Afternoon Jolt

Monday Jolt: The Mayor and Local Journalism

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 18:01:00 -0800

Today's winner: Mayor Mike McGinn.

McGinn started his term with the support of an unlikely alliance of social justice lefties (like Real Change director Tim Harris) and urbanist greens (like the Sierra Club, where McGinn once served as chairman); typically those factions are at odds, with the social justice activists criticizing the urbanists as bourgeois and the urbansits criticizing the social justice advocates as provincial.

McGinn had some success keeping the coalition together, vetoing the panhandling ordinance for example. But as he pushed hard on urban density and light rail he has rubbed some advocates for the city's lowest-income and homeles sresidents the wrong way; they've argued that density and high-cost rail transit increase the cost of living for Seattle's poorest.

Afternoon Jolt

Today, however, Real Change's social justice lefty Harris rushed to defend McGinn's downtown public safety and human services plan, arguing in an editorial that the proposal, unlike previous ideas to address "street disorder" in the center city, is inclusive of not just downtown businesses but human service providers, residents of downtown housing, and the homeless. "

"Mayor McGinn has convened a roundtable to discuss how the downtown can work for everyone, and people are listening to each other," Harris writes. "They understand that this is complicated stuff. They see that quick, victim-blaming fixes aren’t really solutions at all and that everyone wins if we can deal with real problems in real ways."

McGinn has kicked off a new Center City Initiative to help improve the on-the-street experience downtown; under his proposal, the city would sell ads on bus stops, benches and kiosks to pay for public-safety and other improvements in the neighborhood.

Today's loser: Civic Affairs Reporting

A couple of weeks ago, to little fanfare, KCTS decided to cancel "KCTS Connects," the show hosted by Enrique Cerna.

The move by the public-television station comes the same month that KING 5 announced its decision to cancel Robert Mak's long-running public-affairs show "Up Front."

Afternoon Jolt: Senate Republican Leader Steps Down

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:10:00 -0800

Afternoon Jolt

No winner or loser today, just a Jolt.

In a surprise announcement today, state Sen. Mike Hewitt (R-16) said that he would not be running for reelection as leader of the Senate Republican Caucus.

Back in April, Hewitt went through surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in his abdomen. In his statement, he cites "my health challenges this past year" as one of his reasons for deciding not to run again. Senate Republican Caucus spokeswoman Rebecca Japhet would not say whether Hewitt's health problems had worsened or were among the reasons for his decision. "I'd rather let his statement speak for itself," she said.

Hewitt name-checked a number of suburban senators who bring "a whole new face" to the party. On the list were three of the senate's most moderate Republicans: Joe Fain (R-47), Andy Hill (R-45), and Steve Litzow (R-41). Fain, Hill, and Litzow all joined Democrats in voting for gay marriage and allowing medical marijuana dispensaries, among other moderate votes.

Although the names Hewitt mentioned did include some more conservative senators like newly elected Sens. Bruce Dammeier (R-25) and Ann Rivers (R-18), the inclusion of so many moderates signals a recognition by party leaders that the party needs to move toward the center to survive in Washington State.

Reflecting a general consensus after the election, in which just one Republican, Secretary of State-elect Kim Wyman, won statewide office, that the party needs to move toward the center, Hewitt said, "Focusing on centrist policy rather than party labels is what will make the people of Washington a winner." Hewitt has moved to the right in his time as a senator, and is generally perceived as one of the more conservative Republicans in the senate.

Hewitt has served as head of the Republican Caucus since 2005.

Early Jolt: Tent City Divorces SHARE

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 11:38:00 -0800

Image via City of Redmond.

Today's loser: SHARE/WHEEL.

Tent City 4, currently located at St. John Vianney Church in Kirkland, announced today that it is splitting from SHARE/WHEEL, which started Tent City to house homeless individuals and families without access to other shelter. Tent City 4 residents plan to reorganize as "Camp Unity."

The break came after SHARE leader Scott Morrow objected to warrant and sex offender background checks for people who want to live at the camp. Tent City residents say the pastor of the church requested, and they agreed, that they do weekly background checks on all their residents after a resident, a man accused of raping a child, was arrested at the church.

