Morning Fizz
The Inevitable Negative Campaigning
Caffeinated News & Gossip. Your Daily Morning Fizz.
1. The latest Elway Poll shows that while a statewide ballot measure reinstating training requirements for home health-care workers enjoys strong support, voters are split on I- 1183, Costco's liquor-privatization initiative, and I-1125, Tim Eyman's anti-tolling measure.
The poll found that 77 percent of voters statewide support I-1163, the home health-care training initiative, with nine percent opposed and 14 percent undecided. Fifty percent said they supported the liquor-privatizing measure, with 38 percent opposed and 12 percent undecided. It's worth noting, though, that most pundits say a measure needs to initially poll at around 60 percent so it has a cushion to withstand the inevitable negative campaigning of an election.
And 49 percent supported Eyman's anti-toll initiative, which would limit the use of tolls to the project on which they're levied and prohibit rail on the I-90 bridge across Lake Washington.
2. Not exactly PubliCola's beat, but as we've said before: a fat cultural scene is a political win for Seattle. Here's the news : Seattle Center's Intiman Theater, which shut its doors earlier this year, has a plan to reopen in 2012.
3. In sad news about Seattle's cultural life, The Night Kitchen, downtown's late-night diner—open from 6pm to 9am—has closed its doors. [pullquote]“Seattle is full of rich liberals,” Vance said. “Human beings, when it comes to tax measures, generally vote their own self interest. And rich people are far more willing to tax themselves than poor people or even middle class or lower middle class people.[/pullquote]
4. With Seattle voters set to consider a $60 vehicle license fee in November to pay for transit and road maintenance, the PI.com's Chris Grygiel tallies Seattle's already-generous record of taxing itself—$1.3 billion in non-school related taxes since 2000.
Local GOP consultant Chris Vance adds a provocative quote:
1. The latest Elway Poll shows that while a statewide ballot measure reinstating training requirements for home health-care workers enjoys strong support, voters are split on I- 1183, Costco's liquor-privatization initiative, and I-1125, Tim Eyman's anti-tolling measure.
The poll found that 77 percent of voters statewide support I-1163, the home health-care training initiative, with nine percent opposed and 14 percent undecided. Fifty percent said they supported the liquor-privatizing measure, with 38 percent opposed and 12 percent undecided. It's worth noting, though, that most pundits say a measure needs to initially poll at around 60 percent so it has a cushion to withstand the inevitable negative campaigning of an election.
And 49 percent supported Eyman's anti-toll initiative, which would limit the use of tolls to the project on which they're levied and prohibit rail on the I-90 bridge across Lake Washington.
2. Not exactly PubliCola's beat, but as we've said before: a fat cultural scene is a political win for Seattle. Here's the news : Seattle Center's Intiman Theater, which shut its doors earlier this year, has a plan to reopen in 2012.
3. In sad news about Seattle's cultural life, The Night Kitchen, downtown's late-night diner—open from 6pm to 9am—has closed its doors. [pullquote]“Seattle is full of rich liberals,” Vance said. “Human beings, when it comes to tax measures, generally vote their own self interest. And rich people are far more willing to tax themselves than poor people or even middle class or lower middle class people.[/pullquote]
4. With Seattle voters set to consider a $60 vehicle license fee in November to pay for transit and road maintenance, the PI.com's Chris Grygiel tallies Seattle's already-generous record of taxing itself—$1.3 billion in non-school related taxes since 2000.
Local GOP consultant Chris Vance adds a provocative quote:
“Seattle is full of rich liberals,” Vance said. “Human beings, when it comes to tax measures, generally vote their own self interest. And rich people are far more willing to tax themselves than poor people or even middle class or lower middle class people. Seattle is a rich city. Look at the housing prices. Most of the voters – maybe not all the people – but the voters live in houses or condos worth well over a half-million dollars. They’re college-educated professionals. They can afford higher taxes. … They are completely out of step with the rest of the state. Seattle has always been an island unto itself politically. That trend has accelerated. If you take Seattle out, Washington is a Republican state.”
And Vance says, even from his GOP perspective, there’s nothing wrong with Seattle’s stance on taxes. “Democracy works. It really does, you get what you want. The voters of Seattle have exactly the government they want. I’m not saying they’re worse, they’re just different.”
