I hate to get into the business of reporting the future — because sometimes the future proves me wrong — but the big headline nobody seems to be reporting today is that Simple Majority seems likely to pass. Darryl first pointed this out Saturday night, when it was still trailing by about 11,000 votes statewide, and by the end of the day yesterday the gap had narrowed to 2,620. EHJR 4204 is a constitutional amendment that would eliminate the 60-percent supermajority requirement for passing local school levies.
I’d previously argued that low turnout and the lack of partisan contests meant there was no discernible message coming out of Tuesday’s generally disappointing results, but the repositories of conventional wisdom argued otherwise, seeing the defeat of 4204 and Prop 1, combined with a win for Tim Eyman’s ridiculous I-960, as clear signs of an imminent tax revolt. It is in this climate of fear that Dems promise to reinstate one-percent limit on property tax revenue growth after Eyman’s unsustainable I-747 was tossed out by the Supremes. Hmm. Maybe they should have waited a few days before falling on their swords?
What little evidence there was of voter rebellion is steadily dissipating as late absentees continue to be tallied here in Western Washington… you know, where most of the state’s people actually live. Simple Majority seems on its way to passing, while I-960’s once convincing election night performance is heading toward squeaker territory. And while the controversial Roads & Transit measure was soundly defeated, Medic One, the only countywide property tax levy on the King County ballot, is passing with an astounding 83-percent of the vote. So I-960 barely passes in a low turnout election. Yeah, that’s some tax revolt.
The truth is, taxes pay for things that voters want, things like schools, Medic One, and cleaning up after windstorms. They also sometimes pay for things that voters don’t want. And unless they intend to finally do something about our state’s bizarrely regressive tax structure, I think Dems would be better off giving voters what they want, rather than pandering to a Republican minority whose sole goal is to cripple government
It’s trailing by 2500 — with only 1/3 of the remaining votes coming from King County…
Though hopeful, it doesn’t look all that likely now…
That Medic One gets 83+% of the vote isn’t astounding, it’s tragic!
That Medic One is even on the ballot is tragic!
King County floats excess levies for something as popular as Medic One while tucking away in its general budget all manner of pork and pandering. Why isn’t something like Medic One at the top of the County funding list? Instead of sucker-punching the public and making them tax themselves above and beyond for what they should get first and foremost?
Yes…I voted for Medic One, but only because the KC Council and KC Executive blackmail us with the threat of its elimination should we not support it with a levy.
If you want an example of political chicanery and tax manipulation, this is a classic.
The Piper
Medic One is on the ballot because it’s not the county’s responsibility to provide the service. If it wasn’t on a countywide ballot, it would be the responsibility of local fire districts and cities to provide the service, not the county. You would then have a patchwork quilt of 30 or so different EMS levies throughout the county, as it is most everywhere else in the state.
Besides, we’re paying .29/1000 AV here in King County. Most other places bay .50/1000 and get a lower level of service. We’re paying less and getting more. Why are you complaining?
TT @ 1 — But KingCo margin on late votes is now running even more heavily in 4202’s favor. Maybe a 20% positive margin, or net plus 11,600 votes.
Where are the other outstanding ballots? Of the other majors (counties with more than 1000 votes estimated outstanding):
Clallam figures to produce another 300-
Cowlitz 400-
Grays Harbor 500-
Island 200-
Kitsap 200-
Okanogan 300-
Pierce 2700-
Skagit 500-
Snohomish 600-
Spokane 100-
Stevens 400-
Thurston 100-
Walla 300-
the other Walla 300-
Whatcom 300+
Of the remainders, Whitman and San Juan are pro-4204.
I have not done momentum-based estimates for the other counties, but sportfans should be aware that early mailers, late mailers and poll voters are three distinct populations with divergent voting characteristics.
We’re now seeing the results of last-minute mailers, who tend to be more studious than the other segments … holding fire for the last of the ads, endorsements and news development, and spending the most time weighing the pro’s and con’s of each candidate and measure.
Still up in the air, but it looks good for 4202.