According to a letter from Tent City 4 bookkeeper Mike Messer sent to reporters, Morrow has refused to allow the weekly background checks on the grounds that they violate residents' privacy.

Tent City is one of the few homeless shelters in the area that accepts women and families as well as single men.

"There has been a long history of disagreements between TC4 and Mr. Morrow and usually we're able to agree to disagree but this time is different," Messer's letter says. "TC4 is going to do weekly checks on everybody at Tent City 4 whether Mr. Morrow likes it or not. We have also started working towards breaking away from the Share/Wheel organization and becoming independent.

"Mr. Morrow no longer communicates with us and he has changed the password on our e-mail account. He has also stopped giving us bus tickets and we feel we can no longer work with him."

SHARE has a different view of the split. On their web site, they say they are "closing" the camp because residents changed the policy regarding sex offender checks without a meeting with "appropriate St. John Vianney leaders," forcing SHARE to shut the camp down and remove all their equipment, bathroom facilities, and Dumpster.

"We deeply grieve the pain this will cause the present host of SHARE/WHEEL’s Tent City4," the group said in a statement. "We will respect whatever decision they make in regard to the future.

"We cannot recommend that the present host of Tent City4 continue the encampment without SHARE/WHEEL: The Leadership and significant numbers of the Tent City4 Community have broken their promises to the SHARE Community of individuals staying together and safe in Tent City 3 and the 15 indoor shelters. They have acted deceitfully, disrespectfully, and undemocratically.

"If the present host chooses to continue an encampment on their property, SHARE cannot be liable for the consequences of that decision.

SHARE has had conflicts with residents of its shelters and Tent Cities in the past. SHARE routinely threatens to shut all its shelters down unless the city gives it more free bus tickets, and in 2009, members of the group said they were kicked out of shelters and forced to participate in protests outside city officials' houses—protests that could have gotten them arrested.

Wednesday Jolt: Cathy McMorris Rodgers

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 17:00:00 -0800

Afternoon Jolt

Today's winner: US Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

Despite an endorsement for her opponent by US Rep. and failed VP candidate Paul Ryan, and despite the resounding defeat in last week's election of the Tea Party agenda she espoused, Washington State US Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers was elected chairwoman of the House Republican Conference today.

McMorris Rodgers said she raised about $1 million for the Republicans and traveled to 50 US Congressional districts in her bid to take over the head of the House Republican Party, Initially, McMorris Rodgers, as vice chair of the conference, seemed destined to ascend to the position effortlessly; however, she faced a tough challenge from George Republican Tom Price, who had the support of congressional candidate John Koster, a Tea Party Republican who lost his bid for Washington State's First Congressional District to Democrat Suzan DelBene.

Although McMorris Rodgers has made statements in line with Tea Party views—saying, for example, that the "War on Women" is a "myth" and that the Republican Party has no need to become more moderate in light of last week's election defeat—leaders in the party favored her over the more-conservative Price.

Today's loser: Tim Probst, the Democratic17th District state Representative who's challenging Republican Senator Don Benton (R-17). Probst went from winning by 17 votes two days ago, to losing by 65 votes yesterday, to losing by 110 votes today.

A recount seems inevitable.

Tuesday Jolt: Ed Murray is New Senate Majority Leader

Tue, 13 Nov 2012 17:01:00 -0800

Today's Winner is State Sen. Ed Murray (Sorta)

As expected, and (according to sources) without much drama, Seattle state Sen. Ed Murray (D-43, Capitol Hill), was elected Senate Majority Leader by the Democratic caucus this afternoon. (No one else went for the spot).

Murray, who was first appointed to the state house in 1995 and then elected in 1996, will replace retiring state Sen. Lisa Brown (D-3, Spokane) as Senate Majority Leader.

Murray, of course, has been a gay rights champion in the legislature, ushering through a landmark gay anti-discrimination bill in 2006, a series of domestic partnership bills between 2007 and 2009, and finally this year's historic gay marriage bill.

Murray is only "sorta" today's winner because it's still not clear how much of a majority he'll actually have.

Far from being a single-issue activist, though, Murray cut his teeth in the house as chair of the transportation committee, where he was a preeminent wonk on issues such as 520 and transportation funding.

