Posted Thu, Feb 9, 8:02 a.m.

Mike McGinn is less pathetic a mayor than he was six months ago, that's for sure. But the effect is to basically make the 2013 mayor's race an open seat race. Other candidates will be able to get major institutional, Democratic, and union endorsements over McGinn. And Mike can't raise ...

Posted Sun, Feb 5, 9:34 a.m.

Good point, John. The notion of Constantine running for mayor is also pretty ridiculous as well. He'll be reelected easily as Exec.

Posted Sat, Feb 4, 9:48 p.m.

Interesting ideas, but it's later in the game than Mr. Brewster thinks. Koster has come close enough to winning a seat in Congress that he'd be hard for another Republican to push aside at this point (he's kind of like the Republican Darcy Burner--not necessarily a compliment). Maybe someday someone ...

Posted Sun, Jan 29, 7:11 p.m.

Diane who?

Posted Sun, Jan 29, noon

As always, Roger Valdez is talking big about things that are well above his level of power and influence. The Roosevelt zoning debate is not a microcosm of a larger zoning debate. The city may look at a few more light rail station areas and consider rezones there, but most ...

Posted Sat, Jan 21, 7:45 a.m.

So vote by mail actually works, huh? Kudos to the King County Council Democrats who got this superior system in place for the benefit of all citizens.

Posted Thu, Jan 19, 5:35 p.m.

The two new Board members were elected on a platform of asking tough questions and putting away the rubber stamp. Seattle voters are getting what they wanted from them. The staff will just have to get used to sharing information.

Posted Tue, Dec 20, 2:32 p.m.

Coolpapa (the well-known handle of education blogger Charlie Mas) may have gone on a bit, but this is a particularly weak piece of writing/thinking from Mr. Brewster that deserves a great deal of criticism. It's hard to know where to start, but I'll leave it at five points. 1. None ...

Posted Mon, Nov 14, 11:28 a.m.

An interesting point, Mr. B., but giving the five King County Council Democrats the vote doesn't change the fact that Rep. Frockt is an incumbent 46th House member AND the choice of the District Democrats. The County Council D's would simply elect him.

Posted Fri, Nov 4, 10:21 a.m.

Jordan, you can't beat a candidate with no candidate. And, you also can't beat a City Council incumbent with high popularity ratings and $100K in the bank (that would describe Rasmussen, Clark, and probably Burgess). The issue this year is that the incumbents are not only tough, but that there ...

Posted Sat, Oct 29, 10:11 a.m.

I'd like to ask anyone who's read to this point to please take a close look at each and every School Board race before you cast your vote. The "incumbents versus challengers" meme is an easy out for lazy voters (ironically, like Ted himself), who just want to vote a ...

Posted Thu, Oct 27, 7:47 a.m.

Roger, your comparison of driving cars to smoking is very revealing as far as how you think, but it also shows why you are so out of touch with real Seattleites. Smokers realize they have an unhealthy, even potentially deadly habit; drivers see their cars as useful tools that help ...

Posted Tue, Oct 25, 1:43 p.m.

Seriously, Ted? You cut school the day the School Board candidates were speaking? I've seen the bunch of them at several forums and each time, every challenger came off as a better choice than their incumbent counterpart. I'd say more, but you're not really qualified to discuss this topic, are ...

Posted Sun, Oct 23, 6:46 p.m.

I find it hard to believe that anyone would vote for our four incompetent School Board incumbents. Even their supporters argue that their candidates are not crooked, just weak and mediocre. Nobody thinks they've done a good job. Michelle Buetow (District III) and Marty McLaren (District VI) are far better ...

Posted Wed, Aug 31, 7:55 a.m.

"Metro Transit: poor people stuck with the tab again?" A truly ridiculous headline, considering this article is about requiring all residents to pay their own (minimal) bus fare. The Ride Free Area is not a human service function of government. If it is, it should not be paid for using ...

Posted Sun, Aug 28, 9:58 a.m.

Scott Oki's proposal to fix our educational system would push parents completely out of the system by removing all local control of education. Under his system, only a few superrich capitalists (i.e. Scott and his cronies) with personal access to the governor would have any power or influence. And he's ...

Posted Sun, Aug 21, 2 p.m.

I enjoyed this piece, although I am not a Ted Van Dyk fan. I appreciate seeing Ted writing about something he knows about, rather than trying to analyze 2011 politics through the lens of his 1960s and 1970s political experiences. Like Ted says, you shouldn't make personal comments about people ...

