Washblog

[Front paged: NM]

To a Democratic Party friend:
I hope you won't mind my responding. I respect your long commitment and involvement with the party.

To your last point, we can't confuse over 16,000 caucus-goers in the 46th LD with our 700 members, or with the 100 or so "party wonks" who regularly attend our LD meetings. Obviously, a lot of people caucused who were not "party wonks."  Statewide, there were 240,000 of them, vs. 100,000 in 2004. We even invited people who weren't registered voters, and got over 500 registration forms in our LD.

I'm concerned that people who support the primary, as opposed to the caucus (having both is foolish), are ignoring the fact that this is a state with a 68-year history of domination by the populist Grange movement, which is anti-party. The Grange is why we don't have party registration, which is by far the more sensible plan.

Grange populism and Grange money passed the 1988 presidential primary initiative, which was wishful thinking on their part. They wanted to get rid of caucuses, but that isn't their decision. It's purely a party decision.  Then they passed another both/and approach to primaries, which violated the U.S. Constitution and was thrown out.  The R and D parties had to engage in years of expensive litigation to defend our 1st Amendment right to assemble and select a nominee.

Washington State is about to open 1,900 new prison beds at Coyote Ridge this December, in addition to the 600 already there. The plan is then to bring back some of the prisoners we have moved out of state. It costs $30,000 to $40,000 to house a prisoner for a year. What's wrong with this picture?

It's a private for-profit prison. Eighty percent of prisoners state-wide are non-violent, exacerbated by the 3-strikes law. About three-quarters of offenders are there for crimes relating to drug and alcohol addiction, including theft and robbery.  The Criminal Justice System is eating up the state budget at a faster rate than anything else besides health care.

We need to ask for-profit developers what they mean by "affordable" when they make promises about a portion of their developments. Affordable to whom, exactly? To singles making over $42,000? Or to workers making $10 an hour? Or to elderly and disabled persons trying to live on $833 a month? Puget Sound, especially King County, has become a community of the haves and the have-nots. Thanks to Microsoft and other high-tech and bio-tech investors, we have more millionaires than almost any other community. We also have the highest minimum wage in the U.S. at $7.93. It will top $8 come January.  But that doesn't make our area affordable.  

At the current minimum wage, you'd earn $16,557 (if you got paid holidays and personal time off).  Allocating a standard 30% for rent, that's $414 a month for rent. I challenge you to find a habitable apartment in Seattle or Bellevue for $414 a month. You'd need to go to Burien, Kent or Auburn. Apartment rent now averages $1001 in King County.  

A "living wage" for a single adult would be at least $12.11. Or you'd need to work 1.5 jobs. How does that work for a single mom trying to make it off welfare? That's why we need subsidized housing, both for working poor people and for disabled and elderly people who can't work.

I'm the Legislative Action Chair of the 46th, so it was embarassing when I realized we would be voting on whether or not to approve the constitutional amendment on prison labor.

I read the paper every day, and I was in Olympia last session. Still, I hadn't heard a thing about it. Belatedly, I did my homework, mostly on the website of the State Legislature.

Also on the ballot are three other proposed constitutional amendments relating to the establishment of a budget stabilization account SJR 8206 ("Rainy Day Fund"];  school district tax levies EHJR 4204 ("Simple Majority"); and investment of higher education permanent funds SHJR 4215.

See Bill Info and enter bill number

From the Final Bill Report on SJR 8212, passed unanimously by the Senate and 83-15 in the House (requires two-thirds majority of each), to overturn a 2004 State Supreme Court decision:

Pt. Townsend Activist Ezra Eichmeier asked himself this question one day at his computer. It's Ezra's nature to organize, so he put out the work on the Progressive Democrats of the Northwest list, and several of us, particularly in NE Seattle, answered the call.

The short answer was John Edwards 15, Dennis Kucinich 6.  No other candidates received any votes. Instant runoff voting was used to select a candidate for future organizing. (More about IRV below.)

The vote was taken after a morning of discussion about tactics, process and candidates' platforms. A major contribution of this organizing effort is a 20-page document that summarizes each candidate's position on 10 issues. The group chose issues such as health care and the environment that would demonstrate differences in the Democratic candidates.

[Front paged: NM. See note at bottom for article citation.]

From the September 12th P-I:
"Twenty-eight people are expected to have their drug charges dismissed Wednesday when they become the largest graduating class yet in King County's Drug Court.  The program lets offenders avoid prison time by completing drug treatment, a concept aimed at helping prevent future arrests.  For the 28, it will save the state up to $1 million in prison costs, according to the King Couny Prosecutor's Office."

Why is this significant, and why am I celebrating?

