Seattle Election Guide 2017
8 People Are Running For Mayor of Seattle against Ed Murray
There are Four Serious Contenders:
1. Ed Murray
2. Jason Roberts
3. Nikkita Oliver
4. Andres Salomon
And there are Four Not So Serious Candidates. These others include a token crazy guy, an earnest rock and roll drummer, a perennial socialist candidate, and an 8th person who I frankly don’t remember, so you won’t either.
I started this article after a family trip to Chicago, where I noticed it was really clean downtown, and not full of tents and trash. People say Daley cleaned up the city. Now, love him or hate him, what’s happened to the homeless in Chicago? I’d like to know what’s different than here in Seattle. Is it the harsher weather? Was it Daley? Are they being disappeared? Seattle has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the country, currently… why is that?
Because of this Seattle is being literally being trashed. And I don’t believe it’s a problem that “Liberal” or “Socialist” or “PC” culture can deal with honestly without calling each other names. If I advocate law and order, I get labelled a Republican. It’s the 3rd rail of Seattle’s current political culture.
Currently, the Mayor advocates raising taxes again, to spend more money on the problem. Except for the fact that this Mayor likes to spend 150k a pop on Rainbow Crosswalks, I’d maybe support the idea. But frankly, this Mayor and Council show no signs of actually having a plan or track record that I could support.
So rather than discuss different approaches to the topic, my question today is… who can lead us on this issue? Who has credibility? Who in Seattle, in the Political Arena has an actual track record who is also willing to run for city council or Mayor? There’s more than a few challengers currently to Ed, 150k crosswalk, Murray. Who is the best choice this year?
Feel free to convince me that the candidate you support is the best candidate. Maybe you like the token crazy guy… Maybe you still support Ed Murray…. Why?
The Mayoral Race
Ed Murray
Ed Murray is the incumbent. I will be writing up an analysis of his time in office, and his current platform. My biggest problems with Ed Murray have been his lack of ability to stand up to the Kashama Sawant crowd, his ludicrous spending on things like 150k crosswalks, and his original support for the tunnel when he was in Olympia. Over budget, late and frivolous, would be a good way to describe Ed Murray’s political career.
On the plus side, I appreciate that he’s standing up to Trump and putting Seattle on the map as opposing that and the pipeline. But those are issues outside of our city. Mayor Murray is failing miserably on affecting any progress or accountability on the homeless problem, opiate problems, petty crime, shootings, etc. At this point a strong challenger would be more than welcome by many in Seattle.
So on to the challengers….
Nikkita Oliver
So Ed Murray’s challenger from the left, Nikkita Oliver, seems to be Seattle’s Lefty version of Trump. She’s saying a lot of stuff that strangely sounds progressive to people that don’t understand economics. Or believe economics is a political belief instead of a description of how people behave.
The lock-step support this crazy campaign is generating is likely to mirror the complete idiocy I see mindlessly following Trump.
The Sawant crowd, as I’m learning, also has city hall running scared, while the population of the city at large seems unaware that this red-shirt contingency, bringing millions in dark money to take over Seattle government and plaster the town with RT posters, even exists.
But no one wants to cross them… that’s for sure. And the idiotic statements seems destined to come with the full 2017 gish gallop we’ve grown to expect.
“Pausing Growth”
“25% affordable housing requirements”
“Doing away with the police force”
“Not jailing violent criminals”
So far, this election is shaping up to make strange bed fellows. I am no fan of 150k sidewalk Ed Murray, but unless an adult rises through the 8 people running, or someone else throws in on running for Seattle Mayor, it’s going to be all talk of Rent Control and other idiocies that make even less sense, making me more and more likely to support Murray.
Like Clinton at the national level, I so far, don’t like the choices I see.
But there’s 6 more candidates to analyze… and I’m not done analyzing Nikkita yet, so maybe she will get better? Who knows?
She seems to be the new darling of the people who think economics are a political opinion and RT isn’t an arm of Putin… happily pasting up the ads all over town. So until I see a larger platform, that’s my 5 cents.
