today. ...

Posted Thu, Apr 22, 7:46 a.m.

I am reminded that sometimes even a blind dog finds a bone.

Posted Tue, Apr 20, 8:25 p.m.

Lary Coppola, above, is actually calling for an end to the Washington State Ferry system. The state ferry system depends on tolls. And lots of other taxes from the rest of us, including people living in King County. The ferry system is a state highway system that depends on tolls. ...

Posted Tue, Apr 20, 8:06 p.m.

I think. If Knute would bother to check. That the reason the region is growing is that people are reproducing (50%) and people want to move here (50%). It is not because anyone is promoting growth. It is because people are willfully participating in it. What's Knute's answer for that? ...

Posted Tue, Apr 20, 7:17 a.m.

It sounds like Knute is advocating that planners pretend that the region is not going to grow. Would pretending that we are not going to grow be better for the environment? I think I get where Knute is coming from, but the frame seems to offer a false choice. Wouldn't ...

Posted Mon, Apr 19, 6:56 a.m.

I heard Mayor McGinn was the only one from Seattle to vote no and that the majority of Seattle's votes were in favor. In other words, McGinn didn't even prevail in Seattle. That seems to be the new Seattle, a lonely voice from the new Mayor, and 7-9 members of ...

Posted Fri, Apr 9, 5:51 a.m.

I'm not sure integrity had much at all to do with this. It appears that it was more about alignment with interests, and in the end, caving to some big ones all around. There's no hiding any of the taxes that look like they are about to be raised: B ...

Posted Wed, Apr 7, 6:58 a.m.

Excellent reporting. The Mayor looked pretty lonely yesterday. He's calling on other politicians in the region to agree with him. Is he calling them?

Posted Tue, Mar 23, 6:30 a.m.

Trapped? Because he is a Republican? 10 of 18 Republican attorneys general joined the lawsuit. McKenna made a choice. He chose to play a political stunt, to make an extremely conservative political point. It's not the first time. Won't be the last.

Posted Thu, Feb 25, 6:10 a.m.

It addition to being "deeply weird." The letter appears to be "deeply stupid" if the Mayor hopes to help his cause with Olympia powers. His message to Microsoft team-members is full of the of fibs and spin that have come to exemplify communication from this Mayor.

Posted Thu, Feb 25, 6 a.m.

Richard. I didn't mean to imply that supporting light rail across 520 is bizarre. Insisting on it from day one, as the Mayor is doing, is clearly a position designed to obstruct doing anything, which is far worse for the environment over time. I meant to say that Mayor McGinn's ...

Posted Wed, Feb 24, 7:34 a.m.

The goal right now is to get votes in Olympia and it appears that Microsoft and friends are pretty smart - get in a fight with a new Seattle Mayor widely perceived around the state a something of a joke. Few legislators in other parts of the state mind voting ...

Posted Tue, Feb 23, 6:15 a.m.

One big difference: Dixy carried a comb in her back pocket and used it routinely.

Posted Wed, Feb 17, 7:54 a.m.

I was happy to see the ugly heap leave Lake Union a few years ago. The boat has become an enormous eye sore. That may be too bad. Restoring it would seem to be a deep money pit. Please don't bring the remains back to Seattle. There are plenty of ...

Posted Thu, Feb 11, 8:17 p.m.

Burgess seems to be one of the most reasonable and talented people leading the City these days. Those attributes provoke strong responses from people who don't appreciate them. I have found Burgess to be about as close as I have found to someone at City Hall who really represents the ...

Posted Fri, Feb 5, 5:04 p.m.

Jan lives on Queen Anne, but used to live in Montlake. Like most people who live in Montlake now, I arrived after 520 was built. The cost of my home reflected that - enjoying the handy access but hating the noise. It looks to me like there are lots of ...

Posted Fri, Feb 5, 4:52 p.m.

I'm all for democracy too. It looks to me like a few Seattle politicians are representing special Montlake area interests exclusively. A big majority of Seattle politicians appear to be supporting Seattle's interests - the interests of all the rest of us, while also making reasonable requests for a better ...

Posted Fri, Feb 5, 8:12 a.m.

I saw a six Seattle politicians supporting the new Montlake proposal on Monday. That might count as several but it is a distinct minority of legislators and council members. You need to read that KING TV poll again. The questions asked about HOV lanes and light rail did not accurately ...

Posted Wed, Feb 3, 5:20 p.m.

I enjoyed Knute's observations. I find Portland a cute little dull city that can be best compared to Tacoma.

