Tacoma teachers ratify the new contract.

The final vote was 1,683 YES, 15 NO and three invalid ballots. Classes will resume Friday throughout the Tacoma School District.

Tacoma teachers said the contract is a huge victory for them and their students. School district administrators and the Tacoma School Board proposed increasing class sizes, cutting teacher pay and imposing subjective and potentially discriminatory policies regarding teacher staffing decisions. Unwilling to continue working under an expired contract, and refusing to concede on those issues, 87 percent of Tacoma teachers voted to strike Sept. 12.

…

Here are the highlights of the new contract:

• Protects existing class-size/caseload limits for all TEA certificated members
• Protects existing salary scheduling; one less building optional day
• Protects current displacement language for this year; committee with equal representation from TEA and administration will study and implement new policy using objective and appropriate criteria in the 2012-13 school year. Any new policy must be approved by two-thirds of the committee members.

Kudos to governor Gregoire for bringing both sides to Olympia to hammer something out. Still, I imagine that the special session if it happens and the next regular session of the legislature are going to have a lot to do with if there are future strikes. If we get even more cuts, there will probably be more strikes as the issues will be tougher to negotiate.

1) Crime is down in the city, but we’ve seen some horrible incidents with the police in recent years. How do we ensure public safety and not have those sorts of things happen in the future?

I believe that if the Seattle Police Department follows the recommendations of the City Council Public Safety Committee, real progress can be made to ensure public safety and public trust. Here are some of the key recommendations:

a. Establish a county-wide consistent approach to officer-involved deaths to avoid conflicts of interest;
b. Strengthen civilian oversight and increase public understanding and trust by implementing the recommendations of the civilian observer to the Firearms Review Board;
c. Review and enhance hiring standards and training as recommended by the Office of Professional Accountability Civilian Auditor including de-escalation training for all patrol officers with special emphasis on misdemeanor and other low-level encounters;
d. Monthly Office of Professional Accountability reports should summarize findings of misconduct; the nature of the discipline and changes to policy or procedure that have resulted from a complaint so that the public can see the actions taken by the department;
e. Expedite resolution of cases where there is a referral for possible criminal filing by referring the case file to both the King County Prosecutor and the City Attorney for review and recommendations;
f. Allow supervisors to use In-Car Video for instructional purposes;
g. Require mandatory and timely drug and alcohol testing of all officers involved in the use of deadly force regardless of whether a death has occurred and in all use of force incidents that result in the hospitalization or hospital treatment of a person;

2) Now that the Viaduct is coming down, what should the waterfront look like?

I would like the public places to be as beautiful and open and accessible and free from commercialization as possible. The waterfront should include great landscaping with many opportunities to gain access to the water and to view Elliot Bay and the Olympic Mountains. I would like the newly developed portions of the waterfront to be connected with and to extended to the walking and biking trails of Myrtle Edwards Park to the north and similar trails to the south.

3) As the great recession drags on, the city budget is still hurt. What do we need to cut, what do we need to keep, and do we need to raise more money via taxation?

We “need to cut” funding in areas where the City will not experience harm to public safety or deterioration to our infrastructure. I believe that all City Departments should be directed to find cuts and savings through efficiencies in operations and by reducing administrative and overhead costs. I would request department directors to engage their City employees and the public to identify where savings can occur and where budget reductions are possible with the least reduction in public services and with the least harm to our public facilities.

What we must ensure that we support is public safety: police and fire services; infrastructure maintenance and repair of our transportation system; our parks and other public facilities to avoid costly deterioration; public health and human service programs that are essential to the lives of the most vulnerable including the poor, children, seniors and people with disabilities.

I have proposed an increase in the vehicle license fee in order to help meet the maintenance and repair needs of our transportation system as well as to help improve its operations. This measure if approved by the voters would improve transit service; and would increase funding for repair of our roads and would fund bike and pedestrian safety improvements.

4) With its budget shrunk at least until the end of the recession what should Seattle parks look like?

Given the reduction in revenue the City will be cutting services. Of course I would like our parks to look beautiful and to be well maintained. But with reduction in staff that will be challenging. My preference and priorities are to minimize reductions to maintenance and repair staff and seek cuts in other areas of the Parks Department budget.

5) What is the Seattle’s role in education and public transportation given how important they are to the city, but that other agencies are tasked with them?

A strong and successful public school system and a good public transportation system both are fundamentally important to a thriving, healthy and successful City.

