INITIATIVE MEASURE NO. 1631
A couple of weeks ago a cool nerd from Yale named William Nordhaus won the Nobel Prize in Economics “for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis.” That might sound complicated, but his idea follows a basic economic tenet: if you want less of something, tax it. In this case, that thing we want less of is pollution.

Initiative 1631 is a tax on carbon emissions. A recent UN climate report pretty much said we’re all going to die by 2040 if we don’t start imposing fees on carbon emissions to pay for, and begin to reverse, the damages these emissions are doing to the environment. The UN report recommends a price on carbon of at least $135 per ton of pollution. Beginning January 2020, I-1631 will impose a fee of $15 per ton of pollution, which by my math is much less than what the UN report suggests. It’s not enough, but it’s a start.

The money raised from these fees would be invested in alternative energy (like solar and wind), electric vehicles, public transportation, and other things that help keep our air and water free from the pollution caused by burning fossil fuels.

If I-1631 passes, I fully expect Governor Jay Inslee to run for President in 2020. And I’m guessing that putting the brakes on climate change will be his biggest issue. Because it is our biggest issue.

VOTE YES

INITIATIVE MEASURE NO. 1634
Last year Seattle passed a tax on “sweetened beverages,” and Big Soda is PISSED! Coke, Pepsi, Dr Pepper and Red Bull have dumped over $20 million into the campaign to make sure what happened in Seattle last year never happens again. Anywhere.

I-1634 would prohibit local taxing authorities (i.e. cities and counties) from imposing or increasing taxes on anything “intended for human consumption” (except booze, weed and cigarettes). First, it’s silly that a statewide initiative can tell local governments what items meant for human consumption they can and cannot tax. Second, sugary beverages may taste good and make you feel good, but they are not good for you. Kind of like beer. I don’t drink sweetened beverages, but I do drink beer. I LIKE BEER. And I don’t mind paying tax on beer, especially if that revenue goes to temper the negative side effects that drinking beer causes (wait...there’s negative side effects?). That’s what Seattle’s soda tax does. Fact is, in the first six months of implementation, the soda tax brought in over $10 million to help pay for things like healthy eating programs, health education, and cheaper vegetables.

If local taxing authorities don’t want to tax soda, that’s fine by me. But they should listen to their own voters, not Coke and Pepsi.

VOTE NO

INITIATIVE MEASURE NO. 1639
Initiative 1639 would make it more difficult for crazy, young people to get access to big ol’ guns by requiring increased background checks, age limits, and waiting periods on the sale and delivery of semiautomatic assault rifles. Only a moron would oppose it, so of course the NRA does.

But you know who was the biggest financial donor to the Yes on 1639 campaign? Paul Allen. I didn’t agree with all of his political positions, but the man was on the right side of this one. Let’s give him a no-guns-salute on November 6.

VOTE YES

INITIATIVE MEASURE NO. 940
Cops in Washington state appear to be a little trigger-happy. We rank fifth in the nation in the number of deaths from police use of force. Perhaps this is because it is nearly impossible for an officer in Washington state to be prosecuted for use-of-force deaths. Does this create a “shoot first, ask questions later” mentality? Maybe. (Probably.)

I-940 changes the standard under which a police officer can be held accountable for the death of a citizen. Currently it is required that “malice” on the part of the officer be proven, which is a near-impossible standard, and we are the only state in the U.S. with this high a threshold. I-940 adopts a “good faith” standard, which would ask, basically, “What would a reasonable officer have done in this situation?” This standard is far more fair, which is why it’s currently the law in 27 states.

I-940 would also require de-escalation, mental health, and first aid training for officers. Who would oppose that? Oh, yeah, the Seattle Police Officer’s Guild, which is all the more reason to vote Yes.

VOTE YES

ADVISORY VOTE NO. 19
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Advisory votes are stupid. They are only on the ballot because professional fraudster Tim Eyman sponsored an initiative back in 2007 that required advisory votes on tax increases that were not subject to citizen referendum.

The state Senate and House have already voted on Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 6269, and it passed 42-7 in the Senate and 62-35 in the House.

Advisory votes are non-binding and the results will not change the law. That’s good, because SB 6269 strengthened oil transportation safety by funding oil spill response programs...and the law already passed both the House and Senate. By large margins.

VOTE HOWEVER YOU WANT. IT JUST DOESN’T MATTER.

UNITED STATES SENATOR
Back in 2002, when Maria Cantwell voted to give George W. Bush authorization to attack Iraq, I vowed to never vote for her again. Fortunately I haven’t had to. Except for that really, really stupid vote she cast, she’s been an okay Senator, good on some issues (the environment, immigration, women’s rights) and spineless on others (corporate welfare, real health care reform). She appeals to a wide swath of voters, which is why she has no problem defeating whatever cannon fodder the Republican Party chooses to run against her every six years.

This year’s patsy is Susan Hutchinson, a Trump-loving, Sarah Palin wanna-be who thinks creationism is science and the government should be able to tell a woman what to do with her body. She’s not a good person. Once again Maria Cantwell doesn’t need my vote. And she probably doesn’t need yours.