I just took a look at the Secretary of State’s site and a few of the larger counties’ election results sites and it looks like Snohomish County’s Saturday election results didn’t get posted to the Sec. of State site. If my calculations are correct, the spread is down to only 1,036 votes.
Following up on my previous post, I have to disagree about the prospects for 4204. Yesterday(as of 5pm 11/11/07) I ran the numbers projecting the current voting trends for the 15 counties with 201,000 of the remaining 206,000 absentees. It shows 4204 losing by approximately 2,500 votes statewide.
The potential mitigating factor is that the King County absentees are breaking heavily in favor of the measure. Basically the late absentees are much more supportive the early absentees and the people who went to the polling stations on election day. If this continues and is complemented by a similar trend in Snohomish County, then 4204 could squeak out a narrow victory, but don’t expect a winning margin of more than about 1,500 votes.
@3 and @2:
thanks BAX – note how the reflexive republican shill (read troll) on here blames the county (and by association the Dems) for something that it is smart to do (consolidate the vote for Medic 1 instead of spreading it out to each FD).
Note how he likes Medic 1 – a government service that is socialized.
Note that support for government is there when it is good for HIM but not there when it helps OTHERS.
Note the definition of a republican:
they are for government when it helps them and against it if it helps the less well off.
Note the definition of a true religous person (not a right wing ideologue):
They want to help those who are less well off and need help.
Note the definition of a just society:
A place where the sick, the poor and the disabled are cared for in a humane way.
Note – Private compassion and philanthropy doesn’t work (overall) and leaves out people who need help but who may not agree with a particular set of religious beliefs.
I think it’s premature to say 4204 is “likely” to pass, but the gap is narrowing and the momentum is toward the “yes” votes so, yes, it’s possible. This one may go to automatic recount. I don’t know how many uncounted absentees are left, but I would imagine there’s quite a few in King County, which could put it over. I won’t be surprised if 4204 pulls ahead by tonight or tomorrow.
As of 10:58 AM on Monday Nov 12 using the State’s list + updates for Snohomish and Pierce counties (not reflected on the states’ list), I’m showing 711525 Approve vs. 712457 Reject. This means the margin of Approve is -922 votes, a bit narrower…
4204 passing would take some wind out of the sails of people who claim this election verified that the tax revolt is alive, well, and flowering in Washington.
I think the situation is more complicated. None of the anti-tax votes were what I’d call overwhelming or even comfortable. It was pretty close.
I interpret Tuesday’s election as a low turnout of voters, probably skewed toward the more highly motivated anti-tax voters, saying by a slim majority that, yes, part of this state’s population is overtaxed but people do want the things that taxes buy.
I read the current political landscape as becoming more fertile ground for tax reform efforts. The conjunction of frustration with our regressive tax system coupled with an obvious desire by the public to meet our education and transportation needs points to more people becoming more receptive to the idea of fixing our antiquated tax system, which limits what government can accomplish.
I think we’re going to hear a lot more about tax reform, and specifically, about a state income tax, during the next few years. We’re not quite at the point yet where this is politically doable, but we’re getting there fast, and I believe this will become THE issue in the near future. I also believe a sales tax on gasoline to help pay for mass transit is an idea whose time is coming soon.
The reason a public vote on Medic 1 is so irritating is that the county should simply be paying for it as part of the general fund expenses. But that would entail raising general revenues, which county officials dodge by putting really popular public health and safety activities off budget to be funded by levy. Other examples are 9-1-1 funding and AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System).
In other jurisdictions these kinds of activities are considered basic functions of government to be paid for as part of ongoing operations. By treating these activities as special initiatives, the county frees up general revenue funds for less popular projects that can be hidden in the big general fund budget.
It’s a chickenshit dodge that reduces the available levy capacity for funding other worthwhile projects. And the voters go for it every time because virtually nobody opposes effective emergency medical response, 9-1-1 service or having an effective fingerprinting system to track lawbreakers. Cynical, savvy, chickenshit… and effective. Oy!
@2 What pork is in the King County budget? Specifics, please.
