Seattlish

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The Seattlish Guide to Your Ballot, August Primary 2017 Edition

GUESS WHO’S BACK, BABES? Well, not really. But we did want to take some time to help out with yet another massively massive ballot.

**real-time footage of Seattlish creating this document**

With conservatively a zillion candidates in a couple of these races, we knew there was no way all three of us could come to a consensus. Instead, we’ve decided to show you how we’re voting, what we think, and what we think you should know. So for each race (Seattle only! We’re humans!), we’re going to tell you a little bit about who we like and why, as well as who we don’t like.

Each of us has been involved with these races in some way or another and has a lot of information to share—which means you may not agree! And that’s fine! To be honest, that’s your right and honestly we don’t care so please don’t bother chiming in to tell us why we’re wrong because it will change exactly nothing. If you want to make your own guide, go for it! Tumblr is free!

So anyway, here’s what we think about each of these races. Below you’ll find a scorecard (which show who we strongly like and who we strongly dislike) and some notes that we left on our Official Google Document™:

Mayor:

Hasegawa: 

“I struggle with Bob’s car-centric approach to city-building and believe we need a mayor with an economic AND planning vision that prioritizes innovation.”

“I think his critiques of transit planning and their impacts on communities of color are valid but his tactics are shitty (cosigning with transit-killing republican bills, etc). Also, vapelord.”

“I agree on the validity if his critiques. If ST built light rail through my community knowing FULL WELL based on their own projections that it would result in dozens of people I’d be furious too.”

“Bob is an extremely good long-time civic leader with lots of reasons to respect him and I’m actually just really pissed he isn’t running against Bruce Harrell because I would love to have Bob on the Council. I have not yet been convinced that he would necessarily be right for Mayor, though.”

Moon:

“Cary Moon as mayor would set Seattle apart on an international level as a City dedicated to smart, equity-driven policies that charge a bold vision for our serious urban and economic issues. She inspires the heck out of me.”

“TBH Moon is my dream pick for mayor and I think she has the smartest, most detailed policy plans and would have the most impactful first 100 days out of any of the candidates.”

“I really like her ideas, but one hesitation I have with Moon is that I’m not 100% sure of her ability to work with existing stakeholders on Day 1. She’s released a lot of statements that are vague and not particularly inspiring (to me) and that sound very unilateral. We already know how that kind of leadership works (it doesn’t).”

Durkan:

“Look, we have a lot of amazing people in this race and none of them are Jenny Durkan so just not Jenny Durkan is really what I think.”

“I will never forgive her for the way she targeted occupy protesters in 2012.”

Jessyn Farrell:

“Jessyn is smart, savvy, and affable. She’d make a great mayor.”

“My only concern with Jessyn is she tends to compromise too much.”

“^^^I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THAT.”

Mike McGinn:

“Mike is fine.”

“I think Mike has spent a ton of time in the last four years listening and learning from people. His tax plan is not only smart, it’s also extremely actionable. I love an income tax as much as the next gal but I also know the single most pressing issue we have is out lack of revenue and all the new ideas in the world won’t mean a damn thing without more money.”

“We like Mike!”

Nikkita Oliver:

“I really wish she was better on density, but I also think that many of her issues that rub folks the wrong way—neighborhood councils, SFZ—come from an intention of rebuilding from the bottom-up instead of the top-down. (Although it hasn’t hurt her in terms of garnering NIMBY support.) Regardless I like her a lot and I think she listens well and listens honestly. I’ll absolutely give her a checkmark. I also think she’s very crucial to holding other electeds accountable on equitable HALA implementation, police reform, etc. She’s also cutting through a ton of political cynicism and making people give a fuck, which I will always support.”

“First and foremost, I give her huge applause for challenging Ed back when that wasn’t the popular thing to do. That takes courage. I’m impressed with her ability to get folks behind her; her supporters are passionate in a way that is really exciting. Unfortunately, the Mayor’s job is kind of a paper-pusher and I don’t know that that is where that passionate is best utilized. I’ve also seen a lot of her messaging as very much targeted toward convincing people that her platform is right, rather than making her platform appealing and relevant to a large number of people. I would actually disagree that she listens—I don’t see a lot of shift in her messaging, and instead, see a lot of defensiveness when it’s challenged. And like, again, we know how that goes.”

Seattle City Council Position 8:

Strong: 

“I’ve seen her speak now several times and she is really a lot more centrist than she’d like you to think. Anti-density, anti-homeless, “pro-business.” She also doesn’t seem super-firm on a lot of the policies her opponents have proposed; she mentioned in one forum that “a head tax would absolutely kill small business,” though the only head tax I’ve heard proposed would be applied to companies over 500. She strikes me as very much of the same that we’ve had on Council for a bazillion years and I’m not into it.”