Posted Fri, Aug 19, 11:14 a.m.

Five pro-tunnel Councilmembers came up for reelection this year. Two of them received more than token opposition. One of them faced multiple challengers and got 46 percent in the primary, while leading her closest opponent by a comfortable 21 points. The tunnel won by 20 points in the primary. Five ...

Posted Wed, Aug 17, 4:54 p.m.

Last night's vote was the last nail in the political coffins of the elevated rebuild and Mayor Mike McGinn. Those are the facts, everything else is just talk.

Posted Fri, Aug 5, 11:35 a.m.

The current Yakima system has candidates run in geographic districts in the primary, then run citywide in the final. This is a lousy system because it allows a district to choose its own representative in the primary, yet have that choice be vetoed in the final by the voters of ...

Posted Mon, Jul 18, 4:24 p.m.

Wow, so this plan was put together by a bunch of developers and their enablers. Good thing we didn't have any "pressure groups" involved.

Posted Tue, Jul 12, 1:44 p.m.

If Mr. Tong is puzzled by the lack of public support for education "reform," he might want to speak to a member of the public. Everyone here is on some rich foundation's payroll and there's not a legit community leader in the bunch. A very lazy piece of reporting.

Posted Thu, Jul 7, 10:55 a.m.

I'm no Ted Van Dyk fan, but his critics are way out of line on this one. Our justice system allows for people who are guilty to be acquitted if the evidence against them is inadequate, which is exactly what happened in the cast of Ms. Anthony. However, when this ...

Posted Wed, Jul 6, 11:46 a.m.

David, the funniest part of your futurist piece the other day was the bit about Maud Daudon finishing second in a mayoral primary. Like Bill Stafford, you're elevating her to an exalted status simply because she's a social acquaintance of yours. Sims and Steinbrueck, dumb choices as they would be ...

Posted Thu, Jun 30, 10:33 a.m.

An interesting Republican screed by the always-spinning Mr. Carlson. My take is that he's trying to flatter Sonntag into the race because it would lead to a divisive primary race for Inslee. The trouble is, you just can't argue that Sonntag (or anyone) is a strong Democratic statewide candidate without ...

Posted Sat, Jun 18, 5:46 p.m.

David, the whole premise of this piece is ridiculous. Just because four of five Seattle City Council incumbents appear to be cruising to easy re-election, what on earth does that have to do with those miserable school board incumbents? Elected as a group in 2007 using huge sums of campaign ...

Posted Fri, Jun 17, 12:16 p.m.

In order for a Democrat to beat McKenna, that person would need massive amounts of votes, camapaign volunteers, and donations from the lefty land of Seattle. Inslee would get that; Sonntag not so much. I suspect Brian will do his due diligence and sign up for re-election as auditor.

Posted Mon, Jun 13, 3:12 p.m.

I support Republicrat Sonntag challenging Jay Inslee in the primary, losing the election, and going on unemployment.

Posted Fri, Jun 10, 3:04 p.m.

Well, if anyone can spin McGinn's miserable poll numbers, I guess it's Roger Valdez. Given that 61 percent of Seattle voters surveyed say they plan to vote against McGinn in 2013, I don't think we'll be enjoying Mike's leadership for too much longer.

Posted Fri, Jun 10, 9:54 a.m.

"This is like sending a CARE package to Bel-Air. Bel-Air doesn't need the charity, the items in the CARE package aren't as good as what they already have, and it deprives a really needy community of the resource." Wow, that's the whole situation in a nutshell. The Seattle Public Schools ...

Posted Tue, May 17, 7:41 a.m.

In the last three mayoral elections, the incumbent has run for re-election. The incumbent has made it through the primary just once. History is not on McGinn's side. Look for an early exit for Mike in 2013.

Posted Sat, May 7, 2:17 p.m.

staybailey, there's an old newspaper adage that a letter to the editor can't be longer than the article it's griping about. Anyway, I'd agree with Mr. Almquist that Roger Valdez's complaints about the tunnel are getting pretty thin after a half-dozen articles in Crosscut. Perhaps Roger could consider a second ...

Posted Fri, May 6, 11:14 a.m.

A 64 percent passage may represent the will of the people now, but it wouldn't under a 2/3rds supermajority model.

Posted Thu, Apr 14, 5:06 p.m.