Nice spin Goldy, you fucking whack job. 4204 is still going down in flames and you know it!!. What amazes me though is that you have the balls to criticize the Governor and Legislature for reinstating the 1% property tax limit. That’s what the people voted for asshole!!! I know you don’t care much about the will of voters who think differently than you, but guess what…..politicians want to stay in office. Failing to reinstate the 1% limit and let runaway property taxes fleece the voters would be political suicide.
@2 Go ahead, Crackpiper, suggest that King County eliminate its services for veterans. I dare you.
@2 Which parks do you want to close? How many library staff do you want to lay off, and what library hours do you want to shorten? Do you want to curtail county health department inspections of food establishments? How about longer waiting times for building permits? How many prisoners do you want to release from jail? (Law enforcement, courts, and jails take 2/3 of the budget.)
Go ahead, Crackpiper, tell us what county services you want to eliminate. I dare you.
@3 Because (a) he’s uninformed, (b) likes to hear himself talk, (c) needs something to complain about because he doesn’t have any real issues.
How ironic that the Supreme Court (under Queen Christine) is so threatened by the voters that they overturn us – and then Olympia ‘finds’ more votes.
Good God you Dems are sheep – Dino will walk away with this state in a landslide but your Supremes will likely overturn that as well.
IdiotS!
So, the various analyses show 4204 losing by anywhere from 922 to 2500+ votes given outstanding votes to count and trends.
This means that to pass it would require a very significant trend change in uncounted ballots –something that is highly unlikely.
Too bad..it’s such common sense. I fear that the convoluded title helped sink it (if it does, in fact, sink).
@11 “The reason a public vote on Medic 1 is so irritating is that the county should simply be paying for it as part of the general fund expenses.”
The reason you’re wrong is because Medic 1 is not a county function.
Idiot Rabbit said: ” Go ahead, Crackpiper, tell us what county services you want to eliminate. I dare you.”
I can sure as hell tell ya!
*Welfare in all its forms
*Condos for drunks in Seattle
*”Art” in all its forms!!!
*Public Education
*The WEA
*The NEA
That’s just a small start but seeing as how we pay the lion’s share of our property taxes into this piss poor ‘education’ that you people think is ‘world class’ .. I would say that’s a great place to begin.
Granted, you lefties would rather burn down the entire country than admit that your leftie socialist education in this country is bankrupt and too far behind third world countries to continue on.
So glad I can put my kids in private school – its their ONLY chance here.
As of 12:30 pm today, the biggest chunks of outstanding absentees are as follows:
King – 58,000 58%/42% in favor
Pierce – 35,000 46%/54% against
Snohomish – 34,000 51%/49% in favor
Spokane – 12,500 49%/51% against
Grays Harbor- 5,800 45%/55% against
Clallam – 4,000 46%/54% against
Cowlitz – 4,000 45%/55% against
Island – 3,000 47%/53% against
Skagit – 3,000 41%/59% against
However this turns out, it’s going to be extremely close with the strong possibility of a recount. We’re not going to know for certain until Sam Reed certifies the results on December 6th.
@12…RR…
When last I picked it apart, there was generous support for the Federal Way Symphony, which I would rather so directed toward Medic One, 911 service, or enhanced fingerprint ID or, if not those or similar projects, allowed to stay in the pockets and purses of taxpayers.
The Piper
@13 “Nice spin Goldy, you fucking whack job. 4204 is still going down in flames …”
It so happens I voted against 4204* but it’ll be worth seeing it win just to watch you eat your words.
* Not because I oppose the simple majority principle, but because I think there should be a minimum turnout requirement to waive a tax lid at the ballot box, just as every organization requires a quorum of its board to be present and voting in order to transact business.
@17 “the Supreme Court (under Queen Christine)”
How is the Supreme Court “under” Gov. Gregoire? She didn’t appoint its members, and can’t tell them what to do. Do you take Stupid Pills every day?
Ann takes Stupid Pills because she thinks they’ll keep her from getting pregnant …
Thomas says: So, the various analyses show 4204 losing by anywhere from 922 to 2500+ votes given outstanding votes to count and trends.