Goueli:

“Hisam brings a unique perspective and experience informing policy proposals around public health, equity, and community firmly grounded in empathy and compassion. I want to see SO MUCH MORE of him in the future. Also he is very handsome.”

Grant:

“TBH I don’t see what JG is bringing to the table that we don’t already have.” 

“And also is discriminatory in the workplace!”

“Yeah we don’t have to settle for a false ally—JG’s views are mainstream enough in this race that we ESPECIALLY don’t have to settle for a false ally.”

Pantoja:

“This dude is a dangerous and sanctimonious asshole.”

Nelson:

“It is my strongly held opinion that Sara Nelson is temperamentally unfit for office.”

“I haven’t heard any original ideas from Sara. The Seattle Times’s “balanced” is anyone else’s “will do exactly what the Chamber tells her to do.” In addition to just fundamentally disagreeing with most of her positions, I think she’s incredibly uncreative.”

Secrest

“I’ve seen Secrest speak in Chambers many times and she is extremely passionate and smart. I’ve always liked her energy, and her supporters have been pretty great when I’ve run into them at LD things, etc. Unfortunately, I don’t think she’s running a campaign that can keep up with this race.”

Mosqueda

“Teresa is amazing for this role and I want her for it. She has actionable ideas and her background in labor and public health would be a refreshing change on the Council. She also is surrounding herself with some of my favorite people, so I trust that the right folks have her ear.”

“Teresa is going to make an incredible City Council member and I think that all of us will be made better by her leadership on affordability, wealth, and equity. Also FFS can we PLEASE get a renter on the Council?”

Seattle City Council Position 9:

González: Just swear her in already. 

City Attorney:

Holmes: 

“He’s fine, although I hope he has some regrets about the tunnel. He was cool during marijuana reform (opting not to prosecute pending misdemeanors, etc).”

“I wanna see more from our Community Courts, Mental Health Courts,a nd LEAD programs though and expect PH to be pushing HARDER for funding and prioritization of those programs. I also want Pete to come clean and finally admit that he and Rick Steves are the same person.”

“His Facebook photo was of him and a beagle making the same face for a long time so that is kiiiiiiiind of enough to get my vote. JK also he is a p good City Attorney.”

Lindsay:

“Fuck this guy. Scott Lindsay is callous af.”

“Fuck him all the way.”

“SKIN SUIT.”

Port of Seattle Position 1:

Querido-Rico:

“Bea really impressed me when I met with her. A lot of cool ideas, including some really innovative ones about how the Port could be instrumental when the ~Big One~ hits.”

Creighton:

“A fucking dirtbag. On the dole in a big way, rich dad, no work ethic. Ew.”

“Also an alleged stalker.”

Calkins:

“Love this dude.”

“He might come off as mild-mannered but he’s feisty and informed. Also, so yoked.”

Port of Seattle Position 3:

Abdi:

“Dude is amazing and would represent a huge shift on the port.”

“Totally agree. We need Ahmed’s voice and representation.”

“Have met him multiple times IRL and he is great. Can’t wait to vote for him.”

Port of Seattle Position 4:

Persak: “I remember when Persak ran for City Council! Longshoremen do not fuck around. I liked him then and I like him now.”

“I like either of these two; Persak is a former longshoreman and a pretty good candidate. Preeti is also awesome.”

“I’d be fine with John again.”

Steinbrueck:

“Oh my god, Pete, just retire already!”

“Remember when Steinbrueck wore that magician’s outfit for candidate survivor”

“There is a part of me that will always be seduced by the Steinbrueck charm and general wonkiness but I’m still going to vote for Preeti.”

Shridhar:

“Preeti is smart, experienced, and has a dope quity lens for Port issues. She’s done her research and is ready to go.”

School Board Position 4:

“Eden is very intense but I think she’ll be awesome. She’s been doing the work in Oly for years and she knows what needs to happen here.”

“Yeah, she’s got it.”

School Board Position 5:

Helmstetter: 

“Andre is quite dope. Have seen him talk at the LDs and he’s very on-the-ball. Definitely a champion for equity and also just a real nice-seeming dude.”

Vasquez:

“NOT OMAR. The KCYD endorsed him because he lied to them about his charter school shit. He sucks. Not him.”

Pullin DeWolf:

“Can we talk about the fact that the School Board has never had an out LGBTQIA member? ZPD will bring a REALLY important perspective and set of experiences with his know-how of low-income and renter communities and the ways in which schools can/should be supporting their youth. I’m all in on Zach.”

