I cannot express how annoyed I am at the fact that it looks like the legislature is going to punt on transit in the special session.* I mean, Boeing — like everyone else — needs decent transportation around the state. And King County should be able to fund Metro, goddammit.

Senate Majority Leader Rodney Tom, a Democrat from Medina who leads the predominantly Republican Majority Coalition Caucus, also said that the transportation package was never tied to the overall aerospace package.

There was some discussion of this in the Open Thread yesterday. I don’t even with this guy. I mean for him to act flat footed on the thing that everyone expected there to be a session on is just, gah. I don’t even have words for it, just incoherence. Either he didn’t do his homework, or he’s pretending to keep the caucus together.

And who knows? Things are fluid, and the GOP districts need infrastructure as much as the rest of the state so maybe we actually will get a transit package. I wouldn’t hold my breath, but stranger things have happened.

That said, at a certain point, King County should really just figure out a way to go it alone on Metro if the state can’t get it together. There always seems to be a next horizon to find. Oh, we’ll push for it in the session. Then they didn’t pass something. Oh we can just wait for the special session. If, as it’s looking like there’s nothing, I’m sure we’ll hear to just wait until the regular session come January. Etc. Etc. But we need to not have cuts.

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Since I mostly exit at the rear these days, I’ve had less of a chance to say “thank you” to the bus drivers. But when you exit from the front, it’s still a nice ritual. I’m sure it’s mostly rote for the people who say it, but it is a nice reminder that they conveyed us to work, or to go shopping, or to have some fun, and that we are thankful for that. They tend to do a good job of it.

There are so many jobs in the city that make it work that are thankless. It’s nice that there’s one that literally isn’t.

In the state Senate race that N in Seattle wrote about before the election, the Republican won. So, congrats to Jan Angel. I’d have preferred if she lost, but sometimes the person I want to win doesn’t. You know who’s really happy about that result though? Rodney Tom (Trib link).

“When everybody thinks they’re that 25th vote, well, they’ve got leverage,” Tom said. “It just makes it a lot more difficult.”

Seriously. He said that. Rodney. Tom. Said. That!

You know what? I’m really sad for Rodney Tom, everybody. How could he have predicted that in a caucus there might be people who are willing to blow the whole thing up? How could he have known that whiny entitled assholes might destroy a caucus to get what they want?

Just think of how a few years ago when Lisa Brown was trying to figure out a budget, if she’d realized, like Rodney Tom said:

“When everybody thinks they’re that 25th vote, well, they’ve got leverage,” Tom said. “It just makes it a lot more difficult.”

Just think when Ed Murray was trying to keep the majority that the Democrats had won at the polls if he’d had advice like:

“When everybody thinks they’re that 25th vote, well, they’ve got leverage,” Tom said. “It just makes it a lot more difficult.”

Honestly, Rodney Tom complaining about the possibility of defections in a caucus is so not self aware that nematodes read that and roll their eyes.

So now that Seattle is going to have a mixed districts and at large City Council, I wonder how it’s going to shake out. I linked this morning to a piece in this morning’s Open Thread on some of the possible political ramifications of that vote. But I’m also curious about what this might mean for how the city is governed. Are there going to be committees that are chaired by at large or, specific districts?

Just looking at the list of committees, it seems like the Central Waterfront, Seawall, and Alaskan Way Viaduct Replacement Program, the South Lake Union, the SR 520 Project, the Town Hall, and the Yesler Terrace committees would be chaired by people who represented those specific geographic areas. You could also argue that there are some that might be downtown heavy like Public Safety, Civil Rights, and Technology and some that are less so like Parks and Neighborhoods, although obviously there is crime and are parks in all of the districts. There also might be some things that make more sense to be chaired by an at large person: Transportation, City Light Strategic Plan, or the Budget committee.

Also, I wonder how constituent services will work. Presumably most people will go to, or be directed to, their individual council member like happens in Congress or the legislature now. But will the at large members have constituent services related to their committees or just if people aren’t interested in going to the person who represents their district?

– I’m pretty amazed that the requirement in the health care law that men and women pay the same is the hill the GOP have decided to fight on.

– Congrats to Whatcom County on electing anti-coal export terminal candidates (Seattle Times link).

– I think the fallout from the district elections will be interesting. Erica C. Barnett teases out some of the political implications.

– I liked reading about Jeff Merkley’s role in ENDA.

– I think I knew the date that the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapsed, but 1940, on this date seems ludicrously recent in my mind.

– Flying is safe.

I’m pretty disappointed with the result of I-522. I’m not sure anyone has called anything yet, but after today’s 4:30 ballot drop, it’s still no at 54.33%. And yes, it still proves –as if further proof were needed — that rather depressingly, big money can buy elections in this state, at least initiatives. Still while the $22 million spent to get a victory can be thought of as dispiriting: breaking records of spending made a big difference in the end. Suck!

Still, I think there may be a small bit of hope in a staggeringly large number. First, given that only a tiny tiny ity bitty fraction was from in state, that’s money flowing in here. More important though is that they had to spend that much money. Sure, they won, but it might put some big money interests off in the future if they think they might have to spend that much on a campaign.