This means that to pass it would require a very significant trend change in uncounted ballots –something that is highly unlikely.
Too bad..it’s such common sense. I fear that the convoluded title helped sink it (if it does, in fact, sink).
There is no way, I repeat – NO WAY, that KCE lets this measure fail. By tomorrow night, KCE will know exactly how many votes are needed to pass the measure, and they will be the only jurisdiction counting by then. Given the margin is close, it will be a relatively simply process for KCE to produce 200 to 250 extra yes votes.
It is amazing what you can do in a close election when you are counting ballots behind closed doors and when you know exactly what you numbers you need to produce to be victorious.
Roger, just to clarify I said less popular programs, not pork. I would prefer to see the county council and executive raise the revenue through taxes and fees in order to provide a dedicated source of funding for these critical services. They avoid taking the heat for this by putting the most popular programs up to a public vote. It’s good politics, but poor governance.
@20 County money pays for education and teachers’ unions? That’s news to me. Where did you read that, in the Wingnut Daily Blurb? Also, public art spending is mandated by a state law; if you don’t like it, get the legislature to change it, or talk Timmy into pushing an initiative to repeal it. As for county “welfare,” give me a fucking break, the county doesn’t spend enough on welfare to spit at. Support our homeless veterans, you fucking cunt.
@22 How much did the county give to the Federal Way symphony?
Ann. @20 The WEA and NEA and most art are not government services. @17 The Washington Supreme Court is elected. the givernor has nothing to do with it.
@25…RR…
You know this because…? Personal experience? The term “breed like rabbits” is, indeed, pregnant with implication, but…
The Piper
Let’s be realistic here, Piper. 2/3rds of the county budget goes to criminal justice, and most of the rest goes for parks, the building department, the health department, county road maintenance, and other basic services. If your objective is to reduce property taxes by cutting county spending, you don’t get there by whining about the county’s tiny contributions to cultural activities. You want to cut county spending? Lay off cops and judges, empty the jails, and let criminals have free reign. That’s how you do it.
The idiocy of people like piper and ann is stunning. I’m tempted to agree with the WingNuts (TM) on one thing, though. If our schools are allowing people like them to graduate, our schools suck.
More election fraud in KC means just more good new for repubs in 2008. You donks just keep on give us amo. hehehehehe
@31 Yes, I know Ann is a stupid cunt from my personal experience of reading her inane posts on HA. She’s one of the most consistent posters here — consistently stupid and ignorant, that is. The problem with people like her is the Stupid Pills don’t work for the intended purpose and they end up reproducing, and then raise kids just as stupid as they are. As for rabbits breeding, what’s your beef with that? The world has way too many humans, and not nearly enough rabbits.
@34 All dogs should be euthanized! Dogs are useless. They’re worse than useless. They’re voting cheats. And they’re all Republicans! Kill all dogs.
Hey Crackpiper, since you’re into defending Stupid Ann, perhaps you’d like to pick up her cudgel and explain how the Supreme Court is “under” the governor. As an ex-lawyer, maybe you can come up with an explanation of that. You’re in an ideal position to do so, since you don’t have to worry about your answer would be graded on a bar exam (or, for that matter, on a 7th-grade civics exam).
about how your
And while the controversial Roads & Transit measure was soundly defeated, Medic One, the only countywide property tax levy on the King County ballot, is passing with an astounding 83-percent of the vote
Nothing astounding about it. King county is corrupt and anything it reports needs independant verification or it should be used as fodder for the next election.
@26 Two million bucks spent on the best lawyers in Washington and all you guys proved is that your side cheats. Tsk, tsk.
The downside of elections is they’re always followed by a river of Republican bullshit.
In other jurisdictions these kinds of activities are considered basic functions of government to be paid for as part of ongoing operations. By treating these activities as special initiatives, the county frees up general revenue funds for less popular projects that can be hidden in the big general fund budget.
Really? Tell us, where in Washington State is EMS funded without its own levy? I’ll save you some time and give you your answer: nowhere. No county in Washington funds EMS out of its general fund. Everywhere you have EMS service in Washington, it’s provided with revenues generated from an EMS levy.