Drug treatment has been severely underfunded in Washington State for years.  I should know. I was a lobbyist for drug treatment providers, until they had to cut my position, due to underfunding. The most recent legislature doubled the funding for treatment of needy individuals--to 40% of the need. Most of it was directed to drug court, because if its proven successes.

The state budget year started July 1st. The record crop of drug court graduates represents an investment in our future.

Chronic alcoholism is a major contributor to homelessness, along with other mental illness. To end homelessness, we need to provide substance abuse treatment to everyone who wants it, and also to those who need it but don't want it.  This is where drug court comes in.  The threat of a prison sentence motivates many.

Borrowed in its entirety from Public Campaign Action Fund:

"Things are looking very good for the New Jersey Clean Elections pilot program.  A high rate of participation in the three eligible districts (15 of 20 candidates have opted in), coupled with good press coverage, support from the governor, and positive feedback from the candidates signals the potential to not only continue the pilot program, but expand it to more districts and eventually take Clean Elections statewide. "With the positive results already being achieved by this year's program, what once was thought of as a lofty goal is coming closer to becoming a historic reality," said leading supporter Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr. (D). A lot of props should go to our [PCAF] state partner, New Jersey Citizen Action, on making this system so successful."

From Andrew's election analysis on Northwest Progressive Institute:
"Just when we thought Alec Fisken's rise in the primary election returns couldn't possibly get any higher, it did. After King County Elections tabulated just 3,834 mail ballots today [Tuesday Aug. 28th], Alec's percentage of the vote stood at an even 47% - yet a new threshold for the progressive, reform-minded commissioner."

And a comment there by RonK: "That's not just amazing. That's bizarre! By very rough B.O.T.E. estimate, Fisken polled something like 40% on early voters, and 57% on late ones."

Here are  my thoughts on this amazingly strong finish:  As  PCO, I made the rounds of my precinct in NE Seattle, in the 46th, and carried both Alec's and Gael's literature. Because ballots are mailed 21 days before the election, I walk my precinct within a week after ballots are mailed.  The "sample ballots" with the 46th LD Dems endorsements are very well received and even anticipated by our voters, especially in an "off" year when most of the races are low-profile and non-partisan (no "brand label").

[Chris Vance is former Chair of Washington's Republican Party. Previously, Dwight Pelz, urged Dem legislators to consider supporting clean campaign legislation.]

Over at Crosscut Seattle, Chris Vance criticizes KUOW-FM for flagging Port Commission challenger Bill Bryant as a Republican. Is Chris Vance is being too modest? or forgetful? We all know that the grand Republican strategy since the Reagan era has been to start small, to run conservatives for local, often non-partisan offices, while grooming them for higher office. Therefore, identifying them by the party affiliation is simply news. Since we don't register as Rs or Ds here, this is not on the public record and has to be deduced--all the more reason for reporters to do it.

I have previously challenged Chris Vance, to advise his party to support public campaign financing. Most of the office holders and candidates for non-partisan races, including Port Commissioner John Creighton, support it. It would make it easier to rebuild the Republic bench, and would make it easier to find strong candidates, without the very first coffee-shop recruitment conversation being, "You mean I have to raise how many thousands of dollars?"

Unfortunately, all but one Republican state legislator (Fred Jarrett, 41st, Mercer Island) are opposed to public campaign financing. It doesn't make sense and isn't in their best interest. Both Maine and Arizona legislatures have optional public campaign financing, and both Republicans and Democrats are pleased with the results.  Statistically, it doesn't particularly benefit incumbents.  

A public service reminder: Ref. 67 is an effort by the insurance industry to reverse a very pro-consumer piece of legislation. The new law simply demands that insurance companies pay legitimate claims, and that they pay a penalty for denying and thus defrauding legitimate claimants.

Anybody who has seen "Sicko" will understand that there is substantial motivation (greed) to deny and delay legitimate claims. It is sad that we need this law to protect us. The size of the campaign fund is roughly proportional to the reality of the problem. If the abuse didn't exist, there would be no reason to fight the law.

A new tool has exposed a number of well-known corporations that deleted negative aspects of their Wikipedia entries--removing one of the main things that distinguishes Wikipedia from their own corporate websites, its balance.

From Walmart Watch Daily Clips, here is an example:

WAL-MART AND WIKIPEDIA

[Citation #1] New tool exposes self-edits in Wikipedia [PC World via Washington Post]
A word of caution about editing entries "anonymously" in Wikipedia: a tool has been developed that can show who made the changes...Someone on Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s network, for instance, altered alineabout the wages it pays employees. The original entry stated that "Wages at Wal-Mart are about 20% less than at other retail stores," citing the author Greg Palast as the source. The revised entry reads: "The average wage at Wal-Mart is almost double the federal minimum wage," and changes the attribution to Wal-Mart.