It may be a hollow victory in the face of an actual loss, but it’s better than nothing.

Boo.

Flanked by Boeing and union leaders, Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday announced a tentative deal to win assembly of the Boeing 777X in Washington state.

The deal hinges on a legislative special session to pass $8 billion in tax incentives for Boeing through 2040. Other elements of the plan are a long-stalled $10 billion, 10-year transportation package, fast permitting for manufacturers, and education for aerospace workers.

“The bottom line is that this is what Boeing and the Machinists need to compete in the global marketplace and build this airplane in our state, and for us to secure our economic future,” Inslee said, adding that he hopes the package will be passed in the next week.

Look, I know that politicians know that if they don’t offer these sorts of deals, and Boeing up and moves production elsewhere, they’ll get some blame. And they should do some things to make sure Boeing does stay. But man are these sweetheart deals annoying. And as Goldy points out, Boeing is a profitable company.

Hopefully, as long as they’re using the special session to give Boeing everything it wants, the legislature can find time to pass a decent transit package.

– Vote if you haven’t already. The Washington State Democrats want to make sure you do. Remember Seattle, if you don’t vote, the slightly worse candidate might be mayor.

– You don’t say, coal trains cause coal dust? Actually, in all seriousness, these sorts of studies are important, and even if the answer seems obvious, it’s important to have data.

– Construction starts in a few weeks on the seawall.

– Oh look Rachel Maddow mentioned the I-522 campaign:

$550 of the $22m raised against WA proposal to label GMO food comes from in-state. Not $550k, but $550: http://t.co/nJNuRFtlKu

— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) November 4, 2013

– So how is it that the US government was caught flat-footed about foreclosuregate? How is it that the UK government was caught off guard by the London Whale and Libor Rate-Rigging scandal? How is it that ANY of the financial shenanigans of the past decade took place and yet there have been few, if any, prosecutions?

– The Parks Legacy Citizens Advisory Committee (PLCAC), appointed to consider Seattle Parks and Recreation’s future funding options, has released a first draft of 37 newly prioritized investment initiatives (funding recommendations) that are being considered for a possible ballot measure in August 2014.

– I’m not sure why zombies are so popular right now, but they can draw in cartography nerds.

I like Linda Thomas. I think she’s one of the smartest people doing radio, and I’ve linked positively to her on numerous occasions. But I think there’s a hook she has used in some of her pieces.

You might drive by public art and not realize you paid for it. The Ballard bridge, for example, has eight sculptures attached that represent fish nets, propellers and other aspects of the neighborhood’s history.

And

He walks with a limp along North 105th Street in Seattle at the intersection with Aurora Avenue. He asks motorists stopped at the traffic light, “Could you help me please?” His sign says he’s “severely disabled.” I’ve seen him talk on a cell phone. He often wears Seahawks clothing. That’s all I know about the man who carries a cardboard sign at the same spot every day.

You know, if you’re in a city, one of the nice things is that you can get places outside of your car. I mean maybe not 99 North, but for much of the city, you can walk past people and art. You can get a lot out of Seattle on a bike or on foot, that one of our smartest newspeople thinks it’s natural to miss. I hope for those of us who take advantage of it, being able to get around in non-car ways lets us appreciate the artistic, and natural beauty, as well as seeing more of the people around us.

And I will add that, obviously, I’m not telling anyone how to get from point A to point B in this town. If you want to drive, God bless. And as an able-bodied guy, it often is, or can be perceived to be, safer for me to be on the street than for other people. Still, being on ground level out of a car is a valuable part of city life.

– Shelter Beds or Westlake Park

– You know what, I’m sort of coming to the conclusion that I don’t like that Mitt Romney fellow all that much.

– Cascade Bikes is going to make a push for safe routes to parks in a levy in 2014. Here’s a change.org petition if you’re interested.

– The tea party has the same political effect that original Bircherism had — making good and necessary things harder to do. And it has the same human effect — ensnaring the gullible and the fearful in a miserable cocoon of falsehood, fright, indignation and baseless resentment.

– My biggest hope here is that Jay Inslee embarrasses Dori Monson on the basketball court half as much as Monson embarrasses the medium of radio on a daily basis.

Tom Foley’s memorial service was today. I haven’t had the chance to watch it yet, but if you want you can see it here. I do love the phrase Titan of Democracy; I think that really sums him up.

Washington State Governor Jay Inslee (D) called Foley a “Titan of Democracy” during the service.

“He was a representative of the best the state of Washington had to offer,” added Gov. Inslee.

You can see President Obama’s speech at the DC memorial here. Darryl has already memorialized him here on HA.

In a sales tax reliant state where we recently voted privatize and tax the poop out of liquor sales, there are high taxes on hard alcohol. This PI piece seems to forget that we just taxed ourselves, not as punishment to boozehounds, but to replace the revenue that privatization cost the state. You can get booze at your grocery store, but you have to pay higher taxes. It wasn’t a deal that I was comfortable with, but the voters went ahead with it. So, fine.