I guess those “other jurisdictions” must be in your own mind, then.
@27 As was pointed out elsewhere, Medic 1 is a fire department responsibility, not a county government responsibility. It’s under a different jurisdiction and taxing authority.
As for fees, are you suggesting Medic 1 charge people for calls? The argument against that is it will discourage people from calling Medic 1 because they’re afraid they won’t be able to afford the bill. For example, if I’m walking down the street and see a man lying unconscious on the sidewalk, do you think I’ll call Medic 1 if I think I might be billed for the response?
I think you’re pissing in the wind to complain about a levy that 83% of the anti-tax-leaning voters in this low-turnout election voted FOR. Clearly, this is a service people want, and have no problem paying taxes for. What difference does it make whether they pay for it via county taxes, the fire district levy, or a separate Medic 1 levy? It costs the same either way.
@32…RR…
The issue with Medic One, et al, isn’t reducing county spending with a commensurate reduction in taxes, it is, instead, a question of priorities. The County budget doles out dribs and drabs here and there to efforts that, from where I sit, appear quite discretionary and far less important than EMS services.
Also, privately you can get any number of KC Council members to admit the hypocrisy of this issue. But publicly, few are willing to admit it because they know they’ve got the taxpayers over a barrel on these issues.
The Piper
@39 This illustrates why dogs shouldn’t vote. Dogs are too stupid to vote! In fact, they’re too stupid to live! All dogs should be put to sleep.
Dog, the last thing YOU will ever see is the veterinarian pulling on a pair of rubber gloves and smiling at you as he picks up the syringe …
Hahahahaha … I would pay money to watch that …
Roger, just to clarify I said less popular programs, not pork. I would prefer to see the county council and executive raise the revenue through taxes and fees in order to provide a dedicated source of funding for these critical services. They avoid taking the heat for this by putting the most popular programs up to a public vote. It’s good politics, but poor governance.
Politics has nothing to do with the King County EMS levy, at least not in the way you think, despite what the anti-tax Eymanites will have you believe. There was conversation about doing away with the levy this time around and instead doing a lid lift for the county property tax levy to fund EMS. The concern — and rightfully so — was that there was no assurance that these revenues would end up being dedicated to EMS, and that they eventually could be siphoned off to something else.
So instead they did the right thing, and put the EMS levy on the ballot, assuring that the money could only be spent on EMS.
If you think that government doesn’t proritize properly, then you should support an EMS levy, because that’s the only place the money can go. In fact, you should support making it permanent, rather than having these votes every 6 years.
@43 The problem with your argument is that King County has already gone through the process of paring the budget, eliminating fat, and prioritizing spending. That’s been done, county spending has been sharply reduced, and what’s left is essential services and even those are on a tight string. Your thinking on county spending is about 20 years out of date.
They even reduced the number of county council members. However, if you want to wring the last drop of blood out of county spending, I’ll go along with reducing the county council by another 4 member, as long as the 4 members you eliminate are the 4 Republicans. How about it, Crackpiper? You could save almost half a million a year that way.
Those 4 Republicans are useless anyway, and the money spent on their salaries is wasted.
Unfortunately, King County has created an expensive new management position, and I think the elected election director’s salary should be paid with voluntary contributions from the people who voted for putting an unskilled politician in charge of our elections.
@45 You’re asking the impossible. You’re asking dogmatic ideologues to (a) pay taxes, (b) support worthwhile government functions, and (c) be rational.
Update/errata: My projection on Snohomish should have been 600+
BUT
As some observed upthread, the latest Snoho totals are not reflected in WA SoS totals.
AND
The last 25K votes came in at a margin of +6.7%, in contrast to the margin of +1.7% for the first 135K ballots counted.
IN FACT, this last 25K votes gave 4204 an incremental 1584+ margin. If there are still 10,000 Snoho votes in the mail/processing pipeline, that should add another 700+.
In brief, surprises are always possible but it looks like 4202 cruises to a win. Start planning the victory party!