“ZPD is one of my absolute favorite people in the entire state. His empathy floors me every time.”

“Folks are skeptical about the idea of having someone on the school board who doesn’t have kids, but I think that’s kind of ridiculous because it basically says that only people WITH kids should care about schools. Literally no. Schools are part of the economic pipeline that impact all of us, and people from all walks should have buy-in, especially when they have a perspective (queer, Native) that’s so different from the traditional school board membership.”

School Board Position 7:

Byers:

“Chelsea is the only one who’s even really bothered to mount a campaign so I’m going with her. She’s fine.”

“A lot of folks are #teambetty but frankly I think Chelsea is the only one showing up to talk about her platform and I think she’ll be great.”

KC Sheriff: 

Urquhart:

“Boy, bye.”

“What if we threw all alleged rapists and part-of-the-problem dudes out of office in 2017 #matriarchy”

“GTFO, John, I’m over you.”

Johanknecht:

“Mitzi has dope plans for how we can change the police force through training, recruiting, and how they interact with neighborhoods and we NEED to see significant changes in the culture of all law enforcement entities. I’m ALL IN for Mitzi.”

KC Exec: 

Hirt:

“Literally the only reason this dude is running is to find a larger audience for his tears about the East Link and how >_< he is about what’ll do for people trying to drive from Mercer Island. Next.”

“Yeah Mercer Island already managed to get $10 million from ST from East Link tears, let’s not make it any easier for that to happen.”

Constantine:

“Natch.”

“**hearts for eyes emoji**”

“Even if yr not a Dow fan (which to be clear, I am!) he is also literally the only decent candidate in this race.”

Nelson:

“FRIENDS DON’T LET FRIENDS JOKE-VOTE FOR GOODSPACEGUY, AKA BADABOLISHTHEMINIMUMWAGEGUY.”

Lipman:

“lol this guy sucks.”

Ballots should be arriving around July 12; Election Day is August 1st, which means you need to postmark it before that or drop it in a ballot box. 

Go vote! Make sure you put a stamp on it! We love you! 

[seattlish]

TL; DR We’re closing up shop (kind of)

Dearest readers,

This isn’t easy but there’s no reason to make it longer than it needs to be. What you need to know is this:

We love you very much.

We’re still going to be around.

We’re not going to posting to this site any longer, at least for the foreseeable future.

We’ll still be on Twitter sometimes! So you can follow us there.

Ok, now for the details.

For four (!!!) years, you’ve been so very good to us. We’ve grown a ton (did you know that there are almost 15k of you on Tumblr alone?) and learned a lot and tried our very hardest to be an asset to this city that we love. We hope we’ve done it justice.

However, with the impending Mayoral and City Council race, as well as a bunch of other factors, we don’t feel that we can adequately keep up. We have never drawn a dollar in pay from this site and all work full-time jobs. For a long time, we’ve been able to make time for this site. But with so much going on, the news of the City deserves more than someone making time. Plus, we’re pretty sure the other outlets in town have got it covered.

Seattlish in 2013 with a dude who hoped to become Mayor. Then he did. 

We started the site because we wanted to get people talking and thinking about the news in a more fun and also empathetic way; we wanted more people caring about City Council, knowing who their representative was, and understanding the nuances of poverty, homelessness, crime, and politics. We hope we’ve done all that, too. Based on the surprisingly high engagement on Twitter regarding the Mayor’s race, it seems that we did, at least a little.

Traditional media has largely chosen to ignore us (at least explicitly; the Times has only once deigned to use our name and local radio has been kind and oh yeah we were listed on 2015′s Most Influential), which is fine—we haven’t always been easy on them. In spite of their reticence to acknowledge us, though, we’ve been pleased to see a shift in the overall tone of the conversation. There’s been a lot fewer headlines about “those people,” don’t you think?

But maybe that’s less because of us and more because of you. So again, thank you for carrying on the good word, for leading with empathy, and for supporting us so much. Please, keep the faith and carry the torch in all the ways you can. If there's anything we've tried to prove it's that being mouthy is a tool for good. Stay mouthy

You can follow us on Twitter—@seattlish will still be active and lively, I promise—but this is the last post you’ll see on this site. The back catalog will all stay around, too, as long as we can afford the domain, which should be a little while, at least.

Seattlish at the end of 2016, muggin’ per usual. 

Thank you for coming along with us. We’re all still going to be around doing things and writing stuff and improving our community to the best of our ability. You can find all three of us at the bottom of the page; do drop a line if you need anything!