I would like a little more context than just complaining:

And, when it comes to increasing taxes to fund said government, it’s easier to get people to agree to a sin tax. You know, we’re supposed to feel bad about doing it and thus willing to punish ourselves: Bad drinker! Bad drinker! Barkeep – pour me another one! Also … add in the extra tax burden placed on booze for these first few years of privatization, and you have a recipe for a winning statistic.

There’s a reasonable debate to be had about the level of alcohol taxes we have. I’m just not sure this contributes to that.

Obviously, as the economy improves, stimulus that was designed to get us out of a caving, crashing recession will have to be scaled back. And of course the things that were set to expire are going to expire, especially with a House of Representatives dead set on anything decent for the Republic. So I guess nobody should be surprised that the expanded SNAP benefits are going to be back to what they were before the stimulus starting tomorrow.

Extra funding for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, one of the most impactful elements of the 2009 economic stimulus, expires Friday, meaning poor families in all 50 states will immediately see steep cuts in government food aid.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided a 13.6 percent funding increase to SNAP recipients beginning in April 2009, money the bill’s backers said would make its way quickly into the economy. But that extra funding ends Nov. 1. Every one of the 48 million SNAP recipients will see their benefits cut in their next checks.

Given the need, it seems early from a purely moral standpoint. The top earners are recovering nicely, and good for them and all, but the need for SNAP for people who aren’t earning that is still there.

SNAP benefits disproportionately help families with children. More than 21 million children — one in four children in the country today — live in households that participate in the program. More than two-thirds of the $5 billion the government saves will come from households that include children.

But instead of recognizing that the need is real, and that we should do more, we have a House of Representatives that last month voted for major cuts to the program. The GOP in the last election cycle ran candidate for President who doesn’t believe people are entitled to food, and they’re living up to that even though he lost.

– Happy Halloween

– Nevada Republican would allow slavery

– The Chamber of Commerce is the worst.

– One of the biggest challenges to gender parity in office is that women don’t run. According to a national study by the Center for American Women in Politics, women are much more likely to run if they’re recruited by others. Men don’t wait to be asked. (Trib link)

– I’m all for environmentalists working to make broad coalitions, but I’m not sure corporate interests and reactionaries will stop mocking them needlessly.

– Your guide to celebrating Dia de los Muertos

Representative Dan Kristiansen — who convinced a group of humans to elect him on multiple occasions and everything — has a post about a web poll he conducted earlier. My most fervent hope is that he finds a way to start it off that seems like it’s reaching too hard to have a catchy intro but ends up kind of creepy.

Last week, you allowed me into your homes and/or mobile devices to offer a short survey [the link to you’ve completed the survey is his — Carl] on a proposed transportation revenue package. The response was great and very informative for me. I wanted to share some of the results of this virtual listening tour. While the survey remains open and I will continue to request public input, below is an update on where results stand as of October 29.

So a few questions: “You allowed me into your homes and/or mobile devices,” huh? You’re going with that? What if people didn’t think they were letting him into their homes, but just taking a simple web survey? What if someone took it on a laptop but not at home? Does he need to specify and/or? Really wouldn’t “thanks for taking a minute to complete my survey, if you did” work just fine?

Also, “the results of this virtual listening tour” is an interesting way of saying “the results of a poll of people who were on a Republican’s email list and/or found their way to the state House GOP website.” Anyway, on to the results.

Would you be willing to pay 10 cents or more per gallon of gas to pay for transportation projects around the state?

• 13.4% Yes
• 85.6% No
• 1% I’m not sure

If you had to pay 10 cents or more per gallon of gas, how would this impact you financially?

• 7.7% It would have little to no impact on me financially
• 41.2% It would have a moderate impact on me financially, but I could probably afford it
• 51.1% It would have a negative impact on me financially and I cannot afford it

Gosh, it sounds like the people who answered this survey really are a representative sample… of the people who took the survey. Or maybe they’re demanding price controls on gas? That would be an interesting follow up question. To the extent that’s possible when you’re talking about the results of a web poll. Also, his district is pretty close to the I-5 bridge that collapsed. Maybe he could have asked a question about if that had more or less impact than a 10 cent a gallon tax increase. But I guess we’ll never know because we can only ever look at the cost of taxes, not the cost of losing what those taxes pay for. The closest we get is the next question:

If our state moves forward with a transportation revenue package, please rank what you think the funding priorities should be:

The numbers below are rating averages. The lower the number, the higher prioritization participants gave that particular issue. As you will see below, participants believe “Maintenance, including bridge and road preservation” should be the state’s top funding priority. And they believe that “More pedestrian and bicycle paths” should be the lowest priority of the six options.

• 1.55 Maintenance, including bridge and road preservation
• 2.24 New lanes for congested roadways
• 3.53 Large projects
• 4.08 Washington State Ferries
• 4.52 Transit agencies
• 5.08 More pedestrian and bicycle paths

Does he mean sidewalks instead of “pedestrian”? Just general pedestrian, like paying someone to walk more? Is it infrastructure, and/or paths, that pedestrians and bikes have to share?