Sorry Mike, but your idea stinks. You must have forgotten the 1980s Mariners--no chance, no hope, no fans. Yes, we can go back. The "Trade Ichiro, Trade Felix" crowd forgets that without those two players, there is no good reason to go to the ballpark. You obviously think that thousands ...

Posted Tue, Mar 29, 4:41 p.m.

The question is, Roger, where are YOUR candidates? You and your colleagues in the Mike McGinn Fan Club have aimed plenty of shots at the current Council but two major tunnel supporters remain unopposed (Rasmussen, Burgess) and their three colleagues have drawn minor-league opponents whom they are clearly capable of ...

Posted Thu, Jan 27, 8:42 a.m.

Claire is a great writer and this is a really clever, funny book. Highly recommended.

Posted Mon, Dec 27, 1:44 p.m.

But that's still finishing the season "without a winning record."

Posted Fri, Dec 17, 10:42 a.m.

David, it's a budget. You have to balance revenues and expenditures, and if you don't have the money, you have to cut, cut, cut. When I was unemployed/underemployed a few years back, I hated my budget, too.

Posted Fri, Dec 3, 5:20 p.m.

Mr. Noble is indeed correct. Tax Increment Financing does not work in a budget-based property tax system because new projects don't contribute much to the property tax base. What TIF would do in Washington is snag general fund revenues that could otherwise be spent on libraries, roads, police, human services, ...

Posted Wed, Dec 1, 8:38 a.m.

Jordan has hit on McGinn's basic problem. Politicians can get credit for two things: doing something or saying something. McGinn is very good at getting attention for saying outrageous and quotable things, but has no demonstrated ability to accomplish anything. After a first year with no notable accomplishments and very-public ...

Posted Fri, Nov 26, 10:26 a.m.

I'm with Mr. Baker. Nobody who supports this supposed centrist wonderland has been able to describe what this "middle party" will stand for, if anything. We seem to be trying to create a club for people who think politics is icky. That's not a political movement, it's a comfy feather ...

Posted Tue, Nov 23, 8:41 a.m.

Dino Rossi, while technically a strong candidate, is simply too unpopular to win in Washington state. The man has a history of "me-first" behavior--happily working for crooks as a young man, getting into private real estate deals with lobbyists as a legislator, and playing the vulture during the economic downtown ...

Posted Fri, Oct 8, 12:27 p.m.

Hubert: You go, Gramps. The internal combustion crowd desperately need a Dan Bertholet of their own. Andy: "Hate speech?" Seriously?

Posted Mon, Sep 27, 9:03 a.m.

Sorry, Roger, I couldn't make it through this puffed-up nonsense. Conlin equals Nixon: got it. Can you write one comparing him to Hitler?

Posted Fri, Sep 24, 6:07 p.m.

I know it's just the teaser line on the main page to attract reader eyes, but I was pretty amused by this statement: "The mayor and city council president are in the kind of standoff that is embarrassing to the city and that has the potential to embitter working relationships." ...

Posted Fri, Sep 24, 2:52 p.m.

I'd have to agree with westside that Judith Runstad should have included a reasonable disclaimer in her piece, along the lines of: (Full disclosure: Judith Runstad and her husband, Jon, have a net worth of several million dollars and would probably have to pay income tax under I-1098. Most of ...

Posted Tue, Sep 21, 1:24 p.m.

@oscarb: The rights and benefits for Indians weren't given to them by white people, they already existed before the white folks got off the boat. Native Americans are, well Native Americans. When the Europeans arrived, the American Indians had already been living here in self-governed groups for hundreds or thousands ...

Posted Tue, Aug 3, 11:20 a.m.

The Muni League has always had a bias in favor of young, glib first-time candidates for office and a bias against longtime office holders. It's a rite of passage for local politicians to win the coveted "outstanding" ranking in their first run for office, then drop down to a "very ...

Posted Wed, Jul 21, 4:02 p.m.

Kent seems to be coming from a traditional neighborhood perspective in his contention that Magnuson Park "belongs" to its immediate neighbors and that people who disagree with the neighbors--despite resembling citizens in that they live in the city, pay taxes, use parks, etc.--are somehow interlopers and their opinions should be ...

Posted Thu, Jul 15, 9:20 a.m.

If the endless delay game does result in the construction of a waterfront-killing new viaduct, let's name it "The Mike McGinn Highway."

Posted Mon, Jul 12, 10:54 a.m.

Tiresome politician bashing, Skip. I think you need a vacation. A long one.

Posted Sun, Jul 4, 1:35 p.m.