Xoxoxo

Seattlish, aka Alex, Hanna, and Sarah.

[seattlish]

Can I use my Democracy Vouchers in that race? One easy way to find out

Did you put your Democracy Vouchers on your fridge like a good little angel? Does the Mayor’s race have you thinking about where you might like to spend them?

Too bad, you can’t spend them on the Mayoral race! But you should still know where you can spend them and there’s one clear and very official site that can tell you: the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission site.

Yes, yes, I know. So wonky! But seriously, this is a primary source for elections information and there’s lots of good stuff there so you really should check it. 

The SEEC homepage can direct you to all kinds of infomation—including the designated Democracy Voucher info hub! But if you check real quick into who’s actually filed to run, you can easily see who’s qualified for the program and who isn’t. Just go to the “Campaigns” tab...

And you’ll see that all of the qualified candidates (all three of them!) are marked with an asterisk. 

You can also use the SEEC site to look at current and past campaign finance information to find out who’s dropping coin in which races. 

See? Easy-peasy. 

[seattlish]

KIRO 7 doesn’t appear to have filed a PDR before stating homeless maps didn’t exist

This morning, Seattlish shelled out $1.25 to receive a pile of documents obtained through a public disclosure request. We wanted to see what the conversation was like between KIRO and the Mayor’s Office that got them to change the maps slightly and qualify their original statement, so we went on a fishing trip.

What we found was that it seems KIRO didn’t even bother to file a records request before soliciting tips from readers and then being met with loads of outrage.

In email exchanges between Benton Strong, from the Mayor’s Office, and Jake Milstein, of KIRO 7, Milstein provides Strong with a list compiled “obtained by a viewer.”

Milstein says they’re “curious” why they haven’t been provided with this information in the past. In the ensuing communications, Strong tells Milstein that he can filed a public disclosure request through the City’s portal—and it appears to be the first time Milstein is hearing about this particular method of gathering information. 

The timestamp on these emails is March 10—one full day after KIRO published the maps and claimed that the Mayor’s office had told them no such maps existed.

Of course, encampments are sited and monitored by any number of reasons by any number of agencies; between SDOT, WSDOT, the various policing entities, and the City Councilmembers who live and work in their neighborhoods, there is definitely, definitely data about where people are living. These agencies use the information to plot sweeps. Additionally, any number of service providers with ties to the city—Union Gospel, which operates the nightly rescue mission, as well as Operation Nightwatch—could have provided this information as well.

As to the question of why this information isn’t easily available, well, the responses to Milstein’s tweet (including responses from service providers and folks active in homelessness outreach) could give you a good idea.

It’s unclear where KIRO got the idea that the information simply wasn’t available (or if they knew full well it was and this was a ploy to get it). It’s also unclear whether they actually filed a request after saying they would. Additionally, there’s no clear answer as to what purpose KIRO thought this exercise would serve, or how Milstein & Co expected to justify what looks like a pretty apparent violation of the SPJ Code of Ethics. 

Then again, this would not be the first time Jake Milstein has shown very, very questionable judgement on this sort of thing. 

What is clear though is that they stirred up a whole lot of controversy before doing the actual legwork of obtaining the documents they stated didn’t exist.

We’ve reached out to both Strong and Milstein for comment. We’ll let you know if they respond. 

But for future reference, if you ever want to see literally anything that the city uses to do what they do (or see any communications!) you can file your own request here. 

[seattlish]

Heyyyyyy it’s ~TAX DAY~! As you know, Washington State’s tax code is fully borked. For a lot of reasons. The kindly folks at All In WA invited a lot of folks (including your Seattlish EIC) to talk about what kind of state we want to live in, how our tax code works, and what people need to know about it.

You can watch all the episodes here. 

[seattlish]

They see Mike trollin’, they hatiiiiiiiin’.

Well well well. Mike McGinn, former Mayor of Seattle and Guy Who Was Right About The Tunnel, gave everyone a heart attack this morning with his announcement that he’d be running for Mayor again.

McGinn’s legacy is a bit murky; faced with a hostile Council made of largely of crispy white folks and a weird economic time for the City (because like 2009 was kiiiiiind of rough around here), lots of casual observers blamed many of the City’s troubles on him. 

However, he also gave us prepaid parking to reduce drunk driving, a library levy that extended service, and a healthy revenue stream for infrastructure, arts, and neighborhoods. He capped towing fees (which were previously outrageously unregulated), opened the Office of Immigrant & Refugee Affairs, is responsible for both the Rainier Beach Community Center and 12th Ave. Arts, and he invested oodles of cash in school road safety improvements.