VOTE YOUR CONSCIENCE, MAN

UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE,
CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT NO. 7
This is one of three races on my ballot which is simply a rematch of the two candidates who faced each other in our Primary Election less than three months ago. None of those races were close. What’s changed in these races since August 7? Nothing. Why the rematch? No idea. I guess that’s the law (kinda dumb).

The fact that Pramila Jayapal didn’t get 100% of the people’s vote in August is a shame (she received only 83%), because she’s been an outstanding first term Congressperson. In an era when our Federal government is banning Muslims from entering the country, separating children from parents seeking asylum at our border, and implementing a citizenship question on the U.S. census, we need Jayapal’s voice in the U.S. House now more than ever to fight against Donald Trump’s racist, ill-informed, and misguided immigration policies. We should be proud to call her our Congressperson for the next two years and beyond.

VOTE PRAMILA JAYAPAL*

*future Speaker of the House?

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT NO. 43, SENATOR
Jamie Pedersen received 90% of the vote in the August, when he ran against Dan Harder. Jamie Pedersen will receive around 90% of the vote in the November, because his opponent is the same Dan Harder. But Jamie Pedersen will not receive my vote.

His campaign website is littered with photos of disgraced former Seattle mayor Ed Murray, which I find to be in very poor taste considering the crimes that Murray has been credibly accused of. I emailed Pedersen about this last August, and while he did remove one Murray photo from his site, he kept the rest because of their “historical significance.”

History changes, Jamie. Statues fall. I’ll vote for you again when you come to realize that.

WRITE IN HOWARD ZINN

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT NO. 43, REPRESENTATIVE POSITION NO. 1
No one kicked more ass in the August primary than Nicole Macri, who got 91% of the vote against her General Election opponent, John Peeples. She’ll coast to re-election in this repeat mismatch, which is cool by me. Macri has a long background working on low income housing and other issues around homelessness. No, she hasn’t solved our legislative district’s homeless crisis in her first two years in the State House, but who could? We need her to keep working on it.

VOTE NICOLE MACRI

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT NO. 43, REPRESENTATIVE POSITION NO. 2
Frank Chopp had a tough challenge in August, facing TWO opponents: Boris “No Feces on the Streets” Joffe and Claire “Remove the Bike Lanes” Torstenbo. Only Frank and Claire made it through to November, with 87 and 9 percent of the vote respectively. Hmm, guess it wasn’t that tough after all.

Face it, this is Frank Chopp’s Seattle, we’re just living in it. Resistance is futile.

VOTE FRANK CHOPP

PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
This has turned out to be a very strange race.

Until 2016, the King County Prosecutor was a partisan office. Although King County weighs very heavily Democratic, Dan Satterberg was able to win three times...as a Republican. That’s kind of shocking except that Satterberg has always been a moderate Republican. Now that (in the age of Trump) the moderate Republican has gone extinct, Satterberg re-registered in May as a Democrat. Which seems strange, since the race for King County Prosecutor is now officially non-partisan and his party affiliation would not appear on the ballot.

Ah, but what also happened in May? Progressive leftie public defender Daron Morris announced his candidacy for King County Prosecutor and immediately became a viable opponent to Satterberg. So not only did Satterberg switch parties, he then came out against the death penalty and joined the ACLU. (Okay, Dan, we get it.)

Then things got really strange. Daron Morris suspended his campaign in September, citing health reasons. However, by then it was too late to withdraw his candidacy, so his name will still appear on the ballot.

My biggest beef with Satterberg has always been his stance on the death penalty. But now that he opposes it, has become a Democrat, joined the ACLU, and started wearing that Che Guevara beret, it’s a lot easier for me to vote for him. Still, I heard Daron Morris speak earlier this year and I thought he was great and was looking forward to voting for him. What would happen if he actually won this race despite having suspended his campaign? Maybe we’ll find out....

VOTE DARON MORRIS

JUSTICE POSITION NO. 8
Incumbent Steve Gonzalez is an awesome Supreme Court Justice, rated “Exceptionally Well Qualified” by every reputable organization who rates judges. His law background is in both criminal and civil law. He’s been voted “Judge of the Year” by a multitude of organizations. The dude is great. AND he’s Ben Harper’s first cousin!

His opponent, Nathan Choi, isn’t rated as anything by anyone. Maybe because his website is filled with conspiracy theories about Brett Kavanaugh, “media elites,” and the Deep State. If Nathan Choi gets even a single vote for this position, that will be one vote too many.

VOTE STEVE GONZALEZ

PROPOSITION NO. 1
Another year, another levy. This one proposes to raise over $600 million over the next seven years by imposing a property tax of 36.5 cents per $1,000 valuation on your home. So if your house is valued at $600,000, you’ll be paying $219 a year to help support early-learning programs, tutoring, college admissions assistance, medical care, and a bunch of other stuff for folks who cannot otherwise afford these things.

Also, this is the first levy that will support post-high school education by launching a scholarship program that will make community college free for Seattle public high school graduates. And since Prop 1 replaces two expiring levies, you’ll barely notice it.

Suck it up and help the kids for less than a dollar a day.

VOTE YES