CITY OF SEATTLE

MAYOR
I've lived in Seattle since 1992, and Mike McGinn is the best mayor this city has had during that time. Rice, Schell, Nickels...that's a low bar, you say? Perhaps. But the fact is, Mike McGinn took office during an economic crisis and has skillfully led the city toward a new era of prosperity. Businesses are moving INTO the city (Brooks shoes' worldwide headquarters will be a mile from my house within a year), the city's unemployment rate is 4%, the budget is balanced, education is funded, crime rates are low, nightlife is rejuvenated, bike and pedestrian infrastructures are improving, light rail is expanding, and, hey, we almost got a basketball team!

Is McGinn solely responsible for all of these recent successes? Of course not. But he's been a good leader on all of these issues, getting things done when ideas make sense, and asking the hard questions when they do not.

And yet, he is reviled by many. I'm not sure why. Perhaps because he's a chubby, bearded, bike-riding liberal, and the so-called "progressives" in Seattle find him just a little too out there for their tastes.

McGinn has a very good shot at making it through the top-two primary, but his toughest opponent in the general election could be the well-funded state senator Ed Murray. This can't happen. I've spoken to Ed Murray, I've listened to Ed Murray, and Ed Murray is not bright enough to preside over a city the size of Seattle. His mayorship could be a disaster. Nip that prospect in the bud, and please don't vote for Ed Murray in the primary.


VOTE MIKE McGINN

CITY COUNCIL, POSITION 2
There is a stop sign at the end of my street that cars refuse to stop for. There is such a blatant disregard for this stop sign that KIRO news did a story on it recently. I ride my bike through this intersection almost daily, and have had several close calls. My neighbors and I have been rattling the cage of the Seattle City Council, trying to get lines repainted and signage improved at this intersection. Richard Conlin's response to us? Sorry, until someone gets hit by a car, there's nothing I can do about it.

A couple of days ago, while riding his bike near his home, Richard Conlin was hit by a car. Karma is a bitch. (Oh, shut up, he's fine).

Conlin's been on the council too long, he's gotten too comfortable and it's time for a change. Kshama Sawant is a Socialist who wants to eat the rich and create a $15 minimum wage in Seattle. Let's do it!

VOTE KSHAMA SAWANT

CITY COUNCIL, POSITION 8
Do you like phone books delivered to your doorstep? If so, then I have a Sony Betamax to sell to you. Do you think random delivery of phone books to your doorstep is annoying and wasteful? Yeah, me too. And Mike O'Brien agrees. Under Mike O'Brien's leadership, a system was created to allow Seattle residents to opt out of phone book deliveries. That may not seem like a big deal, but if he can take on Big Yellow Pages and win, imagine what else he can accomplish.

And accomplish other things he has, like helping to pass Seattle's Paid Sick Leave law and the Families and Education Levy, and proposing a resolution to make Seattle carbon neutral in time for my 82nd birthday. Additionally he's a passionate advocate for public transit and police reform.

Also, he hates grocery bags.


VOTE MIKE O'BRIEN

KING COUNTY

PROPOSITION 1, PARKS LEVY
If you don't read your King County Official Voters' Pamphlet each election, you really should. There is some funny stuff in there. Case in point: the guy (John Shackleford) who wrote the Statement of Opposition for the Parks Levy warns you about giving any more money to county government because county government funds "libraries where patrons now can view free online pornography during extended hours." I mean it's bad enough that patrons are surfing porn in the middle of the day, but during extended hours? That is simply unacceptable!

Or perhaps John Shackleford doth protest too much.

Rather than funding library porn, this levy will fund parks operations, maintenance and expansion. It will also help pay for the care of endangered Pacific Northwest species at Woodland Park Zoo. All at the reasonable cost of $75 a year if you own a home assessed at $400,000. Yeah it's not free like that sweet, sweet library porn, but you're still getting a pretty good bang for your buck.

VOTE APPROVED

EXECUTIVE
In the primary election, it's Dow Constantine versus Larry, Moe and Curly. The only question is which one of these three stooges will make it to the general election to have their eyes poked, nose tweaked and head slapped by Executive Constantine.

I'll be voting for Constantine in the general election, but right now I want perennial electoral doormat Goodspaceguy (yes, that's his name) to come in a distant second. Not because I believe (like he does) that we should bring back slavery and indentured servitude by abolishing the minimum wage. No, I like Goodspaceguy because (true to his name) he wants to colonize space. And if it takes an army of robots with huge reflectors cooling down Venus to do so (yes, that's his idea), then I'm totally up for it. And if Venus ever has an election, you know Goodspaceguy will be running for something over there.


VOTE GOODSPACEGUY

PORT OF SEATTLE

COMMISSIONER POSITION 3
Wow, in this three-person race I'm pretty unimpressed by the lack of information on the two front runners' websites. Michael Wolfe and Stephanie Bowman are remarkably low on details about their plans and visions for the Port of Seattle. Meanwhile the website for the third candidate (who I believe is just 24 years old) has this strangely interesting diatribe about the future of the minimum wage. I can't tell if he's a Socialist, a Libertarian, or just plain wacky. I do know that he refers to current TSA airport screening policies as "security theater." I could not agree more, young man.

VOTE ANDREW PILLOUD