Posted Fri, Jan 29, 8:03 a.m.

I thought this was a "deep bore" tunnel? Seems like excavation in the south starts in fill over what had been water. In the north, excavation is dealing with lower Queen Anne Hill, where there has been intense urbanization already. Sure, there's some risk. But it doesn't seem like a ...

Posted Fri, Jan 15, 4:22 p.m.

Carlson has been dragged down on the show with Schram. He'll do far better back in his own time slot alone. Looks like all the advertising for the Commentators was money down the drain. Carlson more moderate than Wilbur? Not by much.

Posted Fri, Jan 15, 7:11 a.m.

This quote from Mayor McGinn is a keeper: "It would be irresponsible to not address this basic issue of public safety immediately,” Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. That's a good policy. I remember another politician saying a lot about the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the 520 bridge being "our levies" and ...

Posted Sat, Jan 9, 7:30 a.m.

It is difficult to imagine McGinn making a better choice than Peter Hahn for this job. Hahn is a no nonsense manager, has the respect of his peers throughout the region, has all the right experience, and will be inclined to focus on the right priorities: all the things that ...

Posted Thu, Dec 31, 6:38 a.m.

My Republican friends say Hutchison would be burdened in a statewide race by the extreme conservatives who are her most passionate supporters. In a Senate race she will need to come clean on her party affiliation, which might help her a tad (at least she'd be less of a fraud.) ...

Posted Tue, Dec 29, 9:47 p.m.

Now that the choise has been made, how about getting it done faster? The thing Cary is FOR does not have enough support to succeed. There are major worries about her preferred alternative as well. This story ended. Cary lost. Most people are FOR removing the Viaduct, which is an ...

Posted Fri, Dec 4, 1:38 p.m.

Grace is an outstanding person by any measure. She'll be a good fit in Oregon. SDOT is a great organization, mostly. But it, and Grace, are probably the biggest single reason why we have a new Mayor. That too long running snow drama was entirely preventable. Let's hope the new ...

Posted Fri, Dec 4, 8:37 a.m.

I agree. Let's make sure the people on bikes are also being safe and reasonable. It is not unusual to see someone on a bike clip or otherwise mow over someone walking - there are speed racers out there who are irresponsible. People on bikes don't always to a good ...

Posted Fri, Nov 20, 7:42 a.m.

Outstanding piece. I am all for unconventional. But McGinn's unconventional transition has one big thing missing: any accountability that comes with clear communication of organization. The Mayor-elect says he'll run his transition just like his campaign. Let's hope that management method stops in January. This new Mayor will need to ...

Posted Thu, Nov 5, 7:20 a.m.

It is sort of like Ronald Reagan, who was once an active Democrat. Didn't Reagan say something like: the party left me? There is another thing going on: the definition of suburbs is changing. The Eastside of King County is increasingly a conurbation filled with people with diverse ethnic and ...

Posted Tue, Nov 3, 9:52 p.m.

There is no real tax reform movement in the state of Washington. No politician is gifted enough to promote the changes needed with any forward thrust. This is a failing of our state. We lack gifted politicians. The people with the gifts wisely choose other endeavors these days. The political ...

Posted Mon, Nov 2, 7:36 p.m.

McGinn and others risk turning people off to the idea of doing anything real to reduce greenhouse gases because of their ill founded assumptions about what it will take to make a difference. At a minimum, doing anything real will require a meaningful federal policy. The news today is that ...

Posted Thu, Oct 29, 7:37 a.m.

I don't find McGinn to be direct at all about the tunnel or the costs he's hyping. Yes, it is useful to be skeptical about cost estimates at this stage. But it is not acceptable to lie about them or engage in distortions, unless, I suspect, you view that type ...

Posted Tue, Oct 20, 7:41 a.m.

I was not impressed with the Sightline study. It seemed coordinated with the McGinn campaign, especially when he started referring to it all the time. It does not appear to be an objective study. The issue for state transportation and Sound Transit projects right now might well be: "are we ...

Posted Wed, Sep 30, 6:13 a.m.

Can anyone ever remember the AWB being pleased with the state's business and political climate? The AWB - and their parrots at the state Senate GOP caucus - have been knocking the state for decades while business has generally boomed. Boeing doesn't seem to know whether it'll build a new ...

Posted Sat, Sep 26, 7:42 a.m.