The role of the City in education is to support education both indirectly and directly. The indirect support can range from safe sidewalks and routes to schools to sharing of athletic fields and community centers. Direct support can and is provided through the City sponsored Family and Education Levy, which is up for renewal. The programs and services funded by the levy are designed to support, strengthen and ensure the success of students in the Seattle Public Schools. Other direct support should include support for arts and cultural programs that are affordable
and accessible to students.

Public transportation is funded, planned and provided for at the regional level with significant authority for planning and funding authorized by the state of Washington. The City’s role is to be an active and effective participant at all levels in public transportation advocacy and organizations.

Seattle City officials should be leading strong advocates for public transportation and for public transportation funding and expansion. Seattle officials must build strong relations throughout the region and the state to be able to be successful in creating and receiving support for public transportation.

There’s talk once again about having a primary election for the presidency. While I’m less anti-primary than Russ Feingold or Dennis G, I’ll stick with Obama.

Many of the complaints about the possibility of primarying Obama are the same complaints we heard about Hillary Clinton staying in the race in the last primary. That it’ll somehow damage Obama, and he won’t be able to win. That didn’t happen last time, and I trust Obama on the campaign trail enough that I don’t think it’ll happen if he faces a challenger this time.

While Kennedy challenging Carter is a counterexample, generally speaking primary elections are good for whoever emerges from them. Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and a bad economy were more responsible for the result of that election than Ted Kennedy. Primary elections serve the party that undertakes them in a few ways. They clarify where we are as a party and they draw some attention to the positions of the incumbent.

If Cornel West, Ralph Nader, or whoever wants to try to convince Democrats that they have a better way forward for the next election, that’s fine. We’re a big party that can accommodate its own liberal wing. I’d certainly rather they do it in a primary than in November when they might cost Obama votes.

As for the news cycle, I don’t know about you, but I’d rather see coverage of someone going after Obama for being too centrist than hear Rick Perry and Mitt Romney discuss how much of a socialist he supposedly is. Of course with the 24 hour news there can be plenty of both. But a primary against Obama might crowd out some of the silly stuff from the Republicans, especially in print and network/local news where there’s more limited space.

Still, if there’s a primary challenge and it’s still going on, somehow, when Washington caucuses, I’ll proudly go for Obama. He’s brought us the most comprehensive health care reform of my lifetime, moving us a lot closer to universal coverage. He’s winding down Iraq. He’s passed meaningful consumer protection laws. Oh yeah, and he got Bin Laden. None of those is perfect, and there have been baffling strategic decisions along the way, as well as policies I’ve opposed. Still, he’s earned a second term.

And besides, if you’re looking for Democrats to primary, I’d like to suggest that there’s much more bang for your buck at the local level or at Congress.

The Supreme Court has denied a stay for Troy Davis, so he will probably be executed shortly. America is less of a country whenever the state puts a needle in someone’s arm and methodically ends their life. If they’re certainly guilty, and more so if there is a chance the person is innocent. There’s no need for any state to keep killing people, and I hope here in Washington we can be the next to end it.

My heart goes out to his family, as well as the family of Mark MacPhail.

– Hey, people who make fun of Seattle for being somehow uniquely dysfunctional, here’s Bellevue.

– Taxing the rich is popular.

– Tacoma School District negotiators should go back to the bargaining table.

– Don’t Republicans like multimillion dollar industries?

– Some scientists have nicknamed the planet “Tatooine” after the name of the home planet of Luke Skywalker, the hero in the 1970s science fiction movie Star Wars. In the story — in a hypothetical galaxy far, far away, — a circumbinary planet’s double sunset was first brought to the screen. The public’s vision of circumbinary planets thus goes back decades. But today science fiction has become science fact, and that galaxy far, far away has become our own galaxy.

1) Crime is down in the city, but we’ve seen some horrible incidents with the police in recent years. How do we ensure public safety and not have those sorts of things happen in the future?

I believe the Seattle Police Department is composed of very professional officers who take pride in protecting the well-being of our residents. But recent events have shown that there are indeed some “bad apples” in the bunch. The City Council should send a strong message to the Police Department that these types of incidents will not be tolerated, and that we should continue to support and strengthen the Office of Professional Accountability Review Board’s mission. I am certain with these actions, we will continue to have a police force that our Seattle residents will be proud of, and that unfortunate incidents such as these will become a thing of the past.