Andres Salomon
Ok, the real political wonk in this race is Andres Salomon.
https://andres4mayor.com/issues/#Housing
He’s got a good view on transportation, and he has a head on his shoulders for housing.
I am going to need to do a lot more research on Andres, my friends like him, SeattleWA’s reddit community likes him, and he doesn’t seem crazy or silly. Rather than write up a quick overview, I’d rather take the time to further study his platform and background. But so far, he looks like the smartest challenger in the race.
More to come….
Jason Roberts
http://www.roberts4mayor2017.com/the-issues/
If you’re hiring a web developer for your campaign, you probably won’t do better than Jason Roberts. He has a great site, and he’s raised about $250 so far. So apparently he can build and write a platform himself for nothing. Which is what I did.
I lost, and lost badly.
I applaud his effort so far, as far as that goes.
As of this time, until I run into him at a forum, or see him rise to the occasion and be a real competitor… that’s where my opinion ends. Nice pictures… but is Seattle ready for another bearded Mayor? Who knows?
The Other Four Candidates for Mayor
Casey for Mayor
Casey is officially camera shy. He doesn’t want you to know what he looks like. I’ll take a picture of him if he attends some forums… and then post it for you all to judge him by his looks. Does he look like a Republican? Get him up against the wall!
Casey is the, “I’m not a Republican Libertarian” running for Mayor of Seattle in 2017. He’s 34. He’s not a Republican, and he thinks it would be refreshing to have a 34 year old Libertarian in charge. You’ll have to ask yourself if you think the same…
His website and platform need some teeth for me. More plans, more policy wonkishness, a good Libertarian should bamboozle me with bullshit. I’m not seeing it here, on is website. It took me going to a different website, the election commission, to actually figure out his whole name. Because apparently, he goes by Casey.
If he can be a needed alternative voice in this race, and present himself well, it might be at least enjoyable to have him in the room answering questions this summer. But his website and platform don’t give me the sense that I’m going to be impressed in person.
He’s a Libertarian, he likely can’t crack into real numbers. And going after Democracy vouchers doesn’t seem very Ayn Randian, so I doubt he’ll do that.
But, he’s more sane than some of the candidates.
http://www.caseyforseattle.com/
Mary Juanita Martin
Mary stopped by my house to campaign already. So she’s the first door-knocking candidate to actually come meet me at my front door. She won’t win. And she doesn’t have a website to look into her platform. In person, she seemed to support revolution.
I hate Trump as much as the next guy. But so far, I won’t be following Mary into battle.
The Seattle City Council needs serious people with serious platforms and plans. I hope she rises to the occasion and offers us something with teeth.
Alex Tsimerman
Alex might be my favorite candidate in the race, just based on his website alone:
But that doesn’t mean I’ll vote for him… and you shouldn’t either.
Alex seems a little angry, or a lot angry. He’s got a platform. I kinda like it. So I will dive into it in detail when I do a profile on Alex. He seems to launch a lot of lawsuits against the city.
Read his website then ask yourself, are you angry? Are you ready for the Twilight Zone to take over Seattle Government? Well Alex might be your candidate then. With Kashama on the council, maybe a Jon Grant win, Alex could be just the wildcard you are looking for to take us right over the crazy cliff. But hey, he’s a better choice than several of the candidates running for office this year that don’t have a platform? Teresa Mosqueda comes to mind. So if you need a write in for position 8, might I suggest Alex Tsimerman… but you’ll need to practice the spelling.
Keith Whiteman
Keith has no website. He’s a Rock-n-Roll Drummer. I don’t know his skills on the drums, nor in politics. He’s a complete unknown.
Here’s the Stranger’s interview with him:
Seattle City Council Position 8
There are 10 candidates for Seattle City Council position 8, this is Tim Burgess’ seat currently, which he is vacating leaving an open seat, so there’s a pile-on it with no incumbent.