Comparing McGinn's resume with Barack Obama's by simply focusing on Obama's early years as a community organizer is ridiculous. It leaves all of Obama's other experience out. We know Obama. Obama is a masterful experienced politician. McGinn is no Obama. He does not appear to have the wits or all ...

Posted Sat, Sep 19, 9:26 a.m.

I don't recall Nickels ever saying that Seattle should divorce its neighbors in the region. He said that the regional nieghborhood should consider leaving the state. The message was aimed at Olympia - which often projects that it might as well be in Greece for all its serious attention to ...

Posted Thu, Aug 27, 7:44 a.m.

I actually made it through the whole thing with a single cup of coffee. I'm not sure the headline matches the story. It appears that people continue to be attracted to lower cost homes at, or near, the edge of the urbanized parts of the region. But, the more central ...

Posted Tue, Aug 25, 7:33 a.m.

It doesn't appear that Mallahan or McGinn are anything like Barack Obama in any way, shape or form. Carly Fiorina is contemplating a run for the US Senate in California. As for Gregg Nickels? Good Mayor for not much longer. Time to move on to reporting about who these two ...

Posted Fri, Aug 21, 7:39 a.m.

What will Nickels do for the next few months? Lame ducks last longer with this early primary. Looks like a downer for a few months. Look for a much stronger City Council, which is likely to run over either one of the newbies in the contest for Mayor while they're ...

Posted Thu, Aug 20, 6:34 a.m.

Seattle's best days are ahead of us. This is not a city in decline.

Posted Wed, Aug 19, 7:46 a.m.

Nickels has accomplished a lot, but he's too often a hard guy to like. David's review captures the problems well. His devotion to inside baseball deal making on almost everything would not be missed. It always puts him in the fray and defines him as a classic old-school politico, an ...

Posted Tue, Aug 11, 7:16 a.m.

Seattle's population shrank enormously after 1960 before picking up gains in the past couple of decades, so there's no clean compare between 1960 and today. It would be good to look at when it hit its low post-1960, and compare how much it has grown from that.

Posted Thu, Aug 6, 7:54 a.m.

It sounds to me like Art if critical of anybody who isn't drinking Art lemonade, which seems to be all about keeping the current ugly, sinking, risky old space wasting Viaduct blocking the downtown from the waterfront forever. Deep bore or surface? I see merit in both. Just bring the ...

Posted Thu, Aug 6, 7:26 a.m.

I'm voting for the bag fee. It is a simple way to help solve a complex problem. Most people in my neighborhood have been using the same shopping sacks for years. They work better than the alternatives. The grocery store already gives you five cents every time you use one. ...

Posted Wed, Jul 29, 8:25 a.m.

Light rail didn't take that long to build once a government was designed within the urbanized portions of the region to build it and pay for it. Voters approved it a few years after the first ever regional district was created. It took a strong progressive Tacoma politician to break ...

Posted Tue, Jul 28, 7:35 a.m.

The people who keep bringing this up are beyond tiresome. The two Mikes don't know anything about tunnels. They appear to promote fantasies and advocating protracted impass. I'm happy that the Viaduct is coming down - eventually. A four lane tunnel for through traffic is a good compromise that voids ...

Posted Fri, Jul 17, 2:17 a.m.

There is no reason to have a "great transit debate" anymore. It is over. That might be hard for all the people who devoted much of the past 40 years of their lives fighting rail. The biggest things they accomplished: delay and driving up costs. The next big debate about ...

Posted Sat, Jun 13, 7:30 a.m.

These seem like Fremont quirks applied to the whole city. There's little difference between Seattle and Bellevue. There used to be. Not anymore. If so many people in Seattle really have attitude about Bellevue, why are so many people who live in Seattle going to work there every day? I'd ...

Posted Tue, Jun 9, 7:39 a.m.

I'm not sure that there actually was any news in the Seattle Foundation report after reading this post. Sounds like a nice event aimed at a relatively highbrow crowd. Job numbers do not indicate standing among job "generators." Aerospace is huge and the chamber crowds are worried about that one ...

Posted Thu, Jun 4, 8:30 a.m.

No one wants Russell to move. Russell felt the need to wake up Tacoma powers, who had been taking the company for granted. Presumably, the decision will be based on what's in the company's best interest, not regional notions about fair play. This chat about anyone being "captive" is nonsense.

Posted Wed, Apr 1, 11 p.m.

This sounds like the broken record that played in the Bush administration for eight years. It would be nice if Discovery were required to disclose any financial contributions it might be receiving to promote this and other topics. That way we'd know who is really behind this idea, and others. ...