[Citation #2] See Who's Editing Wikipedia - Diebold, the CIA, a Campaign [Wired Magazine]
Wal-Mart has a series of relatively small changes in 2005 that that burnish the company's image on its own entry while often leaving criticism in, changing a line that its wages are less than other retail stores to a note that it pays nearly double the minimum wage, for example. Another leaves activist criticism on community impact intact, while citing a "definitive" study showing Wal-Mart raised the total number of jobs in a community.

Having exposed the exposure, read below the fold for many more reasons for city officials to oppose Wal-Mart's growth and activists' obligation to ask city council candidates The Question.

[Front paged: NM. Related PI article today: Port's Plans for Interbay Denied]

According to the Daily Journal of Commerce (August 15, 2007), the Seattle City Council was as alarmed as I was to read that the port staff had summarily rejected a well thought-out proposal from Kerry Electronics, an aerospace parts manufacturer with more than 500 employees to develop space in Interbay for industrial purposes. Instead, the port has spent $1.3 million for outreach and marketing to achieve its vision of 2.2 million square feet for research and development and 1.1 million square feet for office space. The result, so far, worse than zip, since maritime users have been refused and biotech is clustering in South Lake Union.

The DJC previously reported that the port has been discouraging potential industrial tenants, including a maritime partnership that wanted to lease up to 35 acres for hi-tech maritime and overflow from Lake Union. Instead, the port has been trying to market what they call North Bay as a biotech mecca.

I would link you to the story, but the DJC charges for it.

If you want to know why government programs to address poverty haven't been very effective, perhaps one reason is because the official "poverty level" hasn't been touched since 1969, and wasn't very accurate even then. For expert testimony, you can visit the website of Congressman Jim McDermott's House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support: http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=detail&hearing=581

Comments from the public are invited until August 15th.
"For the [Congressional]record," here is my comment to the committee: For inclusion in the public record as a comment to the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support:

Many thanks to my Congressman McDermott for addressing this issue. I have worked and volunteered in social service agencies in Seattle for much of the past 10 years.  It is always frustrating to hear someone quote the numbers of people below "poverty level," when we know that most social service agencies use "two times the poverty level" as their qualifier for those in need of services. As you have demonstrated in your hearing, the current level is vastly out of date.  It sends the wrong message to the voting public, and may create guilt among working class people who know they aren't making ends meet, but who aren't officially "poor." The rational response for public policymakers, as well as the compassionate response, is to change the definition now.

I volunteered for Darcy last fall, and my son Kerry Gutknecht worked as a field coordinator out of the Auburn office, organizing in Pierce County.  Kerry was dismissive of Rodney Tom's entry into the race, especially his choice of Renton as symbolic of the southern part of the 8th CD.  He missed it by many miles. As a high-end Windemere Realtor (r)(R) from Medina, Tom will have a hard time with name recognition in Pierce County, even if he grew up there.  Darcy's campaign knocked on 100,000 doors, while Tom is known mostly in the 48th and in Olympia.

Rep. Larry Springer (45th, Kirkland) was hanging about the KCDCC endorsement meeting last night, waiting for us to consider endorsing his wife Penny Sweet for Kirkland City Council. I took the opportunity to ask why he (joined the swarm of legislators who) endorsed Rodney Tom. He said Tom is very strong on education (considered an East Side issue), has political experience and is better able to stand up to the tough Sheriff Reichart image than Darcy.  

[Front paged: NM. Ed Note: The demolition was halted today, due to an action by Seattle Port Commissioner Bob Edwards. See comment by Cherisse Luxa, below. Corrections made and links added at request of author, 7/26/07. Sarajane's got great pictures of this event, but I can't get to them. In the meantime, here's one:

Reverend Sandy Brown, Executive Director of Greater Church Council of Seattle leads the service of lamentation in an empty lot owned by the Port of Seattle. Lora Lake Apartments are visible in the background. End of Ed. Note.]

Who here thinks the Port of Seattle will reverse its decision to allow 162 units of urgently needed low-income housing across from SeaTac called Lora Lake Apartments to be torn down?

Fifteen interfaith clergy, organized by the Church Council of Greater Seattle, held a Service of Lamentation at the Burien site Monday afternoon to call attention to the crying need for low-income housing in King County, where over 8,000 are homeless on any given night.

Alec Fisken is the sole Port Commissioner standing up for housing people vs. using the site for a SeaTac shipping-related warehouse. Other Commissioners may be wavering, so emails to Bob Edwards (in a heated re-election race), Pat Davis (no longer claimed by progressives), Chair John Creighton and Lloyd Hara are in order. There is a Port Commission meeting at noon today, Tuesday. (For meeting info, go to the Port of Seattle home page.)