Until passing gay marriage, the highlight of Murray's resume was the passage of major transportation packages in the 2003 and 2005; the latter, a nine-and-a-half-cent gas tax, withstood a repeal effort instigated on right-wing radio.

Murray, who was elected to the senate in 2006, is only "sorta" today's winner because it's still not clear how much of a majority he'll actually have. The state senate race in Vancouver between Republican incumbent Sen. Don Benton (R-17) and Democratic challenger state Rep. Tim Probst (D-17) is still in the balance.

If Benton holds on to his seat, the Democrats' 26-23 majority will only mean nominal control because two members of the Democratic caucus, Sens. Tim Sheldon (D-35, Potlach) and Rodney Tom (D-48, Bellevue), typically vote with the Republicans. Last session, for example, Sheldon and Tom helped the Republicans seize control of the floor to pass the GOP budget.

In a statement this afternoon, Murray said:

“We have work to do in Olympia – prioritizing education, creating jobs for the middle class, and ensuring Washingtonians have the health care they need. And one of our challenges in a closely divided chamber is to ensure that the Senate is able to fulfill its obligation to govern the state, in tandem with Gov.-elect Jay Inslee and the House. These are not simple challenges, but they are solvable. We can find solutions that work for all of Washington."

Today's Loser is Tim Probst.

The latest vote count is in from Vancouver and Probst, who had been winning by 16 votes after the last count, is now losing by 65 to Benton. Obviously, the race is headed for a recount.

Friday Jolt: Mayor McGinn and Coal Trains

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 11:57:00 -0800

Afternoon Jolt

Today's (sore) winner: Mayor Mike McGinn.

Although McGinn has complained ceaselessly about the city council's cuts to his proposed budget, the budget the council's finance committee adopted this morning (and will finalize at the full council meeting on Monday, Nov. 19) largely keeps McGinn's budget intact, with a few minor changes. McGinn got most of what he wanted in this year's city budget.

The biggest, as we've reported, include: The elimination of funding for Communities Uniting Rainier Beach, a youth-violence prevention program; postponement of a proposal to expand the city's youth-violence prevention initiative to serve 400 more kids until the program develops metrics to show whether it works; the postponement of a study of a streetcar on Eastlake; and the elimination of a proposed automatic gunshot-locator system, which would have involved stationing gunshot-locating machines equipped with cameras at 52 locations across the city.

But McGinn got most of what he wanted, including funding for up to 20 new police officers by the end of 2014 (the exact number will depend on how many new officers are recruited and how many existing officers leave); funding to advance the city's Transit Master Plan; money to study high-capacity transit to Ballard; and ongoing funding for the city's pay-by-cell-phone parking program, which the council considered cutting.

The council also added money for programs the mayor supports, including new money for greenways around the city and funding to move forward on a streetcar line connecting the South Lake Union streetcar to Pioneer Square.

Today's loser: Coal trains.

The US Army Corps of Engineers was scheduled to hold a hearing on the proposal to send as many as 18 mile-and-a-half-long coal trains a day, or 48 million tons of coal a year, through Seattle at North Seattle Community College on November 13. However, after crowds of angry residents showed up to protest at previous hearings in other cities that would be impacted by the trains, the Corps has rescheduled its hearing for December 13 and moved it to a much larger venue—the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle.

Forty-eight million tons of coal, Sightline points out, is enough to create a pile covering the top of the Columbia Tower in downtown Seattle and extending from Pike Place Market to the Smith Tower in Pioneer Square.

Friday Jolt: Suzan DelBene

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 14:46:00 -0700

Afternoon Jolt.

Today's First Winner: 1st Congressional District Democratic candidate Suzan DelBene.

On the heels of Republican 1st Congressional District candidate John Koster's insensitive comments defending a complete ban on abortion even in cases of rape, the Washington Post has moved the 1st District race from "tossup" to "leans Democratic" category. "In a weird twist of fate, [1st Congressional District candidate John Koster] provided himself with his very own October Surprise."

"Republican John Koster’s recent comments about rape and abortion weren’t as harmful as Todd Akin’s or Richard Mourdock’s," the Post's Aaron Blake writes. "But they still beg the question: Why would any candidate talk about this issue when they don’t have to?"