Plus, he fought hard for later bar close hours, municipal internet, and to extend the Broadway/First Hill street car. 

So yeah, he did get quite a bit of stuff done. And people liked him a lot. And he might have been able to do a lot more with more allies on the Council than just Mike O’Brien. 

However, his first race against Murray was difficult; Murray made a lot of promises to powerful communities (like the nightlife crew) to sway votes, and collected big revenue from Comcast to fund his campaign. 

Now that Murray is looking less bulletproof, McGinn is back in the race. We’re not sure if that means he’s just trying to open the door for someone else or if he really, really wants the job again, but it’ll be interesting to see what kind of a tone he takes. His campaign slogan is...not ideal...

Image: McGinn’s slogan, “Keep Seattle,” which feels...a little icky

...But there’s room to grow. We’re going to try to make it up to the press conference today to see what we can find out. The race is certainly more interesting now! 

[seattlish]

What’s the New Direction PAC and what are they doing?

The short answer appears to be that they’re going to be funneling money into Democratic candidates in swing seats around the state with the help of DC money, which is basically what they always do.  

New Direction has operated quietly for years.  During the 2016 elections cycle, they became one of the wealthiest PACs in the game. After the election, they were quiet for a time, but began popping up again in the beginning of January—their FB page came online just before the Legislative session. Which is kind of how they tend to operate. 

Now that things are getting heated, they seem to again be gathering steam, getting more active on Twitter, sending out small feelers, and collecting sizable contributions from national Democratic organizations.

From the PDC site:

$200,000!? Daaaaaaang. 

This is typically referred to as “grey money,” which means it’s a bit hard to trace and often comes from people who aren’t directly involved with the candidates themselves, but rather, with the larger party. In this instance, the addresses of both the Kennedy and Truman fund are nondescript downtown offices, but it’s generally understood that the money comes from labor unions and other organizing groups. 

So far, their big race seems to be the 45th, a seat in a purple-ish area that became vacant when Republican Senator Andy Hill tragically passed away. Currently held by Professional Goober Dino Rossi, the seat could be critical for Dems in the nearly-split Senate. The 45th has been clutch for a long time, and New Direction, in a previous iteration, tried to pry the seat away from Senator Hill in 2014. 

That race looks more vulnerable than ever, though, and New Direction has gotten behind Manka Dhingra in a big way. Republican organizer Jinyoung Lee Ecklund, who lives in both this Washington as well as DC, has eyes on the seat, as well—making it a super-interesting race to watch.

New Direction hasn’t spent a ton of their money yet (mostly they’ve been paying the usual consultants, etc) but it’s pretty likely that they’ll be a lot more powerful as the 2017 cycle speeds onward. 

[seattlish]

The gap between rich and poor in our country continues to widen. And I believe needs — such as affordable housing — will only increase as budget cuts are implemented.

Who just donated a $4M apartment complex for low-income folks? Not Jeff Bezos! Not Paul Allen! Not Bill Gates!

No, it’s Rick Fucking Steves, travel dude, public radio staple, cannabis connoisseur, and, apparently, major philanthropist. 

On his blog, Steves wrote that the scheme actually began long before the current housing crisis began to get serious.

“Twenty years ago, I devised a scheme where I could put my retirement savings not into a bank to get interest, but into cheap apartments to house struggling neighbors,” he wrote. “I would retain my capital, my equity would grow as the apartment complex appreciated, and I would suffer none of the headaches that I would have if I had rented out the units as a landlord. Rather than collecting rent, my “income” would be the joy of housing otherwise desperate people.  I found this a creative, compassionate and more enlightened way to “invest” while retaining my long-term security.” 

Image: Rick Steves enjoying the finer things (i.e. weed and Chopin)

Eventually, he ended up with a 24-unit building, called Trinity Place. The transitional housing building was managed by the YWCA, and he’d intended to donate it to the organization in his will.

Instead, last week, he decided to just give it to them now. 

“To me, this wasn't particularly noble or compassionate...it was just thoughtful use of my capital. Working with the YWCA and the Rotary Club of Edmonds, we publicized this creative way of putting a fortunate person's retirement nest egg to work in a powerful way in hopes that others would be inspired to do the same in their communities,” he said in a blog post. 

Steves isn’t actually new at philanthropy or political engagement; he wrote a book of the art of travel as a political act, and has tried to gather ideas and inspiration on policy during his many trips abroad. 

However, his big donation to the YWCA is definitely closer to home—and a really good example of the kinds of things a lot of us would like to see more of from our local rich people. Instead of trying to blow something up (or making a small gesture), Steves literally just did the thing. 

