In 1995, there was a proposal to elect the Seattle City Council by districts. Mostly, it was on the ballot because Tom Stewart was a jackass (pdf). That said, the way we elect the city council is made of stupid. There’s no reason to have 9 at large districts. It means downtown and poorer areas are underrepresented on the council, and it means that communities of color and other groups that are geographically grouped have a tougher time electing people.
So, while I would prefer all district elections, I can see myself supporting a proposal to have some districts and some at large representatives if it gets on the ballot. Still, the people running it don’t seem like good people. The only one I know of is John Fox who has been on the wrong side of a lot of issues. Most recently he helped kill decent transit in this town because he didn’t like the tax structure, but whoops, forgot to ask the legislature to give us a more equitable way to pay for it. The rest of them seem worse.
The group, which will announce its plans in a press conference tomorrow morning, is headed up by three business representatives and one low-income housing activists [sic]. The business reps are Faye Garneau, director of the Aurora Avenue Merchants Association, who fought for years against bus lanes on Aurora; Fremont Dock owner Suzie Burke, who fought, most recently, against a bike lane on Stone Way in Fremont; Eugene Wasserman, one of the plaintiffs suing to stop the city from completing the “Missing Link” of the Burke-Gilman Trail; and Seattle Displacement Coalition founder John Fox, who has steadfastly fought against pro-density legislation, from Yesler Terrace to Roosevelt to, well, the entire city.
So, maybe I’ll support districts. But if these people think it’ll give them what they want, maybe I’ll have to reconsider.
Now why would DUMMOCRAPT progressive libtards do that to the masses of color Carl? Y’all control Seattle… lock, stock and barrel. It’s because DUMMOCRAPT progressive libtards had to continue to subjugate and control the masses of color even in the northwest. FEAR Carl, FEAR. Can’t blame this on GW Bush or the Republicans.
Translated into English: “I don’t know anything about these people, so I’ll rely on Erica C. Barnett for my information.”
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That’s is about as fucking pathetic as it gets, Steve. Do us a favor and find something else to do.
Translated into English: “I don’t know anything about these people, so I’ll rely on Erica C. Barnett for my information.”
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That’s about as fucking pathetic as it gets, Steve. Do us a favor and find something else to do.
Sorry for the double post. Not one damn bit sorry for my opinion.
Yeah, what Ivan said.
Not about changing gigs, just that using Erica’s fear-mongering as a reason to oppose the idea of districts is dumb.
Yeah, Suzie Burke, John Fox (strange bedfellows!), and other not-so-nice people back the idea. So too does Yusef Cabdi, and its principal architect is Toby Thaler; neither of them fits Erica’s “anti-progressive” epithet in any way, shape, or form.
Like Toby (PCO of the precinct next to mine), I’d prefer a wholly by-district City Council. I’d also like one with more members. But that’s too much change for Seattle, as we’ve seen in previous referenda. A 7-2 model is far, far, far better than the at-large approach we use now.
And it might just have enough juice to get passed in a citywide vote.
my opinion that Carl is an idiot is just reinforced now.
Carl, why you dont you waste more of your time and (someone elses) money attending Nutroots conferences instead of drooling this drivel…
shorter Piltdown Man: get a job.
Several years ago I was having a struggle with the city and reached out to Jean Godden who lives maybe a mile from my house. I got no response. I then reached out to Sally Clark and got an immediate response, face-to-face meeting and, most importantly, help. I credit this to Seattle’s open council. All members are accountable to all citizens. If we had districts, I would have been dead in the water with Godden.
I will oppose this initiative.
“If we had districts, I would have been dead in the water with Godden.”
If we had districts, Jean wouldn’t be on the council, and a lot more people like Sally would.