Viet Shelton, a spokesman for Koster's Democratic opponent Suzan DelBene, tells PubliCola, "John Koster has been doing everything he possibly can to avoid talking about his extreme positions. But in a weird twist of fate, he provided himself with his very own October Surprise."

As we've noted, the Republican Party in Washington state is increasingly isolated from the political mainstream on social issues like abortion and gay marriage. If Koster ends up losing this true swing district thanks to his Akin moment, the soul searching should begin in earnest in Bellevue (state GOP headquarters) next Wednesday.

Today's second winner: Ridesharing.

Last year, the state passed legislation passed last year to allow peer-to-peer carsharing (that is, allowing people who don't have cars to rent cars from individuals). Although no peer-to-peer carsharing companies have emerged in the state so far, another option—peer-to-peer ridesharing—hit Seattle this week.

The concept: You have a car. I need a ride. You're going where I'm going. I hitch a ride with you, paying you whatever we agree is fair.

The service is offered by a San Francisco-based company called SideCar, which launched in that city in February. Members (drivers and riders) connect via iPhone or Android app; all drivers have to have a clean driving history and no criminal record, and passengers can share their physical location with friends while they're using the service, for safety.

Twenty percent of driver "donations" go back to the company as revenue.

Thursday Jolt: Fuse vs. Koster; Inslee vs. McKenna

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 16:34:00 -0700

Afternoon Jolt

Today's winner: Fuse Washington, the lefty political group that introduced John "The Rape Thing" Koster to the world.

Fuse, a scrappy Seattle-based group that works to promote progressive candidates and causes, posted a YouTube video yesterday showing Koster, the Republican candidate in the 1st Congressional District, dismissing women who become pregnant as a result (or, to use his more judgmental term, as"the consequence") of rape and want to terminate their pregnancy.

Allowing women to abort pregnancies that result from rapes, Koster said, is just "putting more violence onto a woman's body."

The video, just one of many recent examples in which Republican male politicians reveal their obsession with controlling women's bodies, went viral yesterday, appearing, among many other places, on: Slate, the Huffington Post, The Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, the International Business Times, BuzzFeed, and Politico.

Today, Koster did Fuse another favor, keeping the story alive for another day by issuing a (frankly, stunning) statement saying Koster "has nothing to be ashamed of here," adding that Koster had fought to jail "horribly violent" sex offenders when he was in the state legislature (but not nonviolent ones?) and accusing Fuse of selectively editing the tape to make him look bad.

"To be clear, we did not edit, manipulate, rearrange, or change Koster’s words in any way. Koster’s comments about 'the rape thing' in our video are exactly as he stated them." In a statement, Fuse spokesman Collin Jergens said, "To be clear, we did not edit, manipulate, rearrange, or change Koster’s words in any way. Koster’s comments about 'the rape thing' in our video are exactly as he stated them on October 28. In addition, we provided a copy of the raw audio file to the Associated Press to verify its authenticity."

Today's Loser: Jay Inslee.

Inslee may have come out on top in the new KCTS 9 Washington Poll—he's ahead of his Republican rival Rob McKenna by about 1.7 percentage points, 47.2 to 45.5. But there are some other numbers in the poll that could be prophetic, particularly in a race where Inslee's advantage (or more accurately, McKenna's disadvantage) is that Inslee comes across as the nice guy you want to get a beer with while brainy McKenna can come off a bit cold. (Indeed, an early October KING 5 poll had Inslee up 14 points when it came to likability.)

Maybe it was McKenna's Gangnam Style video, but lo and behold, the numbers show that—after all the ads—McKenna has a higher favorability rating right now than Inslee, besting him by 6.3 percentage points, 49.1 to 42.8.

These numbers change our analysis of this race, particularly our confidence that Inslee was going to win.

Friday Jolt: Another $50,000 from Democrats to Inslee

Fri, 26 Oct 2012 17:40:00 -0700

Afternoon Jolt

Today's Winners: Republican State Senate Candidates (Again)

In last-minute donation news today: The Washington State Republican Party gave another $24,000 to their gubernatorial candidate, Rob McKenna.