My first criticism of your five gripes about soccer is that you only made four gripes. Don't you have to know how to count to get into the Evans School? Otherwise this is pretty silly stuff. Penalty kicks have survived because nobody's come up with a better method of breaking ...

Posted Thu, Jun 3, 8:45 a.m.

Sorry, Greg, but you're completely wrong. The emblem on the cap of a player's Hall of Fame plaque is chosen by the Hall itself "based on where that player makes his most indelible mark." Griffey as Mariner: 13 years, 6,317 ABs, 1,843 hits, 417 HRs, 1,216 RBIs. Griffey as Red: ...

Posted Thu, Mar 18, 4:17 p.m.

@thoughts: The landmarks process allows just this sort of pre-emptive nomination by a property owner seeking to demolish their building. It has for years and these procedures are now very common. So, how is Boyle "subvert(ing) the process?"

Posted Wed, Mar 17, 9:39 a.m.

Skip, what this piece is missing is a claim by anyone that this mediocre 1950s structure is in any way architecturally important or historic. You also make the argument well that the federal government's preemptive-strike landmarks nomination is both legal and an increasingly common practice. Based on this article, I've ...

Posted Wed, Mar 10, 10:35 a.m.

These are two pretty brutal takes on Crosscut, but neither is without substance. I check Crosscut daily, but don't always read the articles closely. I think part of the problem is that Crosscut, unlike essential daily read Publicola, doesn't often break news. Instead, like a lot of blogs, it largely ...

Posted Fri, Jan 8, 10:57 a.m.

I’ll leave Lieberman to the national political folks, but this is a shockingly weak defense of Tim Eyman. Ted takes issue with government policy in three specific areas: tax breaks, the tax system, and union contracts. But, he doesn’t mention that none of Eyman’s initiatives have addressed any of these ...

Posted Fri, Dec 18, 7:41 a.m.

But I thought Susan Hutchison had fixed everything at the Symphony!

Posted Sun, Nov 8, 9:40 a.m.

Scott misses the point on the King County Executive's race. If the Republicans had found a candidate who actually was the person Hutchison pretended to be (i.e. moderate, non-partisan, welcoming of other views), and with a little real world experience beyond teleprompter reading, this race would have been closer at ...

Posted Tue, Nov 3, 7:06 a.m.

One minor clarification: When Ron Sims ran for U.S. Senate in 1994, he was still a King County Councilmember and not yet County Executive.

Posted Wed, Oct 21, 1:31 p.m.

I'm not sure I see your point, Fly. Both Mayor and Council are elected by all Seattle voters, so the Council's support for the tunnel linked with McGinn's abandonment of his anti-tunnel position in hopes of getting elected tends to indicate general public support for the deep bore option. If ...

Posted Sat, Sep 12, 9:13 a.m.

Like Fred Jarrett, I support Dow Constantine for King County Executive. Fred's piece, which is clearly intended as a message to Constantine, will clearly influence how Dow behaves as executive. As for the Dow-obsessed Cameron, it's ironic that you would call anyone "abusive."

Posted Tue, Sep 8, 7:54 a.m.

Jarrett issues his challenges to both candidates, but it's clear that only one of the two hopefuls to survive the primary has the intelligence, the experience, and the respect from people within county government to accomplish them. The job facing the next executive is the same for the very-qualified Dow ...

Posted Tue, Jul 14, 8:48 a.m.

David, your claim that the King County Executive does nothing and is therefore a safe and harmless position to elect an unqualified protest candidate is spoken like a smug Seattleite who will never need help from a King County Sheriff's deputy or a county-run health clinic. Hutchison's run'n'hide tactics show ...

Posted Tue, Jun 16, 10:29 a.m.

"A Gestapo-like regime?" Geeeez! Young Peter shouldn't have been allowed to watch "Hogan's Heroes."

Posted Thu, May 21, 11:22 a.m.

It's hardly surprising that 18-year Courthouse insider Phillips cast the deciding vote for the union-backed candidate. Constantine probably made a political blunder by not taking the symbolic vote against Triplett/for Royer (the whole Council voted for Triplett on the main motion for that illusion of unity), but the matter was ...

Posted Sat, Feb 28, 12:27 p.m.

Constantine is definitely the stronger Democratic candidate at this point. It seems unlikely that Fred Jarrett or even Ross Hunter will run. I don't get the endless speculation about Susan Hutchinson. Was Jean Enersen busy?