Jon Grant
https://electjongrant.nationbuilder.com/
Next up Jon Grant. The candidate with two first names is staking his campaign on signing up the homeless to vote, and getting their democracy vouchers. It’s working, as he’s positioned himself already as the main money challenger to Teresa Mosqueda, who is so far the obvious establishment front runner.
I don’t immediately hate Jon Grant, as a small time landlord, but, he apparently hates landlords. The term slumlord is thrown around a lot, or er, liberally, on his website. So I suspect his wheat paste supplies and copies of RT posters are in the back of his red wagon Subaru.
If you think landlords are the enemy, and like Kashama Sawant and Herbold’s brand of city politics so far, Jon Grant is your opportunity to try to tilt the council even further that direction. If you have no idea what’s going on at City Hall, or are a little or more than a little concerned that lots of money from outside the state is flowing into Seattle City Council races, Jon Grant might be aligning with things you’d rather see less of… like Putin.
However, if he has a good track record and plan for the homeless, and it’s not just all rent control and stupidity, I’m all ears.
http://electjongrant.nationbuilder.com/
Sheley Secrest
So I met Sheley Secrest in April. She’s running for position 8. Which is currently dominated by Teresa Mosqueda and Jon Grant.
Sheley seems earnest, and likeable, and has a strong background on police reform. Her website is light on substance so far, though, and the venue was not a great for longer conversation as it was fairly loud inside. But she isn’t a slimey politician, on first impression. So she’s got that going for her.
Overall, I hope after this campaign, that she runs against Bruce Harrell. She’d be fierce for Rainier Valley. She’s going to come on a strong 3rd in this race, I think, because she’s going after the voucher money. If she gets a better, stronger platform together she could maybe knock Jon Grant outta that 2nd spot, because it looks like Mosqueda has the money behind her, the Labor folks and the establishment Dems. So unless Mosqueda gets a DUI this year, I think Jon Grant will prove much more vulnerable in the primaries, and a great ground game might get Sheley a 2nd spot in the generals. That is, if Jon can’t push his Socialist vision on the city at large which seems unlikely.
Teresa Mosqueda
In position 8 the presumed front runner is Teresa Mosqueda. The most vacuous campaign so far in the race. At least I know why Alex Tsimerman is running for Mayor… I have no idea why Teresa is running.
Her website almost could be mistaken for
teamster.org, but it’s actually:
And on it she has no platform. None. Check her website. Why is she running? Apparently because she’s qualified, connected and intends to be more connected.
Seriously, she has no platform on her website. It’s all endorsements and qualifications. It’s like the opposite of information. She’s popular, and she’d like you to know that first.
What she has to say? Who fucking cares?
At this point I certainly don’t.
James Passey
I missed him the first run through. There’s so many candidates this election cycle. I will look into his website and platform.
https://electpassey.com/#issues
Hisam Goueli
Position 8. Of the 6 or more people likely to lose this race, none is as northwest and precious as Hiram’s campaign for position 8. This is the kinda campaign that could exploit the democracy voucher system and the vote-by mail system in ways only the truly insane or creative or creatively insane just might.
Putting a bird on it… and dreaming about moving to Portland for the homeless culture are your likely pastimes if you are voting Hiram, or volunteering for his campaign.
According to the Seattle Times, “Hisam Goueli, a Northwest Hospital doctor who wants to develop city-run health insurance.” Well that’s not what I came away with when reading his website… obviously. LOL.
Mac McGregor
Another of the likely also rans for position 8 is Mac McGregor. I like him straight off. But I’m a sucker for the transgendered. I don’t see him having a big impact on the race, and he’d definitely tilt the council further to the Sawant side. Which would be terrible.