Which is prettttttty cool if you ask us. 

[seattlish]

For the record, Seattlish is very fine with this decision if this is indeed how it goes down. 

We are excited to see Beast Mode back in the game and also deserve that the members of Raiders Nation deserve a good thing. Like Marshawn Lynch. 

Plus we cannot WAIT to have another round of Lynch press conferences. 

[seattlish]

‘Pothole Palooza’ exists, is underway next week

Whether you’ve taken a dip on Delridge or bounced up and down Ballard Ave, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that this wet, windy, weird winter did a number on our roads. Regardless of how you commute, potholes can be a big, splashy problem—and the City is actively working to fix them. 

“Pothole Palooza“ (yes, really) is an aggressive effort by SDOT to address the giant divots in the roads and dispatch Pothole Rangers (again, yes) to fix them.

Why is now the best time to patch up the roads? Because winter is the worst season for wear and tear. 

“Potholes occur when street pavement cracks and breaks because of water and vehicle traffic. During winter months, water can cause the material under the pavement to erode, freeze and expand, and then thaw and contract causing the pavement to sink down and break,” according to SDOT. 

“Many streets, particularly in the outer areas of the city, have a very poor underlying structure, or sub base, which reacts poorly to these conditions. This freeze/thaw cycle can cause the pavement to crack so that it deteriorates quickly under the weight of traffic, and then streets can seem to break out in potholes overnight.”

The best way to let the city know when you’ve got a pockmarked path to work or the bar is to download the Find It, Fix It app and report that bad dude.

[seattlish]

A Letter from the Editors

Dear Readers, 

When we started Seattlish four (!!) years ago, we set up some ground rules for ourselves. Those included: Never be haughty, never be exclusive, and never be part of an echo chamber.

The last one is especially important right now. We’re a shoestring team on a $0 budget, so a huge part of directing our attention and effort is staying in our lane. We always try only to cover subjects that either a.) folks might not know much about or b.) we’re able to add nuance or context to because we have new information or first-hand reporting.

We choose not to write about stories or subjects that are being thoroughly covered by the mainstream news. If we have little to no additional new information on a major story, we won’t write about it because we’re not adding anything.

For that reason, we will not be covering the ongoing lawsuit against Mayor Ed Murray. 

Members of the Seattlish editorial team identify as LGBTQ. Members of the Seattlish editorial team are survivors of sexual violence and assault. So we do have plenty of feelings. However, as is often the the case in legal proceedings, basically everyone has the same information. And while we’ll tweet about it as it happens—we’ll react, we’ll share links, etc—we’re choosing not to add to this particular echo chamber on the site.

Image: part of the SPJ’s Code of Ethics. 

There are plenty of amazing community voices that we’ll share with you along the way. We trust them to help us all navigate this particularly upsetting, complex, and honestly weird story. But beyond this letter to you, dear readers, we won’t be offering play-by-play here.

We will say this, though: We believe you. It’s not your fault.

[seattlish]

Just Want Privacy has finally updated their campaign finance records

The campaign to limit who can use which public restrooms—which swears they’re not trying to discriminate against trans people even though the text of the bill is definitely just about trans people—has been a little hinky when it comes to disclosing their donors. Though they’ve been soliciting donations since January on their Facebook page, until recently, most of the money we could find through the Public Disclosure Commission was from last year. 

But it looks like they’ve finally submitted updated paperwork and hoo boy! They sure are drumming up the funds for bigotry. 

As of right now, they have a total of $62,858 (though they’ve only actually raised $17,786 in cash this year). 

One pair of funders is especially interesting: the Steege family.

Esther Steege, who lists herself as “self-employed” donated $500. Here’s a couple of screenshots from her Twitter account, if you were curious what other issues she’s passionate about.

Her husband, Timothy, also donated $500. Timothy Steege is—get this—a surgeon at Swedish. 

Real talk, not really sure I want this guy working on my spine. 

Other donors include the ludicrously wealthy Alvord family, Mike Dunn of Dunn Lumber, and a truck driver named Michael Leaf who somehow managed to contribute more than $1,700 to the campaign.

Yowza. 

Just Want Privacy is currently collecting signatures to get I-1552 on the November ballot. If passed, it would change the existing law in Washington State that allows people to use the restroom that matches their gender identity. Instead, the law would require that people use restrooms which correspond with their DNA, which would put trans and nonbinary folks at risk of abuse and harassment. 

JWP has said a lot that the initiative is designed to keep sexual predators out of bathrooms and showers—however, both the law and the funding tell a different story. 