The issue with Medic One, et al, isn’t reducing county spending with a commensurate reduction in taxes, it is, instead, a question of priorities. The County budget doles out dribs and drabs here and there to efforts that, from where I sit, appear quite discretionary and far less important than EMS services.
Piper, let me try to explain this to you, very slowly, so you’ll understand.
EMS is not a service that counties are responsible for providing by law. The reason that it is not funded by King County’s general fund is because it’s not a service that the county is responsible to fund.
If the countywide EMS levy went away for some reason, the responsibility for providing the service would fall on the individual cities and fire districts. There’s probably something like 30-40 individual jurisdictions that provide fire/EMS service in King County. You would then have 30-40 different EMS levy elections to pay for this service in King County, because the county itself would not be responsible for the funding. This is the way it currently works in Snohomish and Pierce Counties, for example. Obviously if you have all of these different agencies running levies, you’re gonna have a ton more elections costs and a ton more overhead than you do now.
The reason you have a countwide EMS levy in King County is because decades ago very forward-thinking people realized that it was important to have the same level of service throughout the county, and there was the potential to save a lot of money by lowering your administrative overhead and running one levy instead of 40. As it is right now, we pay .29/$1000 AV for our EMS levy. Almost every other urban area in the State pays .50/$1000, because they have the added costs that I’ve previously discussed.
In King County it’s more efficient, it’s cheaper, and it provides a higher level of service than anywhere else in the state. And that’s largely because it’s paid for with a countywide levy.
I’d just like to point out that if the GOP people around here are complaining about a levy that passed with 83% of the vote, they’re even more out of touch than I thought.
Taking the information from the Secretary of State’s website, if current trends and estimations of ballots left to count hold, 4204 will pass by 1,407 votes.
Of course those are estimates, so the most likely result is a vicious statewide hand recount. How fun.
And this isn’t a case of King County getting a lot of votes in at the last minute – in every county across the state, even places where 4204 is failing by 15-20%, the Approve side has gone up 2% or so since E-Day. Statewide the late absentees are favoring it.
39/43/44 This especially applies to yappy little Scottish terriers.
Pierce County update:
Pierce County was running a margin of 7.6% AGAINST 4202 in the first 110K ballots counted.
The last 16K ballots ran a margin of 0.7% IN FAVOR of 4202.
FeeeeeeeeeRRRRRAAUUUUUUUUUUUUD!
I am now ready to be led by the nose by Stephan and Jim Miller.
@46…RR…
Baloney, and you know it! There’s not a governmental budget in the world that couldn’t be pared without any discernable impact on services.
My referance to the Federal Way Symphony was from the 2005 KC Budget, which I went over with a fine tooth comb to find human services money. If you look at the 2007 budget, there’s a lot in it that isn’t as important as Medic One, 911, or enhanced fingerprint technology.
As to veterans’ levies? If you want to know where I stand on them, read this http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/.....ans01.html
The Piper
Pooper Scott @ 58
Excellent piece of hypocrisy. You are opposed to practically every single kind of government services. But when King County proposes something — such as assistance to veterans — that might benefit you or your family members, you support it.
@59…AYM…
Prove your assertion about my positions…
I freely admit that those who serve deserve our very best; they’ve earned it while others simply have their hands out. So, yes, I’ll usually be first to speak out on behalf of vets, esepcially those who are homeless, addicted, or suffer from mental illness.
You, on the other hand, can go pound sand for all I care…
The Piper
Piper
A government that does not honor and support the arts has misplaced priorities. I am confident I will never attend a Federal Way Symphony performance. Still, I believe that if King County directs a few tax dollars the symphony’s way, that is money well-spent. In a democracy, constituents will disagree about how tax dollars should be spent. Our policymakers are charged with resolving such disagreements. Sadly for you, your policy choices do not trump those of our elected officials.
@56…that seems like an anomaly and will likely go negative again…
@61…PL…
I’ve been a season ticket holder to an area professional theater company for over 15-years. Yet I’m appalled that government subsidizes the arts.