But I can’t help but like him, his website, his personality. I don’t want him to be a council member, and it’s highly unlikely. However, if you want him to win… send your Democracy Vouchers his way… here’s his website.
https://www.votemacmcgregor.com/platform
Charlene Strong
Position 8. Charlene’s story is tragic and all… but why’s she running? I can’t tell. Does she want new land building codes?There’s this thing called a platform that seems to be missing. I understand why Teresa Mosqueda’s platform is missing… she’s got a group of teamsters focus testing it before deciding what to push… but what’s Charlene’s goals while running for city council. Her website doesn’t tell me clearly:
http://electcharlenestrong.org/about/
3 Candidates who have no websites:
Ok, that’s position 8. The 3 other candidates or so I’ve missed haven’t launched websites. I might call them. You can too… here’s the phone numbers etc for the candidates:
http://web6.seattle.gov/ethics/elections/campaigns.aspx…
Ryan Asbert
No website… just this geekwire article.
He wants you to control his voting and actions as a council person with a phone app.
Jenn Huff
No website. No information. The Seattle Times only mention of her as a candidate in this race says, “and Jenn Huff.”
Rudy Pantoja
No website. Again the only information I find so far is from The Seattle Times,”Rudy Pantoja, whose video-recorded interaction with a North Precinct police-station opponent at City Hall in August went viral”
That concludes Seattle City Council Position 8.
Seattle City Council Position 9
At Large
Campaigning in Primary Election
Lorena González
Lorena is the incumbent. That means she vote 9-0 with the council on some of their most insane and stupid rules.
Marguerite Richard
The currently unknown challenger.
Eric Smiley
The only knowable challenger to the incumbent in Position 9 is currently Eric Smiley. He needs a smiley picture. A little branding… and as he is a “writer,” maybe an editor. I know I need one.
Position 9, with a sitting council person, hasn’t drawn the heat of position 8. As challengers go… Smiley has a platform. I like it, it’s nice. It’s also not the detailed platform I look for from more mainstream candidates. But, hey, he wants more early childcare funding. I’m for that.
But I don’t know how seriously I need to evaluate Smiley’s platform, as of this time… because I really don’t think he’s going to get elected. The 3rd candidate in the race has no website to evaluate at this time. So if Smiley looks like he has no competition, it’s conceivable he makes it to the general. And I will update my views.
I’ll have to see or meet him in person somewhere/sometime to let you know more…
I-127 Transparency in Rental Pricing
Ok, who thinks this is going to help anything? I really would love to talk to a supporter. Or when I get the podcasts running for this election cycle, I will invite one on.
I’m a landlord. I will answer that question this organization asks directly. The mortgage plus expenses and what’s left over is my profit. Mostly it’s the mortgage.
If you are renting from a big company it’s like expenses and profit.
This is, well, just stupid. But it’s this new crop of activists trying to paint landlords as slumloard millionaires one and all.
Conclusion
Well that’s it for the first Seattle run through of meet your local candidates. I will be editing more information together as I have time, and will edit my mistakes as well.
None of the local media covers all the candidates any year in any race I’ve ever voted on Seattle. So my goal is to offer my totally biased opinion in ever single race on your ballot in Seattle this August Primary.
I will go out and meet all the candidates, so you don’t have to. And I’ll let you knowv where you can meet them too… if you like.
Additional Resources
https://seattledsa.org/2017/03/847/SeattleCandidatesSurvey2017
http://www2.seattle.gov/ethics/elpub/el_home.asp
https://www.downtownseattle.com/
https://www.progressivevotersguide.com/
Filed under: Voting News | Tagged: Alex Tsimerman, Andres Salomon, Angelina De Caracena, Casey Carlisle, Charlene Strong, City Council Position 8, Democracy Vouchers Seattle, Ed Murray, Hisam, Hisam Goueli, I-126 Homeless Services Levy, I-127 Transparency in Rental Pricing, James Passey, Jason Roberts, Jenn Huff, Jon Grant, Keith Whiteman, Lorena González, Mac S. McGregor, Marguerite Richard, Mary Juanita Martin, Nikkita Oliver, Pete Holmes, Rudy Pantoja, Seattle Democracy Vouchers, Seattle Elections 2017, Seattle Mayoral Race, Sheley Secrest, Teresa Mosqueda | Leave a comment »
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