ASSESSOR
Do you own a home? If so, you receive a postcard every year telling you what that home is worth. Believe it our not, that is not an arbitrary number. It is calculated by the County Assessor.

Lloyd Hara has been the King County Assessor since 2009. You've probably noticed that your assessment has gone up since that time, and with it, your property taxes. Don't blame Hara for that. Blame Amazon.

Under Hara's watch the Assessor's office has become more accessible, so when you do feel he's been unfair in assessing your value (or at least your home's value), you can give his office a call and complain to a real live human. Furthering the claim of accessibility, Hara also boasts that the Assessor's website is "the second most visited County site" (#1 is Dow Constantine's Toupee Webcam).

Hara's opponent, John Wilson, claims that Hara is a "partisan career politician". That may be true, but he's the kind of partisan I like.

VOTE LLOYD HARA

DIRECTOR OF ELECTIONS
“Director of Elections? What the hell is that?” you ask. Yeah, me too. This position used to be appointed by the County Executive, but several years ago we, the voters, decided (via charter amendment) to elect the Director of Elections directly (say THAT ten times fast!).

Sherill Huff has held this position since 2007, overseeing and administering elections in King County. She is retiring due to personal and health considerations. Her Deputy Director, Julie Wise, is running to replace her, touting her experience as Huff's deputy as her primary qualification.

But wait! What are Wise's qualifications? A brouhaha has recently erupted over Wise misstating her educational background, claiming she went to UW Evans School and to Harvard, when in fact she only attended "leadership trainings" at the schools. Kind of sketchy.

I'm not a big fan of Notre Dame, but it's a quality university and apparently Zack Hudgins actually went there. Hudgins will bring some interesting experience to the Director of Elections office, having spent time in Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Iraq, working with those countries to establish democratic election processes (yeah, I know, it ain't easy). He's also a state legislator with a background in budgets and technology. For real.

VOTE ZACK HUDGINS

COMMISSIONER POSITION NO. 2
During this year's primary election, I implored people to vote for Pickles, the Orphan Polar Bear because current Port Commissioner Courtney Gregoire showed little spine (despite big talk) in standing up to the Arctic drilling lease given to Shell Oil and Foss Maritime. She claimed to be skeptical of the lease, but when it came time to vote, she skipped the meeting.

She had a good excuse: She was 8-months pregnant and on doctor-ordered bed rest. Still, she could've called into the Commission meeting and participated by phone ("It's been done before," stated the Port's spokesman). But when push came to shove, Gregoire was silent.

In August, however, not enough people voted against her. Gregoire received 82% of the vote. And to make matters worse, Pickles was beaten by perennial lunatic fringe candidate Goodspaceguy, who advanced with Gregoire to the General Election.

But it's not too late. Just look at Pickles. He's adorable. Write in his name, and give him another chance. While he still has one.

VOTE FOR PICKLES, THE ORPHAN POLAR BEAR...THIS TIME!

COMMISSIONER POSITION NO. 5
Do you like fish? I like fish. And Fred Felleman likes fish.

Felleman is a marine ecologist with a Masters in Fisheries. He will bring an environmentally conscious voice to the Seattle Port Commission, as well as a track record of getting things done that have positively affected the environment in our region, including helping make sure cruise ships don't dump their sewage in Seattle's front yard.

Marion Yoshino seems like a decent candidate, but she's a little too laser-focused on economic development and job creation. And she doesn't have much to say about fish.

VOTE FRED FELLEMAN

COUNCIL DISTRICT NO. 1
I really want to like Lisa Herbold. For the past 17 years she was a Legislative Aide to Nick Licata, one of my favorite city councilmembers. She's a bus commuter who supports the arts, but when it comes to policies on transportation and development, she's a little light on the details. And for awhile, she was using a selfie as her campaign photo.

Herbold's opponent, Shannon Braddock, has worked on the county level to expand Metro and the West Seattle Water Taxi (a boat ride I love). But she has gotten a lot of money from developers, which makes me wonder who she will actually be serving on the city council...District 1 or Mayor Murray?

I'm gonna let the policy vagueness and the selfie slide, and hope a lot of Licata has rubbed off on Herbold.

VOTE LISA HERBOLD

COUNCIL DISTRICT NO. 2
The biggest policy issues facing the voters in District 2 are the high cost of housing, and police accountability. Bruce Harrell has sat on the Seattle City Council since 2008, during which time housing has become less affordable and the SPD has become less accountable.

If you want to know where Harrell stands on these (and other) issues, don't bother visiting his website. Harrell has photos of his family, a lengthy bio (he's in the Northwest Football Hall of Fame!), an endorsement list (hello Suzie Burke!), and a rarely updated blog, but he does not mention specific issues or policies.

Tammy Morales doesn't have a ton of electoral experience, but at least she addresses what the diverse, working class population of District 2 needs—affordable housing, smart development and police accountability. Morales is also an expert on food systems policy, and supports urban farming, easier access to healthy food and more street vending. Tasty!

VOTE TAMMY MORALES

COUNCIL DISTRICT NO. 3
Kshama Sawant wants what I want: developer fees, police accountability, an affordable city, tenants' rights, expanded public transit, and a bunch of pissed of rich people. She's a proud Socialist who has served on the city council for two years, passing progressive legislation and holding her fellow councilmembers accountable for their votes and actions. She deserves to continue the work she's done so far, which most notably was forcing a real conversation on a $15 minimum wage, which is now a reality.

Sawant's opponent, Pamela Banks, is hardly a right wing lunatic, but her campaign is unsurprisingly funded by those in Seattle with the fattest wallets, which makes me wonder who Banks would serve on the city council. Probably not folks like me.

Power to the People!

VOTE KSHAMA SAWANT

COUNCIL DISTRICT NO. 4
A sitcom could be made about Michael Maddux and Rob Johnson running against each other for Seattle City Council. They're Bosom Buddies with a touch of The Odd Couple. Maddux and Johnson are just so damn likable, it's a shame that one of them has to lose (one of them does have to lose, right?).

They're both great candidates with similar ideas, so the difference between them comes down more to style than to policy. Who is more likely to get their good ideas implemented?

Johnson's smooth, but sweet talk and a winning smile only goes so far. Maddux's hard work, nerdy wonkery and pinpoint motivation skills are what can get people to listen and to move.

The night before the August primary I ran into Maddux at an Eastlake watering hole. He was admittedly sweaty after spending the entire day knocking on doors, working hard to spread his message. That's what he'll do as your city councilmember—sweat his ass off for the City of Seattle. And then have a beer with you.

VOTE MICHAEL MADDUX

¡Ay dios mio! It looks like I picked a bad time to go to Spain and Portugal. I was hoping to complete this voter's guide before I left the USA in mid-October, but oh, the best laid plans.

By the time you read this, I will be on a plane to Madrid. Hey! That's a 10 hour flight. Perhaps I'll work on the rest of this guide while I'm in the air, and update the Doug's Voter's Guide Facebook page while drinking red wine on the beaches of the Iberian Peninsula.

Stay tuned.

FOLLOW DOUG'S VOTER'S GUIDE ON FACEBOOK!