There’s a huge difference between arts education, which I favor, and subsidized art, which isn’t the role of government. I would like to see less emphasis on turning every child into a techy and more on encouraging music, theater, dance, and fine art skills.
But when it comes to tax dollars for the arts? The arts need to compete in the marketplace just like every other venture. Double this when you think of some of the trash that passes for art and only sees the light of day due to tax subsidies.
You are, however, correct in asserting that elected policymakers are charged with determining whether to spend public funds thusly. And, as a citizen, I’m equally charged with expressing my POV as to the propriety of that…especially when other, more worthwhile public services have to beg for bucks at the ballot box…like Medic One, 911, and enhanced fingerprint technology.
If the choice is yours, would you rather fund Medic One…or the Federal Way Symphony? Sometimes you have to make painful choices and prioritize where a finite amount of money is to go.
The Piper
Capping property taxes is the first step in moving to a fair and balanced tax system in this state.
Yeah, because at Fire Stations, we need more bs art, than we need newer and more up to date equipment, adequate staffing, or even training. Go to your local Fire Station (Seattle has a number of them being built) and look at how much money is being spent on art. I agree that there is a time and a place to support the arts (Saw la Boheme Last night in fact), but using money that should go to essential services to put up a mural or ridiculass scultpture is assinine. In many cases, fire stations are being scaled back and things like adequate Decon stations are being reduced to a Hose outside on the Apparatus pad (Try washing someboies puke off of you at 0300 in 32 Degree weather outside), but it seems that the art still goes up. There is a time and a place for subsidized art.
Fireman @ 65
I don’t disagree with you. We shouldn’t be shorting essential services, like equipment for firefighters. We also should not, as taxpayers, determine that our cultural and artistic heritage has no financial value.
Pooper Scott @ 60
“I’ve never heard of The Eastside Sun, but you can bet I’ll go out and look for it!
I live in unincorporated King County in an area designated for annexation by Kirkland, so I keep my eye on the Kirkland City Council. So far, I fear for my life, liberty, and property!
Kirkland fancies itself Marin North. It’s the most liberal city government on the Eastside, and it absolutely goes out of its way to tack extreme left simply because it’s the chic thing to do.
Kirkland has a dubious reputation for being home to several of the top DUI bars in the area, yet Kirkland Mayor Jim Lauinger was quoted in the old King County Journal as saying places like that and the night life they offer make Kirkland a “nifty place.”
Former mayor and current Kirkland City Council member Mary-Alyce Burleigh openly and enthusiastically violated existing Kirkland land use ordinances when she helped Tent City 4 set up shop in its first visit to the city. She’s probably the biggest fan of TC4 operator SHARE/WHEEL among Eastside elected officials.
Another KCC member, Joan McBride, has been my sarcastic pen pal for a long time. Yet when I asked her this past February to be my Valentine and have a cup of coffee together, she rebuffed this citizen’s overtures intended only to petition the government for redress of grievances. Hurt my feelings, to be sure!
Kirkland is home to 45th District Senator Eric Oemig, D-al Quida, who introduced into the legislature a skanky bit of treacle calling for an investigation into whether grounds existed to impeach the president and vice-president. All this after he promised us poor dumb saps that he was a problem-solving, bipartisan statesman of sorts.
The Kirkland Courier has been an enthusiastic supporter of all this crap, BTW. It makes the P-I look like William Loeb’s Manchester, NH Union-Leader by comparison.
Rumor on the street is that Kirkland is considered too liberal for the likes of Jesse Jackson, Dennis Kucinich, former Gov. Mike Lowrey, and the channeled ghost of Karl Marx.
Kirkland goes out of its way to support the building of mega-mansions that serve to drive up the price of housing such that only the uber-wealthy can afford to live there. Like I said, Marin North.
Kirkland has about the most draconian tree canopy ordinance in the Western Hemisphere. I better cut now or forever hold my piece.
About the only thing Kirkland has going for it is a ban on gambling establishments, which would, should annexation actually happen, effectively quash a blight in my neighborhood, The Caribbean Casino.