Posted Fri, Mar 27, 8:12 a.m.

It is one thing for Chopp to move something through the House. It is quite another thing for him to succeed in the Senate and with the Governor. I wouldn't get too excited about posture at this stage. Chopp has moved. 520 and the Viaduct have always been joined at ...

Posted Tue, Mar 17, 9:02 p.m.

Just put the names on a web site, no need for newsprint. Or tax it all. This isn't just grandstanding. Grandstanding, yes. But no just that. If not for the government, AIG would have no money to pay bonuses. "Middle managers?" Leaving after million dollar "retention" bonuses? Come on.

Posted Sat, Feb 21, 3:19 p.m.

Secrets are generally kept by people trying to control things. Open process is what people expect from DC and Olympia. DC is at least trying. Governments that project secrecy, as opposed to reasonable transparency, have hard time passing tax measures.

Posted Tue, Feb 10, 5:14 a.m.

While some people would prefer that the federal government not spend any money on things they don't value, federal spending will proceed in Congress. Earmarks means members of Congress decide what the money is spent on. Grants mean the political appointees within the Administration decide after asking key members of ...

Posted Wed, Feb 4, 8:19 p.m.

Nice post CR. incremental turns out to be a workable way to win equal protection. Thanks to leadership in the legislature to take charge of the strategy that had been left to rich gay and lesbian people with absolutely zero political skills. They have plenty of money and passion between ...

Posted Mon, Feb 2, 7:54 p.m.

Chris Vance is right about this: voters have not shown much support for the highways included in regional plans. And he's right that transit essentially won the years long debate about what to do with sales tax dollars: spend them on roads or Sound Transit. They will be spent on ...

Posted Tue, Jan 27, 7:46 a.m.

Doug starts with the flase premise that people are incensed about a la carte decisions. People just voted for Sound Transit and reject Tim Eyman's latest stunt? Polls show that most people think there is a regional plan for transportation. Turns out, most people are right. Maybe a computer wrote ...

Posted Fri, Jan 23, 7:26 a.m.

The legislature has a tolling policy for the state. It basically says that only the legislature can authorize tolls on state highways. The law also says the legislature must vote on toll rates set by the state Transportation Commission. People who advocate breezy "let's toll every major route" ideas without ...

Posted Thu, Jan 22, 5:29 a.m.

The trade issue has always played differently for Washington's congressional delegation than Democrats nationally, because of Washington's exports. That's understood by most all involved. If their is a client relationship associated with any of the motivations for this piece, it should be disclosed.

Posted Tue, Jan 20, 8:22 p.m.

Conventional wisdom holds that the outlines of the federal stimulus are now largely known but will take time to sink in. It should provide a big boost to some of the underpinnings of the state general fund budget as outlined, along with some tax relief and a fairly sizable infusion ...

Posted Wed, Jan 14, 8:58 p.m.

I think the record will reflect there were no cost over-runs on I-90. The original state engineering estimate for the project included a range that included an estimate of the costs of delay. The record will show that the state was within what it promised. But the record will also ...

Posted Tue, Jan 6, 10:21 p.m.

It was said about 20 years ago that the state DOT was the Pentagon of state government. Outsiders were hired to run the agency for most of the past decade or so. Reforms were made. The agency opened up and became more trustworthy. Finally, the legislature supported new funding for ...

Posted Sun, Dec 14, 7:57 a.m.

Bruce is right about one thing: there will never be another freeway built over Seattle's waterfront. Let's see the data on the "mess" the surface solution is said to create and and unbiased and well grounded accounting of the estimated costs of the bore.

Posted Fri, Dec 12, 8:33 a.m.

OMB is a federal agency. Knute refers to OFM. Cameron's post is full of other misunderstandings.

Posted Thu, Dec 4, 9:16 p.m.

And another thing. Wasn't Chris Vance one of the early advocates of the "Rossi is the way to reinvigorate the state GOP" crowd? Chris's words now appear to attempt to justify that strategy - at least that seems to be part of the motive. It would have worked if not ...

Posted Thu, Dec 4, 7:51 a.m.

I suppose that if you are going to count to post-convention GOP poll bump you could argue that the race could have been closer. And yes, the Bush market downturn didn't help. But you can't count the primary numbers as a knock against polls that showed there was no race ...

Posted Mon, Dec 1, 6:50 a.m.