2) Now that the Viaduct is coming down, what should the waterfront look like?

I personally believe that the central portion of the Viaduct should not be torn down. As shown with the Highline in New York City, a fortified Viaduct (in conjunction with a rebuilt seawall and the removal of traffic from the structure) will allow the structure to remain in use for pedestrians for many years to come. In its existing state, the structure can connect all of the major attractions that bring visitors to downtown Seattle, including access to Safeco and CenturyLink fields, Pioneer Square, the Central Business District, and a possible connection to Pike Place Market and the Waterfront Sculpture Park.

An added benefit to the Viaduct is its double decking. The top levels could be used as a park, allowing City residents and tourists (both local and others) to enjoy an unparalleled view of Seattle’s downtown core, Puget Sound, and the Olympic Mountains. The bottom level could be used as a place for local merchants, including artisans and food vendors, to sell their merchandise. The top level would act as a covering, allowing the structure to be used year- round, allowing for increased usability and access throughout the year.

The street level beneath the Viaduct could be used as an alternative route to the Waterfront Streetcar, and would allow for a (reduced) number of parking spaces. This would allow the city to take much less of a hit on parking revenues, while allowing a place for cyclists to have an enjoyable trip along their waterfront.

3) As the great recession drags on, the city budget is still hurt. What do we need to cut, what do we need to keep, and do we need to raise more money via taxation?

Due to the Great Recession, many working people and families are struggling to make ends meet, and cannot afford to pay increased taxes. I believe that we should focus our efforts and available funding toward projects that will maintain our present infrastructure, while identifying areas of city government that need improvement and developing a plan to improve them. This way, projects that will be needed in the future will already be identified and can be executed when available funding can be secured.

Services that are vital to the well-being to residents’ livelihood, such as transit, neighborhood infrastructure improvements (like sidewalks and street repairs) should be maintained at their current levels, while additions such as streetcar extensions should be postponed until funding becomes available.

4) With its budget shrunk at least until the end of the recession what should Seattle parks look like?

Despite the shrunken budgets, I believe that there is no excuse for Seattle’s park maintenance to become lax. Although it is desirable to continue to expand the park system, the current economic situation requires that we continue to maintain our parks at the same level of care that Seattle residents have come to expect over the years.

5) What is the Seattle’s role in education and public transportation given how important they are to the city, but that other agencies are tasked with them?

Seattle’s role in education, although limited, should be to provide a safe environment free of crime and intimidation. Over the last couple of years, we have heard about a disturbing trend of violent crimes being committed near some of our schools. This reduces the safety of our students and creates an atmosphere that makes both parents and students reluctant to attend school. The City should work with school administrators and Seattle Police to ensure that crime and intimidation will not be tolerated at any of our schools. By doing this, we can provide a safe, caring environment for those who are working hard to make a bright future for themselves and become productive members of our society.

Seattle’s role in public transportation is also quite pronounced. Even though Metro is not directly funded or operated by the city, it is important that the City provide decent infrastructure. I believe many of our residents are inclined to take transit and reduce vehicle trips, but are reluctant to do so when it is unsafe or inconvenient to access them. We must work to maintain our roads and arterials, which, when properly maintained, provide the foundation for all safe forms of transit, and help Seattle achieve its goal of reducing transportation’s effect on the environment.

Ryan Blethen trying to explain The Seattle Times’ new feature, Just Fix It, doesn’t do a good job making me want to read it. I’m going to ignore the fact that the title implies simple solutions. And I’m going to ignore that the Seattle Times’ vehement opposition to tax increases means that they don’t really want to have the conversation they say they want to have. No, my problem is even more basic.

The intractable, sophomoric politics that has come to define this era is nothing new. Americans have been dealing with such bursts of dysfunction since the beginning of the republic.

While I don’t like the intractability of today’s politics, it seems that The Seattle Times would oppose the sorts of things that would make our politics more, um, tractable. On the state level, they should eliminate the 2/3 requirement to pass any taxes. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen editorials in favor of that very requirement. Nationally, I’d suggest eliminating the filibuster will tract the hell out of things. In both cases, fundamentally, make our representative democracy more democratic.

But I suspect people like me and the rest of the rest of blogtopia (y!sctp) are part of what he means by “sophomoric” (although he only names cable news). You know, people willing to admit an ideology. People who care more about outcomes than the game. People who say fuck and shit. People who aren’t the right people. People who didn’t have their idealism and ideology sucked out of them at journalism school and then learned the right way to do things with some father figure (sometimes more literally than others) in the business.

