Here’s the King County results page. First drop (I believe, the absentees they had on hand) at 8:15. I’m rooting against the tunnel, and I voted against the incumbents for Seattle City Council, but I wasn’t particularly moved by anyone. If there are any other races you’re following, talk them up in the comments.
I’m off to Havana first for the tunnel people. but I’ll probably stop by a few parties and will update as the night goes on. Here’s your list of places to par-tay.
8:00: Judging from the food out this is definitely the grassroots event. A lot of people and hardly anyone I know. T-15 minutes or thereabouts.
8:06: I’ve made it into a press area (you can get anywhere in a tie, but nobody asked for credentials). If someone notable stops by, I’ll try to get you a quote. This has been the most inside baseball update ever, sorry.
8:18: Early results say Seattle wants to be bullied by the rest of the state, hates Art Walk. With 19.59% of the vote in:
APPROVED 43410 59.66%
REJECTED 29348 40.34%
Mike O’Brien to the crowd after announcing the results “I’m going to have another beer.”
8:45: O’Brien came back and said more telegenic things that you’ll probably see on TV but I’d already closed my laptop.
Also, looks like Forch and Ferguson will face the incumbents. To the extent that anything matters for the general (it doesn’t) Godden was under 50% but both her and Clark have big leads. I’ve been talking to transit nerds, but will probably go find another party.
In the comments, it looks good for Wisconsin and Michael likes Mary Vernor’s lead in Spokane who has 70%.
9:22: No bike parking at the pro tunnel people. The least surprising thing ever. I’m trying to find an elected to ask why they hate art walk.
9:29: Dow says if the legislature had let King County extend the stadium tax, they could have paid to mitigate 619. Ifs and buts and all that. Will try to find more.
9:43: Reuven Carlyle will look into if there’s any way for the state to do anything to mitigate 619 (my email’s at the top of the post, Reuven).
10:08: I’m a Forch’s party but he isn’t here.
This is election night in Wisconsin, too, and if you want to follow those results you can see them here:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/s.....31843.html
Also, little Rachel’s $300 charity drive has now raised almost $1.15 million; you can contribute or get an update on the donations here:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/s.....31843.html
Oops, I meant here:
http://www.mycharitywater.org/.....n_id=16396
Democrats lead in both Wisconsin recalls, roughly 55% – 45% over their opponents, with about half the votes counted. Details in the Drinking Liberally thread below.
R1 is goin’ down… Marummy set fire to the rain:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seat.....s-no-vote/
Oh and Jane Hague need not worry much… Kirby Wilbur backs her: http://youtu.be/t3EtdDEU6ss
Because of her courageous stance on taxes, no less.
@4 Some of us wait for the polls to close before calling elections, Josef. Oh, and you should have asked Zits for a date when you had the chance — she’s gone forever now … sleeping with some other guy … eat your fucking heart out!!!
@6 I don’t want THOSE kind of services from my SecDefWA. You are just mean.
But I have two friends left – both female – who will “Set Fire to the Rain”. Marummy is one of them.
@7 WTF? Washington has a Secretary of Defense?? Oh, btw Josef, the Democrats won both Wisconsin recall elections tonight — eat shit.
We could get involved in a deep philosophical discussion here, but I’ll keep it short and simple: I’ll stop being mean to Republicans (and asswipes who shill for them) when Republicans rejoin the human race and act like civilized people again. This isn’t Eisenhower’s GOP anymore, it’s a collection of loons who go around saying they want to kill liberals, start a civil war, and overthrow our government. Why a nice guy like you has anything to do with that crowd can only be explained by your naivete.
Spokane’s mayor Mary Vernor (she’s both a good urbanist and good liberal) has 60% of the vote in a 5 way race. Her nearest competition is pulling down 31%.
http://www.spokanecounty.org/e.....sults.aspx
O’ noes, John Waite’s in third place for Spokane city council, position #1.
@8 Let me just say that as long as Mary Lane Strow, Jane Hague, Kathy Lambert, Toby Nixon, Rob McKenna, Reagan Dunn & Rudy Giuliani are Republicans then so am I.
Thanks.
Oh and I expected those two “Fleebaggers” to win.
Ben Stuckart (another good urbanist liberal) is barely holding onto 2nd place for Spokane’s city council president.
http://www.spokanecounty.org/e.....sults.aspx
Whatever there is in a “Marummy Curse” I believe… Seattle R1 up 60-40. OUCH!
@3, They’ve called it for both Ds. I guess we can be happy that the Kochs were forced to trickle down a bunch of money to lose two seats.
I say that as someone who did a bunch of paid work for Kucinich for Pres. and Schwartzenegger for Gov. If your checks don’t bounce, I’m on the job even if one of you is slightly crazy and the other is really a Democrat and doesn’t know it. The money they sent me ends up in causes I support.
Ref. 1 results: STFU
Final results in Wisconsin:
Democrats +2
Republicans -2
And the MSM calls it a loss for Democrats.
Go figure.
Look to me like the folks in WI like to have their elections in the fall and are a wee bit pissed at their Republicans.
@15
The Tunnel’s a cluster fuck. All Ref 1 was going to do is add to the cluster fuck, regardless of how people voted.
@18
Ah, made much sausage lately? Bout time for a good old time homey cluster fuck, we need them. We’ve gotten way too complacent about doing big necessary civic projects (if just to keep currency in circulation).