There is no truth to the rumor, however, that behind closed doors, Kirkland city officials require municipal employees to address them as “Comrade.” At least there isn’t much truth to the rumor.
Kirkland is a proletariat people’s paradise.
The Pooper
Posted by: Pooper Scott St. Clair on May 19, 2007 09:48 AM”
http://soundpolitics.com/archives/008640.html
67 Hmph. Sounds like Kirkland’s turned into a pretty nice place. For a suburb.
65 Yanno, there’s supposedly been this “One Percent for Art” stuff going on for decades, but I have yet to see a stinking dime.
63 “I would like to see less emphasis on turning every child into a techy and more on encouraging music, theater, dance, and fine art skills.”
Piper, that’s one thing you and I agree on 100%.
69
Damn, Art. I’d be bitching and moaning to everyone within hearing range. Typical government–promises, no follow-through.
trainwinder @ 62 — Anomaly? It’s a perfectly consistent trend:
http://slog.thestranger.com/20.....e_bad_news
Folks did you notice that we don’t have any traffic problems when goverment workers stay at home. Let’s lay off King workers to solve our traffic problems. Cut off all funding to government retirement funds and force them to live off of SSI. The rabbit will be eating cat food for dinner instead of carrots.
@53 Even THEY don’t have the guts to admit they voted against Medic 1 (after all, 17% of the voters did, and you can bet every damn one of ’em is a WingNut (TM)), so they’re floating a theory that Medic 1 should have been funded with money taken from other programs that it’s less antisocial (in their circles, anyway) to openly oppose.
@58 “Baloney, and you know it! There’s not a governmental budget in the world that couldn’t be pared without any discernable impact on services.”
No, I don’t know it. I asked you for examples of where the King County budget could be cut, and all I got from you was some muttering about the public art budget, which is both state-mandated and financially miniscule. I listed the programs that comprise most of county spending, and all I get from you is more hot air. You lose. Thanks for playing, sucker. Next.
It’s not like I’m exactly a shill for every tax or spending item that comes along, Piper. For example, I did a fairly energetic job of demolishing Prop. 1 in these comment threads. But I am at a loss to figure out where it’s possible to save any significant sum of money in King County’s budget, except for firing 4,000 temporary pollworkers, which they’re planning to do. But you WingNuts (TM) are against that. You’d rather maintain a costly, inefficient, error-prone poll voting system — while bitching about taxes other people pay.
59, 60 — I get it now. He thinks we shouldn’t feed county jail prisoners.
@63 OK, suppose I agreed with you that the arts should be supported by private money and government should stay out of the arts. (Part of the problem here is that artists who let themselves become dependent on government funding eventually grow susceptible to being told how to think.)
SO FUCKING WHAT???
Only a fucking moron believes that eliminating arts from the county budget would have an impact on the budget or taxes that anybody would notice.
That’s like the WingNutz (TM) bleating about PBS, which costs less than $1 per U.S. citizen per year. A hell of a lot less than the Republican graft, corruption, and warmongering we’re all paying for.
You wanna get serious about government waste, let’s start by locking up all the Republicans.
@64 Bullshit. Capping regressive taxes isn’t tax reform. Redistributing the tax burden from the overtaxed to the undertaxed is tax reform.
@73 Why do you want to abolish privately-owned pensions and make retirees live on government welfare, you fucking communist?
As some here have said, you must be able to identify the % pro and con in the last one or two vote count releases in order to identify the most acurate percentages to apply to the projected votes yet to count in each county. If you use this tested method,4204 will pass subject to a manditory recount. This will cause close inspection of all ballots set asside for over votes, signature related issues and other reasons. This will be the closest state wide race by far since the Gov,s race in 04 and King County will be under the same spot lite.
Low voter turnout?? It looks like the statewide total was over 43% — pretty good for an off year election.
Roger rabbit- You should have voted for 4204. The validation requirement has not been a factor in many years since the absentee ballot became available. Not even after the 2000 election, has validation not been met routinely.
It looks to me like 4204 is on track to certify with better than 2,000 vote margin, thus avoiding the mandatory recount.