No, those of us with our sophomoric notions about how to express ourselves in the absence of our daddy’s newspaper will continue right along.

– I’m not much of a beer person, but the White House homebrew is pretty amazing (h/t).

– Perhaps the oddest thing about the people so eager to cheer the death penalty is that they don’t think the government can do anything right.

– Drug patents.

– The Mariners may be terrible but at least they aren’t going to lose 100 games.

– Boxing is my favorite individual sport, but the standards of sportsmanship escape me.

The Tacoma Teachers strike is still going on, and that’s the perfect excuse for Lynne Varner to act like a jackass:

By defying a judge’s order to return to work, Tacoma teachers are courting danger. This Seattle Times editorial sums up general public impatience: get back into the classroom and continue to hammer out a good contract.

The first link doesn’t say anything about the judge’s order (it may have at some point). But Judge Bryan Chushcoff did in fact issue a temporary restraining order (pdf). But given #9 “The parties are ordered to return as soon as practical to collective bargaining and shall continue to bargain in good faith throughout out the term of this temporary restraining order” perhaps Lynne will demand fines for the school board. After all, the union lays out clearly:

Tacoma teachers came to the bargaining table with a new compromise contract proposal today.

After keeping teachers waiting 2.5 hours past the scheduled 1:30 pm start time, negotiators for the Tacoma School Board did not offer a proposal. They also failed to offer a response to the teachers’ proposal.

Negotiations ended at 5 pm.

I look forward to Lynne’s post demanding a fine for the administration for not showing good faith. Since the district isn’t working to “hammer out a good contract” she should be upset.

– I make fun of The Seattle Times ed page, but this is quite reasonable.

– The American Jobs Act just got a whole lot stupider.

– Olympians support the Longshoremen.

– Michael Moore shouldn’t have said that.

– Tim Ceis’s state map is a hard bargaining position (#3).

– This open thread dated by request in the last one. I don’t know if I’ll keep it up.

When The Seattle Times headlines an editorial “Timing off for Seattle’s mandatory paid-sick-leave law” perhaps they might hint as to when they’d come out in favor of mandatory paid sick leave. Seems like timing is an issue for them on a lot of issues recently. Their opposition to health care reform was because it’s time to put it on the back burner and focus on jobs. Their opposition to tax increases no matter what is because it’s the wrong time to increase taxes.

I can’t wait until the economy improves and The Seattle Times demands more workplace rules. And they demand tax increases. And they demand even more comprehensive health care reform. I mean unless you think they’re being cynical about the whole thing, and just using the bad economy as an excuse not to do things they don’t want to do.

The forecast is out and it’s brutal. Another $1.4 Billion down. Here are some random thoughts:

• We’ve already cut too far. It’s time to increase taxes. In Washington they’re often regressive and not a great idea in a bad economy. But they’re better than the cuts we’ll have to make.
• I can only imagine what this will do to schools and government services.
• We really need an income tax.
• Maybe I’m wrong, but it sure feels like everyone knew the forecast would be bad before it came out. In the last open thread there was some discussion about how we’d want to forecast more accurately.

– War on Cars

– Market forces are incredibly powerful. It’s amazing what can happen when they’re pushed in a certain direction through regulation.

– It’s time to end the Electoral College.

– Hollywood has run out of ideas.

– I was just telling Darryl at Drinking Liberally, that I probably link to too many bug things in the open threads. This post on zombie caterpillars will have to add to the number.

The House Republicans are upset with the National Labor Relations Board is enforcing the law so the House will have a vote this week on restricting its abilities to close plants, even if those plants were open in states to retaliate against workers. Of course Boeing moving to South Carolina is the proximate reason for this, but anything that helps their corporate masters, the Republicans support.

Still, as long as there are right to work* states and states that respect people’s rights to form a union, there are going to be problems. Companies are going to use the threat, and the fact, of moving to right to work states to extract concessions. So it seems the best solution would be to stop states from becoming so called right to work states. Make sure that there are strong, federal, protections for unions.

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– It’s been discussed in the last thread, but crowds at GOP debates sure do like the idea of people dying.

– Poor Donald Rumsfield.

– For the Children.

– Tacoma teachers vote to strike.

– The beast that kills jobs.

– For some reason.