They also downloaded big money to two GOP candidates who are challenging incumbent Democratic state senators—$25,000 to Dawn McCravey, who's trying to oust education chair Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe (D-1, Bothell) and $12,500 to Barbara Bailey, who's trying to beat transportation chair Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen (D-10, Camano). These are two of the races, out of six closely watched contests, that are in play as the Republicans try to shrink the Democrats 27-22 advantage.

The Republicans also gave a minimal $2,600 to Brad Toft, who's running for the open state senate seat in the 5th Legislative District—another one of the six districts in play. The 5th leans Republican, but thanks to a problematic resume, Toft isn't a shoo-in. He's running against a successful local franchisee, Democrat Mark Mullet.

The Democrats threw down in the governor's race, topping the WSRP's $24,000 donation to McKenna with a $50,000 contribution to their candidate, Jay Inslee.

Yesterday, we noted that the Republican senate caucus was pouring last-minute cash into the set of six races. They got a little relief today: Boeing ($900), Verizon ($3,500), 7-11 ($2,500), and the Swinomish Tribal Council ($5,000) all reported last-minute donations to the Leadership Council, the GOP senate caucus political committee.

The Republicans also threw $2,000 to Clint Didier, 2010's Tea Party antagonist to GOP standard bearer Dino Rossi. Didier is running a long-shot race against liberal Lands Commissioner Peter Goldmark.

Today's Other Winner: Jay Inslee, but Not the Democratic Senate Candidates

The Democrats gave $2,000 to Maureen Judge (who's challenging Republican state Sen. Steve Litzow in another one of the six races, this one in Mercer Island), but otherwise didn't match in the senate contests.

But they did throw down in the governor's race, topping the WSRP's $24,000 donation to McKenna with a $50,000 contribution to their candidate, Jay Inslee. In all, Inslee has gotten more than $2 million from the party while McKenna's gotten about $1.7 million.

Also: This afternoon, Washington United for Marriage, the pro-gay marriage campaign, reported that they got their $250,000 match donation from New York City's Independent Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Another high-profile New Yorker, Jonathan Tisch, the chairman of Loews, kicked in $10,000 today.

Thursday Jolt: Capitol Hill vs. Tiny Apartments, Obama for Gay Marriage

Thu, 25 Oct 2012 16:35:00 -0700

Today's loser: Micro-housing.

The Capitol Hill Community Council will vote at its meeting tonight on a resolution asking the city council to declare a moratorium on so-called micro-housing, or "aPODments"—tiny apartments, without kitchens, surrounding a central living and kitchen area. The micro-units are being embraced in other cities as a solution to insufficient affordable housing; in Seattle, however, NIMBYs from Eastlake to the University District have opposed them for supposedly bringing in too much density and (as usual) "ruining the character" of single-family neighborhoods.

Another factor that can't be lost on micro-housing's property-owning opponents: The apartments, which average around 200 square feet, primarily house low-income workers, college students, and other people who want to save on rent.

The resolution argues that Capitol Hill has already accepted enough new residents; that the style of the new buildings "clearly violates the existing neighborhood context"; and that the buildings, which typically include about five units, "are being constructed with undefined environmental impacts."

The so-called aPODments don't require the kind of formal design review that's required for "congregate housing," in which more than eight unrelated people live together under a single roof.

"The pace and nature of development of apodments in the Capitol Hill Neighborhood, as well as other neighborhoods around the City, deeply concerns the neighborhood," the resolution says.

Today's winner: Marriage equality.

President Barack Obama endorsed R-74, the marriage equality ballot measure, today, giving the proposal additional gravitas going in to the November 6 election.

In a statement, Obama's Washington State press secretary Paul Bell said, "While the president does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the president believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect. Washington’s same-sex marriage law would treat all Washington couples equally, and that is why the President supports a vote to approve Referendum 74."

In a statement, state Sen. Ed Murray (D-43), who sponsored the gay marriage bill and worked for years to pass it through the legislature, said, "Seventeen years ago, when I first began fighting in the legislature for marriage equality for gay and lesbian families in Washington State, I would never have dared to dream that a President of the United States would one day step forward at this crucial moment, in the middle of his own close reelection campaign, to offer his support for our efforts. But that is exactly what President Obama has done, and it is an example of his courage and leadership."