One of the chief complaints about the Chopp proposal seems to be that there would continue to be a big wall between downtown and the waterfront. How do the advocates of Chopp's proposal answer this complaint? Another complaint seems to be cost. Does the Chopp idea cost more than the ...

Posted Fri, Nov 28, 6:27 a.m.

There will be change in a number of key state or regional positions, like who will be US Attorney around here and who will lead the regional office of EPA, the Small Business Administration and other federal agencies. These positions will draw local talent.

Posted Thu, Nov 27, 4:56 a.m.

Guns don't belong in city parks and city buildings. Banning them from those places seems reasonable.

Posted Wed, Nov 26, 4:30 a.m.

We not only have a President elected from a big city, we have all those blue states that elected him from far more urban places than the red states that backed McCain. We also have a Congress controlled by Democrats who tend to represent more urbanized interests - the Speaker ...

Posted Fri, Nov 7, 8:08 p.m.

I believe that Chris Gregoire is the most accomplished Governor in recent history. I don't underestimate her accomplishments. I have high confidence in Chris Gregoire. She is my favorite governor among all that I've worked with over the past three decades. I just thought that the data indicated she was ...

Posted Fri, Nov 7, 7:08 a.m.

Dino Rossi ran an extremely cynical campaign. The tap dancing turned people off. The links to radical special interests were plain to the eye and extremely damaging to Rossi and the GOP. Promotion of sour grapes about the last election didn't help either. Gregoire was clearly beatable. The state's Republicans ...

Posted Tue, Nov 4, 11:15 p.m.

Bless the voters.

Posted Mon, Nov 3, 10:10 p.m.

Barf.

Posted Tue, Oct 28, 6:51 p.m.

Nice post Stuart. It looks like the Obama surge will materialize. Not to be confused with the surge McCain endorsed. Looks close. But: today its is advantage Gregoire.

Posted Mon, Oct 27, 4:46 p.m.

I'm not sure that this is a "victory" for the Gregoire campaign. It does appear to be a victory for state campaign finance law. Senator Rossi does appear to wind up in court more than your average candidate for Governor.

Posted Mon, Oct 27, 4:37 p.m.

In the past 40 years, at least, Washington has never had a Conservative Republican governor. There's a reason for that. I disagree with Ted's choice for Governor and I'd contest some of his facts about the Gregoire administration. Gregoire has been one of the best governors ever. Her one weakness: ...

Posted Sat, Oct 25, 4:31 p.m.

There they go again. On and on. Everyone has heard all the points and counterpoints for decades, along with all the selective half-truths produced under the guise of "data" from the mouths of the pros and the cons. Time to move on. I had trouble finding it on my ballot. ...

Posted Sat, Oct 25, 9:15 a.m.

Opponents of light rail often argue that they have a better alternative. Yet they can never seem to get enough people to agree with them to make their alternative viable. The bus emphasis people never have. The road emphasis people never have. Impass is not an option. Sound Transit is ...

Posted Fri, Oct 24, 8:43 p.m.

OK. Now show the support for the Niles alternative to Prop. 1. Not just the views of one of the more reasonable alternative idea guys. The opportunity has been there for over a decade. Where is the support? MacDonald was on the Board for most of those years. Sims was ...

Posted Fri, Oct 24, 4:54 p.m.

In my experience, not everyone who has worked for the Discovery Institute supports the promotion of Intelligent Design. Not by a long shot. My view is that people who really want to reform the government here and improve transportation ought to be for Prop. 1 - there are no fatal ...

Posted Fri, Oct 24, 4:26 p.m.

Boy, it looks like the judge really slapped down that letter from the AG that appeared intended to help out Rossi.

Posted Fri, Oct 24, 8:37 a.m.

If you look at the other races in the latest Elway poll, it would be hard to argue that Stuart's polling has a Democratic bias, or any bias at all. I've always regarded Elway as a Republican with a strong non-partisan foundation when it comes to his polling. However, other ...

Posted Thu, Oct 23, 3:27 p.m.

I liked the post because it argued clearly and concisely. It is a reasonable presentation of important points of view. MacDonald's obdurate reply is typical. To MacDonald there may be a "moment" coming soon if only voters would agree with him on Sound Transit this year. It is his solo ...

Posted Thu, Oct 16, 8:22 p.m.

I agree with David's conclusion that if you want to do anything, anytime soon, to improve transit, you'd want to see the current ballot measure pass. The wait for necessary agreement on something better is probably 10-15 years away. Rail is not just Seattle's dream anymore. It is also a ...