In addition to collecting big checks from wingnut Mercer Island residents, the campaign has also gotten funding from numerous religious organizations, including parochial schools. Not a single donation has come from an organization that works directly to help women and children. 

The text of the bill itself would not actually stop sexual assault—at present, the law has not lead to any violence—and threatens Title IX funding and other federal funds which help survivors of domestic violence and assault. 

As we’ve noted before, if JWP is actually worried about women’s health and safety or about stopping sexual assault and partner violence, there are a whole lot of better ways to go about showing it than to change this particular law to be less inclusive and more discriminatory. 

[seattlish]

DON’T DRIVE ANYWHERE: 99 PROBLEMS EDITION

In this week’s edition of “stay home forever lest you be forced to pee in an old Snapple bottle,” there are two major closures you should know about. 

Per WSDOT:

I-90 SEATTLE TO BELLEVUE: Eastbound I-90 traffic will be reduced to one lane near Rainier Avenue and routed to the express lanes from 11 p.m. Friday, April 7, to 5 a.m. Monday, April 10.

SR 99 SEATTLE: All lanes of southbound SR 99/Aurora Avenue between Valley Street and the south end of the Battery Street Tunnel will be closed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 9. This work is weather dependent.

There’s also some work on 4th Ave S., so it’ll be closed between S. Washington St. and Dilling Way “for roadway restoration,” according to SDOT.

That’s a lot of closed roads and reduced lanes—and that doesn’t count any roads which may end up accidentally closed due to fallen limbs after tonight’s predicted windstorm. 

Go slowly, plan accordingly, walk or bike or take a bus, or maybe just stay home.

[seattlish]

Now is not the time for political haymaking, and it is not the time to drag a survivor through the mud.

Michael Maddux has some essential words on yesterday’s events. 

And if all of this is difficult, scary, and especially if it’s triggering, there are resources. You can start here (or reach out to us; we try to answer the notes in our Tumblr inbox) National Sexual Assault Hotline - 800.656.HOPE (4673)

[seattlish]

This headline is, of course, designed to rustle the jimmies of folks who already don’t like the idea of tax dollars being spent on homelessness, but we have just one answer to it:

Good. 

The actual article itself is fairly sympathetic; it quotes a neighboring business owner who is supportive, as well as LIHI director Sharon Lee. It also notes that the tiny house village, which is in North Seattle near several service providers, won’t exactly be a lawless haven for miscreants. 

The campers will be required to follow behavior and community rules, including performing chores. They'll meet with social workers who'll help them find jobs, stable housing, and sobriety.

But of course, plenty of people didn’t bother to make it past the headline:

It doesn’t matter that the myth of “Freeattle” has handily been disproven, or that most folks would very much prefer that people have a safe, contained place to use substances. It doesn’t matter that the people in these villages are going to be much more likely to get jobs and other services once they have direct access to social workers, which will, in turn, reduce their lifetime dependence on taxpayer-funded services. It doesn’t matter that many commenters are the same ones who complain about crimes of need in their neighborhood, of trash on the streets, and of “undesirable” people in their line of site and that these tiny homes address all of that.

What matters, really, is that low-barrier, low-cost housing like this works. 

The truth is—and we know this from experience—that no matter how much we moralize the behavior of others, it doesn’t actually change that behavior. Prohibition of alcohol didn’t stop the consumption of alcohol, it just forced it underground and created a deadly trade. Marijuana criminalization, in part, fed mass incarceration. And continuing to uphold Puritanical bans on legalized sex work puts the people in that industry in danger. 

Barriers to access—like requiring that occupants abstain from perfectly legal alcohol and marijuana—often keep people in need from seeking treatment. Additionally, the City’s own data has indicated that while substance use and abuse is rarely the cause of homelessness, many people develop use patterns after becoming homeless, often as a coping mechanism.

There have also been studies which indicate that requiring sobriety to enter housing—rather than offering housing and then working toward sobriety—is the wrong order of operation. Getting housed, then getting sober, typically produces more favorable outcomes, which is why the wet housing model has been so successful. 

Again, the KING 5 article itself isn’t that bad—it’s actually pretty good—but the headline. The headline. 

This headline tees up the outrage machine and helps fuel the fires of bigotry and classism (and implicit racism) that keep people from learning more about this issue. 

Does it get clicks? Maybe. Does it get Facebook comments? Oh definitely. Does it get people to become more engaged with the needs of the community? Debatable. 