Nothing but doom and gloom is all I hear. I think the tunnel is going to be built, will be near budget, will work as intended, and will get us limbered up for all the other big projects we need to get on. Of course, somewhere along the way we’ll have to address 30+ years of backwards tax policy… (federal, longer still for state)
In Spokane’s City Council President race, third-place Steve Corker called Ben Stuckart to congratulate him on moving to the general election and will endorse him within a couple of days.
Mary Verner ran a strong Mayor’s race — Republican David Condon should be nervous. Lots of ground to make up.
@11 So you let other people do your thinking? You’re responsible for your actions, Josef, and that’s an absurd excuse! Also, you’re not much of a prognosticator. I’ll bet you’re a lousy date, too. I’m gonna call Mrs. Strow, but I already know what she’ll say — “Josef who? He never asked me for a date! So I had to marry someone else.”
@11 I hate to mention this, but it’s apparent that you let other people do your fucking, too. What a crummy way to live! I couldn’t live like that.
@14 Ah yes, the never-ending saga of the Gropenator. How did that work out for California’s voters? I met Arnold Schwarzenegger before he was a famous movie star, back when he was only a famous body-builder. He came to Seattle and was at the Bon Marche autographing copies of his book, “Body Building for Women,” so I bought a copy for Mrs. Rabbit and shook his hand and had him autograph it for me. I shouldn’t have bought Mrs. Rabbit that book! She’s been beating the crap out of me ever since.
@19
Building the new Narrows Bridge went pretty well and only required one silly non-election.
@20
Yay!
16, 17 – Wisconsoi GOPers actually were arrogant enough to believe the public workers they screwed over would punish the Democrats for bailing out of the Fitzgerald twins’ railroading of public unions! They were so smug they actually threw tens of millions of dollars at the theory that the people they fucked over would vote for them as a reward for fucking them over! That’s pretty expensive hubris, but then, Republicans have always had a cavalier attitude toward money — especially other people’s money. As usual, they will learn NOTHING from this experience.
I can’t wait until next spring’s Wisconsin election when Walker himself is on the ballot facing Feingold or Tom Barnett. Recent polling data shows that Feingold would beat Walker even if a majority of Wisconsin voters oppose recalling Walker in principle — Feingold is a very popular guy there.
http://news.firedoglake.com/20.....in-recall/
Looks like John Waite’s out of the running for Spokane’s city council.
@19 Of course the tunnel will work as intended — as long as you engineer guys design it to work as a sewer system for when the sea level is 300 feet higher.
Does Scott Walker Still Control Wisconsin?
That’s a damn good question. You see, even though GOPers still have a 17-16 majority in the state senate, not all of the GOP state senators are rightwing lunatics, nor did all of them vote for Walker’s union-stripping bill.
Sen Dale Schulz represents a rural district just west of Madison, the state capitol, and is both a veteran legislator and a GOP moderate. And there’s no love lost behind him and Walker; when Schulz planned to offer a compromise amendment to Walker’s union-stripping bill, Walker “‘decoyed’ him, misleading him into leaving the Senate chamber” (Wikipedia).
People close to the ground — journalists and political scientists — say the Democrats’ gain of two senate seats means Walker and hard-right GOPers in the legislature won’t be able to pass “controversial” legislation. It means a single Republican can block any bill floated by his caucus that he doesn’t like. Likely casualties of the Democratic victories: Stricter abortion restrictions and tougher penalties for illegal immigrants.
Senate GOP Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald acknowledges his party probably can only pass non-contentious legislation from here on.
So, even though Democrats fell 1 seat short of capturing the state senate, the recall elections likely have stymied Walker’s radical agenda.
What I don’t understand is why Republicans, with so much at stake, ran such bad candidates. Maybe because nobody with any cred wants to be a Republican politician these days? Even at the local level?
Speaking of which, give some thought to who’s NOT running for the GOP presidential nomination.
Rachel is a winner tonight, too! Her charity drive now stands at $1,150,587.
Best quote of the night!
THE TRUTH ABOUT RICK PERRY
1. Jobs: “Virtually all of the job creation was in government, not in private industry.”
2. Looming layoffs: “In fiscal 2011 Texas increased spending by 15.4 percent, the biggest hike among all 50 states. But in fiscal 2012, Texas will cut spending by 8.5 percent, which will be the second biggest cut of any state. Texas is also pushing off several big problems until 2013, which means more spending cuts are on the way.”
3. Where Texas’ growth came from: “Since Perry became governor, oil prices have tripled, from $30 to $90. Perry can’t exactly boast about an economy that has boomed at the expense of ordinary drivers.”
4. He’s clueless: “Perry’s first pronouncement as a presidential candidate was a convoluted mouthful of economically illiterate posturing.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44....._business/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Perry isn’t the formidable Romney rival he appears to be. Why? Because east coast money is going to protect its interests, and this guy’s teapot economic ideas are straight out of Panic of 1893, that’s why.
Snohomish Voters Raise Their Taxes
It’s an article of faith among Republicans that all voters are against all taxes all the time. But voters in Snohomish approved a 10-year increase in local sales taxes to maintain city streets and pay for traffic flow projects.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44....._business/
Uhhh…josef??????
PS…Mitchell will TOAST the drunken county councilperson….literally and figuratively.
@36 Don’t pay attention to Josef. He’s no more successful in his election forecasts than he is in his love life.
Who IS this Mary Lane anyway??
Lois Lane’s great grand-daughter?
http://josefisanidiot.blogspot.....rried.html
Where DO these morons come from, Rog?
@38 “Where DO these morons come from, Rog?”
http://blueridgeblog.blogs.com....._nest.html