[seattlish]

THAT SOUNDS COOL: Radiotopia Live in Seattle

Your Seattlish Editors are big, big podcast fans. If you see us bopping around town with our buds in, it’s likely that we’re listening to the dulcet tones of some smart person, waxing scientific about murders or policy or music or history or did we mention murder?

Which is why we are extremely excited that Radiotopia’s live tour is coming through our beloved city to bestow upon us a few hours of storytelling and truthspeaking (AND HOPEFULLY MURDER-TALK?!?) from some of our favorite podcasters from shows like Criminal, the Allusionist, and of course, the oh-so-dreamy Roman Mars of 99% Invisible. 

Image: 99pi’s challenge coin; if you see us at the Moore on May 9, you’d better be ready for a coin-check. 

One of the greatest things about 99pi as a show is that the producers and reporters do an excellent job of telling stories outside of their typical arc. This was especially notable in their episode about Ballard’s Macefield house, which we noted when the ep came out. 

From our piece on it in 2014:

99PI’s producers talked to the man who inherited the house from Macefield when she died – the man who ran the Ballard Blocks development and who took care of her in her last year of life. The man who wrote a book last fall, which detailed the fact that she didn’t hold out because she hated progress, but because she was 86 and didn’t really want to move and had no use for the money they were offering her.

It’s always been a bit of a burr in our knickers that so many folks hold Macefield up as a kind of raised-fist NIMBY who didn’t want to move because There Goes The Neighborhood, so we’re always glad to see someone—especially someone from a media source that’s not based in Seattle—get it right.

“It’s one of the better ones we’ve ever done,” Mars told Seattlish about the episode. He says he found out about it while researching so-called “spite houses,” like the one in Alameda, California. And while the Macefield house is often included in listicles about such structures, Mars said, “it’s not a spite house.”

“She was just a woman with a different agenda.”

Mars said they quickly noticed how much the Macefield house had been covered—it was in the news a lot on 2014, both due to the release of the book about it and the impending sale of the house itself—but that “we liked it too much, so we got over it.”

Of course, they received responses to the story. But, Mars explained, it’s pretty typical, because someone’s always convinced you should have said more, said something different, or included a different aspect. 

“All stories have borders around them,” Mars says, noting that the “most common complaint that we get—that I hate—is ‘why didn’t you mention this?’ And it’s because we can’t. The story has to end.”

The story on May 9th at the Moore will also have to end—and Mars says that, though the performance (which features the Decemberists!) will be put out as a podcast, people who don’t see it live will really be missing out. 

So you should come! And bring your challenge coin. And say hey if you see us there. It might be hard to spot us, though, in a sea of so many beautiful nerds. 

[seattlish]

The boring part is almost over.

This afternoon, Bertha the Boring machine’s cutterhead was clearly visible as she broke through the northern wall of what will eventually be the viaduct’s replacement.

The ambitious, controversial project was initially slated for completion sometime in 2014; however, it’s been dogged by delays from the start. Numerous mechanical, labor, and ecological issues have stalled the boring so much that the project is now behind by more than three years. 

The world’s largest tunnel boring machine’s work is nearly done. However, that doesn’t mean the tunnel itself is finished. Once boring is completed entirely, there will need to be substantial construction and safety testing before it’s open for traffic—not to mention changes to the streets and signs to ensure motorists are conditioned to use the tunnel, rather than the viaduct or Battery Street Tunnel. It’s likely that the tunnel will be open for traffic as late as 2019. 

Mayor Ed Murray, who celebrated the breakthrough today, was a champion of the project long before he took the position; as the chair of the state’s transportation committee, he, along with then-Governor Christine Gregoire, pushed hard for the tunneling option, rather than a surface street approach, which would have been quicker and less expensive. 

Cost overruns from the project are anticipated to be in the hundreds of millions. 

One of the main criticisms of the tunnel is that it is specifically built for cars; the tunnel will be tolled and will not carry public transportation vehicles. It also doesn’t permit use by pedestrians and cyclists, nor does it have exists and entrances for downtown traffic. 

Viaduct replacement has been recommended by just about everyone since it was damaged in the 2001 Nisqually earthquake; the aging, sagging piece of infrastructure carries hundreds of thousands of passengers each day and wouldn’t hold up to even a mild quake. 

Which is why replacing it has been a priority—and why so many people were stuck scratching their heads when lawmakers opted for a replacement strategy so prone to delays. 

Still, the tunneling part is just about done now, which means soon enough the actual tunnel should (fingers crossed!) be completed and open for traffic before too long. Then, it’s likely we’ll see a whole other host of issues surrounding the tolling, the traffic, the waterfront revitalization, and everything else we haven’t been able to address with a gigantic boring machine stuck underground.